Capt Bob LeMay

I hand my anglers over-lined rods regularly for night fishing where the distances are short and everything has to be done by feel instead of by sight, and it works quite well. This is a special situation, though, where we're casting point blank at fish that are almost close enough to touch. Instead of removing the existing line off of a reel, I have the luxury of just swapping out reels to get the results needed. At times I'll also hand an over-lined rod to someone really struggling with their casting timing. The resulting line/rod combination is a bit more forgiving than a crisp fast action setup for beginners... As far as line/rod weight standards - there are/were standards developed back in the days when lines were size designated by letters instead of numbers. My first encounter with this info was in Lefty Kreh's classic FLYFISHING IN SALTWATER. publ.1974. That book was my "bible" when i took up salty fly stuff in 1976 (I first met Lefty in 1972, he was the outdoor writer then for the Miami Herald). On page 20 of the original edition there's a listing of line sizes, their weights (in grains per 30 feet), and the tolerance range for slight variations in each size. This was done by AFTMA (and I'm not sure they're even still around...). In today's world of "anything goes" and manufacturing facilities around the world, I'm not sure every rod or line manufacturer still holds closely to the originally agreed upon standards (and if there's someone in the industry currently that can shed some light on this topic I'd be glad to listen....). Tight LInes Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

Necks and saddles like "cree variant" make very, very good tarpon flies (if the feathers are big enough..).. Chinchilla, not commonly mentioned in retail circles is very well known to wholesalers and others that buy strung saddles or neck hackles for dying and re-sale. Instead of being labeled "chinchilla" the're simply called variant (or grizzly substitute) by the time they wind up in catalogues or fly shops. The below pic is all comprised of what's called red chinchilla (and I buy the stuff by the pound, strung and bundled, when I can find it....). This particular bug, the Sand Devil is one of my contract patterns with Umpqua, and a fairly popular old style Keys pattern.... Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

Put me down as one of those 2lb, 4lb, 6lb mono users -and I even have one or two very old, very large bobbins that use 10 or even 15lb mono to tie jigs commercially with (deep jigs from 1 to 6 oz. in size...). Since I used to be a fanatic light tackle angler (before coming back to guiding in the mid nineties) all of my tying mono came from already used line that was being replaced off of one spinning reel or other.... The ultimate in re-cycling. As a guide I quickly had to give up the lighter line stuff since all it did was send my anglers home talking to themselves... but still have a lifetime supply of the stuff. Here's a pic of an old favorite bonefish pattern that was always done in 4lb mono... Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

Like many I use the craft store foam sheets. Since I'm only doing Gurglers is size #1 on up they do just fine. There's an additional use for un-cut foam sheets in every color under the sun.... They make great backgrounds for close up photography (just the ticket for close-ups on flies, knots, and other technical type stuff...). I'm fond of taking more than one pic and just varying background colors to see what provides the best contrast for fly close-ups (and at .99 per sheet I can keep every color ready to use for that purpose....). Here's a few pics Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

Like many I use a rotisserie motor (or rod drying motor) for my flies that have a heavy finish (FlexCoat) on them. Unlike many mine is actually part of my rodbuilding bench (I started building rods long before I took up fly tying). In those days most of what we needed wasn't commercially available so it was all DIY stuff. With lots of old rod blanks around it was an easy step to make drying sticks to accomodate 2 to 4 dozen flies at a time (FlexCoat needs to rotate for two hours then cure for a total of 24 hours) doing commercial production. Each stick has a cork ring mounted 6" apart and the turning motor is on a timer so that I can finish as many as 12 dozen or more flies per day if needed. Here's some pics... by the way I've always thought that ordinary "pool noodles" that kids use in swimming pools (4 to 5" diameter foam) would make great mounting wheels if cut up into sections for guys only doing a few flies at a time.... Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

Looks like a great fly selection. You might want to have a few poppers with much shorter tails (you'll find that long tailed poppers will foul a lot as you cast them). In my area of south Florida and the Everglades we can cover almost all of the bases with an 8 and a 10wt.... You'll rarely find those picture perfect days when a 6wt is handy. If you're wading though, you'll be able to get close enough that your six weight will work....

We use lots of heavier rods down here in paradise (I keep six or seven rods rigged and ready from a 7wt all the way up to a 12...). My 10wts are all nine foot models (my favorite is one I built myself on a Thomas and Thomas Horizon blank with an old Powell aluminum seat.....). Lots wiill depend on your casting style when it comes to heavier, larger flies. You'll have to change your timing a bit to be successful. I have had some anglers that greatly benefitted from using one line size heavier for bigger flies (a 10wt rod with an 11wt line...). The best advice I've ever given an angler with a larger rod is not to try to cast with a lot of line in the air.... work out forty feet or so then shoot the last 20 or 30 feet to get where you want to be. It's much, much easier to shoot the last 20 or so feet than to try to work wtih sixty or seventy feet of line in the air (you'll need to double haul to do this properly - or at least "water haul"). Here's a pic of the size flies that we routinely toss with a 10 or 11wt rod.... This Tarpon Snake is on a 4/0 heavy hook and has a wire weedguard.... This green and white version is a variation of the usuall all black for this pattern.... Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

Phish... I"ve been using Fletch-Tite commercially and for my own bugs for more than five years now.... I've yet to see the problem you've described. Since I've never found the domed or 3-D eyes particularly durable when used by my own anglers - I've pretty much quit using them, preferring the solid doll eyes that come with the stems you have to clip off (what all the Puglisi flies use....). Those very nice looking dome or 3D eyes have never performed well for me (maybe because I don't cover them with epoxy...or any finish) no matter what adhesive was used...

I use lots and lots of dyed black saddle hackle (comes strung, bundled in commercial quantities) and prefer it to be dyed furnace.... What you get is a gorgeous black feather with a shiny dark green center... None of these are particularly suitable for freshwater tiers since I'm wanting six to nine inch, wide webby saddles with as large a profile as possible (the opposite of what freshwater tiers are looking for...). Furnace dyed black fills the bill for me.... tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

After reading a few of these threads (couldn't read them all...) y'all are certainly welcome down here in paradise right next to the disco duck and that immortal little Al Pacino wannabe who said.... "He dance with my girl - I _____ him!". Why is it I think most of you have been reading Carl Hiassen books?

Good news, the night scene has arrived in Biscayne Bay. We jumped fish for three nights on the outgoing tide this past weekend. As usual only one of my anglers was a fly guy (veteran northern tyer and instructor, John Madden with his first tarpon on fly). That night I left my camera at home so I won't have any pics until I get them when he returns home... but his first was our best one that night at nearly 50lbs.... For lots of pics from the last few weeks the full report is at ... http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?99827-Fishing-report-Everglades-days-Biscayne-nights-25-Feb-2013

Here's the solution that I came up with for that problem (and I do lots and lots of flies with plastic eyes....). The product you're looking for is called Fletch-Tite and it's a special glue for those that make their own arrows... I've always been able to find it at my local Bass Pro shops. It comes in a tube with a long thin applicator (designed for laying a line of glue to mount feathers on the shaft of an arrow - but perfect for adding a tiny dot of glue for eyes....). Here's the best way I've found to use it.... Only mount one eye at a time then use a clothes pin or mini clamp to hold the eye in place for about five minutes (I'm usually doing production work so I do one eye on six or a dozen flies, then come back and do the other side. Fletch-Tite will mount eyes that are so durable that they'll survive almost anything the fish can do to a fly in saltwater. I've learned not to use those pretty 3D eyes if I want something to last. The hard plastic doll eyes are much, much more durable in actual use... Here's a pic or two.... Only one of the woolheads use surface glued eyes, the remainder are done with lead eyes...

We catch and release small gar while fishing for baby tarpon way back up inside the brackish to freshwater portions of the Everglades. We use the same small poppers, Crystal Schminnows, and other patterns on #4 or #2 hooks that the baby tarpon are taking. For years and years I thought that these fish weren't catchable on ordinary flies (we're up inside small creeks, less than 30 feet wide with lots and lots of both salt and freshwater fish that are feeding on glass minnows) since the gar (18 to 26") would bite our flies readily but we just weren't hooking them... I finally realized we'd be successful with a very hard short strip strike and now those gar come to the boat, are easily released and back in the water. Here's a pic or two of the baby tarps (to this day I haven't taken the first pic of a gar...). Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

Down here in south Florida and the Caribbean we're struggling with a serious invasive fish - the Lionfish... by all accounts it came through the Panama Canal in some fashion from the Pacific and is now very well established. It has venomous spines, no known enemies and is taking over some shallow water reef areas. It's such a problem now that they're starting to hold tournaments (and posting recipes.....) to combat the problem. Most anglers want nothing to do with them..... "poisonous spines" is probably the first reason....

There's a second thread on this topic. I posted something that every wader (particularly along the Gulf coast in warm weather) should read and understand.... http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=72079

Choose whatever foot covering is most convenient and will protect your feet. Make sure that the soles are strong enough to wade on rock or coral and that the sides protect your ankles... Sting rays, urchins, sharp coral edges - all are hazards when wading.... the greatest hazard in warm water wading is a particularl infection that every wader should research and understand. There's a particular bacteria that's in all warm salt or brackish waters - the short name is "vibrio". Any cut or wound in warm water can generate a vibrio infection. Here's the deal to remember. If you come up with the slightest infection from a break in the skin keep a very close eye on it. Any sign that it's progressing (inflamed area growing.... despite treatment) then get to an emergency room NOW.... Ask the treating physician to check for vibrio. If they find it they'll know how to treat it. The problem is that it can progress so quickly that you can lose a limb in just a day or two.... Delay in treatment can be life threatening (google up vibrio intection for the particulars...). Popular press usually labels these kind of infections "flesh eating". The problem with vibrio is that it can multiply so quickly that it overwhelms your normal defenses. A vibrio infection is a particular problem along the Gulf coast in warm seasons.... No, a vibrio infection is not very common - but you should be aware of the possibility any time you're wading in warm waters....

The big fish are in the interior of the 'Glades now but they will disappear the moment the water temps drop like they have this past weekend. I'm back on the water on Wednesday and we'll be hunting them. Should have lots of night time tarps at the end of this week as well - these are the smaller fish that average 20 t0 40 lbs but are right at the surface hanging in the shadows under bridges.... Last Thursday and Friday we had shots at fish up to 100lbs in rivers that were sometimes less than 100 feet wide back in the 'Glades - but all had lockjaw (water temps were borderline and they just weren't doing anything but trying to stay warm..).. Since I finally have fly anglers for the end of the week night trips I should have some pics to post by the weekend.... Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

If you don't come up with anyone on this forum.... try posting your question here.... http://forums.floridasportsman.com/forumdisplay.php?191-On-the-Fly Good luck, hope you have a great trip

Down here in south Florida peacocks are fairly common (once you get away from all the suburbs and planned communities...). Those birds are the noisiest things. I'm sure more than one homeowner living near a bunch of them has considered taking up the shooting sports (and not for the feathers)....

I use quite a few different small glass minnow flies (most are meant to mimic bay anchovies). They're rarely any larger that 1/0 - the vast majority are #4 or #2 bugs. Here's one or two.... The first is my version of Norm Ziegler's Crystal Schminnow... the second is just called the Gold Bug and it's one of my own patterns... The first pic is in size #2 -note the wire weedguard... The next four pics are in size 1/0 from an order I did for my local shop (they use them in the surf, hence the larger size....). I couldn't find a picture of the Gold bug so I'll have to do one and attach it later... Hope this helps... Tight Lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

I use circle hooks extensively for big tarpon -when we're live baiting them (and we're using premium Owner SSW circles or Gamakatsu octopus circles). Nothing works better for that purpose in my opinion. Circle hooks for fly tying? That's a solution in search of a problem.... I've yet to find any advantage in their use in that capacity (and I've done some work in that area). No circle hooks on any of my flies.... Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

Sure do look like small tarps... and if the water temps are 72 there year 'round -that's probably the thing that drew them there. Tarpon are happy as clams all the up into freshwater so that might account for them being there as well. Blue Springs is a long, long (four hour) drive from Miami so I'm not likely to visit... but seeing those fish might just give me the incentive. Don't tell me it's probably a "no fishing" area....

Here's one bug I've had some success with... It's called the Swamp Rabbit and I do it in all the colors shown. I normally get asked to tie them in size 2/0 but it's also a great laid up tarpon pattern in larger sizes. The hook is an Owner Aki (Aki is Japanese for yellowfin tuna, so it's a pretty stout hook.).. Here's the tying sequence from an article I did....http://www.flyfishinsalt.com/techniques/fly-recipies/swamp-rabbit Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666

For Andrew.... that fish looks to be between 30 and 40lbs (tough to tell without a bit more background for comparison). That size fish will give you all you can stand from a kayak - great catch! For Kudu... I'm not familiar with him at all (but I'm on the other side of the state...). can't tell you how many guides I've seen come and go in the last 15 or 16 years so he may well not be guiding any more. The best way to track him down is the fly shop on Sanibel (there's only one there - can't remember it's name...). If anyone knows the local shops are your best bet.... By the way some of the very best guides can be very hard to contact since they don't advertise at all and may actually be booked years in advance... that's not ever likely to be my problem... For Peter... and anyone else with the tarpon itch - tarpon season is different in different places. Down in the Keys March is very early... April though June is prime time. Homosassa and similar places things don't get going until May or later. In my area (south Florida including the Everglades) we're in fish now... babies locally at night (fish averaging 20 - 40lbs all winter long now that the shrimp are moving) and big fish in the interior of the 'Glades as long as it's mild.... My last day on the water a few days ago we had legit shots at fish up to and over 100lbs in Whitewater Bay where they lay up and loaf this time of year... Of course if a cold front comes through they're gone overnight (and won't come back until it warms up a bit...). Toward the end of summer each year we also get a second season with really big fish from the end of August until the third week of October as well.... That's my favorite time even if it is hurricane season and it's so hot that it feels like the Amazon... Glad y'all enjoyed the pics - they're from 2008. Each year I do lots of fish pics to add to reports....

Amen....