Fly Fishing Tips

Capt. Dylan Murley

Bay Flats Lodge Resort

Short Shots: When preparing yourself for short 20’ and less shots I tend to have a bigger length of fly line hanging out the end of the rod while keeping the fly in my hand. Once locked on a fish simply start your rod on the opposite direction of the fish and lay it down just as you would whether it be a front cast or back cast.

Fly Leader: My personal preference would be 30lb butt to 20lb mid-section with 16lb tippet. I personally like mono because of the stretch. Typically, I never have had an issue with redfish being leader shy which is why I don’t use Fluro.

What to bring: Generally, most guided trips guides should have everything needed. The absolute essential would-be Polarized glasses! I would say if you brought one thing and one thing only a quality pair of polarized sunglasses! I would also pack a buff / sunscreen to keep the sun off you on those hot summer days. If targeting reds, a 7-8wt with floating line rod and reel. Don’t forget your fishing license! And NO BANANAS!

Placing the fly on a fish: Where you place your fly has a lot to do with water clarity, water depth, how fast the fish are moving, and how spooky the fish are. Generally, “wintertime” I like to lead the fish and let the fish come to your fly. Slow and steady since the cold water temps the fish can be lethargic. Summertime fish can be moving quickly and from left to right so sometimes hitting them on the nose can be crucial because too many casts at the fish can spook them as well. Tailing reds in the grass is also another scenario where you would need to put it on them rather than leading them.

Reading the water: Typically, when you have clear water and shallow water fish will be a little easier to find. I tend to stick to natural color flies such as your tans and whites. With murky water I’ll throw darker colors such as your brown, black and purple. When it’s shallow and clear your polarized glasses will do the trick and redfish can just stand out with their bright copper colors. In murky water you almost want to look through the water and not so much at the surface. Kind of like you’re trying to see everything on the bottom rather than a glimpse of color on the surface or a tail.

Stripping a fly: Once you’re casting your fly and you go to lay it down think of throwing a ball and pointing at your target when you finish. Keep that rod tip low and in line of the fish will help your stripping and line management in the water. For short strips try to move your hand from just the wrist, for medium length strips involve your arm with the hand, and for long distance strips, think of it more like the front haul on a long-distance cast. At the end of the day reading a fish’s body language generally tells you what you would need to be doing and it may take a couple fish to get a good read on to figure out what you need to be doing. Best advice I can give to be able to start stripping as soon as that fly hits the water is right when that fly hits bring both your hands together like you were going to clap and that will help you be able to find that fly line to get ready for them strips.

Questions to ask your guide: As far as being on the boat 1 on 1 with your guide always pick their brain about tips and techniques. You could go with 10 different redfish guides and get different answer and responses from every single one. Soak up as much advice as you can and relay that on that water.

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