J
john montana
Quick hello from Orlando, FL! I spent one day away from the family Disney tour to chase redfish on the Mosquito Lagoon. Bottom line, very nice experience!
These fish really are similar to carp, only much more predatory in nature. I didn't find any black drum, but from the description of the guide, the black drum are even more like carp. This was all sight fishing from a poled skiff. The fish were pretty easy to see for a carp guy, and for the most part I was spotting lots of fish. They look like carp in the water, only a little sleeker and they move more.
We would see the fish either cruising along (all the water was shallow, 1-3 feet or so) or tailing just like a carp. Also like carp, the fish had a definite "window" in which to present the fly. Too far away, no interest, too close, spook. The window was much larger, maybe a couple of feet but that didn't make the fish easy. You really had to seduce them with a retrieve. The goal was to get the fly where the red could see it, then hop it along the bottom in fits and starts. Strip too far or fast and the fish would give up the chase. Strip too slow or not sharp enough, and the fish would lose interest. It was much like playing with a cat. When you got it right, they would follow the fly in bursts of speed and eventually simply engulf it in a ferocious attack! Very cool stuff to watch.
All told I landed 9 redfish. We just couldn't track down number ten. Not bad for a day that had too many clouds and some heavy wind! I had a blast and was clearly reminded of this: chasing carp on the fly makes you a better angler! No question my carping experience helped up my success rate on these fish. They are a really fun target, I hope to chase some black drum one year as well.
These fish really are similar to carp, only much more predatory in nature. I didn't find any black drum, but from the description of the guide, the black drum are even more like carp. This was all sight fishing from a poled skiff. The fish were pretty easy to see for a carp guy, and for the most part I was spotting lots of fish. They look like carp in the water, only a little sleeker and they move more.
We would see the fish either cruising along (all the water was shallow, 1-3 feet or so) or tailing just like a carp. Also like carp, the fish had a definite "window" in which to present the fly. Too far away, no interest, too close, spook. The window was much larger, maybe a couple of feet but that didn't make the fish easy. You really had to seduce them with a retrieve. The goal was to get the fly where the red could see it, then hop it along the bottom in fits and starts. Strip too far or fast and the fish would give up the chase. Strip too slow or not sharp enough, and the fish would lose interest. It was much like playing with a cat. When you got it right, they would follow the fly in bursts of speed and eventually simply engulf it in a ferocious attack! Very cool stuff to watch.
All told I landed 9 redfish. We just couldn't track down number ten. Not bad for a day that had too many clouds and some heavy wind! I had a blast and was clearly reminded of this: chasing carp on the fly makes you a better angler! No question my carping experience helped up my success rate on these fish. They are a really fun target, I hope to chase some black drum one year as well.
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