iFly

Thats one hell of an underdressed fly you caught him with! All the feathers came off during the fight. See those teeth?

Got out to some reefs yesterday...

Im like Kirk. I have a 5, 7, and 9 wt rod and I have landed reds on each one. I prefer the 7 but find myself throwing the 9wt more because of wind and bigger flies in the summer. Ive only caught smaller reds on my 5wt. Small as in under 20". You should be fine with the 7 for 95% of the redfish you will find. Atleast that's what I have found in my area.

Thanks for the details ditz. Ill have to try it out soon. Im like you, i used to color the beadchains black but like on this shrimp I didnt. I dont think the fish care much if at all. Peterjay- Like said before, I'm not a pro (by far). Your tips like using pliers for the clinch knots on a bimini or albright will be used. I hope I didnt come across as a "know-it-all" or similar. I appreciate your tips and tricks.

Thanks for the compliments guys. Haha, and actually PeterJay I've been playing the salt game for years. The reason why I thought it was a curse was because the knots that I've been losing them on in the last month more are the same knots that I've landed countless fish on over the years. I use the albright and bimini exclusively on my set ups. You're definately right about everything you said though. I've made the careless mistakes plenty of times...old line, frayed line, bad knots, not tightening them enough, setting the hook the wrong way after going on vacation and fishing streams for trout, the list goes on. Thanks for taking the time to type that. Im not a pro so I'll still be able to apply the info. Same goes to Kirk for the tips. Ditz, do you have any pictures of the fly? I think I get the jist of what you're saying but Im picturing it looking more like a baitfish.

since I've done some saltwater tying. I havent had great success with the fly rod lately either. Im almost positive Im cursed considering how many mess ups and break offs I've had in the last month or so. Most recently I managed to break off easily one of the biggest tailing redfish I've ever seen. Dont know how it happened. Had him on for about 45 seconds on the 9wt and then broke the line at the fly knot. He would have been my biggest on the fly for sure. But thats enough talking....heres some of the salttwater flies I tied recently and the other flies that have been taking up my time (sorry for the low quality pictures, I should have picked something different to put them on so you can see the fly better).... Mad Mikes Mud Minnow Borski Shrimp Hopper Wooly Buggers Scud

This is the reason I like this forum so much....there are members from all over the world. Welcome to the forums! If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask. Make sure to post in the saltwater forum. Thats where i concentrate most of my usage on here. There are some great patterns on this site and you dont have to look hard!

Blackened with lemon Flounder fillets. Yum!

Those are awesome! I wish i could get mine to look that nice!

NIce flies again! Keep up the good work. Lookin forward to seein em with fish. Good luck!

Hook: Gamakatsu SC-15 1/0 Flash: copper flashabou and krystal flash- lots of it Zonker strip: color of choice Body: wrap shank with copper chenile, then palmer schlappen feather Weight: any dumbell or beadchain I can do a SBS on it if theres interest. But it may take a few days.

Here ya go bluegill....if you need a materials list just ask!

Thanks! ny, sounds like a deal. haha

Thanks guys, Kirk, I use both a 7wt and 9wt for redfish-the 9wt is what gets used 70% of the time and is in the video. I make my tippet out of 3ft of 50lb, 3ft of 40lb, and 2ft of 20lb (all mono). Its a heavy leader for reds but you have to be able to keep them away from the oysters in the narrow creeks like that so I generally use the 9wt when in plaecs where I really need to control the fish-if needed. The red that took me to the backing was right at 28". It was in the 8-9lb range for sure. The skiff is a Mitzi 15 1/2'. Gets a little bumpy on the Intracoastal in high winds but its a nice boat.

This was the latest outing that my friend and I made after school...you might notice that we're muddy and our shorts are wet; thats because we helped another boater get their flats boat unstuck from a flat (not fun). By the way, when I got into the backing...lets just say i was a "little" excited. Haha

Lovin the flies! Might have to try some soon. Good tie, Kirk

Thanks for clarifying Piker, and thanks for the link Jolly. Ill make sure to bring my scale next time.

Thanks for the input. That fish was super fat. Personally i think it had to way 15+ lbs. Iroc, it had what looked like one row of scales on each side by the dorsal fins...does this mean anything?

Caught this carp today and would like to see what people who catch them regularly would say about how much it weighs (if that makes sense...). Not on a fly rod...but goly did it fight well on my spinning rod with 8lb test leader. size 12 shoe for reference....

I didnt see this either till today. He will be missed for sure! I looked forward to watching his show. Loved his boats too!

I also have the Wilderness RIde 135 but its not the new model like JS's. I live on the coast of SC and I stand in mine comfortably to sight fish for redfish. The thing i like about kayaks is the ease of what you can do to make them your own. I have an anchor trolley and 3 adjustable Scotty rodholders (which hold a fly rod) that pop out. When fly fishing, i just take the foot rests out and take the rodholder off thats located in front of me and theres nothing to get hung on when trying to cast. Im also a hunter and i duck hunt out of my Ride and do not have to worry about the stability when shooting from it. On another note, my friend has a Freedom Hawk 12 which is super heavy for what it is. But its very stable when you put the "wings" out. But with weight and the "lack" of hydrodynamacy i can paddle circles around him in my Ride. Another thing to keep in mind is generally the longer the kayak is the faster it is and the better it tracks. When i say "tracking" it refers to when you are paddling in a straight line basically....the longer kayaks will stay in a straighter line compared to a short kayak which likes to veer in different directions when you paddle so there is much less correcting in a longer kayak. If you go with a shorter (12-) you can also look at a rudder system which helps with tracking, and when drifting you can adjust it to keep you pointed at a certain spot i.e...hope this helps.

Im not much help cause im like you, but id also like to get into spey casting....from my limited knowlege on this....skagit lines (not sure about scandi) are shooting heads that you attach to a running line for spey casting. See? I dont know much. (haha) I am fascinated though by the spey casting techniques and would love to learn more so hopefully someone that knows their stuff will come along.....