Fly Tying

I've been tying flies for 20 years. It's something I swore I'd never do. I didn't want to become one of those "fly-fishing snobs."

But whenever I'd walk out of a fly shop, I'd usually have at least $50 worth of assorted flies. I'd look at them and figure there couldn't be more than 15 cents worth of material in each fly.

So, the proverbial lightbulb shined brightly in my head: I could tie them myself and save a whole lot of money.

I went out and bought a vise, several bobbins, head cement, bodkin, whip finisher, bucktails, thread, Krystal Flash, body materials, mylar and whatever else I thought would be of use. And I've added to my collection over the years.

I now have it figured out. The way to tie a 15-cent fly is to go out and buy $2,000 worth of equipment and materials.

I'm an OK fly tyer. I have come up with a couple of patterns that work well for me and others. The Myakka Minnow is my spotlight creation. And I've adapted a adjust other patterns.

My go-to fly for beach snook is the D.T. Special (variation). The original D.T. Special was sent to me by Naples guide Matt Hoover, who told me it's the only fly I'd ever need for beach snook. He was right. I've tweaked it to suit my purposes over the years and that's why I add (variation) label to it. Many people think I created the D.T., but I didn't. I've just tinkered with it a bit.

The fly in the top left is the Myakka Minnow, a creation that has caught thousands of fish over the years. It was orginally designed for panfish, but has caught everything from bluegill to tarpon. It can be tied on any size hook to suit your needs.

Once-in-a-lifetime day

I've been sight-fishing the surf with fly rod for 25 years. I've done OK during that span, catching and releasing an average of 250 snook per season. Most of them are small, 20-22 inches. Every once in a while, I'll encounter a really big snook, but they rarely even look at the fly.
On Aug. 17, I had a day that I'll never forget. I caught six snook of better than 28 inches, including one that taped out at 38 inches. The big snook was fat, so I estimated it to weigh at least 20 pounds. That's a mighty fine fish on 6-weight.
In addition, I landed three redfish (not a usual surf catch here) to 32 inches, several small jack crevalle, a ladyfish, mangrove snapper and blue runner.
The highlight of the day came when I jumped three tarpon, another first for me. They were big fish, all going better than 100 pounds. I had one on for five jumps and a long run. When I looked at my spool, I had about two turns of backing left, so I grabbed the spool and broke the fish off. I figured it was better than losing an entire fly line.
I have no idea why the action was so good. The barometer was low and it was three days prior to the new moon. In addition, the tide was incoming.
The next day, Ken Taylor of North Port and I hit the same beach.
We caught one snook.
Conditions were virtually the same. I did notice that the baitfish were not thick like they had been the day prior.