EASTERN U.S. BLUEFISH ON A FLY ROD

EASTERN U.S. BLUEFISH ON A FLY ROD

Over thirty years ago I had my first experience with saltwater fly fishing.  A friend took me to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He had a small boat that was well suited for fly fishing in the bays and sounds of North Carolina. What I experienced in the next few days hooked me on saltwater fly fishing. That was many years ago and the large bluefish schools disappeared over the years until a few years ago. The bluefish populations are making a big comeback now on the eastern United States, but I want to tell you about this trip.

Our first day of fishing was spent fly fishing the flats and areas where rivers and streams fed into the sound. We managed to catch a few nice drum and trout with our fly rods.  Later that day we stopped by a bait shop and one of the local watering holes. Everyone was talking about the large schools of bluefish that were entering the sound at the point at Cape Hatteras.

The next morning we anchored the boat just inside the entrance to the sound at the point and waited. Before long  I witnessed something that I will never forget. What the water appeared to start boiling. The area was larger than the size of a football field and was coming within fly rod reach of us. On my first cast I hooked a twelve pound bluefish and was amazed at the power of the fish I had hooked. After I landed the fish, my friend said, a small one. It was the largest fish I had ever caught fly fishing. I would soon find out what he was talking about. On my very next cast I hooked a twenty two pound bluefish. For the next two hours we followed the school and caught fish on just about every cast. By the time the school disappeared, my arms, hands shoulders and back ached.

The next day I was sore all over and suggested we opted of a little calmer type of fly fishing. We again revisited the flats and caught some redfish and trout. On our third we revisited the inlet and again experienced the amazing bluefish run two days earlier.

Bluefish will attack just about any saltwater flies with a little color and flash to it. That morning I caught fish on Clouser’s Minnows and Lefty’s Deceivers. Since that day the Clouser’s Minnow and Lefty’s Deceiver have become my favorite flies, and I have caught bluefish, snook, redfish, tarpon, stripers, drum, false albacore and other species.

That was the first time I had ever gone saltwater fly fishing but it was surely the last. Since that trip I have been many times but few trips will top this first experience.  

Thanks,

Brian     

Tags: fly fishing, redfish, Saltwater Fly Fishing, tarpon