Any advice for Spanish flies? Wire tippets or heavy mono better? Spend most of my time inshore but looking for something different until the Jacks come in.
I’ve got some leaders made up with Malin Boa “knottable” 15# test wire that I’m anxious to try. This stuff is the thinnest wire I’ve seen. It’s not as easy to tie as adverstised and I used crimp sleeves on the terminal end. I was able the tie it to the mono leader though with an Albright.
Someone told me they spook on wire tippets but I don’t know never tried it. I was thinking maybe heavy fluoro might be the best bet but let me know how that wire works.
PBug, I was just in a school of spanish Wed. and I got cut off. I had tied a couple of 6" malin 15# leaders on some silver and white bendbacks. Tied one on and proceded to get nothing. Switched to one with 50# braid, nada. Back to flouro and bam cut-off. If you find an answer please let me know!
I think the trick to toothy critters is to tie your flies on a long shank hook and only use the back half of the shaft.
Thats why they call it fishing, not catching
quote:
Originally posted by marshmellowPBug, I was just in a school of spanish Wed. and I got cut off. I had tied a couple of 6" malin 15# leaders on some silver and white bendbacks. Tied one on and proceded to get nothing. Switched to one with 50# braid, nada. Back to flouro and bam cut-off. If you find an answer please let me know!
marsh were was the school if you dont mind me asking. Saw some a few weeks ago near the buoys past the jetties but no large school. My doctor mentioned there are huge schools around here that arent shy but Ive only ran into the smaller school. Thanks Jeremy
2006 16ft actioncraft flats 115 etec
caught several (blues and spanish) this morning with an epoxy silverside pattern on a 40# mono shock tippet tied to my usual tapered 12# leader. I did, however, have a lot of “followers” and must have made 300 casts, but no cutoffs. Used the same fly and leader the whole hour and a half. With that many casts into that many fish, I think sooner or later you get one whose either dumb, starving or has bad eyesight. Have never really found leader shy fish to be a big problem when there are lots of them in deeper water and they are feeding. Now, skinny clear water with spooky fish…different story.
Mark
Pathfinder 2200V
Yamaha 175 VMax
That’s what I’ve found Mark. If they are in big schools they tend to be more agressive. In the Stono Inlet where I am fishing and the schools are small they tend to be picky. I guess I need to get my butt out in the foam and chase some larger schools! I used to catch spanish and jacks in the same schools on the front beaches in summers past, has anyone done that in recent years?
I caught some last year cant remember what tippet but I always keep tension and strip them in if you let them take line the will cut you off.
If a man wakes up early to go fishing he 's sleep deprived, If a man wakes up late to go fishing he’s fish deprived
Just got back from Bass Pro Shops and in the fly fishing section I found leaders that were flourocarbon with a wire inside almost to the end and left enough regular leader material to tie on a fly I think I got 16 or 20 lb, that was as light as they had. I guess you’d have to tie it right up to the wire or it would be pointless.
Haven’t tried it out yet but next time I see a nice school I’ll be sure to have it on my rod.
Go with straight mono and try a bite tippet of FC if necessary. My rule of thumb is get bit first then worry about landing the fish. I use 6, 8 and 10 pound mono on my spinning reels in the surf and inlets all summer long and rearly loose a fish or bait. As for your fly patterns you may want to try smaller bait fish patterns in all white, all pink and all chartreuse as well as white & silver, white & blue, white & olive, white & tan and either chartresue & white or chartreuse & pink or pink and white. Buck Tail, Angle Hair, Super Hair and Craft Hair all work. If you have ever fish False Albacore the same flies and principals work for Spanish. Just match the hatch which more often than not this time of year will be smaller glass minnows or some type of herring, mullet or bunker when the water cools down try something that looks like a small bay anchovey. Just about any of the above color patterns will do the trick you may have to play around with a few different colors until you see what the fish want to eat, just keep it small, keep it wet and keep it coming.