This past Monday was a great guiding day for me. I had a client that was different from any other client I've ever fished. His name was Doug Brady. He was born and raised in Oregon and he still lives there but only 6 months out of the year. The other 6 months, December through May, he lives in Belize, Central America. He was a very experienced flats fly fisherman, but had never before fished for redfish.
Our full day trip got off to a later start than I had hoped for due to early morning inland fog. Doug was unfamiliar with the area and the fog slowed him up but he made it to the boat ramp by 7 a.m. and off we went. The wind was variable out of the north, northeast and it was warm enough that even a light jacket wasn't needed on our cruise out the Arroyo. It was partly to mostly cloudy and I was praying for sunshine all the way to our first destination.
I had gone scouting on Sunday and knew where there were lots of reds. The tide was a little bit lower than yesterday but we had plenty of water and I didn't have a problem getting to the shallow grass flats I wanted. The reds were still there. V-wakes were everywhere and the chase was on. There was just a slight breeze, not enough to drift, so I poled Doug along spotting for him and offering tips on stripping techniques. He quickly learned what to look for and I could see the excitement swell when he would spot a big red's tail breaking the calm water's surface to wave at him. After fishing this area for quite a while, we moved on as the fish just weren't interested in any fly he had to offer.
I then took him out east to the sand flats along the transition line. The water was knee deep and there were lots of reds hanging out in the area. It was slicked off and definitely a wading situation. We bailed out and off we shuffled through the many southern sting rays that were patrolling the area. Within 15 minutes Doug was fighting his first ever redfish. He was so happy and so was I, seeing that grin on his face from ear to ear. He went on to hook several more until the bite ended around 1 p.m.
Our trip was close to being over by now, but I had one more "special" place to fish him. Richard had shown me this place and explained that it could only be fished on a high tide and had to be navigated carefully by poling. Doug was amazed at how shallow it was and that we were still floating! The clouds had covered the sun completely by now, so v-wakes and nervous surface waters were his clues that fish were there. His excitement was unexplainable as he spotted the back of a hugh red raise up out of the shallow water and run just out of casting range. One after another he spotted the big boys, but they were only playing with him, raising his adrenaline by chasing his fly and then peeling off as they reached the boat.
What a day of fishing he had. He saw lots of redfish and learned a lot about them. As he broke down his rods to put them away when we got back to the dock, he told me he had had a fun day of fishing and he would definitely be back to do it again. What a great client, and what a great fly fisherman, the best I've ever seen.
The lure (fly) de-jure for the day, Richard's own hand tied "MC Hammer".
