Fly fishing results have been outstanding lately, with some fly anglers outfishing their spin fishing friends. I'll tell you, it takes some energy to fly cast for four straight hours, and not many can cast that long. Most take a break and use the spinning rig to get a breather.

Sea Deucers, Clousers and Deceivers in various colors all seemed to work equally as well in white, white/chartreuse and greenback imitations. White with peacock and some silver flash does an excellent job of imitating most of our inshore baitfish. Clousers (the flyfishing version of a jig with lead, dumb-bell eyes were used in the deeper water to get down to where the fish were. The Sea Deucers and Deceivers aren't weighted and are easier to cast and used in the shallower water. Right now, the water in St. Joseph Sound is very clear, especially on the east side, so stealth is paramount.

When the water condition is super-calm, I take off the Cajun Thunder or Old Bayside Paradise Popper and fish the shrimp imitations very slowly along the tops of the grass. I'm getting bigger fish on the ½ oz. size shrimp than on the ¼ oz. ones. If I'm fishing the open flats, the glow color is the best, but when fishing the mangrove edges and cuts, the measles color seems to be the ticket. For reds, try to skip the shrimp as close to the mangroves (or better yet under) as you can and slowly work it back out on the bottom.

Snook are still on the beaches, and I've found it best to get out of the boat and walk along casting parallel to the sand. Too far out and they won't see it. Fly anglers using all white flies are scoring most of the fish. Take note of the size of the baitfish you see and trim the length of the fly to the size of the baitfish. I always carry a scissors for this purpose. White, plastic jerkbaits (Zoom White Ice is my favorite) are taking most snook if you're fishing spinning rigs. Fish these unweighted on a 4/0 wide gap, offset worm hook and twitch and pause. Earlier is better.

Fish Species: Trout, Redfish, Snook
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About The Author: Captain Fred Kremer

Company: Strictly Artificial Fishing Charters

Area Reporting: West Central Florida

Bio: Captain Fred Kremer, a full-time fishing guide, has been fishing the coastal Florida waters since 1972, but began his "fishing career" in early childhood with his father, fly-fishing the limestone Pennsylvania streams. Fly-fishing remains a passion, and his charters are "fly-fishing friendly." As the charter service name "Strictly Artificial" implies, he specializes in using artificial lures, but does live bait trips as well. He specializes in coastal/flats fishing for snook, redfish, sea trout, mackerel, cobia and tarpon.

813-920-6291
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