Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

With the grass growing like crazy in the shallows, fly folks are looking for good ways to keep the flies weedless. One way is to use a bendback hook, which places the hook point inside the fly fibers, but still allows fish to be hooked when they bite. I've been tying a simple pattern lately that the fish really attack. For dirty water I use bright colors, and for clearer conditions I go with shrimpy looking colors.



Yesterday I found a big school of tailers and followed them for around a mile. I had to work to catch up, and I'd pull a fish off the back of the school. I'd set the hook on one and then minimize the drag so the fish could stay in the school for a few seconds. I'd slowly steer it out of the group until it was clear and then put on the pressure without spooking the others. By the time the fish would come aboard the school would be 400 yards away and I'd work to catch up before doing it again. It worked really well, and I landed four fish before the tails disappeared and I lost them. By 9:00 I was heading for the truck because winds were already 20 with higher gusts. The 4 weight was tough to cast in the strong breeze, but the six was working great!

[BayFly]

Great story, and beautiful, healthy fish! I can't imagine trying to throw a 4wt. in a 20+ mph wind!

[Prof. Salt]

Short casts aren't too bad, but sometimes I was having to aim 20' upwind of the fish to get the fly on target, lol. I caught two good reds on it, but the six was definitely the easier way to go.

[ziacatcher]

Nice job prof. Especially in the winds