Ever notice how so many saltwater fly fishers become specialists? Once you get the fire in your belly for one particular gamefish, it’s only natural to play that out to the max, eschewing all others. In my case, bonefish, tarpon and snook have all held my rapt attention. Maybe stripers or redfish, or permit (in which case you are a diehard), have been your Holy Grail at some time or another.
Nowadays I enjoy experimenting to catch fish that many fly fishers do not consider “fly fish.”
I’m here to tell you that potluckin’, or mixed-bag fly fishing, is fun. Recent wintertime fishing trips on my hometown waters (where mostly snook, tarpon and big jack crevalle are considered bona fide fly fish) produced super potluck fly fishing. In Florida, variety is the name of the game, and that is certainly the case in the Indian River Lagoon. Seatrout, redfish, flounder, sheepshead and mangrove snapper are available year-round, and come winter, add an influx of Spanish mackerel, pompano, bluefish and some eye-popping ladyfish. This eclectic mix is fair game to fly fishers, and all it takes is proper presentation, a handful of basic flies and some “stick-to-it-ness” to hook as many as possible in a single day.
I find the greatest variety of fish during peak tide flow over mixed bottom (patchy grass and sand or shell), especially where there are baitfish. In my area, baitfish schools hang over grassy flats and many manmade and natural shoals. Lots of Spanish mackerel, bluefish, small jacks and big ladyfish home in on the bait, whether in two to four feet, or in deeper water along the Intracoastal Waterway. Pompano like to forage over the same shoals and grassflats, and wherever flats have open stretches of mud or sand bottom, you’ll come across an occasional flounder poised to ambush. Seatrout, snook and redfish also love this mixed bottom, so you can see that the whole gang might be on hand.
In waist-deep water or less, you can fish for potluck with a floating fly line, but a favorite mixed-bag line is a medium-rate sinker, and an intermediate in the shallower spots. Sometimes the bite can be hot on top on a standard popper or hair bug, but more times than not, you’ll get more strikes down in the water column. Fishing in three to four feet over a shell bar recently, I took pompano, seatrout, jack crevalle and a flounder while bottom-bouncing a flashy attractor-style “jig” fly that I tie. After a few clean cut-offs, I tied on a heavier fluorocarbon bite tippet and stuck and landed a few nice Spanish macks and bluefish. Six species, same fly, same spot.
A 9-weight rod best casts lead-weighted flies, particularly with a 10- to 15-mph wind. With a full-sinking line, keep leaders short and sweet to keep your fly at the level of the tip of your fly line while you strip. You simply don’t need a long, tapered leader as you would while sight casting. And unless you insist on following IGFA rules, just loop on a 3- to 5-foot level piece of 20-pound mono or fluorocarbon. That’s plenty heavy to ward off abrasion from small snook, ladyfish and jacks, and does not deter strikes from pompano, seatrout and others. Add a 30- to 50-pound piece of mono (or light wire) to the bitter end if mackerel and blues are especially prevalent. Flies need not be specialized, exacting patterns. I like simple attractor flies that sink fast and drop like a jig. A Clouser Minnow is a natural for potluck fishing, and Deceivers, Sea-Ducers, and similar baitfish patterns will produce. For surface action, Gurgler poppers and pencil poppers both make plenty of noise, and their slim, aerodynamic profiles won’t wear you out. Just pick something that you can cast comfortably with your choice of rod for an extended period of time.
Shallow Water Angler contributor Tom Migdalski is quick to break out his fly rod to, as he puts it, see what pulls back. “Fly fishing doesn’t always have to be goal driven. It’s not unlike a kid sitting by a farm pond waiting for anything to bite. And after having enjoyed this approach with my fly rod, I think that the kid dangling the worm and float in the pond has the right idea.”
Migdalski fishes Long Island Sound primarily, and says the mouth of the Niantic River is a great place for a mixed bag on fly.
“The outgoing tide carries a smorgasbord of prey into Niantic Bay—juvie menhaden, silversides, grass shrimp and crabs—and I have caught snapper blues, hickory shad, stripers, fluke, false albacore, and even a blackfish on one occasion. A Deceiver or Clouser Minnow fished on an intermediate sinking line takes them all.”
Shallow Water Angler regional editor Scott Sommerlatte, a top sight-fishing guide on the central Texas coast, does his share of mixed-bag fly fishing when not stalking tailing reds. He mentions three scenarios where the approach shines—the surf, the jetties and marsh outfalls (drains).
“Our surf produces a mix of trout, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, some reds, an occasional bluefish, and jack crevalle,” says Sommerlatte. “If there are surface-feeding signs, a floating line is my first choice, and I’ll go to a sink-tip if I only see slicks or birds dipping. I cast a 9-weight rod, and prefer a Crease Fly if surface fishing, but tie on a Clouser Minnow or Deceiver otherwise.” Sommerlatte targets the jetties with a 10-weight rod because tarpon, husky jacks, blacktip sharks, and 10- to 15-pound kingfish often join the mix of reds, trout and big ladyfish. A clear intermediate line or a sink-tip line gets the nod here, and Sommerlatte likes a big-profile, attractor fly such as a Blanton Whistler or a Keys-style tarpon fly.
During ebb tides at coastal marsh outfalls, Sommerlatte lightens up a bit to a 7-weight rod, and says you can routinely catch reds, trout, flounder, sheepshead and black drum on a Clouser Minnow. Black Clousers are best in dirty water, and chartreuse is tops when the water’s clear.
“If you can blind-cast with a fly for a few hours without wearing out, it’s really a fun way to fly fish,” Sommerlatte concedes.
I won’t claim that potluckin’ with fly tackle is somehow as exciting or glamorous as sight fishing. But as Scott says, it’s fun. And if you ask me, that’s what some self-absorbed fly fishers need a little more of.
