# I Guess I Was Good This Year!



## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, I guess I was better this year than I thought I was. Due to family travel issues, we exchanged presents this morning. This is what Santa brought me! A Hardy SDSL 10/11/12 for my Echo EPR 10wt. I'm setting it up as a King Mackerel/Bonita/Sailfish rod. Definitely the nicest reel that I have ever owned.


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

That is very nice.

Merry Christmas


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Little hint from someone who used to target kings, cobia and black fin with flies...go to a 12 weight rod.
Biggest reason...the size flies you'll be throwing for kings and sails. Just the right hooks for those will weight double what a normal fly thrown with a 10 wt does...and the bulk, even when made with fish hair or mylar tube.

Second reason, more backbone to the rod so you can get the fish up a little faster and release alive. Sure, you can catch kings and sails on an super light rod, but can seldom get a clean catch and release doing it.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Too late. I already have the rod.

We RARELY release kings. They come home to make dip. And I've never even seen a sailfish. So, it is likely a pipe dream to hook one. This is only a once or twice a year thing anyway. And by FAR the most expensive rig that I've ever owned. So there is no redo or turning back now. LOL


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## pcolapaddler (Sep 27, 2007)

That is one nice looking reel.

Congrats!

Sent from my SM-G935U using Tapatalk


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

NoMo, let me look in my storage unit. If my ex didn't give it away or throw it away( she was famous for getting rid of my stuff) , I should have a Redbone Tournament 12wt in it that you can have if you want to try out a 12wt.
I'm out of the boat business forever and I'd rather give someone the rod than let it sit forever.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

kingfish501 said:


> NoMo, let me look in my storage unit. If my ex didn't give it away or throw it away( she was famous for getting rid of my stuff) , I should have a Redbone Tournament 12wt in it that you can have if you want to try out a 12wt.
> I'm out of the boat business forever and I'd rather give someone the rod than let it sit forever.


Cool. That would be awesome!Thanks. I already have 10wt (305gr) and 12wt (400gr) lines. I got 550 yards of backing on the way today.

Sounds like good reason to be famous for getting rid of her. LOL

So, if you arent doing boats or 12wt fly rods any more, what are you doing?


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Wade fish with a 10wt. If I get enough space around me at palafox wharf or the ballpark this year, going to throw green receivers at Spanish from those.

For kings, best 2 patterns I used was a 4 1/2" LY made from Fish Hair using a 1/0 hook and a 5-6" Mylar tube fly using a 1/0 long shank hook. Best bet is to target kings 20lbs and under, 10-15 is the ideal. I've hooked to several in the 40-50lb range , but to do that, you need a second person to run the boat and follow the fish. Got spooled several times like that . You'd think the tippet would break before that happened, but it doesn't always happen.
Use a short wire trace, 8-10 " for kings, fairly light and multi strand or the fly won't look or act right in the water.
Hookset is down with a stripping motion with the rod pointed at the fish, rather than with the rod itself. Not enough backbone in the rod to get a solid hookup.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Yep. Just like a Tarpon Set. LOL 

I've fished the Keys for Bones and Tarpon before. I used to have a 5wt and a 9wt years ago. The 5 for freshwater and the 9 for Bones. But I sold it all off about 10 years ago. A recent health scare made me decide to pursue some bucket list dreams. So I bought a 3wt for bream and the small trout here in AL. Then I decided to pursue Kings since we catch them all the time while we are on the coast, so I bought the 10wt from Chris V. My wife bought the reel for me for Christmas. I also found a stupid deal on a cheap 8wt that I'm gonna use for local bass as well as maybe Pompano and Lady Fish in the surf and shallows. That's the plan anyway. But we all know what happens to plans! LOL


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

I also just bought another tying vise and am collecting materials to get back into tying. I enjoyed it a lot. Problem is that I'm pretty good at tying. Not so good at throwing. LOL I ended up with WAAAAAY too many flies. So I sold it all. It was becoming a problem.


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Finally showed up at my storage locker with the right set of keys. That rod is a RedBone ( made either for or in honor of the RedBone tourneys), IM7 graphite, 9 foot 2 piece rod made by Hurricane. A mouse chewed on the cork grip, which could be replaced or sanded and then coated with something like liquid tape.

It's free if you want to give it a shot using a 12wt. It's caught more than a few kings, bonitas, big spanish and 2 cobia plus an assortment of bull reds and tarpon.
I can hold it till you come down again or if you have a friend in Pensacola, I can give it to them for you.


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