dafack01

You're welcome! MDI is amazing and you'll have a blast regardless. Any creek you find will have Brook Trout and they'll hit anything. Just be somewhat stealthy. You don't need to get all army commando but don't stomp around either. I just fished for Brook Trout the second time I was there and had a blast. Have fun!

The 1/0's are on top and the #2's on bottom.

I've been to Bar Harbor a couple times and have looked into this very thing. Unfortunately there's not much. I've heard conflicting things about stripers. The people I've talked to all say that there used to be but now there's nothing there except lobster and mackerel. I've found a couple internet reports saying that there's a few here and there. There's no, or very few, guides in the area, which may be telling. Most of the Maine guides are down in southern Maine, but your best bet for a guide in the immediate area might be to look for guides around Ellsworth on the mainland. Or just drive an hour or two down south a bit if you really want some Stripers. There's plenty in south Maine.

There's plenty of freshwater fishing though on MDI. Mainly bass and bluegill in all of the ponds. Trout and in some cases landlocked salmon either deep, early in the season, or late in the season.

All of the creeks on the island are chock full of Brook Trout. They're small but really fun to catch and very beautiful. They're not picky either.

Thanks Islander!

I tied up some #2's last night and they ended up about 1/2" smaller than the 1/0's. Can't post pictures until later because Flickr "updated" and won't copy the img tag on an iPhone anymore.

Bob, after thinking back to when I bought the hooks a couple weeks ago I'm almost positive now that they're 1/0 because that was my exact line of thinking. I've tied some of the shrimp up in #2 already and plan to do so with the mullet/mud minnow looking guy as well.

They look good to me too!

 

As far as your comment about dubbing around the heads, you certainly could have done that, or a few wraps of Estaz or similar material would have been fine too. I like a little extra flash in some of mine.

 

Or, do just as you've done. They'll catch fish, that's for certain.

Thanks Bob! For the the baitfish and the two shrimp I (think) I used 1/0 hooks (if it's not 1/0 I used #1's) and I used a #2 for the fiddler crab.

Been busy at the bench to stock up my fly boxes. Don't have a lot of time at any one time so I pick them off a couple at a time. First up is something I conjured up. I've always loved woolly buggers and the infinite variations you can tie of them. They look like nothing in particular, yet they can pass for just about anything. The fly fisherman's version of a tube jig or other soft plastic. You can tie them with any material you like, with a bead head, a cone head, add rubber legs, tie them big, tie them small, whatever. They'll all catch fish. I like tying them with dumbbell eyes to have them ride hook up but I've always thought they looked goofy when tied with dumbbell eyes. My hunch is that I'm being picky and that the fish don't care but to satisfy my OCD I tied this thing up. I used marabou for the tail and 4 strands of pearl krystal flash, a pre-made EP shrimp dub brush in Pearl to dub the body, dumbbell eyes, and then I made a dubbing brush and dubbed around the dumbbell eyes with white sculpin wool. Guess I could've tried dubbing around the head with the EP shrimp dub brush but I thought that might use up too much of the pre-made brush. It looks better to me and once wet I don't think the sculpin wool will affect the sink rate any. It might even help push a bit more water, but whether it would be enough to affect how a fish sensed it I have no clue. We'll see when we get on the water!

Anyone have any experience with these? This is essentially what I would end up with if I do the "home brew" route, and at a price I'm actually willing to pay.

http://www.perfectflystore.com/boat-fly-box.html

They're gone already.

What foam do you use? I'm thinking about getting a big clear Plano box for cheap and gluing some foam in it that I pre-slit with a box cutter. Just don't know what foam to use. Polyethylene foam like the stuff used on pool noodles and pipe insulation?

I dig it. I'll have to do that. The price of some of those boxes is a bit unnerving!

What are some good saltwater fly boxes? I need some new ones.

What kind of saddles do you use? That looks like it would be a good inshore redfish fly if tied 4-5" long. Does it ride hook point down?

Seaducers I assume? I need to tie some up and try them sometime.

Thanks Mike! It feels good to be back fly fishing. Still pumped about that Brook Trout! That's one thing off of my bucket list!

 

 

IMO, you are overthinking this!

 

 

I tend to do that! (Insert smiley here but I'm on an iPhone and can't figure out how to insert)

I'll just leave well enough alone and save the sink tip for if/when I ever decide to fish some bridges in current for Stripers.

When I lived in Kentucky I caught a lot of them on big woolly buggers. It's hard to beat a good wooly bugger. They look like nothing...yet can pass for just about anything. I wouldn't go bass fishing, largemouth or smallmouth, without a box full of wooly buggers. It's the tube jig of the fly fishing world.

I won't be able to see my line anyways if/when using a sinking line. The water in the marshes here in SE Georgia is too muddy. Even in winter when the water is clear you can really only see down to 5 feet or so.

How deep do you all fish a floating line? Am I just making much ado about nothing?

If I end up getting a sinking line of some sort, the thing that will be driving my decision is that many times I don't have the luxury of being able to wait for the fly to sink. In a kayak you just can't control your boat and fish at the same time so I'll need to get my fly to depth quicker than an inch or two per second. If I ever get around to trying to catch a Striper around here I'll definitely need a decently quick sinking line to get my fly down around some of the bridges they like to hang around.

I'm used to fishing jigs on the bottom, so that's what has me wondering about sink tips. Use a sink tip for when the tide is up and switch to a floater in skinny water. Just don't know how worth it it would be.

It would help me consolidate how many flies I need, preventing me from having to tie clousers with huge dumbbell eyes to get down. Might even give my flies better action.

Does anyone around here use sink tips in saltwater? I live around Savannah, Georgia and sometimes I'll be fishing 5' -10' deep for Reds and Trout (depending on the tides, of course) and I'm wondering if sink tips might be more effective than floating lines and weighted flies.

Also, how hard would fishing a sink tip be out of a kayak?

It's been a while since I've fished and even longer since I've posted. Until this past June it's been a good year and a half since I'd been fishing. The reason? I bought a house, renovated the house, and am now am the proud father of a 5 month old baby boy! He's sure keeping me busy these days. Can't wait to take him fishing here in a couple years.

Seeing that it had been entirely too long since I'd fished I finally got out a couple times in June. Hit the flats for tailing Redfish one day without seeing any Reds and hit the tidal creeks a couple weeks later. The area I hit the second time changed quite a bit in the 3 years since I'd fished it last so I didn't have much luck (need to figure it back out). I did manage one small flounder on a black clouser though.

I had to work off some rust on those trips because my wife is from Newfoundland and we decided to go up for a couple weeks over the 4th of July week. Seeing that you trip over ponds and creeks everywhere you walk in that province I had to bring my rods and sneak out occasionally. My first morning fishing I hit the Waterford River in St. John's for some Brown trout. It has a good run of big sea run brown trout but they weren't in season so this time of year you're mainly fishing for smallish trout. I missed a couple 12"+ fish but did manage to catch a bunch up to 8" on nymphs and small wooly buggers.

Next trip was with a friend of my father-in-law, who served as a free guide (schwing!) Salmon fishing. Newfoundland is full of native Atlantic Salmon so I couldn't go during salmon season and not go fishing. We vacationed with family on the Avalon Peninsula on the east coast around St. John's where the Salmon are smaller than the giants on Newfoundland's west coast but hey; a Salmon is a Salmon. Unfortunately the Salmon were REALLY late this year due to a cold June. We tried 2 different rivers with no luck before we finally found a few grilse on a third river but they weren't cooperating. We left and hit a spot to try for some sea-run Brook Trout before the tide got bad but only managed one little Brookie, caught by my guide. It was a beautiful day though and the scenery around the area was breathtaking. I had a lot of fun.

The next day, though, we went to St. Vincent's beach and saw some schools of capelin being hit in the surf. Too bad I didn't have my rod with me! (rofl)

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see Humpback Whales feeding in the surf. We watched them feed and breach for over an hour, just mesmerized. A couple days later I went with the same friend to a pond in St. John's and ended up in the middle of a midge hatch and caught a bunch of these guys.

The fishing highlight of the trip happened the last day though. In St. John's all of the ponds are full of non-native Brown trout. One bucket list fish for me though is a big Brook Trout. I love Brookies so any chance I get to catch some I have to take advantage. I've caught some Brook trout in the past in the Michigan UP and Maine around Bar Harbor but they were little guys between 2 and 6 inches caught in small streams where a 10 inch fish would be absolutely massive. Labrador gets some truly huge Brookies (8+ pounds). Newfoundland's Brookies don't get quite that big but they do get quite a bit bigger there than most places in the States. Luckily about 30 minutes from St. John's there's a wilderness area, that looks like barren arctic tundra due to the terrible weather in the area, that has loads of ponds full of Brook Trout. I went out at dawn and tied on a flashy pearl/white 3" beadhead wooly bugger looking streamer called a Sparkleminnow on a #2 saltwater hook and one ended up cooperating. It ended up about 16 inches long which is easily my personal best Brookie by about 10 inches. It was surreal seeing a Brook Trout that big on the end of my line! Never thought I would catch a Brook Trout on a saltwater streamer either.

I'm now re-energized to get back in the groove. This was an amazing trip, both fishing and non-fishing. I need to get back to the bench and re-stock my fly box and find time to get out on the water. Can't wait to get back into some Reds! We're getting into the summer doldrums here around Savannah but the fall is just around the corner. Can't wait for the flood tides so I can chase the tailing Reds again!

When are you going? I used to live a few minutes away on Wilmington Island but live a bit over an hour away in Statesboro now.

No idea on guides but there are quite a few in the area with many of them accommodating of fly anglers (some of which are fly specific if you google as such). Lots of fly fishing around if you get a guide or have a boat.

October is the hot month for Bull Reds on the beach (they get 40"+). If you're half crazy you could take a 10 or 12 weight, big flies, and an intermediate sinking line of some sort and fish the surf, in or just past the breakers, on the northwestern tip of Tybee (the corner where the top meets the backside of the island). The easier way is to get a surf rod, some cut mullet, and hit the pier. Though you can catch them any time the best fishing is early, late, or during really crappy weather.

I know of another spot where you can fish from shore with conventional or fly tackle and catch trout (speckled trout).

Recommendations change a bit if you're going earlier or later. Let me know exactly when you're going and I'll be glad to help if I can.

On almost every fly reel sold you have an infinite drag adjustment called a palming rim

 

Amen

 

I have done a lot of maintenance on baitcasting reels and uasually bearings can be replaced. You might want to contact orvis to see if they have a replacement. And if not see if you can get the size of the bearing and look at places like boca bearings to see if they have that size. I think the only reason you would need a mid range drag/reel is if you were CONSTANTLY targeting fish with speed like bones or barracuda. Most low to mid range reels are sufficiantly functional for the majority of fishing most people do.

I have also been looking at albright reels.

They look nice.

Although, if I were a millionare I would buy a ross.

I cannot for the life of me figure out how the Battenkill Mid Arbor completely comes apart. I've tried and tried and tried and tried but cannot figure it out. When I called Orvis about replacing it they wanted (I forget exactly) $80 or more to replace the darn thing.

1) if the reel works, just use it.

 

2) Look at Albright before spending hundreds on a single action fly reel.

 

3) Read some history of salt water fly fishing- Before we were all TOLD we needed to spend truckloads of money on super-wonderous fly line holders, people did just fine with what they had.

 

I haven't made my living salt-water fly fishing, but I have done a bit of it. I simply can not afford to spend $200 on a reel of any type. All the big fish I've lost were NOT lost due to the reel. The big fish I've caught (I realize 'big' is a relative term) were not landed due solely to the reel. I used Cabela's Prestige Plus reels in the salt, and never had a problem. They're $40 reels I think. Wash them in warm fresh water every night, judiciously apply a little grease, and you'll be fine.

 

In my opinion, and in my limited experience, a million dollar drag is HUGELY overrated as a selling point. On almost every fly reel sold you have an infinite drag adjustment called a palming rim. If a fish has an entire fly line out, it is "dragging" a large resistance just in the line itself, if it is up close and and makes a sudden lunge, the last thing you want is a heavy drag. With things like Tarpon and billfish, certainly one needs more mechanical advantage.

 

If you haven't already, I strongly suggest reading about fly reels in Lefty Kreh's "Fly Fishing In Salt Water". Yes it's a bit dated but he lays it on the line from the point of view of someone who has caught more salt water fish than most of us ever will.

 

If someone can afford $3-$4-$500 and more dollars for a reel, great, more power to 'em. Don't let it hold you back if you can't. I want my reels I use in saltwater to be built like a Glock or an AK; if I accidentally drop it in the sand, I want to be able to shake the sand out and keep going.

My thoughts exactly. I don't need an uber strong drag. I'm fishing for Redfish, not Blackfin Tuna. I've pretty much eliminated expensive reels and am back to the sub $150 category. I'll just be anal retentive about caring for it this time.

I have used a Battenkill mid arbor on one of my saltwater rods for years without any issues. I am very strict about rinsing it after every use, though, so I attribute its longevity to keeping the salt off of and out of it. I imagine that if you get another Battenkill and take care of it, it will last you a long time.

That's good to hear! I really don't want to spend money that I don't have to. I refuse to buy something expensive just because. There are plenty of other things I can put my money towards (like paying my car off early). I just want the best reel for my money that will give me years of service with careful maintenance.