Capt Bob LeMay

I''m still back in the stone age - not using those modern resins at all - but one trick I have been using for ages and ages - and that's my solar oven when i have painted eyes or other finishes on flies that I want to cure out quickly and harden them up - the dashboard of my truck.  Located in south Florida, the sun is so strong most days even in winter that you wouldn't want to sit in a closed vehicle with no A/C running at all to give you an idea of just how strong the sun is here.  

That solar oven trick is also handy when your gear after a monsoon day on the water needs drying out -particularly flies and bucktail jigs - no matter how well your tackle box (mine is a cooler since they're mostly much drier inside than the finest tackle box or bag - but still things just get damp or downright wet at times... An afternoon in my truck's cab and things have dried out nicely when needed.

A quick caution... any flies or lures with flash need to be removed quickly and not left in the solar oven long term at all since they'll curl up from too much heat.  For bucktail jigs that's not a great problem - but for flies like clousers and others - it's damaging and you end up re-tying the fly to be able to replace the curled up flash elements...

Here's a different way to look at "inflation"... For some years now the different leaders of our country have been de-valuing our currency -our money is simply worth less.... ($2000 an ounce gold.... means each dollar is simply worth less...  that gold isn't worth more - our money is worth less - a lot less...). 

The guy in charge up in D.C. now- when he isn't busy with family stuff - has dramatically increased the rate of our money being worth less, and less, etc.  Hope we can turn this around - but can't claim I'm particularly confident about our prospects - no matter how bad our current situation is... it CAN get worse...

Must admit... I've never used those (relatively) new hooks at all... Instead, I've been buying my usual Mustad 34007 hooks - by the thousand per size and although I'm no longer tying flies commercially... I have enough hooks in hand to last for years ahead (if I'm still around...).  For tarpon hooks, i'm using the Owner Aki (and once again since I was buying them by the `1000 per size.. I still have a bunch of them, from 1/0 up to 4/0...).  I also use the Tiemco 600sp - but  only have few of them left, as well as a  very old hook - the Mustad 7766 in sizes for small to medium tarpon.  Yes, I know, every Mustad needs to be sharpened -and I have a few of the Nicholson Mill Bastard four inch files still in hand (used to buy them by the half dozen at a time..).

There is a new hook I've been experimenting a bit with as well... although I've yet to see any in catalogs or in shops... It's the Owner Aki light, and I"m starting to generate a few bugs with them - mostly for smaller tarpon up to around 20lbs... Enter Owner Aki light on E-Bay to find them  - so far...  but only in tiny quantities... .

A guy over on the Florida Sportsman forum asked a question about Mustad hooks and here's what I wrote... Since that forum is disappearing in a few weeks I figure that some might want to read it... before it's gone forever...

What's the difference between these two hooks?   Is one preferred for fly tying?

I have some of both but which would you use? Also, some of the 34007 have a SS designation and some don't. What's that about?

Thanks!   Inquiring minds want to know.  I did a search on here but couldn't find anything. 

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  lemaymiami Posts: 4,920 Captain
  6:47AM #2
  Here's the deal...
  Mustad 3407 - cadmium plated steel, a bit stronger than the stainless steel 34007 - but will need sharpening before use - not generally used by folks who tie flies for shops - the way I did for many years...
  
  Mustad 3407SS, just like the 3407 but twice as strong and twice as heavy.. I still use them occasionally for things like shark flies - they'll need some serious sharpening... before tossing them at a fish... A very old-fashioned hook - but at one time your best bet for a really strong hook (long before the oriental super hooks came along...).
  
  Mustad 34007, very similar to the 3407 - but done up in stainless and they'll need a bit of sharpening as well.... pretty much one of the standard hooks used for saltwater flies if you're not needing something for tarpon or other big fish with armored jaws. Most standard bonefish flies will be tied up on a #4 34007 hook, most backcountry flies will be tied up on a 1/0 or 2/0 34007. For many years I bought them by the thousand per size as a commercial tyer. I had to quit tying commercially a few years back but still have a substantial supply of them in every size. This not the hook, though, for big tarpon, sharks, grouper, or bluewater fish - for those you'll be wanting something much stronger - for me, that's an Owner Aki hook (one of several really good super premium hooks available these days). Any fly shop that caters to the saltwater crowd will be able to point you in the right direction...
  
  Hope this helps -even knowing that this forum will cease to exist a few weeks from now...
  Tight Lines
  Bob LeMay
  (954) 435-5666

For big fish on fly, I teach first timers to try not to use their arms during the fight if they can... with the rod butt up against your hip (or at least below the belt line wherever you're comfortable - and tuck your elbows into your sides as tightly as possible - and never, repeat never place your hands above the cork grip.  The idea is to use your whole body to pull with instead of just your arms... Works pretty well - and when that fish is close - no "high-sticking" ever.  I do my best to have my anglers never raise their rod above the horizontal with a big fish next to the skiff - then drop it quickly down to the water's surface (or lower) to gain line with the reel.  i do actually have a few anglers that can beat a hundred pound tarpon this way - in less than 15 minutes on average - but you have to be willing to go to max pressure as soon as the fish settles down... The fun part for me is when I'm trying to control the fish at boatside...   Here's a pic of my "office" - one moment later this fish did slap me upside my head with his tail... When she settled down I got my hook back and she went on her way in the river... 

Only around 80lbs.. they get a lot bigger... and yes, we do break our share of fly rods.. 

Here’s the way that strong hand (mostly right hand) reeling was explained to me, all those years ago -and it’s particularly appropriate for saltwater, big fish, situations…  

If I handed you a nice big new fly reel and a big spool of backing to load it with… which hand would you prefer?  Strong hand or weak hand…?  That reel needs 300 yards of backing minimum by the way, then you’ll be adding the fly line on top.

If you’re going to be fighting a big fish with the reel for more than thirty minutes, sometimes a lot more,  which hand would you want to use?

One of the advantages of longevity for me is that I actually have two reels for every size rod in my gear.  One that winds right handed the other left handed, each one ready to go…. For every fly booking it’s a simple matter to set up the way my anglers prefer in advance.  These days that’s mostly left handed… Me, I still prefer right handed reels since that’s how I was taught from the beginning, almost fifty years ago now… Each to his own.  Modern reels are easily converted from one side to the other.  Not so for some of my old classics like FinNor or Billy Pate reels (and they’re still my personal favorites).

I suspect that those old Orvis clicker model reels - were made for them by Hardy - all those years ago.  I know the early Scientific Anglers clicker reels were made by Hardy (basically re-branded Hardy Marquis models).  When I was first chasing fish in the salt with a fly - the reels many of us used were those first generation SA reels...  Since they had two clickers - we'd set them up with both on and you could hear anyone that was hooked up since those old reels would just howl on long runs... That was in the mid seventies, down here in paradise when our usual fly targets included small tarpon up to forty pounds at night under local Miami and Miami Beach bridges... Great fun, and those small tarpon are still lurking in the shadows every night locally... but our gear is a long cry from those simple clicker reels... 

Here's my version of Chico's famous Seaducer pattern - it was usually part of any order I was filling for local fly shops - for years...  My usual colors were the fl. green and white (shown), as well as red/white, pink/white, red/yellow,  all grizzly,  etc.  The one shown is in size #1 and overall the Seaducer is a great shallow water sight-fishing bug in brackish and salt waters when you really need a fly to suspend between strips.  I'm certain that it's a great bass bug in freshwaters as well.  We always tied it to match  the size of the bait we expected to encounter in the backcountry as well.  I like them with eyes... as well...

I like that last post - and tie up something similar - but for the salt... Pretty sure either of these two bugs could be downsized- all the way down to suit your needs... 

Called Swamp food this one is in size 1/0... most of my stuff gets a weedguard since we're fishing the jungle shorelines of the Everglades... 

My version of Norm's Crystal Schminnow.. for the salt -it's pretty small - this one is done up in size #4 - but we've had success in my area with baby tarpon and snook in sizes down to a #6  - simple to see that it's basically a wooly bugger format, mostly... I used to do them for fly shops by the dozens in various color combinations and sizes... 

Great report...  

It’s called an improved Homer Rhode loop knot.. Works well with heavier leaders.

Shsss.... Seriously though,  a guy I know swears by them so... Easy to add to any similar lure with painted eyes (or no eyes at all...).  I use a dab of lacquer thinner on a paper towel to prep the area -then each eye is set in place using thin CA glue (Krazy Glue is all I ever use for thin CA...) then clamped down in place - one at a time.  I actually have a box full of them ready to go (the DOA Baitbuster in this instance).  I've also done well with jig and worm setups... but that's another deal entirely... 

Considering where we're using them for the goliath grouper - in dark Everglades backcountry waters (some call it "blackwater") and the fish are right on the bottom in nine to fourteen feet of water...  I doubt they ever see the eyes, but up shallow it might be a different story... Mostly they're used for big tarpon - as big as they get... as well as other big hungries like cobia or big snook... A short two to three foot leader using 60lb fluoro and you're ready to go... 

Hang in there Byron... and make those changes.  I lost my only brother last year, a year younger than me - he would have been 74 this summer.  He'd complained of a variety of symptoms that I took for the consequences of his lifestyle up in Alaska - living on his own, still smoking and drinking..  What it was actually, was the onset of a nasty form of leukemia that took him down about three months after he was diagnosed... For many years in Alaska he was an outdoorsman - not a fisher - he was a hunter.. His usual weapon in the field - a 375 H&H... 

In this past year I've finally pulled up my socks and begun regular check-ups - with the usual emphasis on specialists in the "old man" health issues, a cardiologist, urologist, and dermatologist (nothing like a touch of skin cancer to give you religion).  I don't intend to "live forever" but hope not to get taken down because of sheer negligence... with a GP to keep me honest...   That said I'm still guiding at age 75 with long hours on the water as well as four hours a day towing my skiff to one ramp or other,  then home at the end of each day.  Not un-common in this area to be a commuting guide since the places with the most fish are either not possible to live next to (Flamingo) or not particularly attractive (the Ten Thousand islands area - Chokoloskee and Everglades City) when you're not on the water.  Still doing both day and night charters (my next booking will start tomorrow night locally at 10pm...).

I don't believe in "retirement"  - many I've known didn't last very long at all after they retired, took it easy, and were gone in six months.... I have no idea what my future holds so I'm just going to get on with it.  It's been a fun ride so far... One thing has stuck with me - a comment my Dad made years ago when he was in retirement - that he never realized he'd be spending so much time in doctor's waiting rooms... Hope to avoid that scenario - but consider the alternative...  Today I've an appointment with a hearing specialist -I've had hearing aids in both ears now for about two weeks and the nice lady doc will check me out and sort out any problems they've caused (hopefully).  I can actually hear my customers now... 

I've shown a few of these here.... since we're pretty much over-run by them in the backcountry of the Everglades... 

nice juvenile goliath grouper from a week ago - and they're only babies (under 50 pounds) - the fully grown version can get up 600lbs and larger...

Mostly we target them with live bait or cut bait on fairly stout tackle.  Recently we've been using lures but the lure itself needs to be pretty strong... Here's a pic of the lure we used that day.. 

Although the hook bent out it did hold the fish until we were able to bring it to hand - then carefully release it.  The lure?  A DOA Baitbuster - with their "tarpon hook".  Once a hook is bent out like this you can bend it back into position - but it will be much weaker than the original model... 

Did my first night trip in a few weeks last night and the night scene was on fire... shrimp moving, fish biting wherever we went - got home just before 3Am... We jumped 7 or 8 tarpon between 20 and 50lbs - all sight fished with either fly or lures... The few docklights we checked held snook and very hungry jack crevalle.  Should be a good summer if this was any indication... Making the transition from day trips to night trips... Not easy - but do-able... Our gear?  An 8,9, and a 10wt rod,  the tarpon right at the surface in the shadows under local bridges.  Early in the evening too much holiday boat traffic (understatement) but as it got later in the evening - we had each spot to ourselves... A great night with hot action... 

" Be a hero... take a kid fishing"

Great report, great photos, looks well worth any angler's attention... I'm running a Minn Kota Terrova, 24v model now for almost three years trouble free (except for batteries and losing my first remote...) in hard commercial service in fresh, salt, and brackish waters - mostly the salt... It has the same capabilities the Ulterra model does but without the auto deploy feature.  Most that I know have gotten away from the Ulterra since there's more stuff that can go wrong... Hope your warranty fix solves the problem.  I also know one angler who still prefers the Ulterra - but also brings a backup in case the Ulterra quits on him when he's on a trip.

He comes down to my area from his home state so he's always considering ways to back up his gear a long way from home... 

Hooray… nice to hear that someone somewhere… doesn’t want to relocate to our state… 

To put it mildly, Florida was never meant to have the numbers we have now…

In years past I’ve had one or two anglers that needed to be in a deck chair (as well as one or two in their own wheelchairs) once we managed to get them on board my 17’ skiff.  During the trip I did my best to position the skiff to allow them to toss lures or flies where the fish were holding… and we succeeded mostly…

Don’t know whether there’s enough space for a small folding lawn chair on that Jon boat, but you might want to check it out.  We usually faced the chair to one side or the other of my skiff depending on whether they were right or left handed.  Just having good back support will improve the day for anyone with medical issues…

Hope this helps 

The best part of our croc population is that they're making a strong comeback (they were on the endangered list a few years back...).  We're seeing young ones a few miles to the north of their usual haunts now in places where I've never seen a single individual until quite recently... A very good sign in my opinion.... I've even seen one or two as far north as the Rogers River, a few miles south of Lostman's River,  the start of the Ten Thousand Islands area along the coast of the Everglades... 

'Gators and crocs behave quite a bit differently from each other.  An alligator intent on attacking something approaches at the surface - the salties come in submerged... 'gators build a nest for their eggs on the surface (leaves, sticks, mud pushed into a mound formation...).  The croc here in America prefers a soft sandy bank next to water where the dig into the bank for their nesting site.  Crocs for the most part are shy and retiring locally - 'gators can be up in your face at times - when they're not actively hunting for a meal (and they'll eat anything that doesn't eat them first...). 

The resurgence of the croc population is a great story.  I came to Florida in 1971 when there were very few of them remaining.  Despite all government efforts the population remained low and kept dwindling.  Conservation folks established sanctuaries and whole stretches of coastal waters, including small bays were made off-limits to boaters to protect them - nothing worked... Around 30 years ago the population began to grow - and scientists and other conservation types were stumped as to the cause.  Finally one made a guess as to what was happening and requested permission to enter the closed hot water cooling canals for Turkey Point nuclear plant down in south Biscayne Bay - at night....  He found a motherlode of crocs (red eyes everywhere) in a place where no one was allowed to go.. those cooling canals.....  They're cut into soft sandy ground specifically for that nuclear facility and the banks make a perfect nursery for raising crocodile eggs into young hatchlings... Who knew?

Turkey Point - being right on the water in the south end of Biscayne Bay has always been controversial as far as environmentalists were concerned.  Some of the disputes went away - after it survived a direct hit from hurricane Andrew in 1992 (Andrew was a catastrophic, category five hurricane that came inshore with winds at 180mph and higher..) that just shredded most of the structures south of Miami  -all those years ago...  Now it appears that it's the main source of the American saltwater crocodile's population recovery... Once again, who knew...   From my point of view it's a great story... and our local crocodiles are around the boat ramp I use almost every day now... 

Here's a few additional pics..

That open mouth isn't a threat display -  it's to allow them to regulate their body temperature - by opening their mouth they can cool down a bit as they lay in the sun - when it gets too hot entirely - they'll leave the water and move up into the nearby jungle to rest in the shade until nightfall brings cooler water temps... 

There are days in the fall as everything begins cooling off finally.. when we get to see 'gators and crocs laying on a sunny bank right across from the boat ramp we use in the afternoons.. Quite a sight - no they're not friends or buddies - each wants its own space as they try to warm up a bit before nightfall when it will get cold enough to slow them down quite a bit... 

Way down south here in Florida, we've got very few black bears (and to encounter one - you'd have to be willing to work through miles and miles of swamp -filled with much more hazardous things than our scrawny black bears - the few that still remain...).  The two biggest hazards I see on a regular basis are sharks and big 'gators.  I'm at risk from sharks while releasing fish - and have had one or two close calls when a shark - that we never see coming (our waters are very dark and sharks - big or small can be very close by without showing a hint that they're present...) actually grabbed a fish I was holding onto.... 

Big 'gators are just dangerous period - we stay away from them.  Fortunately all they come after is our fish (mostly) but every year or so someone is killed or badly hurt by a big 'gator - usually one that everyone knows about in waters next to where people live or play.  They can outrun you on the ground, and while in the water lunge up into the air as much as six feet to attack a bird or other pray animal up on a bank - or in a small skiff...  The people most at risk?  Children and women of small stature - so I'd advise anyone - stay a good distance away from big 'gators, period (and keep your dog on a leash if you're near waters that might have a 'gator or two - they really like dogs...).

As far as our crocodiles go... the biologists tell us that the American saltwater crocodile - is a fish eater - mostly,  so we tend to ignore them.   Here's a pic of one next to my skiff at the boat ramp - and me busy ignoring him... 

Our crocs get bigger than our biggest 'gators so they do make an impressive sight... Hook a baby tarpon near one and it will do its best to steal it from you... Like I said ours are fisheaters - everywhere else in the world a big saltwater croc is a maneater... 

Still, the animal my anglers are most likely to encounter each day is the shark - and we have them in every size from tiny - to almost as big as my 17' skiff... The deal with sharks is pretty simple - all of our fish along the coast live in close proximity to each other.  Sharks though, as a rule, can't catch a healthy fish very often at all... Hook a fish though with a shark nearby by and its struggles will draw any nearby shark (and some days we win - other days the sharks win..).  My general rule in summer when we're fishing snook or redfish - is that we have a very good shot at the first fish we hook... but if you try to catch a second you're probably only going to get half a fish... if that.  Further,  I would never, repeat never go swimming in the areas we fish - it's just too dangerous for my tastes..... And of course the shark that kills your fish won't be a very big one at all - just hungry... very hungry.. .Here's a typical shark photo... 

from the size of the bite - it wasn't a very big shark - but that didn't make a difference for that poor snook....   One day not far away we caught and released a baby Great Hammerhead shark - about six feet long and sixty pounds.  It swam away in good condition but a few hundred feet away got blown up by a really big shark - right in front of us - probably a really big bull shark.  That's the world along the coasts of the Everglades each day.. Like I said, I don't recommend swimming in those waters at all...

For Breambuster..... I added 1/16oz jigheads to my line up a few months ago... Here's a pic or two (and you'll note the hooks are much more substantial than what you'll find on crappie heads..). 

all 1/16 heads (the ones with plastic tails have a barb on them...) .

This shows the range of heads in this style that I work with from 1/2oz all the way down to 1/16oz.  all with super sharp, black nickel hooks for strength.. One of my anglers hooked up a 30lb tarpon yesterday with a 1/8oz leadhead and the lightest rod on the skiff.  After 15 minutes or so the fish jumped off - and we got our leadhead back - in great shape still ready for the next big fish... This was on 1/8oz head in less than five feet of water... The 1/16 heads are for even shallower places (in less than two or three feet of water...).  Here's a pic or two from yesterday's action... 

I'm booked to fish fly anglers for three days next week - if those small to medium sized fish are in the same place - they'll be getting a workout - tarpon stay hooked much better on the fly than they do if you're using lures... 

It would be a simple matter to tie up one of these small heads as a feather jig for small tarpon, or smallmouth bass (and everything in between...).  I'll have to do up a few samples and post a photo as an addition to this thread... Once I'm back up and running.  We had storm (hurricane) windows finally installed at our house and my workbench area is still in disarray.  This time of year I'm on the water most days so shopwork takes a backseat.... 

It was definitely a surprise - all I was doing was working a leadhead with a 1/8oz head in nine to ten feet of water right off of a residential dock - right on the bottom - very slowly, when it struck... I will say it gave a good fight on that light rod, jumping two or three times... My main focus, though, in freshwaters is the peacock - and the best peacocks are in places where you have no boat access (unless you live there and can launch a small craft off of your dock or seawall...). Frustrating...

I did have fly gear aboard but not much time to fish so the quicker gear got the nod.  I have spoken to one fellow that claims three or four on the fly so it may be possible.  Pretty sure if I can figure out how to catch one on fly that I'll have folks standing in line for a shot at them.  Peacock bass on the other hand will chase a fly until they can catch it.... Great fun - even with small ones.

Been doing some scouting looking for larger peacock bass than I'm currently finding out on the edges of the Everglades and ended up in local Lake Ida where once again all I'm finding are small peas... My first cast or two, working quickly with spinning gear out of my skiff ( a 5 and 7wt rods ready to go once I found my targets...) I hooked up solid on my first Clown Knife Fish (also called featherbacks locally...).  It gave a very good fight for a solid five pound fish - here's a pic or two.  Locally it's believed that they don't strike lures and you're going to need bait..... not so in this case... 

the lightest spinner on my skiff with 10lb braid 

the lure?  A 1/8oz leadhead with plastic tail... I make them in all sizes up to 1/2oz for folks that order them in quantity.... 

Great morning - and a fine report...