{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Sanibel Island mid-February

Miles, great looking fly! 

On my last visit to FL, in a different area, I caught a few little snook on a Murdich minnow. 

Jason, clousers will get the mangrove snappers although they do have a tendency to short strike. They like to hang out under the more complex mangrove root systems along channel edges. Especially on the downcurrent side where it's a little calmer. The best chance of hooking one is if you find a school, they will compete with each other for the fly. When solo they just nip at the tail. Sheepshead aren't as aggressive toward flies but occasionally one will slip up.

If you do go to the Wildlife Drive culverts, the current flushing through on a moving tide is pretty strong (think Gravelly Point) - even a clouser will be in the top foot of the water column. Don't ignore right up against the culvert walls because that's where the snook will be trying to pin baitfish. My PB snook came on a 10 foot cast to the wall I was standing on. Ladyfish hang out farther out in the open near the edge of casting range - a good way to reach them is just to let the current take the fly to them, and then strip back as fast as you can. 

On Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 7:50:01 PM UTC-5, Miles wrote:

Clousers are a great fly for a lot of species in Florida, but most snook flies sit closer to the top of the water column. Fluffy marabou flies or zonker strips tend to be popular.

I tie a fly that's sort of a Razorback crossed with a Double Bunny (call it the Doubleback). It has worked pretty well for me on both coasts of Florida. I've caught several snook on it. It would be my first choice for a surf or mangrove fly for snook. I sketched out the pattern if you want to tie some up. There's a special glue you need to bond the zonker strips to each other a la Double Bunny, but it's not really necessary if you're using a fairly short strip on this fly. I tried to cheap out on my first batch and used super glue, and it didn't hold long, but I still caught fish with the two zonkers separated.

Good luck!

Miles

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/63859784-e907-4d19-807a-44196a06a0bb%40googlegroups.com.