CELEBRATING 9 YEARS AS THE VOICE OF SALTWATER FLY FISHING
FLY FISHING MAGAZINE
LA VIDA SEIS HOLIDAY IN HOLBOX
BEST FOOT FORWARD THE TWO-HANDED TANGO
HAROLD GIBBS: SALTWATER PIONEER
THEY CAN SEE YOU SKRIMP SHREDDER
THE CASTER I’VE
NEVER SEEN
59 MAY/JUNE 2022 MARCH/APRIL 2022 DISPLAY UNTIL JUNEL 30
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Powerful yet deft, predictable but erratic–the silver king’s mesmerizing allure is on full display in South Florida’s Biscayne Bay. Photo by Oliver Rogers
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An eruption of menhaden begs the question: What lies beneath? Photo by Trey Reid
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Should we call this a “break in the action” or “beer time”? Photo by Joseph Ballarini 8 TAIL TAIL TAILFLY FLY FLYFISHING FISHING FISHINGMAGAZINE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE
Photo by Scott Morrison
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CONTENTS 22 26
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THEY CAN SEE YOU - Brian Lang It only took a cell phone video for Brian Lang to become mesmerized by the dark shapes of tarpon oozing through the eerie green glow of the new underwater light on his father’s Florida boat dock. He became obsessed with catching one on a fly rod, learning valuable lessons about Megalops atlanticus while being evermore haunted by the dark shapes sliding beneath the dock light. HOLIDAY IN HOLBOX - Michael DeJarnette It’s always a good thing when a family vacation can be tweaked to include fly fishing. This travelogue explores the fly fishing encountered during a family Christmas vacation to Mexico’s Isla Holbox, a laid-back island off the northern tip of the Yucatán where the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean intermingle to form a rich marine ecosystem. It’s also a place that’s still blessedly devoid of the traffic and overcrowding that have found their way to many once-sleepy Mexican fishing villages. GEAR GUIDE - TFFM Staff From stuff you should be wearing to stuff you should be using, this issue’s Gear Guide provides a glimpse at the latest products and services that will up your game. A jacket, a fly box, cutting tools, and much more—we promise you’ll find something in this collection to enhance your fishing and your life.
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INSIDE THE BOX: DIABLO CRAB - Alan Caolo We incite strikes from gamefish by making them believe our flies are live prey, usually by imparting motion through stripping, pausing, dropping, or drifting. Crabs, though, often avoid predation by staying motionless, which creates a challenge in both presentation and fly design. Alan Caolo solves that problem with the Diablo Crab, a simple design made with soft, natural materials that exude life—even when paused on the bottom. Developed for sight casting to stripers in shallow Northeast flats, this simple fly also has hooked permit, bonefish, sheepshead, and snapper. THE TWO-HANDED TANGO - Andy Mill Convincing a tarpon to dance requires us to talk to it in a way that incites, and since they don’t speak and can’t understand human languages, that means we have to communicate to the fish by imparting motion and life to manmade objects. Tarpon guru Andy Mill investigates this delicate dance and explains how the development of the technique of two-hand stripping worm flies forever changed tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys. ON THE PLATE: FRUTAS DEL MAR - Jennifer Matsu Inspired by travel to Mexico’s Ascension Bay, this issue’s menu features the fruits of the sea, including octopus ceviche and grilled lobster tacos with mango pico de gallo and a side of Mexican street corn. Fire up the grill, grab a cerveza, and pull up a chair to talk about those damned black-tailed devils over a feast from the sea.
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SWEET SIMPLICITY - Trey Reid To build a better bar, you can stock it with every distilled spirit known to man, or you can take our managing editor’s approach and expand your cocktail horizons with simple syrups, an inexpensive and easy way to add depth of flavor to your drinks. You’ll want to save the recipes for the Hibiscus Mojito, Grapefruit Margarita, and a mezcal concoction with rosemary simple syrup called El Santo. LA VIDA SEIS - Chico Fernandez Chico Fernandez used to see the 6-weight rod as a plaything, but these days, the seis is the first rod he reaches for. Although often overlooked, the 6-weight with appropriate flies works well in most conditions for a number of frequently pursued species. The lighter tool also improves precision for quick, short casts and allows a more delicate presentation—while still providing distance when necessary. Our consulting editor explains the benefits and joys of life with a 6-weight. FLY TYING: SKRIMP SHREDDER - Captain William Cochran This fly was inspired by the Tuscan Bunny and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and as unusual and unlikely as that might seem, the result is nothing to ignore. This versatile pattern uses mostly synthetic materials to create a bug that “shreds” the water and creates a disturbance that bull reds, juvenile tarpon, and many other species can’t ignore. DEEP DIVE ON THE CLOUSER DEEP MINNOW - Pete Barrett The fly originally designed to catch Susquehanna smallmouth bass has become ubiquitous. It’s indispensable for species across the globe and has become a primary weapon in the salty fly fisher’s feathered arsenal. We, if you’ll pardon a pun, go deep on the fly that catches everything, examining its origins, construction, variations, presentations, and much more.
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HAROLD GIBBS: SALTWATER PIONEER - Ed Mitchell The origins of saltwater fly fishing remain shrouded in mystery. Much of what’s been written about the sport’s beginnings has focused on innovators in Florida, and with good reason. But pioneers in the Northeast also played an important role, and one of the most important was Rhode Island waterman Harold Gibbs, an ecologist, angler, and artist who was likely responsible for the Orvis Company’s development of the first saltwater fly rods in the 1940s.
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SEARCHING OFFSHORE - Henry Hughes There’s magic in the water that has the power to transform and transfix, and the latest Henry Hughes poem lyrically describes the sea’s magic and mystery in this poem about a father and son in search of yellowfin tuna—and the discovery of our own magic and mystery.
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BEST FOOT FORWARD - Joe Doggett We often focus on fishing from skiffs and other vessels, but in doing so we may be overlooking the able-bodied angler’s secret weapons. Wading is a specialized tactic that may be employed in many situations, providing stealth, the mobility to take advantage of the best casting angles, and many other benefits. And you don’t have to share bow time with anybody. Most of all, though, wading puts us in intimate contact with the sea and its denizens—and heightens the experience in the process. THE UNDERTOW: THE CASTER I’VE NEVER SEEN - George Roberts TFFM’s resident fly casting professional has taught hundreds of private fly casting lessons over nearly 30 years, and the number likely climbs into the thousands when you consider seminars and other hands-on instruction he has provided. George Roberts doesn’t throw out these numbers to impress you, but rather to impress upon you that he’s worked with a lot of casters, and there’s one particular type of caster he’s never seen. Intrigued yet? Our casting authority identifies this unicorn of fly casting and explains how it relates to his philosophy on becoming a better caster.
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They Can See You
itself was slowly rotating around the light. After a few moments of the mesmerizing footage of the baitfish, the tarpon approached. They oozed from the dark shadows at the periphery of the light, and slowly cruised toward the center like attack submarines. The closer they got to the light, the more defined their features
by Brian Lang
became. They swam in a slow circle
The first time I saw them was on a
their silver scales when they turned.
cell phone video that my dad recorded
When they came toward the surface
and sent me. I quickly watched it once,
in front of the light, the silhouette
but when I realized what it was, I sat
of the forked tail, dorsal fin, and the
down, brought my phone up close to
characteristic low-slung, upturned jaw
my face, and watched it three more
became crystal clear, as did their size.
times.
If the 5-foot long beasts that swam
like the baitfish, the light glinting off
along the beaches and in the passes The screen was filled with the eerie
were silver kings, then these fish were
green glow of the underwater dock
silver princes. At close to 3 feet long,
light he had installed. Tiny baitfish,
they were plenty of fish for
about an inch long, swam in circles
me when I finally laid
around the most intense glow of
eyes on the scene
the light in the center of their dark,
in person,
fluid universe. When they became very thick, it looked like the water
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standing in my shorts and flip flops
are many average-size homes, a lot
borders the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle
next to my dad’s pool, fresh off the
of houses are like miniature private
heads periscope up from the mostly
plane from Vermont.
marinas, with one or two power boats
calm water from time to time, and
on lifts above the water, a couple of
even manatees occasionally make an
In southern Florida, there’s a
Jet Skis, and a handful of kayaks. Hot
appearance.
seemingly endless maze of water
tubs are positioned out toward the
spreading across the landscape.
water, backed up by infinity pools
Other than some of the houses having
Instead of the natural twists and
surrounded by big screen TVs, and
rod holders bolted to the pilings of
turns of waterways in the Everglades,
that’s just in the screened lanai, many
their boat docks, there’s not much
my dad’s neighborhood features
of which are attached to
sign that anybody regularly fishes the
a complex watery grid—all
castle-like homes. Upon
area. Every now and then you’ll pass
straight lines and perfect
close inspection, each
a boat that’s stopped with anglers
90-degree corners
property is unique, but
making casts, but that’s mostly in the
with seawalls
you can still get lost in
larger main canal that’s closer to the
lining
the maze if you’re not
lock that leads to the Gulf.
paying close attention. The tarpon show themselves early and Fish live here. Big ones. We’ve landed a few, hooked and lost many more, and regularly
the whole system like a giant in-ground swimming
late in the day when they roll at the surface, but the real exciting times are the darkest hours around midnight.
lay eyes on some of the largest fish
That’s when I find myself standing
I have ever seen. Most of the regular
on the dock with my fly rod, staring
Florida customers prowl these waters.
into the green glow and looking for
Mullet constantly leap in the air and
the giant targets that had been
land with a belly-flop slapping sound.
haunting me for months. They
Predators such as snook, tarpon, jack
would approach the light, and
crevalle, and largemouth bass hunt
with quivering hands and
among the miles of structure in the
knees, I would gently
pool. Instead of impenetrable walls of
form of residential boat docks, with
roll cast the fly,
mangroves, the banks of this Venice-
some sections having overhanging
leader, and a
like suburbia are bordered by wall-to-
trees, and even a large stretch of
few feet of
wall houses and docks. While there
mangroves where the whole system
fly line
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Story by Michael DeJarnette Photos by Patrick DeJarnette
HOLIDAY IN HOLBOX Our flight arrived about an hour late
variant of Covid-19, causing flight
late when the journey winds through
in Cancun. It was the Sunday before
cancellations nationwide. Although 6
rural Quintana Roo in a drizzling rain
Christmas, and it had been snowing
p.m. doesn’t seem like a late arrival,
in the dark.
in Utah. Airports and airlines had
there was still a two-and-a-half-hour
been working through significant
shuttle ride followed by a half-hour
Our ultimate destination was
staffing issues related to the Omicron
ferry boat trip. It really starts to feel
Isla Holbox, an island just off the
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northeastern tip of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, where the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico intermingle to create a rich marine ecosystem. The island remains laid-back and car-free. There’s
enough tourism infrastructure to
getaway for our family—and for me
make it comfortable, but its relative
and my son, Patrick, it would afford
inaccessibility means it isn’t overrun
an opportunity to include fly fishing
with visitors like some popular beach
for baby tarpon in the family vacation
destinations along Mexico’s Caribbean
plans.
coast. It would be a welcome holiday
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