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Fly Tying

John Franklin

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About John Franklin

  • Rank
    Bait Fisherman
  • Birthday 10/16/1971

Previous Fields

  • Favorite Species
    Snook
  • Security
    2007

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
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Profile Information

  • Location
    Port Saint Lucie, Fl
  1. Anyone else hear of potential fish kills? I'm late here, but just in case y'all haven't already heard: Peacock and other exotics were effectively wiped out in the northern part of their range, which was as far upstate as the Lake Ida- Lake Osborne area in Palm Beach County. The kill extended south thru nearly all of Broward County west of Fort Lauderdale, although there was some survival in Pembroke Pines and Miramar nearer to the Miami-Dade county line. As you go further south in western Miami-Dade the survival rate improves although it's better in some lakes and canals than in others. In places where I used to be confident of finding peacock almost always, they still appear but sporadically. The further south you go, the better the survival rate. We'll probably need a few mild winters before we see a lot of recovery--probably longer in the northern portion of the peacock range. One effect of the chill is that my good friend Alan Zaremba, the leading peacock guide ([email protected]), has had to increase his own range from peacock fishing on the suburban canals to include largemouth bass in the Everglades. He's great at finding both, which tend to inhabit the same kind of waters and cover. As for flies, Alan relies mostly on Clousers. It's true that a Dahlberg Diver can be effective when fish are close to the surface. A better choice (I think) is a yellow Zoo Cougar, a large streamer with a deer hair head that Kelly Galloup created for brown trout. I add a weed guard and fish it on a floating line with clear 10-foot sinktip, so it goes 'ploop' and dives. Peacocks and largemouth both go for a #4 or 6 Glades minnow fly with a shiny stripe; orange not necessary. A 7-weight rig is on the high side. A 6 is ample. I usually fish for them with 4 and 5-weights, and if I owned a 3 I would use that. Someone mentioned that a little orange is a good thing, and it is, no matter what the fly. Also use Krystal Flash and/or Flashabou quite liberally in combinations of copper, gold, dark green and red-- lots of glitter. My favorite for peacock resembles a woolhead sculpin with a few turns of lead wire to enable a very slow sink. If you can include a small glass rattle, that's even better because peacocks are attracted to noise. The population's inconsistency being what it is for the short term future, don't feel guilty about bringing spinning or bait casting tackle as a backup. Small Rapalas, Heddon Torpedoes and Rat-L-Traps (with and without attached spinner) are dependable plugs. Peacocks very seldom go for soft plastics, but it's good to have some if you must revert to bass. In answer to the query about the Miami airport lakes, yes there's been some survival there and in the Tamiami Canal network that flows from it. It's not unusual to find snook in these waters too, and occasionally small tarpon. Any idea how they made out with these record temperature drops? I haven't heard anything about fish kills up by me this year (Port Saint Lucie) I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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