# 4-13 [30 lb. Redfish on the Fly]



## ThaFish

*The Report:* 
Josh, Donnie, Mitch & I hit the water on Monday night during the break in the storm to go chase some bulls. I knew they were gonna be fired up due to the storm front, so I tied up a few patterns & rigged up the 9WT before we left to go meet Josh at the ramp. Over the course of the four hours on the water I managed to land five bulls, all of which were caught by sight casting. I also had my fair share of missed fish due to poor hooksets & getting too excited & strip-striking it right out of their mouths. Oh, & I should also mention that I felt like an idiot after missing three bulls in a row that all inhaled my fly. Confused, I finally grabbed my clouser & checked it after missing the third one, only to find that my hook had broken off earlier! Ugh. Anyways, placement was key. It was extremely tough getting a good shot with the high winds, but it was definitely doable & I had an absolute BLAST! The 33.5'' bull that I got was by far the most beautiful redfish I have ever seen in my life - she literally looks like a goldfish (check the photos below!). Plus I had an 18 minute battle with my new personal record fly rod redfish, which measured right at 40'' & tipped the scales at just over 30 pounds. Great night on the water - can't wait to get out there tomorrow night! 

*Fly of Choice: *
The first four bulls all ate a 5'' clouser tied on a 5/0 Gamakatsu octopus style hook. The clouser was tied with Hedron's new mirage flashabou, white bucktail, black bucktail, & a touch of super thin 1/64'' red flash to imitate the gill rakes of a bait fish. Sweet pattern that really got their attention! The black bucktail on the bottom definitely did its job contrasting with the street lights for fish that were underneath the fly when they first saw it. After I realized my hook had broken off I tied on another 5'' clouser, but this one was tied with chartreuse & white bucktail & a decent amount of 1/64'' red flash. 

*Tally for the Night:* 30.5'', 33.5'', FAT 35'', 37.5'', & a MONSTER 40'' bull (new personal fly rod record!)

Tight lines everyone.


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## ThaFish

Here's the rest of the photos. The second picture in this set is the one of that crazy colored 33.5'' fish, & the last two are of the 40'' 30 pound one!


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## flyfisher

Great pictures of a great night fishing! There's enough memories to keep you going for a long time.


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## Robin

Nice fish !!!! Clouser's are the best................


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## MrFish

Nice job!


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## Jgatorman

Awesome!!


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## ThaFish

Robin said:


> Nice fish !!!! Clouser's are the best................


Thanks man! Yup, gotta love clousers. Simple to tie & they work wonders!


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## ThaFish

flyfisher said:


> Great pictures of a great night fishing! There's enough memories to keep you going for a long time.


Glad you enjoyed the report! I can tell you one thing - my arms still remember the fights with these fish very well.


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## mikez

Oh yer killin' me dude!
I've got two weeks to go before I get down there. I've been looking at too much of your redfish porn. How am I gonna sleep between now and then?

Congrats on the fly caught bulls. Quite the accomplishment.


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## fishmagician

You guys just keep beatin' me to a frazzle. I'm not sleeping well at night now, and I got a rash coming on. Some people said I started to stutter, and other mentioned noticing me trembling. The moving van gets packed Tuesday, leave Wednesday OH-Dark-Thirty. Be there Sunday travel trailer and all. My truck and travel trailer look like a short clip out of the Grapes of Wratth. I just want to get one bull red, just one. If there are any left. Please fellows just just leave me one.


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## Purple Squirrel

Nice! 
Coming down next weekend (already had the trip planned before all of this rain) and started restocking the fly box with clousers, thanks for the color combo. Got any pics of the flies?


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## ThaFish

Purple Squirrel said:


> Nice!
> Coming down next weekend (already had the trip planned before all of this rain) and started restocking the fly box with clousers, thanks for the color combo. Got any pics of the flies?


Yes! I actually took some photos when I was on the vise last night before we hit the water again. I'll post them today when I get a chance.


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## Purple Squirrel

Thanks, I need all the help I can get ?


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## sureicanfish

How is it casting a big clouser like that? I can't false cast anything really, do you false cast with the 5"? Nice fish, I bet that's a blast on the fly!


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## ThaFish

sure said:


> How is it casting a big clouser like that? I can't false cast anything really, do you false cast with the 5"? Nice fish, I bet that's a blast on the fly!


I do false cast with the big clousers, poorly... Haha. It's a good amount of chuckin' & duckin'.  & it really is a blast! It's a whole different fight on the fly rod.


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## ThaFish

Hey bud, here's the flies I've been throwing.


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## Purple Squirrel

Thanks


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## ThaFish

Purple Squirrel said:


> Thanks


Not a problem man! Tied up a couple different patterns tonight that I'd like to try out as well.


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## ThaFish

Gonna be out searching for another 30 pounder on the buggy whip tonight.


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## mikez

How deep below the surface are these fish hitting? Looks like a couple of those flies are not weighted.
I hate throwing heavy weighted flies, especially that big and bulky.


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## ThaFish

mikez said:


> How deep below the surface are these fish hitting? Looks like a couple of those flies are not weighted.
> I hate throwing heavy weighted flies, especially that big and bulky.


Out of the 9 that I've hung on the fly in the past few trips, 7 of them were sight casted & were spotted cruising within 5' of the surface. 

You are right with that observation man, the purple & chartreuse ones are not weighted, although I will probably wrap the hook shaft in lead wire the next time I tie those patterns, as it's harder to get them down to where they need to be sometimes. They aren't the funnest to throw, especially on the 9WT, but once you hook up & you're a few dozen yards into that backing before you know what happened, you won't be thinking too much about throwing the heavier, weighted flies.


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## ditz

Those are some heavy hooks too. I wouldn't think it would take too much extra weight to get them down. Maybe a material substitution would help get it down without added weight.


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## ThaFish

ditz said:


> Those are some heavy hooks too. I wouldn't think it would take too much extra weight to get them down. Maybe a material substitution would help get it down without added weight.


With the current ripping at 3 Mile you'd be surprised. But I'm all ears if you've got suggestions for different materials to try man. Any ideas?


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## wtbfishin

ThaFish said:


> With the current ripping at 3 Mile you'd be surprised. But I'm all ears if you've got suggestions for different materials to try man. Any ideas?


 try some sink lines. There are a bunch of different sink rates to pick from.


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## ditz

I am sure no expert of fly tying materials. I just buy lots of them.  I am sure there are some materials that will sink rather than float. I know lots of the synthetics will float. I am sure somebody on here know what will sink that has similar characteristics as the original pattern.


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## ThaFish

wtbfishin said:


> try some sink lines. There are a bunch of different sink rates to pick from.


I always go the cheap route with lines. I usually just buy general brand weight-forward lines off eBay for like $20. Maybe it's time I invest in a sinking line for the rougher nights at 3 Mile. Are there any budget friendly ones out there?


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## ThaFish

MarlinAzul said:


> That's a very impressive fish, Fish.


Thank you, I appreciate that man! It sure put my 9WT & my arms to work.


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## wtbfishin

ThaFish said:


> I always go the cheap route with lines. I usually just buy general brand weight-forward lines off eBay for like $20. Maybe it's time I invest in a sinking line for the rougher nights at 3 Mile. Are there any budget friendly ones out there?


I recently picked up a slow sink S1 Rio short on Ebay for my 8wt, brand new $49 reg $79, a newer model had come out (hype). I've had good luck getting fly lines there, I'm just guessing but that S1 maybe ideal for 5'-8' depth and it is a lot easier to control depth w/ than a fast sink, unlike a fast sink it cast very similar to a floating line w/a turbo built in, if you're into that :yes: I use it when I fish from the beach. I have several sink rates tips U might try those instead of a line their pretty cheap I don't like them because U have another connection loop in the set up, but it will get you down.

The Rio line cast like a rocket this S1 is one of 2 lines I have I can throw over 100' when I make a good shot both Rio Shorts . I have some others quality lines I max out around 85'

Old Florida in Santa Rosa Bch. had some Rio lines on Ebay a short time back several different weights in the $40 range. 

I was told that the lastest change was in the design of the box :shifty:.


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## ThaFish

wtbfishin said:


> I recently picked up a slow sink S1 Rio short on Ebay for my 8wt, brand new $49 reg $79, a newer model had come out (hype). I've had good luck getting fly lines there, I'm just guessing but that S1 maybe ideal for 5'-8' depth and it is a lot easier to control depth w/ than a fast sink, unlike a fast sink it cast very similar to a floating line w/a turbo built in, if you're into that :yes: I use it when I fish from the beach. I have several sink rates tips U might try those instead of a line their pretty cheap I don't like them because U have another connection loop in the set up, but it will get you down.
> 
> The Rio line cast like a rocket this S1 is one of 2 lines I have I can throw over 100' when I make a good shot both Rio Shorts . I have some others quality lines I max out around 85'
> 
> Old Florida in Santa Rosa Bch. had some Rio lines on Ebay a short time back several different weights in the $40 range.
> 
> I was told that the lastest change was in the design of the box :shifty:.


Awesome, I'll look into that Rio S1. Really appreciate the response man! Sorry for my short reply but I'm about to rig the buggy whip up to go hit the water again. Hopefully I'll spot some 25-30 lb. cruisers that I'll be able to take some (poor) shots at!


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## wtbfishin

Yeah man have fun! It was Rio Outbound Short, also I have used several different running lines some integrated some not w/ these short head lines and most gave me a fit w/tangles. Not so w/this Rio line.


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## ThaFish

wtbfishin said:


> Yeah man have fun! It was Rio Outbound Short, also I have used several different running lines some integrated some not w/ these short head lines and most gave me a fit w/tangles. Not so w/this Rio line.


Sweet, can't wait to get some of that Rio & give it a shot. Maybe it'll make my casting skills jump from mediocre to halfway-decent! 

On a side note, I didn't find any 30 pounders tonight. But I did have a battle that lasted over 30 minutes with a 25 pound stud. Man she sure whooped me on the 9WT. Really need to look into an 11 or a 12. Stay tuned for the report tomorrow.


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## wtbfishin

ThaFish said:


> Sweet, can't wait to get some of that Rio & give it a shot. Maybe it'll make my casting skills jump from mediocre to halfway-decent!
> 
> Ha it's not a magic line just a great design, those skills come from practice :whistling:, it may mess w/U a bit unless you're used to casting a shooting head!
> 
> Sounds like another great fish on the Fly rod though :thumbsup:.


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