Flies for Florida (Salt and Freshwater)

[danthebugman 0]

This summer I'm heading to Florida for family vacation.  We've got an Airbnb booked that is right on a canal in the Cape Coral area.  My son and I are super excited about having easy access to water!  I'm planning on spending some time over the next few months filling some fly boxes for the trip and am looking for advice on what to tie.  So far I'm thinking:

Clouser Minnows

EP Shrimp

Foam Gurglers

EP bait fish of some sort

Is there anything that I should make sure to tie?  What colors would be your go to for the south Florida area?  Also what sizes should I tie these in?

[Chasing_Tails 0]

Your listed flies fit most situations. Maybe add the following:

Schiminnow, white

Merkin crabs, brown/tan

Bendback minnows (if fishing grass flats)

Bigger question is what kind of fishing are you going to be doing? Shore bound, kayak, boat, and what species you may want to target? 

The thing with Florida is that you can fish an entire month and never cover the same environment twice.

[zip 0]

Agree with the above. Those are going to be your winner patterns for the salt, but always look to see what critters are going to be in and out of the areas your fishing. Shrimp patterns are always good to have .

As far as FW is concerned, you can fish just about anything! Topwater poppers are always going to produce bass and bluegill. Small baitfish patterns will catch you any number of exotic cichlids. I like white and chartreuse best and the fish do too! Can vary things in all sizes.

[Guest]

I have no experience in that area but am told the GoldenGateCanal is loaded with peacock bass and prolly Mayan cichlids and feather backs too.  I had better luck with baitfish patterns rather than surface poppers and never figured out how to catch the clown knives on a bug.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mikechell 0]

Call the airbnb, just to be sure.  "Right on the canal" and "access to the canal" are not mutually inclusive.  For liability reasons, many places are fenced off from water access.

Good luck, I hope you have access, and that you catch a memory of a lifetime there.

[utyer 0]

Your list of flies is a good start.  Add some Schminnows in White, and your set.  A schminnow is nothing more than a woolly bugger with a pearlescent crystal flash body and a white tail.  Hackle is seldom used.  

Clouser Minnows Tan or Chartreuse over white.  

EP Shrimp: tan is usually good.  

Foam Gurglers in White.  

EP bait fish of some sort Light green, tan and white.  

I would say that 80% of all my flies are white.  or pearlescent.  Since I keep catching every kind of fish on white flies, I really scaled back on colors.  

For peacock bass, flies with orange or chartreuse are popular options.  

[danthebugman 0]

Thanks for the suggestions! I got my order of saltwater hooks in this past weekend. Just gotta pick up a few supplies from the fly shop this next weekend and then I'm going to start tying. The Schminnow isn't a pattern I was familiar with, but it looks super simple which is right up my alley 😁.

[danthebugman 0]

On 3/8/2021 at 9:17 PM, Chasing_Tails said:

Bigger question is what kind of fishing are you going to be doing? Shore bound, kayak, boat, and what species you may want to target?

We'll probably be shore bound most of the time though my wife has been looking into renting some kayaks for the week so that could expand our fishing options. As for target species I'm not picky...whatever is biting! I wouldn't mind some peacock bass, but it seems they might be more towards the other coast. Also some oscar or other large ciclids would be cool, but I'm not picky. I would also like to get out to the beach for a day or two.

[Guest]

The pic is baby peacocks/bait fish.  Been down South Fla few times so limited on info.   You can browse around the WW section for more of my stuff for ideas.   I don’t invade the salty section anymore.

 

 

 

[Guest]

On 3/15/2021 at 10:42 PM, denduke said:

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Oops, I spilled the live shrimp bucket...For what it’s worth 2 pics of the table at Orvis shop Key West

Me and DD was up your way, Dan, year before last.  Springfield at the BassPro extravaganza.  Wow!   Only trout fished in DogwoodCanyon but fished a few Ark tailwaters on the way up and back. 

 

 

 

 

[Bimini15 0]

Late to this party, but here is my 2 cents...

If you are mostly shore bound, and you are going to go after exotics, tie some oversized good ole pheasant tail and damsel nymphs. You might be surprised by good bass falling for those as well. I would also add some yellow gurglers to that, and some baby bass clousers to round up the freshwater selection.

I am pretty rusty on the saltwater stuff, and I am on the other coast, but what UTyer said worked well for me in the past. I would only add some pink to the mix.
 

Make sure to let us know how it goes!

[caloosa bug 0]

 I’ve never fished the canals of Cape Coral, but have fished all around pine island quite a few times. Always by boat or from the matlache bridge, or a dock where we used to stay in bokeelia. Plenty reds, trout, snapper, and snook in them waters. Kayaking would open up some awesome grass flats and mangrove shorelines. Oddly enough, I’ve never fished around there with a fly rod and it’s been a few years, so I wouldn’t be much help there. Heck, it wouldn’t surprise me if the canals had Mayans and tilapia. Sanibel is a close drive and stop in Norm Ziegler’s fly shop should point you in the direction of nearby fish from the beach.
 I’m 64 miles from Cape Coral, but I mostly fish my local freshwater  in Lake okeechobee and the far eastern portion of the caloosahatchee river. Summertime usually means big bluegills on beds around here.   Let us know how it goes. ..

edit here are a few of my favorites here inland..personally, I never cared for the “EP” only patterns. I’ve done really well with my zonker tail, chenille body, with flash and ep tied in front combed back.  Don’t forget some spiders or small terrestrial patterns..they can pull fish out of any puddle or ditch in fla.

[jcozzz 0]

Are there grass shrimp in the canals?I fished Okeechobee sevral times years ago and the surrounding canals.When we took a break from bass we used grass shrimp and anything that looked like em for red ears and crappies.They were eaten instantly.We also caught oscars and some baby tarpon on them.I have not been down there in long time.Also fished the intercoastal near Stuart,wading the mangroves,caught my only saltwater fish  on a fly rod using some sort of shrimp fly.Snook mangrove snappers and some fish we never identified,

[skeet3t 0]

Grass shrimp are deadly.  I found some in a pond in central KY. Bluegill hit it as soon as it hit the water.

Interesting thread. Never fished the canals but you are motivating me to try it. Have some family in the North Miami area.

[primeflycompany 0]

I would definitely tie up some 239 Flies Megalolipops (tan/pink, chartruese/olive) and some Backwater Fly FC Pinfish.