This is jack heaven!

Alright already! I will update my blog. I can't tell you the amount of emails I get from people wondering what I have been up to since I have not been updating this blog. For everyone that has been wondering where I have been, I have been fishing! This is my busy season and finding extra time to download photos, edit them and then try and come up with something creative to write about is hard to find. Trust me I am not complaining, I love it when I am busy, there is no other place I would rather be then on the water putting people on fish. I am going to keep this mostly to a photo posting since most of you don't read this anyway. A couple quick highlights from the last couple weeks and if I left you out I apologize, everyone I fish with is worth mentioning.

To start, I had another chance to fish with Michael Katz and his son Joey. Joey is 14 years old and is autistic. I think everyone should take a lesson from Joey. There is no one I fish with that can compare to Joey's attitude, not only does he get super excited about the fish that he catches, he is equally as happy and understanding when one gets away. We had a great day with big jacks and tunnies but, the most memorable part of the day was when Joey lost his tunny that we had worked so hard to catch and all he said was, "everyone has to have a story about the one that got away." That sums up Joey. Thanks for giving me the pleasure to share the boat with you guys.

I also had a chance to spend four full days fishing with Stefan and Silva Schuller. They came all the way from Germany just to fish for the giant jacks that we have off our coast. Stefan is one of the editors for Global Angler, a German magazine that covers fishing from around the world. Global Angler has been great to me, they have featured me in many articles and have published lots of my photos. I actually get a handful of clients from Germany and Austria because of the exposer they give me. Europeans are crazy about jacks and to sum up the trip I will leave you with the words I continually heard from Stefan, in his German accent. "This is jack heaven!"

I guess you get the idea, fishing has been pretty good lately.

Keep checking back and if nothing has changed that just means I'm fishing!

my guide service website http://stuartflyfishing.com/
my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing

big game beware!

Spring has arrived and summer is knocking at the proverbial door and I couldn't be more excited. I love this time of the year, giant jacks, cobia, permit, tarpon, need I say more? To make it even better, this is just the beginning of the excitement, there will be months worth of great fishing ahead. Even though Florida is not as cold and dreary as most parts of the country we still get the winter time blues. You have heard me report over the last few months that the fishing is fun and we are catching trout, ladyfish, pompano, some snook and redfish but, it is now time to take your medication. This time of the year is not for the faint of heart, big nasty flies, big rods and the need for a reel with a good drag system.

My new Hatch 12 plus and my tarpon fly.

A month or so ago I was invited to be part of the Hatch fly reels pro staff and without hesitation I jumped on board. I must admit my decision would have been different just a few months earlier. I thought I was "in the know" when it came to anything in the fly fishing industry but man was I wrong. Apparently I have been spending way to much time on the water. You see just a few months ago I had not even heard of a Hatch reel, until my good friend Rob brought one down with him in late January. He had explained to me that they are the newest, greatest thing since sliced bread, and like anyone that hears such high praise of something I was skeptical but yet very curious. At first glance I was very impressed but like so many things in life you can't judge a book by its cover. The next morning Rob and I went out and we had his Hatch reel mounted on a 12 weight ready to go. I thought, "hopefully I can find something that will put this reel to the test!", well it wasn't too long before we found a nice school of tarpon and Rob was hooked up. The reel worked flawlessly even though the fish threw the fly on the second jump. The next day a cold front blew in and that was the end of the fishing, so Rob left the reel behind for me to use. For the next few weeks we were hit with front after front and I had no real opportunity to put this reel to the test. I would fiddle with it in the house and every time I was amazed at how strong the drag could be set but again I thought, "a lot of reels can be set with a heavy drag in the living room, how will it react when it has been heated up by a fish after a 20 minute fight?". Finally, some nice weather hit and I had my morning to hook up with some giant jacks. Wow! this reel rocks was my first response after landing a 28 pound jack. Okay, I'm sold, I have to get my hands on some of these reels. My buddy Rob shared my response with the owner of Hatch and the rest is history. I am now the newest member of the Hatch prostaff and I could not be happier with my decision. Hatch has been making reels for 4 years now and I just wish I hadn't been living under a rock all this time. Take the time to check them out I know you too will be as impressed as I am.

Here is a quick side note. I did not get into the details of their enclosed drag system, which in my opinion make this such a superior reel. For details contact John at Hatch 877-634-4343 or check out their website at http://hatchoutdoors.com/ he can explain it for better then me. I just know I can kick a fish's ass with it.

If the link above does not work it is because you are trying to view it in Internet Explorer, and they are trying to fix the problem. Here is an alternative link that will get you in on another page. http://hatchoutdoors.com/2008/pages/9plus.html

This tarpon was landed, I had to put down the camera to grab the fish.

Thanks again for every one's support. The blog is getting almost 100 hits a day and the ticket sales for the fly fishing film tour are looking like we might be heading towards a sell out. I have not done a fishing report lately but I will keep it simple it has been good! I will let some of the photos speak for themselves.

my guide service website http://stuartflyfishing.com/
my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing

KISS "Keep it simple stupid"

KISS, I stole that phrase from my friend Mark Nichols he preaches that about his artificial lures, DOA, you may have heard of them. Anyway, the same thing applies to flies. Flies are designed for two things, catching fish and catching fisherman. The idea of this post came to mind as I was tying dock light flies for tonight's trip, as mentioned in the last post the lights have been my savior this week. The fly I have been using recently is a pattern that I stole from my friend Scott Cormier, he is the owner of the Southern Angler. Are you seeing a pattern here? Don't worry I only steal from friends and it is more of a trade off since I'm often the victim. Scott only ties a handful of flies a year, or at least that is our on going joke since he owns a fly shop. His newest creation is not much of a creation at all but man does it work. I know some of you guys reading this will say anything small on the lights will work and some nights that is true but I mean this critter has them crazy. Why? Because less is more in dock light flies. I think it is more about the material then the pattern. Synthetic materials are constantly evolving and the newest strategy by companies selling materials is to blend different materials so you do not have to. I love this concept. If I see a fly recipe and it starts, "take some of this, and a little of that, and mix it with this", I'm was not going to tie it! I have two kids and a very busy guide service, I need to tie a fly in minutes and there is nothing fast about blending materials. Problem solved, I can now tie killer flies fast with this preblended material. Here is my dock light fly, excuse me Scott's dock light fly. First, take a number 2 Gamakatsu glo-bug hook and put it in the vise. Take white thread or any color if you are lame enough to be out of white and high tie in a small clump of Steve Farrar's Flash blend natural. Follow that with another small clump of Steve Farrar's Flash Blend camo. Glue on the 3D eyes and epoxy it, done! I am obviously not revolutionizing the fly fishing world, but remember keep it simple stupid.

I think I should be sponsored by Corona?

As I was writing this post I got an email from one of the followers of this blog, RJ. It is so ironic how much his email related to this post. RJ had no problem with me sharing this email and after you read it you will see why, it is great stuff. Here is RJ's email:

Hey John,
I created this little fly that I thought you might be interested in checking out. I am not the best fly tyer, but since checking out your contest, I caught the bug, so to speak.

Anyway, like I said, it isn't that pretty, but it has other nice qualities. First, it is a true dry fly. I tied it on a really small hook. I think a #10. Then I tied some flash into the tail, and some hackle twisted around the hook to make legs. I then shaved off the top side of the hackle and covered it with this chartreuse foam. This was really helpful in seeing the fly floating in the water at night. I tied a few wraps around the green body, spaced out, to look like the joints in a shrimps back, and then tied in some mono eyes.

Well, it is a stupidly simple fly, but I thought what the heck. If I can get a snook to pop a dry fly, then fresh water trout fishing will officially have nothing over saltwater! I tied it in January, but waited until last night to test it out. It was the first "warmer" night in a while and the current was ripping with the almost full moon. I fished it exactly like a fresh water dry fly - no stripping, just drift in the current through the dock light.

I couldn't believe it, but it got nailed instantly! It was just like a trout rise - which in my mind is one of the best takes in all of fishing. His mouth nudged up to it and with a boil he sucked it in. The rod went heavy and it was game on! My first thought was how the heck will I land this saltwater beast with a #10 hook and a whole lot of structure. But with a little finesse and some nice boat handling by Jeremy Neff, we pulled it off. I snapped a picture of the 25 incher with the fly in its mouth and then got the signal from the camera "replace battery!" I have no idea yet whether the picture took. We landed about 4 or 5 more on this fly and then switched to a clouser after it got rocked by a beast, but the tiny hook didn't set.

Anyway, I thought you might be interested because you probably fish a lot of people from up north who are very proficient with a dry fly. They would probably get a huge kick out of this. Also, you get to fish a lot more than me, and might find a way to improve it or get one with a bigger hook to float. Its pretty easy to tie and fish, or if you want me to give you some I will, but then you have t let me take you fishing!

Keep up the good blogging!
RJ

Thanks for sharing RJ. It is guys like RJ that motivate me to write this blog, so please get involved and send me any ideas or comments you can. On a side note, I meet RJ last year when I was invited to fish in the Martin County Boys and Girls Club tournament. He volunteers a lot of his valuable time to the club and he should be commended for it. Thanks again RJ. I look forward to the next Boys and Girls Club tournament so I can defend my title as "top guide", just a little plug for myself.

my redesigned guide service website http://stuartflyfishing.com/
my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing

a final chapter and the start of a new one

The end of another good year!

Okay, the fly contest is obviously a success and I can't thank everyone enough for their participation, but I must post something about fishing every now and again. I thought I would share some stories and photographs from the last week of 2008 and the first week of 2009.

Life is good for Chuck

The fishing here in the winter is not glamorous but it is full of action and that is exactly what I had the final week of the year. Trout on the grass flats were as abundant as they get although not many large ones were caught, again loads of fun. It is amazing how hard a small trout can hit, they sure don't fight hard but the first punch sure is solid. On the sand flats, jigs and small flies produced ladyfish by the boat load and some pompano. Finally the beaches, where you can run over schools of mackerel and bluefish for miles, literally! The mackerel can be tough to get off the bottom some days but for the most part they are very cooperative, and the bluefish are always on the feed no matter what you throw in. I guess it would be unfair to say that we do not catch any quote, unquote glamorous fish because you can still catch plenty of snook in the winter and redfish. I apologize for the lack of ladyfish, mackerel, bluefish, etc. pictures but it is a messy job and there is no way I am going to grab my camera. Not to mention by the time I release one there usually is another one ready to be landed!

Doug Seaman and his son Will

I was fortunate enough to start 2009 with back to back redfish trips. One was with Gary Smith of Michigan, he has been fishing with me for the last 8 or 9 years and we have started the year together the last six. However, one thing was different this year, Gary did not have to rush back to see the University of Michigan football game. Sorry Gary I had to take that jab! On a serious note, Gary has fished all over the world and has fished for redfish all over the country so he is good at reading fish and making the right cast. This year Gary landed four redfish on fly, all on Borski sliders, and I believe we had six eat. Thanks Gary for another great start to the new year.

My blue tribute in honor of Gary's football team

Blue sky

redfish's blue tail

Borski slider and Gary's blue Tibor


My second day of redfishing was with Todd Austof. Todd is a very special client of mine, you see he is the guy that lets me use his Maverick HPX so I can do these trips. Todd is also from Michigan but his Michigan team did have a New Years game, I'll let you figure that one out. I could only think of one way to properly thank Todd for the use of his skiff and that was to put him on his first ever redfish! Mission was accomplished, Todd laid a nice cast into a school of about 20 redfish and one found his Borski slider a bit appetizing. Todd, thanks obviously for the use of the boat, but more for sharing that moment with me. I look forward to doing it again someday soon.

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Cabin Fever Fly Tying Contest, entry number 4- DH Classy Clouser

Deer Hair Classy Clouser

Here is entry number four. It was tied by Rich Santos from Jacksonville, Florida. Rich has been a client and friend of mine for over 6 years, and is about as passionate about flyfishing as anyone I know. He is actively involved in the Jacksonville fly fishing club and is also a casting instructor. Rich's fly like all the other entries is well tied and creative. He put a twist on the Clouser minnow by spinning dear hair on the head, kind of a mix between a slider and a clouser. I know this fly is basically a redfish fly but like the others could probably catch just about anything that swims.



Here is what Rich has to say about his fly, and then I will let the pictures tell the rest.

Name: DH Classy Clouser or ( Deer hair Classy Clouser)

Species: Redfish, Snook, Spotted Sea Trout, Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel and more

Materials: Mustad Shrimp Hook C47S-D No.2, Red or Black Danville’s 210 Denier Tying Thread, Medium Red/Blk. Lead Dumbbell eyes, Fox tail or equal under belly, Holographic Flash sides tied long, Bucktail back, Deerhair shoulder-head trimmed to shape.

Design Description: Jig like action. Produces an erratic flashy movement and looks more life like. The Deerhair head profile also creates a larger silhouette that pushes more water for better predatory fish attraction. It can also act as weed guard if tied heavy and possibly feel meatier to a fish!..maybe LOL Just kidding.



I got blown off the water yesterday so I do not have a fishing report, but I have 8 trips over the week after Christmas so I hope to have lots to report and photos to share. I can't wait until the new year when I get to launch my new redesigned website. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and I will be reporting back before the new year! Thanks for reading this blog, pass it on to your friends.
Merry Christmas, John

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Cabin Fever Fly Tying Contest, entry number 3- Cas' Cinnamon Slider

Cas' Cinnamon Slider

We are flying right along with this tying contest now. I am waiting on 2 more flies to get to me and then the voting will start. These 2 remaining flies will give me a total of 6 entries for you guys and gals to vote on. This fly came from Cas Summers of Longwood, FL. Cas is the treasurer of the Backcountry Flyfishing Association. www.BackcountryFlyfishingOrlando.com I really like what Cas did, he gave a classic fly a modern twist. The Borski bonefish slider in my opinion is one of the best slow water flies ever designed, and Cas took new materials to create his own slider. Very well done Cas. This fly is primarily a redfish fly but like so many other flies it will work on anything that feeds on the flats.



Here is what Cas had to say about his creation. They are very easy to tie. I just used some cool Puglesi tying material that I saw at the Orlando Outfitters, it's called EP Streamer Brush & EP Sparkle Brush & they also have EP shrimp dubbing. It has a wire stem and the material palmers easily. The chose this material because of it's buggy colors. The tail is made of Craft Fur and is flexible to the bottom color. The eyes are lead or bead chain depending on the depth of water or size of the fly. I use the fly for redfish, but also believe that it could work for bonefish. They seem to eat the same stuff that they find swimming around. I tied in a weed guard since it will be bumping along the bottom. I have caught redfish with it. The fly is very weedless. It rides hook up. The Puglesi material does not tangle like the baitfish flies. A comb is not necessary. The flies are tied on #4 Mustad 3407 hooks. I pinch the barb down before I tie them on.



Cas, thank you for entering this fly into the contest. I believe your pattern may give other fly tiers some good ideas and some more uses for this new material. Again I ask that everyone parrticipate in the blog by posting comments. Everybody enjoys reading comments about their flies especially positive comments. I have been extremely happy with the turn out of this contest so far, all the flies I have recieved have been well tied and very creative. Stay tuned the next 3 flies will be posted soon.



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Cabin Fever Fly Tying Contest, entry number 2- Head Stand Shrimp

Head Stand Shrimp

Okay, I am just going to start out by letting you know that my photography does not do this fly justice. This fly was designed by Rob McAbee, you know him by now as the Bugslinger guy, and he definitely "designed" this fly. He asked me my opinion on what makes a good redfish fly and I told him the basics. First it must sink fast and land soft, second it must ride hook up, and third it must have a weed guard that works. The last bit of advice was, the fish have to see it. Rob created a fly that sinks quick but is delicate enough to land soft and throw on a 6 or 7 weight. This fly always lands hook up and has a killer weed guard. Rob tested it and when I got it I tested it, if you drop this fly in the water it always falls hook up, hence the name "head stand shrimp". This fly has a vibrate yellow tail and 2 rubber legs, and 2 pieces of flash that give this little critter loads of life. This fly could easily be tied in a whole array of colors that would be geared toward redfish, bonefish, permit, and everything else that eats shrimp. I think it can go unsaid that the quality of this fly is perfect, but what else would you expect from an artist? I photographed this fly outside on the boat mainly because I wanted a background that helps see the detail of this fly. I may have some of the materials a little off but I am going to give you a basic recipe. Tail is a little yellow marabou. The body is ice dubbing with a feather palmered through the dubbing. Lead eyes tied back by the hook bend, 2 rubber antenna and 2 pieces of holographic flash tied off the back. The top of the body is epoxied for both strength and looks and the double weed guard is made of hard mono. Have fun with this one I think it would be a killer Bahamas bonefish fly if it was tied with tans and pinks or even just the way it is in yellow. Thanks Rob.



I am going to use this post to keep everyone up to date. Rob is currently redesigning my web site, and from what I have seen so far everyone should love it. I won't give away any details but it will include some incredible images. Check out Rob's line of fly fishing lifestyle apparel at http://bugslinger.com/ I would also like to thank everyone that has ordered shirts so far, I must say that the micro fiber shirts have been the biggest hit. Bug slinger also has a new micro fiber shirt out, as a matter of fact I am wearing mine right now, and also a brand new snook design. I would love to see some comments on these flies. I have 5 entries for this fly tying contest so far, so if I do not recieve anymore emails for people wanting to enter I will post the poll as soon as I post all five. Stay tuned and don't forget to spread the word about this blog with your friends.



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