I have had several very successful tarpon seasons over here on the East Coast recently so I have decided to try and catch some of these jumbos at the beach on fly from the kayak this year. This is the only venue I know of with experienced beachside kayak fly anglers that have targeted tarpon. So any advice that can be given would be appreciated, and any pitfalls to avoid. Two specific questions I have:
1. What fly lines work better off the beach, intermediate clear tips or full floating?
2. What fly patterns, colors, and sizes should I be looking at? Our tarpon genrally feed on pogies and all sizes of mullet, and are caught on croakers, pinfish, pogies, silver trout, mullet, and ribbon fish.
Any advice is welcomed
P.S. I will be using a 12 weight outfit.
Flyfishing Tarpon Advice
Flyfishing Tarpon Advice
If you're gunna be stupid, you gotta be tough!!
Re: Flyfishing Tarpon Advice
Noles would be a good person to ask.
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Re: Flyfishing Tarpon Advice
EZYLYF would be another to ask.
Re: Flyfishing Tarpon Advice
There are more experienced folks but I have caught beach tarpon on the fly out of a kayak so I'll throw in my 2 cents.
Since you are no newbie to tarpon fishing you know how to line up and spot fish. With bait, ain't no big deal. With fly it's a bit more challenging. Even a 5 knot wind can screw up your approach. Boat drift must be taken into account when lining up for a cast. Stripping a fly while your boat drifts into your strip is a pain in the ass and if you can avoid it do so. Problem with that is you will be casting into the breeze. Practice casting into the wind. Regardless, the fly has to seem to be fleeing the fish rather than running into it.
I used an intermediate tip. The fly was about 3 feet down. 12 wt is right.
Pattern popularity vary with fish populations. I liked a classic cockroach pattern cause that's what finally worked for me. Noles uses orange and chartreuse a lot.
It's quite a different game than chucking bait. Much less room for error but the pay off is grand!
Since you are no newbie to tarpon fishing you know how to line up and spot fish. With bait, ain't no big deal. With fly it's a bit more challenging. Even a 5 knot wind can screw up your approach. Boat drift must be taken into account when lining up for a cast. Stripping a fly while your boat drifts into your strip is a pain in the ass and if you can avoid it do so. Problem with that is you will be casting into the breeze. Practice casting into the wind. Regardless, the fly has to seem to be fleeing the fish rather than running into it.
I used an intermediate tip. The fly was about 3 feet down. 12 wt is right.
Pattern popularity vary with fish populations. I liked a classic cockroach pattern cause that's what finally worked for me. Noles uses orange and chartreuse a lot.
It's quite a different game than chucking bait. Much less room for error but the pay off is grand!
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"SANCTUARY!!!"
Capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse.
Re: Flyfishing Tarpon Advice
I usually chase beach Tarpon from a boat in the passes because I like to sightcast to them as they cross the shallow sandbars, but I think I can speak to a couple of your questions about gear.
Floating line works just fine. I actually prefer it since it's easier to cast, and since it's much easier to judge where your fly is in relation to the fish when your line is floating on the surface. Getting the fly to hover right in front of the Tarpon's face is hard to judge with a sinking line.
As for flies, the smaller the better in my experience. I still don't fully understand it, but size 1/0 is as big as I tie them anymore, and sometimes down to a size 2 AKI. My friends and I still argue about whether black or yellow/chartreuse is the best color, but most of our fish come on one of those two. It definitely seems like the fish can see the black flies better, but that's not always a good thing when they're feeling spooky.
Enjoy your sleigh ride!
Floating line works just fine. I actually prefer it since it's easier to cast, and since it's much easier to judge where your fly is in relation to the fish when your line is floating on the surface. Getting the fly to hover right in front of the Tarpon's face is hard to judge with a sinking line.
As for flies, the smaller the better in my experience. I still don't fully understand it, but size 1/0 is as big as I tie them anymore, and sometimes down to a size 2 AKI. My friends and I still argue about whether black or yellow/chartreuse is the best color, but most of our fish come on one of those two. It definitely seems like the fish can see the black flies better, but that's not always a good thing when they're feeling spooky.
Enjoy your sleigh ride!
Everyone is entitled to my opinion
Re: Flyfishing Tarpon Advice
Disclaimer: I'm no expert. This is what works for me.
Fly lines
When I first started out, I had a rod for each of the line type: floating, intermediate and sink tip. I was pretty sure I was only going to be using the rod with the floating line exclusively because every publications I read, everyone was using a floating line. It made perfect sense, since a floating line is easier to cast and allows for a quick pick up and recast. As Evan said "it's easier to judge where the fly is in relation to the fish when your line is on the surface. Getting the fly to hover right in front of the Tarpon's face is hard to judge with a sinking line."
Well guess what I use exclusively? A sink-tip line! I have one rod with a floating line and my main rod and back up rod are set up with sink tips. The rod with the floating line stays in the car or pass off to one of the guys on the beach as a loaner.
Here's why a sink tip works better out of a kayak. When you're on a skiff, you get the luxury of being 8-12' off the water and you can see the fish allowing you to put the fly in front of the Tarpon's face. In a kayak, the height advantage and the ability to see the fly in relation to the face of the tarpon goes away.
As much as I would love to hover a fly in front of the tarpon's face, it's just impossible in a kayak (even standing). The sink tip line allows me to quickly get the fly down in front of their faces in the travel lane. The approach is similiar to throwing a baitbuster at them: sight the travel lane, lead them with your cast, retrieve and if you're lucky hold on!
Flies
Most of my flies are tied on 1/0 or 2/0 hooks. I'm a big fan of the toad flies. Purple/black earlier then I'll go to any superbright color combination afterwards. Seems like the brighter and uglier the color combination the better.
One of the things I started doing a couple years back was to make sure I had two multiple ways of breaking off the fish. I scaled down my tippet to 16lbs and use a lighter wire hook. I've been at it for 10 plus years and have not had the experience of meeting the man in the grey suit but when that day comes
I can grab the spool and know that the tippet will break or the hook will straighten before the rod blows up.
Fly lines
When I first started out, I had a rod for each of the line type: floating, intermediate and sink tip. I was pretty sure I was only going to be using the rod with the floating line exclusively because every publications I read, everyone was using a floating line. It made perfect sense, since a floating line is easier to cast and allows for a quick pick up and recast. As Evan said "it's easier to judge where the fly is in relation to the fish when your line is on the surface. Getting the fly to hover right in front of the Tarpon's face is hard to judge with a sinking line."
Well guess what I use exclusively? A sink-tip line! I have one rod with a floating line and my main rod and back up rod are set up with sink tips. The rod with the floating line stays in the car or pass off to one of the guys on the beach as a loaner.
Here's why a sink tip works better out of a kayak. When you're on a skiff, you get the luxury of being 8-12' off the water and you can see the fish allowing you to put the fly in front of the Tarpon's face. In a kayak, the height advantage and the ability to see the fly in relation to the face of the tarpon goes away.
As much as I would love to hover a fly in front of the tarpon's face, it's just impossible in a kayak (even standing). The sink tip line allows me to quickly get the fly down in front of their faces in the travel lane. The approach is similiar to throwing a baitbuster at them: sight the travel lane, lead them with your cast, retrieve and if you're lucky hold on!
Flies
Most of my flies are tied on 1/0 or 2/0 hooks. I'm a big fan of the toad flies. Purple/black earlier then I'll go to any superbright color combination afterwards. Seems like the brighter and uglier the color combination the better.
One of the things I started doing a couple years back was to make sure I had two multiple ways of breaking off the fish. I scaled down my tippet to 16lbs and use a lighter wire hook. I've been at it for 10 plus years and have not had the experience of meeting the man in the grey suit but when that day comes
I can grab the spool and know that the tippet will break or the hook will straighten before the rod blows up.
"whose that little motherf***er with the fly rod"
Re: Flyfishing Tarpon Advice
Thanks for all of the info guys
If you're gunna be stupid, you gotta be tough!!