The Vise
| Fly Tying |
| Fishing Articles |
| Fly Fishing in March |
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| Written by Capt. Jon Bull | ||
| Mar 04, 2010 at 09:05 PM | ||
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Being a predominately fly fishing guide, March is usually a great month due to the clear water and extreme low tide conditions.
Unfortunately, the wind does not always cooperate so finding cover
along lee shorelines with clear water is the number one priority. This
is a great time of year to test your accuracy on one of the flats most
challenging fly quarries, the sheepshead. Sheepies are tough because
they are sooooo spooky and you have to be able to see when they take
the fly so you can set the hook. Poling a skiff is a must. It is the
only way you will close the distance to get within sight casting range
of these guys. Be sure to look around the sheepshead as well. I have
been finding that redfish have been cruising with the sheepies looking
for the same forage. I have actually sight casted a sheepshead only to
have a redfish come and take the fly instead. 6-8 weight rods,with
corresponding floating fly line, are the standard and with the clear
water conditions, your tippets need to be scaled down to straight 12-16
lb. test. Just about any crab or shrimp fly pattern will take either a
red or a sheepshead but here are a few of my "go-to" patterns:
Dorsey's Kwan, Borski Slider, Borski Fur Shrimp, Merkwan, Flats Toad,
Lantham's Crab, and the TK Special.
When fly fishing or sight casting artificials and live shrimp, I
prefer working a mid-morning incoming tide after an early morning low.
The sun exposure on the low tide flats will heat the
water and activate all the creepy-crawlies that live in the mud. I
also pay close attention to the bird activity on the flats. The
spoonbills that are foraging in the mud on low tide are eating the same stuff the reds and sheepshead will be feeding on
after the tide rises. The snowy egrets, that have their yellow legs in
the water, are feeding on small bait fish that reds, trout and snook
will be feeding on once the tide rises a bit more. But the one bird I
look for the most is the great blue heron. He IS feeding on exactly
what reds, trout and snook will be feeding on. Whether or not I fish
near him depends on where the water is compared to his butt. If more
than half of his legs are exposed, I need to wait just a bit longer
until the tide rises some more, OR, fish the deeper areas in front of
him. If I see a heron and his butt is touching the water, I fish all
around him. The great blue heron is dead giveaway that bait is very nearby, which means the game fish will be close behind.
The one thing you can do that every other living thing does when it is cold.....is SLOW DOWN!! You will be amazed what you can observe when you take the time to really see what is going on and apply it towards your angling experiences.
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| Last Updated ( Mar 04, 2010 at 09:08 PM ) | ||
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