# Fly Fishers of NW Florida



## JimW (Jan 27, 2017)

On the web at: www.ffnwf.org

On Facebook at: FlyFishers of NorthWest Florida


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## Flyakker (May 5, 2020)

New to saltwater fishing on the fly and don’t have a feel for places to fish other than Johnson beach in the Perdido Key area. Any public docks or cuts that aren’t pressured? Also need recommendations for fly shop nearby. Don’t want to drive to Orvis by Destin. Thanks!


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## JimW (Jan 27, 2017)

Welcome to fly fishing! The two locations you mentioned - JB and Perdido Key - are excellent fishing areas. Winds out of the south - wade the grass flats in Big Lagoon for trout, reds, spanish, jacks, ladyfish - the list goes on. Winds out of the north, fish the beach - pompano, whiting, blues, reds, jacks, ladyfish. Unfortunately, the Gulf Islands National Seashore (a National Park) is closed so access to the biggest, and uninhabited portions of Perdido Key is limited. Florida state parks are slowly reopening so I suspect Big Lagoon State Park will reopen soon. Great wade fishing there. If you can get into Gulf Breeze, there is wade fishing in the vicinity of Shoreline Park (there is a public boat ramp there). A bit further east of Gulf Breeze is Naval Live Oaks National Park - again, not open yet (to my knowledge) but great wade fishing. And when the Gulf Island National Seashore open, Fort Pickens will open - miles of beach and sound fishing available. I've fly fished all the areas listed above and caught fish.

Regarding fly shops, I know of three - (1) Orvis Destin, (2) The Church Mouse in Fairhope, AL (she runs a gift shop in the front, he runs a fly shop in the back), and (3) Bass Pro at Spanish Fort. Gulf Breeze Bait and Tackle (in Gulf Breeze) sells flies and has a small selection of fly fishing related stuff. Of course, everything you could need is readily available online.

Fly Fishers of NW Florida is in the process of updating their website. Check out the link - www.ffnwf.org. They are also on Facebook. Other than weekly Zoom video conferences, the club is on hiatus as our City of Pensacola owned clubhouse - the Boy Scout House at Miraflores Park in Pensacola (near Graffiti Bridge) - is closed until further notice.

Every year FFNWF hosts a Fly Fishing 101 course March-May. This year's course was postponed until the September-October timeframe. If interested, let me know.


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## Flyakker (May 5, 2020)

Great info Jim, thanks! I’m a seasoned fly fisher/tyer on rivers/lakes/streams but fishing the salt is all new. I’ve had moderate luck at Johnson beach the last year and can’t wait for them to re open as I’m tired of the crowds up the beach. What a trip wading through surf with the Rays and had quite a ride when I unintentionally hooked one. And I thought the jellyfish were a nuisance... I’ve been hearing about Captain Baz (Basil) do you know of him & name of his charter?


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## JimW (Jan 27, 2017)

The two guides listed below are FFNWF members and are the only two exclusive fly fishing guides (that I know of) in the area. Both are excellent.
Capt'n Baz Yelverton - Gulf Breeze Guide Service - your guide page
Capt'n Dan Storey - https://flyfishingpensacola.com/contact-us

BTW - we fish a lot of size 1 and 2 clousers. Tan over white or olive over tan.


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## Flyakker (May 5, 2020)

_Awesome! Do you put much importance on solunar fishing reports such as ‘fishingreminder.com’? Thanks again for your info... Super helpful & much appreciated! _


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## JimW (Jan 27, 2017)

I believe the best time to go fishing is whenever I can! That said, my experience is that moving water is key. I like best to fish the incoming or outgoing tide. See a tide graph for the day, the max slope period between high-low or low-high are my favorites. However, if I have time to fish only during slack low or slack high...I go fishing.


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## 69Viking (Oct 30, 2008)

JimW said:


> Welcome to fly fishing! The two locations you mentioned - JB and Perdido Key - are excellent fishing areas. Winds out of the south - wade the grass flats in Big Lagoon for trout, reds, spanish, jacks, ladyfish - the list goes on. Winds out of the north, fish the beach - pompano, whiting, blues, reds, jacks, ladyfish. Unfortunately, the Gulf Islands National Seashore (a National Park) is closed so access to the biggest, and uninhabited portions of Perdido Key is limited. Florida state parks are slowly reopening so I suspect Big Lagoon State Park will reopen soon. Great wade fishing there. If you can get into Gulf Breeze, there is wade fishing in the vicinity of Shoreline Park (there is a public boat ramp there). A bit further east of Gulf Breeze is Naval Live Oaks National Park - again, not open yet (to my knowledge) but great wade fishing. And when the Gulf Island National Seashore open, Fort Pickens will open - miles of beach and sound fishing available. I've fly fished all the areas listed above and caught fish.
> 
> Regarding fly shops, I know of three - (1) Orvis Destin, (2) The Church Mouse in Fairhope, AL (she runs a gift shop in the front, he runs a fly shop in the back), and (3) Bass Pro at Spanish Fort. Gulf Breeze Bait and Tackle (in Gulf Breeze) sells flies and has a small selection of fly fishing related stuff. Of course, everything you could need is readily available online.
> 
> ...


My oldest son and I are both new to Fly Fishing! I think we'd both be interested in the class this Fall, what do we have to do to sign up?


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## JimW (Jan 27, 2017)

FFNWF has not yet determined the way ahead for our annual Fly Fishing 101 course for 2020. Since we don't expect the need for social distancing to go away until a safe vaccine is available and being delivered - and who knows when that will be - the club - which meets in a City of Pensacola facility - is looking at a few possibilities for conducting the class late summer / early fall. The best I can offer at this point is to recommend you check periodically our Facebook page - Log into Facebook | Facebook - as that will most likely pass along the first word regarding the plan. In the mean time see here - https://ffnwf.org/fly-fishing-class-2020 - for contact info for Don Smith. Don is our club's education director and he the guy you should work through to learn seat available.


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