Moving to Central Florida!

[Avbryce1 0]

I'm moving back to central Florida. I've been fly fishing most my life but always Freshwater. Any tips on making the transition to salt I'll mostly be fishing inshore and surf.

[agn54 0]

which coast will you be fishing? The Atlantic can be quite different from the gulf side.

[FlaFly 0]

You'll find that freshwater species are limited, basically to largemouth bass, black crappies and Bluegills and other bream. Most people, at least those that live near the coast, fly fish in salt water, and there are some good local fishing and tying clubs. In central Florida (non coastal) there are a great many lakes, and many of them good for fishing.

Fly fishing shops are severely limited... only a couple in the Tampa area, and they lean to saltwater. The big stores like BPS and Dicks, etc., tend to carry almost no freshwater tackle.

Once you get settled in Florida, you need to get a cabin in NC, where they have good freshwater fish variety.

 

I'm from both places BTW. Good luck.

[mikechell 0]

AVBryce1 ... Let me know when you are in the area. I live in Deltona, but am willing to travel anywhere in the Central Florida area to fish. I am a fresh water guy. There might be, as FlaFly says, less variety here, but fly fishing here is a blast. There's almost always something on a breeding or feeding cycle.

I have a small boat, and am willing to go fishing anytime I can. When you're ready, we can go do some fishing.

[FlaFly 0]

Mike's right... biologically speaking, we don't have a winter. Our seasons, in terms of affecting aquatic life, are rainy and non-rainy. Being right on the edge of the tropics, the sun is virtually straight overhead during the summer, and not that far down even in the winter, thus aquatic plant growth is pretty much constant, and provides a lot of habitat for insects and/or their larvae, and a haunt for feeding fish. I haven't used live bait for over 40 years, and like Mike, fish principally in freshwater, either fly or ultralight. I think you'll find lots of fishing. Plus if you lean toward salt water, you'll find the subtropics have much higher species diversity than farther northern climes.

[ditz2 0]

The bass and gills are bigger down there. just watch out for the gators. ....If you tie get some craft foam ( yellow ) and make up some size 8 or 10 floating spiders. Some weighted and unweighted wooly worms or wooly buggers in 6,8 10 in light colors and dark colors and you will be ready for the gills. White wooly buggers or pearl schminnows for crappie. Many of the salt water fly patterns will work great on bass.

 

Salt is not a lot different. One of the most important details is to rinse your tackle very well after being exposed to the salt. Including the line

[Peterjay 0]

One of the most important details is to rinse your tackle very well after being exposed to the salt.

Good advice from a pro. Ditz always rinses off his rod after exposing it at the beach.

[FlaFly 0]

I always disassembled my reels and rinsed well after using them in saltwater, and regreased them (spinning and baitcasting). I had a friend who never rinsed anything, and his equipment rapidly corroded so that it was useless. your tackle deserves to be cared for after all the joy it brings you.

[ditz2 0]

A good rinse will help stave off the creeping crud.....er ..oxidation.