Saltwater Flies of the Southeast and Gulf Coast

Saltwater Flies of the Southeast and Gulf Coast(Amato Publishing 2011)is the sequel to the highly acclaimed and popular Saltwater Flies of the Northeast. This latest project by author, Angelo Peluso covers the geography from the Carolinas to the Texas Gulf Coast. The focus of the book is fly patterns and their development throughout that entire region. The book will present approximately 360 of the best saltwater fly patterns, representing more than 100 fly tiers, captains, guides, club members, shops and outfitters. The list of contributors includes some of the most well known contemporary tiers as well as a number of exceptional amateur artisans. The work is being designed as a functional, comprehensive "bench" resource book of significant saltwater fly patterns developed and used in the Southeast and Gulf Coast for all primary game fish, flats, inshore and offshore. Images of the specific fly patterns have been achieved through high-end professional digital photography. Every effort has been made to portray the flies in a manner that will offer significant differentiation from those images that appear in other fly tying publications. A unique studio set was created to achieve these desired results. The book will also include the unique artwork of a very prominent and talented Florida fish artist. This unique art form has never before been paired with fly patterns. SWFSE&GC will also include a collectoin of informative vignettes and essays. No matter where you fish the flies in this book will help increase your angling effectiveness and efficiency. If you love to fly fish and are intrigued by flies, this volume is destined to be an essential part of your arsenal. Saltwater Flies of the Southeast and Gulf Coast is scheduled for publication mid to late 2011. To a reserve a first edition copy and to receive updates simply send an email to apdotcominfo@aol.com with SWFSE&GC in the subject line. Thank you. AP

Mid-Summer Weekends

Mid-summer weekends are always interesting from a fishing perspective. Anything that can float is usually on the water and the beaches are packed like sardine cans. But amazingly fish are caught; sometimes a lot of fish are caught. Despite intensified angling pressure this past weekend was a prime example. The weekend’s fishing fireworks began for some lucky anglers on Friday fishing in the area of Smith’s Point in thirty feet of water. But from Jones Inlet to Shinnecock a number of persistent fishermen came upon some nice-sized bass on bunker. While most of the bass were caught on meat a number of quality fish were duped by bucktails and deep swimming artificials. Those bunker bass all seem to be in the range of twenty to forty-pounds and there were a solid number of them being caught during daylight hours. Very few fly anglers got into the mix since feathers were the last thing these bass wanted. Most of this activity was in the ocean off the south shore of the Island but quality bass continued to fall on the north shore, especially off structure near deepwater haunts. Areas of strucuture from Eatons Neck out to Herod Shoal all produced bass during the week. Small bluefish are a constant source of light tackle sport around the entire Island with schools of larger fish occasionally popping up. Fluke and porgy fishing remain strong. Adventuresome fly anglers from New Jersey to New England are gearing up for their shots at small bluefin tuna that are beginning to be caught. Very soon other small tunas like Atlantic bonito should begin to appear around the area. With all the available bait and the unseasonable warm weather they just might make an early visit.

Two pieces of fishing apparel that I consider essential for rounding out my fishing arsenal are a lucky hat (aren’t all fisherman superstitious) and a great long sleeve tee-shirt; a technical “T” as those anglers in the know refer to them. I have a clothing dresser full of those shirts. That all started with my days fishing in Alaska where my wife would comment that all the fish in the photos looked the same and I always had that same dumb (she meant lucky) hat on. All of my Long Island-based exploits were always met with the same reaction, so I needed to differentiate from among the fish in the photos. My solution to the dilemma: different fishing T-shirts. But now I have acquired a shirt by the folks from Montauk Tackle that is so good all I want to do is where it on all my trips. You can well image the confusion that will create with my fish photos. I can hear it now, “How do I know that isn’t the same fish in all those photos. You are always wearing that same green tee-shirt.” Yes, I am guilty! Truth be told I’ve wore the Montauk Tackle “T”on fifteen consecutive fly-fishing trips this spring. That shirt, my lucky hat and some terrific sand eel flies did a number on early season stripers, and I simply refused break up the outfit. I was afraid not to wear the shirt for fear of breaking the good spell that I was under. Actually, I was wearing the tee so much my wife had to remind me to… “take it off and wash it before it stands up on its own. She was right but so was I since the shirt even in its unwashed state was a most comfortable, durable and functional fishing tee I’ve worn. The Montauk Tackle “T” shirt wears well, does an excellent job of wicking away perspiration and washes nicely (I eventually gave in) with virtually no shrinkage or color fade. I will be inclined to wear it throughout the entire spring months, cool summer mornings and in the fall. All in all it is a very fine product, competitively priced starting at $24.00. For further information you can check out the tee shirts and the entire line of outstanding Montauk Tackle products at wwww.montauktackle.com. Oh, one final thing, my solution to the inevitable, “That’s the same shirt in all the photos, so how do I know it isn’t the same fish?” is to buy one “T” in all the colors they offer. That should do it!

Fish on the Flats

If the good Lord allowed me but one method of fishing for all eternity it would have to involve a fly rod and sight casting to cruising fish in thin water, preferably tailing redfish, mudding bonefish and stripers on the flats. And so it was that my wish was granted this past week, albeit here on earth and, thankfully, not the eternal hereafter. For me it gets no better than tossing crab and creature flies to striped bass cruising the shallows and in an eating mood. I got to play that game this week right here on Long Island with Captain Vinny Catalano of Joey C Charters, and to say we had fun would be understatement. Not only did the fish want to play the game but having the opportunity to share that time and special space with someone who fully understands the dynamics of skinny water fly-fishing and is very good at it made the game all that more enjoyable. Captain Vinny and I hooked up to catch a perfect tide on a perfect day, with plenty of sun and limited wind… ideal conditions for this pursuit. Fishing crab patterns and other small crustacean flies we had a ball casting to many…and I mean many…bass; hooking, landing and releasing our fair share of stout stripers, from cookie cutter schoolie fish to keeper-sized bass. We spread the wealth around taking turns on the ‘push pole’ and had some really spectacular hook-ups. This is a totally visual experience. Believe me, those “takes” alone are worth the price of admission. After the bass eats, the rest of the game is just icing on the cake!

While this was but one day out of a productive e week for Vinny, it was fishing he enjoyed for the entire week, and it will only get better. In his words, “From rolling bass at first light to sight casting them on the flats the bite is totally on! I had the most enjoyable week poling the flats watching clients come tight to big bass! I even had a chance to get in the action myself during my outing with “AP”. He put me right on them. I'm expecting this kind of fishing right through June, especially around the new moon for the big boys.” If you have an interest in a great fly-fishing or light tackle experience give Vinny a buzz at 631-766-1695.

Long Island Bass Fishing Heats Up

It didn’t take any magic, crystal balls or alchemy to predict that last week would yield a solid bounty of fish all around the Island for many fly and light tackle anglers. The presence of bunker, sand eels, spearing, grass shrimp and crabs, combined with the building new moon phase, cloud cover and low barometric pressure all worked to pop the lid on the local fly and light tackle scene. One of the seasonal guideposts I use to gauge saturation of fish in local waters is when good numbers of bass and bluefish reach central Sound areas…and that they did this past week in solid numbers and size. The low pressure phase of the week yielded the best results as evidenced by this week’s array of reports. Based upon my own personal sampling of the opportunities there are tons of small bass around in the 20 to 27-inch range and a solid core of keeper-sized fish that have been falling to flies and other artificial baits. Slim Deceivers, elongated Clousers and any variety of sand eel patterns have been getting it done. Keep the retrieves on the slow side and try a change-up or off speed retrieve every once in a while. You’d also be amazed at the number of bass taking flies that are being inched along right off the bottom. On the light tackle side of the equation, the hot bait of the week had to be light bucktails tipped with small soft plastic trailers and freshened with scent. Fish are both in backwater areas as well as inlets, harbors and off open beaches.

Captain Vinny Catalano of JoeyCCharters.blogspot.com logged in to let us know that it is happening big time for his charters. He advises that, “For the past week or so I’ve been waiting for the bite to bust wide open with the amount of sand eels and bunker around. It was only a matter of time this week coming up to the new moon; finally, the bass bite has been epic! According to Captain Vinny, many of his trips saw 20 to 30 fish days, “…with lots of big fish in the mix in the mid to upper teen range.” All fish were taken on both fly and light tackle spinning. Vinny has also been spotting some of the first signs of fish on the flats but that fishing has not yet materialized due to conditions made tough with wind and thunderstorms. Captain Vinny expects this coming week to bring more rolling bass in the mornings and increasing sight fishing opportunities on the flats for the rest of May and June.

I also heard from fellow flyrodder, Larry Winston who recently returned from fishing down in Bonito Springs, Florida. While Larry reported a severe winter snook kill in that part of Florida his welcome back to Long Island included a few very productive trips for spring stripers. Larry has been fishing some East End flats and been doing very well on bass. According to Larry, “I've managed two sight fishing trips on local flats since I returned and was only held back by poor sighting conditions and the two day ‘hurricane’ that just ended. The fish I have been seeing are big and hungry and also all covered with sea lice.” Larry’s two best fly rod fish so far have been a 37-inch, 19 ½ - pound bass he I got on a streamer fly of his own design, and a 32-inch, 11-pounder. He added that he has only caught three fish under 28-inches since he’s been fishing the flats.

Joe Cravata from J&H Fishing Outlet also touched base to let us know there were reports of bass and blues at Jones Inlet by the Coast Guard Station. According to Joe, those fish were taking Lefty’s Deceivers and sand eel patterns, olive over white. Joe added that there were also bass at Moriches Inlet and along the east jetty…“The east side flat have has also been producing. These fish were taking large bunker flies on sinking lines the flats by Sayville have also been producing.” Over on the North Shore Joe reports bass and blues in Northport Harbor, Sunken Meadow, the mouth of the Nissy, the Brickyard, and along the open beaches from short Beach and Long Beach to Porpoise Channel and Stony Brook Harbor. A variety of Deceiver and sand eel patterns are seeing the most action. Andrew from J&H reports that AJ Forzano has brought in a nice selection of saltwater flies to the shop and that they have also received a solid array of freshwater flies. Andrew would like readers to know that the shop’s fly rod selection is growing: St. Croix fly rods have been delivered, as well as a full selection of Cortland rods and reels; any G Loomis rod is available to be ordered. Call 631 244 0600 for further information and shop hours.

Captain Danny Reich of NYCFlyFishing,.com tells us that J-Bay was hot again this week. According to Captain Danny, “I'm happy to say I was right about the fishing getting better with the weather. This week has seen a new push of bass, crystal clear water, and great fishing.” Danny added that the best part of the fishing was that for the entire week he didn’t lip a fish under 24 or 25-inches. “Most of the fish caught were in the 26-inch range, with some in the low and mid 30s, and up to about 40-inches. All fish were eating the fly really well, and many times we could see 2 or 3 fish competing for the fly.” As far as bait goes Danny advises that there are immature spearing around as well as, adult bunker. He expects a solid push of sand eels in the next week or so.

Captain Paul Peluso of Momma Mia Charters emailed to let us know that he has been taking light tackle bass in the Moriches area on bucktails. Tuesday morning saw 6 bass come to the boat with 3 keepers. On Wednesday, he netted a couple more linesiders with one keeper. Captain Paul indicated that Wednesday’s outing also found him in the midst of a major league bluefish blitz.

Fishing should only get better from here!

Fundamentals of Fly-Fishing the Surf

If you are interested in exploring the exciting world of saltwater fly fishing you may want to consider joining Angelo Peluso for a unique fly-fishing class. Instruction will take place at selected beach locations where the fundamentals of fly-fishing will be taught in an informal and conversational setting. The basic program is geared toward the new or intermediate fly angler with customized sessions available for more experienced anglers. With almost forty years of fly-fishing experience under his wading belt, Angelo has a wealth of information to share with students attending his classes. Topics covered include: Rod and Reel Selection; Casting; Retrieves; Line Selection; Leaders/Knots; Fly Selection; Essential Gear; Reading Water; Tactical Wading; Elements of Structure; Tactics for local game fish and Beach Safety. Individual and group sessions (up to four participants) are available, and can be structured to meet any specific needs or interests. The full program runs three hours. Specialized hourly classes can also be arranged to meet specific needs, interests or time constraints. Individual instructions as well as small group (4) sessions are available. If you want to cut down the learning curve and quick start your fly-fishing game this may be just the ticket you need to get into ‘fish on the fly’ this season. Angelo’s popular and comprehensive guidebook, Fly Fishing Long Island, is also included as part of the class material. For further information and rates please contact Angelo directly at SaltyFlyLIF@aol.com or visit his website at www.angelopeluso.com.

Bass Awakening

The show season will soon begin to wind down and the official beginning of spring is but a month away. And then April will bring with it the first signs of striped bass being caught off the jersey Shore, J-Bay, Island’s west end, Little Neck Bay and many of the shallow back-water areas that awaken to the Spring’s warming sun. Increasing bass activity will also take place in many of the more predominant fresh water rivers around the tri-state area: Delaware River, Hudson River, Connecticut, Thames and Housatonic Rivers. So, it’s never too early to prepare for the seasonal renaissance and return of stripers.

Most of the bass that visit Long Island waters originate from either the Chesapeake River or Hudson River stocks. Stripers are classified as anadromous, meaning they live predominantly in saltwater but return from the salt to their natal freshwater rivers to spawn. Once the spawning mandate is satisfied the bass move out of those rivers and begin to move back to saltwater. They will infiltrate the inland waters and move up the Northeast coast. Starting in about mid-April bass will begin to be caught in the western most parts of Long Island and as the season progresses gradually flood into all areas around Long Island. Many will take up residence in the waters surrounding Long Island, including numerous bays and harbors, while many bass will continue their journey right up the entire length of the coast. During the fall migration huge masses of both bait and pursuing striped bass will move south to their wintering areas. When this movement occurs it seems as if every bass in the world passes through the toll gates at the east end of the Island, most notably Montauk at the tip end of the South Shore and Orient Point and the Race off the Island’s North Fork. Striped bass are essentially an inshore fish and as such provide numerous angling opportunities for near shore fly and light tackle anglers. Stripers show a marked preference for boulders, rocks…as one of its nicknames, “rockfish” implies… jetties, pilings, docks, piers, riprap and other forms of visible or submerged structure. They can also be caught in open water as well as on sand and gravel flats in literally inches of water. It may come as a surprise to some but sizable flats exist on Long Island and a growing number of fly fishermen and light tackle anglers are pursuing them in that venue. It is a sight fishing phenomenon comparable in many respects to tropical bone fishing and casting to tailing redfish in Florida.