These past two weeks have been marked by some very good, then great fishing. I haven’t been out on the boat in some time, but I’ve still found ways to get on some fish. Also my good friend and former teammate Nick was in town back from Canada before his journey to Michigan State for grad school. Being a fellow fly fisherman as well as outdoor enthusiast, I knew we would find some dinosaurs (fish).
However, before Nick came back to Florida from Canada I did some fishing with my friend Jarek, and as per usual we found success.
I certainly couldn’t wait on Nick to get here to start chucking bugs!
A few nights later at one of Jarek’s dock light spots I finally caught my first sheepshead on fly. Sheepshead may not be dinosaurs, as described in the title, but they are awesome none the less!
Dinosaurs are Alive
Nick and I put in the time against an opponent that was certainly formidable – gar. Formidable in that they are a huge pain to actually stick a hook in because the mouth of a gar is long, skinny and bony. We got lots of follows and strikes from gators and gar as well as some small bass. We we’re truly catching dinosaurs.
Accordingly play Jurassic Park theme.
The last day before Nick left for Michigan State he showed me how to tie some flies. We tied foxtrot mullet flies with which I then used to catch a few odds and ends like this small snook. We also tied clouser minnows and shenks minnows. Our flies caught nearly two dozen smaller trout while enticing follows from a few bigger ones as well.
Most importantly, we both caught fish and had a lot of fun.
In Conclusion
Without a doubt it was a good week of fishing with some good friends, we got on a hot dinosaur bite. I have some stuff in the works and hope to make some moves soon. With this in mind, stay tuned!
Finally, to read more about dinosaurs (gar) check out “Gar: Fishing with Dinosaurs”. To learn more about these fish from a scientific perspective, FWC also has some great info!
Until next time, Tight Lines.