A report from SteveL
SteveT is on his yearly winter visit to the islands and on my tip, he spent the last three days fishing Area X and has been doing quite well.
However on Saturday we fished together on a falling tide which plunged from one foot at noon to zero in the evening. It was not a prime weather day; overcast with an occasional drizzle and blustery winds. I’m glad I put on a raincoat. It got a little chilly standing in that wind for five hours but the fishing here was great! The storm that rolled through the state for most of last week must have left these fish hungry.
So here’s the count so far:
Thursday--seven hookups with six landed,
Friday--six hookups and five landed
Saturday (between the two of us)--ten hookups and seven landed. The largest two fish were about six-pounds, with most in the others in the two to three pound range.
SteveT was using his Monic clear line and a short 6 foot leader. I was using my regular WF-10-F tan line with 12-feet of leader. We’ve been upping our leaders to 20 and 25 pound test. I’ve lost the majority of my fish to broken leaders of lesser poundage.
SteveT’s fish (photo above) gave him a fight. As he was fighting it he complained that his arm ached after fighting all these fish for the last three days. I just couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for him.
More fish stories: A couple of weeks ago I went out with EricW in the same area and he latched into a big fish only to have it snap his fly line! Apparently the line coiled around his reel seat as the fish made its run and cut the line.
It’s been incredible action. Wish you were here!
EQUIPMENT: We use 7 to 10-weight rods rigged with floating line and flies from size 2 to 8. You must be able to cast in high wind because it can really blow on the flats. Trade winds can gust from 15-20 mph with some gusts approaching 30 mph. You've got to have the proper equipment and the technical know-how to lay that line out there in high wind.
