Mudskimmer

I will second that. I dont have much or any experience in the catching, but that first 30-60 seconds is the best bite in fly fishing IMHO, bar none. I have been lucky enough to catch a bunch of salty denizens but nothing has come close to my lone tarpon hookup to date--I nearly passed out. Good thing they arent around all year or I would be up to my neck in child support.

Thanks Guys. PJ, that rookie tarpon thread sure seemed to wake folks up around here, me included. Nice to get back to some tieing even if these offspring wont see the water for another 5 months.

I got a very basic beginner question. Are these eyes tied on as an individual mono stem per eye or as a pair of eyes on the same mono stem? Thanks!

So, I tried to dig up some fly patterns that may have been used years ago for tarpon in places like Casa Mar on the Rio Colorado in Costa Rica where there are deep swift and turbid waters. These jungle rivers have some similarities to where I fish except ofcourse we have no monkeys on the ES of VA. Plenty of other colorful fauna though! Found some whistler-like and seaducer-like patterns so I came up with the following. I lack the artistry of others that frequent this site but nothing ventured nothing gained. My primary goal was to get something dark, with some bulk, that could pulsate and push some water. Couldnt decide on what to use for the collar (hackle, maribou, or rabbit) so i used all three. BTW, anyone know how the color red became so prominent in some of these patterns (especially red and black and red and white) since red is the first color to fade with increasing depth? Early on in my fish bio career we used red scuba tanks so fish wouldnt notice us!! Maybe its because after a few feet it looks black which every fish seems to like.

Hey, that is another cool one. Are there any instructions posted out in web world on that one or something similar?

PJ, to steal a line from J.J. Walker...those flies are dy-no-mite!!!

Ben, those flies are too pretty to throw at a lowly tarpon. Better keep those flies in the box. I really like that brownish toad at the top of your second set of pics. BTW, made some of your DIY fly boxes this weekend. Put together 4 for $25. They turned out great. Glad you posted the instructions on your blog.

Thanks for the compliments on fly No. 1. Well, it worked at least once. You are probably right about the worm hatch coming too soon but it might be worth a try. Funny thing about bait fishing over there. I tried that the first few years but didnt catch anything but sharks and every kind of ray imaginable. That place is filthy with sharks. It wasnt until i switched to fly gear that I got the bite I wanted.

I want to fish with Mike. I could man the catapult to launch the tarpon bomb. Come on D, where is your sense of adventure? Like anything else in the South it all starts with "Hold my beer…Hey y'all watch this", and besides Ben always brings the beer. I like the 'em Skimmer, where do you fish? And about the competition…Since you are way ahead of me (I've never hooked one), I have formulated a foolproof evil plan based on that rotten cheater mikechell…photoshop. After all this is the saltwater section, cheating is expected. I'll send my address where you can send my ill-gotten winnings. I am usually fishing the Potomac River and Ches. Bay but have saltwater fly fished from about Sandy Hook, NJ to the Outer Banks of NC. Those flies were for PJ's neck of the woods, just a bit south of where he is. Never used that worm fly. Just thought if tarpon like worms in FLA they might like them further north. For the tail, I just tied in a mono loop horizontally at the end of the hook, tied black zonker on top, trimmed hair off the straight part and applied Sally Hansen's hard as nails to stiffen it, glued the stiff piece to mono loop with super glue. Next added rabbit fur w/ dubbing loop, then couple wraps of chartreuse chenille, fiinished with chartreuse thread head.

I hate to hijack this thread with some tarpon flies (sorry I dont have a better camera) but here is what I have used in those turbid ES waters. The first is just a scraggly black tarpon bunny with extra long tail, some blue flash, heavy lead eyes, on a 4/0 Aki Hook. This is the fly I got my one hookup on and a couple of other bites. Fished this on a full sinking line so I was really dragging the bottom. Even got a weakfish or two on it. The second is my attempt at an EP baitfish and the third is a worm fly I want to try. I know we dont have the famed Palolo worms in these parts but there is a very similar worm over there I have seen when my prop has stirred up the mud. I will try and work on my tieing skills before the competition ends.

What tarpon? I'm good with secrets. Besides, I lost any shred of credibility I had with my fishing buds when I started fishing for them in the first place. A hundred pounder sounds great. Hell, I would take a fishless hot day in the sun at this point. 7 degrees right now, off to fire up the snowblower.

OK. I'll elaborate. Never fished for tarpon outside of Va. Started looking for them in 2009. Fished flies exclusively for them starting in 2011 and hooked up second day out that year. Got that one to the leader several times but after an hour and a half the shock tippet popped. I am guessing in the 60-80 lb range although it could have been more. Was fishing a good 10wt rod with a lousy reel so maybe that hurt my chances. Plenty of sightings and a couple near misses but no hookups since. So, I am anything but a ringer. I know what you mean about the locals. However, I did find the commercial fisherman to be very helpful (maybe it was the gas fumes at 430 in the morning that provided the truth serum) and I stumbled onto a couple of other spots by getting lost in the fog one day. I am probably better off as a spectator on this one. The pressure of a tournament cant possibly help my shaky casting!

PJ, Judging by the strict rules of this prestigious event, I am still a tarpon virgin having never grabbed one by the jaw yet, and here I have been celebrating my apparent tarpon success for years now. So, I guess that makes me eligible to participate. Or does the fact that I am a federal bureaucrat ensure my automatic disqualification? Nevertheless, I will be down your way in 5 months or so trying out an 11 wt one piece I am having built. We'll see how that goes.

Hey Capt. Bob, That is good info. I have been using the Seaguar Fluoro 80 lb material for my shocks and the Homer Rhode Loop Knot at the fly end. Others have told me the non-slip mono loop was better. Do you have a preferred shock to fly knot for the big tarpon? Thanks!

Looks like that would make a nice tarpon fly too, maybe a 2/0 version. I like it.

So far: Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Wyoming, Alaska Hopefully, The Glades for tarpon and the Northwest Territories for Arctic Char, otherwise I am content with the above list.

That's an efficient trip! Were those caught in the grass on flood tide? I hope to get in on some myself in the next week or two down on the lower Potomac. Tied up some spoon flies (I use the term loosely), clousers, and bendbacks (I'll make sure I include some pink). Been a very good year for puppies in the Mid-Atlantic.

Tidewater, That is often the case no matter who one fishes with. If i didnt enjoy the hype and the planning as much as the fishing, I'd probably take on a different pursuit. I have spent quite a few hours down that way chasing a different species only to find out that the fish showed up the following week. Whether you find em or not, the ES of Virginia is one of those last great places. Regarding suspicious types. I have had at least one very strange experience down that way that involved losing a prop, being towed in by an offshore racing boat by two guys that looked like federal agents that behaved like they didnt have any idea where they were, but that is a story for another day! Hope you get your red!

Peter, Nice pic. That one is really colored up! Wonder how long (late) those slot size fish will stick around the ES?

Bob, thanks for your thoughts on the water temp. Hope to get down your way some day. I only resorted to the fast sinking line when faced with big tides and lots of current and we were fishing in 15 to 40 feet. Yeah, some of these spots are that deep. Also, I have been anchored up and wanted to get in the strike zone quickly. Maybe that is not the best approach?? The rest of the time I was using the 2-2.5 ips intermediate lines. Peter, Yeah, I do tie in the mono loops but I have not glued the tails to them. Maybe that would help some too. Also, could be my casting shortcomings causing some of the fouling. I keep at it though! Thanks.

Bob, always enjoy reading your fishing reports and tips here and on other forums. First post for me on this board. I am another one of those VA guys tossing flies at our ghostly visitors up here. Had some success two years ago with a black tarpon bunny with lead eyes on a fast sinking line. I tried the tarpon snake this year. It looks great in the water, was easy to cast, and didn't foul nearly as much as the rabbit fly. Didnt find many fish rolling this year compared to the last few seasons but we had real cold water (low to mid 70s) during my weekly trip which is not typical for late summer in the Virginia marshes (usually the temp is in the low to mid 80s). Do you guys down south have much success in the cooler water temps? It has been a weird summer up here for us--more like fall.