# 2015 Tarpon Flies



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Whatever my buddy Harry tells me to tie on.


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## Blatattack (Aug 23, 2012)

match the hatch!


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Yea those are super long deceivers with bead chain eyes.  The black ones there are one of the flies I made up that I use to throw eons ago for night tarpon.  Had many other night flies for them that I learned and figured out on my own.  Those other 2 I'm sure will work, but over here on the Gulf side,  wouldn't be my go-to fly.

The original chartreuse style toads still work in the Keys and I've never got them to take it north of Flamingo, so up this way, I do what BlatAttackK (hey what does that mean anyways?   ;D) mentioned and "match the hatch!"

Most of your standard Keys style flies don't really worked up on the Gulf side (at least not for me).  But if you like the toad and want to use it north of the Keys, then tie them up in cockroach colors, tans, light browns, black-n-purples, black-n-blues, light brown-n-purple and light brown-n-blues.  Make them have *larger shells* than the Keys Style toads and I like using shrimp eyes out the back as oppose to bead chains on the front.  But either one works.  Large tarpon size Kwan flies with broad shellbacks, hooks turned down and without heavy weight will also work.  I like using natural deerhair as opposed to yarn if the fish are sipping flies of the top like rainbow trout.  Something simular to this pic except with the hook turned down.



Also, big mullet patterns, greenback patters, pinfish patterns and large shrimp patterns work (match the hatch).

For me, my favorite Gulf pattern are large crab patterns that look more like a crab than a cartoon character, tied on Owner Cutting Points!  Btw, the hook and how you set it will be the difference between getting a good hook-set or loosing the fish.  Where you place that fly relative to the fish and the direction it's sitting or going will determine if you'll get a "take" or not.


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## MariettaMike (Jun 14, 2012)

> Yea those are super long deceivers with bead chain eyes.


NOT Exactly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efo7gblZj0s


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Sorry, I totally meant "super long *Seaducers* with bead chain eyes!"  Sorry bout that, but that's what I meant to say.  My wife corrects me when I say stupid things like that around her too!   ;D


Seriously tho, it's considered a "Soft Hackle Seaducer."


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

The correct name for the big flies I did for Marietta is the Tarpon Snake (and I've been drawing royalties on this pattern since the mid-nineties...). Here's a pic or two of it -me, I consider it a monster Seaducer (except the tail is the same as a Deceiver..). The hardest part of this pattern is finding the good, long, wide, webby saddles -since that's all it's made of...

By the way we had six bites on this bug last Saturday in a small river filled with fish from 20 to 70lbs...

This is the original, done up on a heavy 4/0 hook

This is one of many color variations. 

This fly was designed to fish in deeper waters for big fish holding and resting but we actually take almost every big fish we see in the interior and along the coast of the Everglades with it...


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Bob, I don't want you to think when I said "I made up..." meant I invented the fly.  It was simply to state that I would make them up and use them.  I picked up that pattern from a Keys guide in the mid 90's who night fished the Bahia Honda bridge.  He also tied them up in purple.  He also used a black dalhberg diver.  So then I modified and made the thing a lot bigger with a bigger head that was dubbed the "Dalhburger" by one of my clients.  It was a hot fly for night poons.

I do have a published tarpon crab pattern that's my go-to fly for the outside, passes and beaches.  I just seem to do good inside the sticks with a natural mullet pattern, with varying colors from chartreuse, purple, red head white body or one of my favorites being red head, natural body with big epoxy eyes.  All big with big heads (made with body deer hair) that push a lot of water.

Love the big webby hackles and use them in all my poon flies described above except for the crabs.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Cool, while booked this weekend I recorded that new show Silver King (and for folks that haven't seen it - I really like it...). As I watched it today I noticed the only fly they showed in the water was long and black and moved just the way it's supposed to....

Here's how that pattern came about. Back in the mid-eighties I was looking for another shop to tie for and was lucky enough to hook up with Randy Towe (he was the hot tarpon guide back then -winning tournaments before Andy Mill came on the scene... and also had a shop). Randy's tyer had been Tim Borsky who had just left to do other things so I got a shot with them. After a few orders Randy asked for a "big black fly" and left it up to me about what to come up with and the rest is history... Funny thing, the first ten years it never appeared in any shop or shown in any magazine (and I was asked not to do it for anyone else)... That fly was a tournament secret for times when the fish wouldn't take anything else. Randy wouldn't even tell me how he was using it. When I came back to guiding in 1996 I had to learn how to use it myself when I found some fish up a nameless river. It worked well enough for me to submit it to Umpqua and I've been drawing royalties on it ever since... By that time Randy no longer had a shop and was fishng a lot more in blue water so the need for secrecy just wasn't there (unless you fish tournaments and I long ago passed on that world -just not for me...).

I don't thinks there's much really original stuff in fly tying. All of us build on what we've learned from others. I think the grand-daddy of this pattern is probably the Rhode tarpon streamer (and it was developed back in the 1930's....).


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## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

> Cool, while booked this weekend I recorded that new show Silver King (and for folks that haven't seen it - I really like it...).  As I watched it today I noticed the only fly they showed in the water was long and black and moved just the way it's supposed to....
> 
> Here's how that pattern came about.  Back in the mid-eighties I was looking for another shop to tie for and was lucky enough to hook up with Randy Towe (he was the hot tarpon guide back then -winning tournaments before Andy Mill came on the scene... and also had a shop).  Randy's tyer had been Tim Borsky who had just left to do other things so I got a shot with them.  After a few orders Randy asked for a "big black fly" and left it up to me about what to come up with and the rest is history... Funny thing, the first ten years it never appeared in any shop or shown in any magazine (and I was asked not to do it for anyone else)...  That fly was a tournament secret for times when the fish wouldn't take anything else.  Randy wouldn't even tell me how he was using it.  When I came back to guiding in 1996 I had to learn how to use it myself when I found some fish up a nameless river.  It worked well enough for me to submit it to Umpqua and I've been drawing royalties on it ever since...  By that time Randy no longer had a shop and was fishng a lot more in blue water so the need for secrecy just wasn't there (unless you fish tournaments and I long ago passed on that world -just not for me...).
> 
> I don't thinks there's much really original stuff in fly tying.  All of us build on what we've learned from others.  I think the grand-daddy of this pattern is probably the Rhode tarpon streamer (and it was developed back in the 1930's....).


Good memories! I remember Randy's shop….called the World Class Angler. He had a really cool fiberglass casting pond located at the shop to test rods. He had some top secret flies found no where else. I think I even bought a few of the black ones you described! There was a good competition between Hal Chittum's shop and Randy's shop back in the day. Hal had SAGE factory rods and Randy had his own line of SAGE fly and spin rods he wrapped. I still have a 7wt., an 11 wt. and a spin rod he made for me. Al Frens was Randy's employee back then and the shop always had a good vibe. Miss those days…….


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## MariettaMike (Jun 14, 2012)

> it's considered a "Soft Hackle Seaducer."


hey...be careful saying that around my wife...she might not let me go tarpon fishing without her.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Net, that does bring back memories since I tied for both Randy and then Hal way back when (and I can't remember the last time I spoke with Al Frens...). Randy's days building up Sage blanks came to an end when Sage decided not to sell those blanks to him any more.... There are a few things about the "fly business" that don't bear close scrutiny....


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Net, is that a 7wt RPL or RPLX (not the i)?  That 7wt RPLX (brown blank) was one of the sweetest rods!

Bob, just found that show.  It has it's own webside and you can watch all the episodes on-line.  Thx!  Just watched the 1st show and brought back some memories.  Capt Rob Fordyce is one of my fly tarpon heros!  I remember fishing 2 guys from AZ where we were on poons in Boca Grande for 3 days and couldn't get them to eat.  Then they went to Flamingo where Capt Rob spanked me with those guys and I've been a big fan of his ever since!  Met him 5 yrs later up here at the Frank Sargent show in Tampa and he handed me his book "*Tarpon on Fly*" written by *Capt. Rob Fordyce* and Donald Larmouth featuring Flip Pallot (Frank Amato Publications).  NOTE :  For you guys that is looking for a great book, easy read with illustrations on a complete "*how to*" from A to Z on how to successfully catch tarpon on the fly, this is your book!  Look it up and buy it!  It took me 6 yrs of hard self study while on these fish to "by default" learn these tips and techniques on my own.  Save yourself the trouble, the expense and the frustration, buy the book, take a week to study it and be successful with them!

Btw Capt Lemay, just watched the 10th Episode after the 1st one and they were using what appears to be your black tarpon snake. Go figure! 

Cheers!


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

That same black fly is all we were using on Saturday (see report). 

I get to see Rob fairly often at the inside boat ramp down at Flamingo. I'm considering volunteering if they ever do a show up inside where the water is dark and you're fishing point blank in small rivers....


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## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

> Net, is that a 7wt RPL or RPLX (not the i)?  That 7wt RPLX (brown blank) was one of the sweetest rods!


Yeah, both the 7wt and the 11wt are RPLX 3-piece blanks. They are a couple of my prized possessions and still get fished a few times each year.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Net, one day I will own one of those RPLX 7's. Just got to find the right one that's still in great shape.

Bob, I love those chrome gold poons and snook with black backs! My favorite color when they look like that! Grew up catching them in the dark Luzianne tea stained freshwater side of the Caloosahatchee, starting around 45yrs ago (I'm only 51 now!).

I hope they get you set up for one of those clips! If it's where I think it is, it'll be cool! Don't cha just hate it when the the dumb thing jumps up in the trees! Would make for an interesting show tho! ;D


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## Capt. Eli Whidden (Jun 7, 2012)

Here's 2 stupid simple patterns I came up with last year.   They are go to flies for the days the fish are finicky.   Oceanside fish and Glades fish enjoy them just as well.  

I originally started with the worm-like patten utilizing it in areas of glades where the big fish see alot of pressure.  To my surprise, they eat it at will.   Obviously, it is intended for sight fishing visible fish, the days where those pressured back country fish are clearly seen, floating with the tide, laid up and enjoying the new found warm weather.   

Again, to my surprise, the Migrating fish along the Oceanside flats munched the worm-like pattern too.   The fly is easily placed in front of, or preferably cast into the migrating school, targeting the 3rd-5th fish first.  

The second fly proved to be just a effective as well.  A little slower sink rate and a bit more bulk.    

Olive, go figure.   Corny as it is, it's been dubbed the "Efly".


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Good looking bugs! Some years ago I was lucky enough to look in a few "famous angler" fly boxes. You'd have been astonished at what they were actually using...


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## JaxLaxFish (Aug 23, 2010)

Are those flies weighted Capt Eli? Kind of looks like plastic bead chain


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## Capt. Eli Whidden (Jun 7, 2012)

JaxLaxfish,

Blk BC eyes on both.


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## kbkeys1 (Aug 11, 2014)

Back to the thread...Backcountry: Tarpon Bunnies, Oceanside: "Double Secret" worm fly...two-handed strip.


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## redjim (Oct 16, 2012)

At the beginning of each tarpon season I too try to find a "silver bullet" that will out do the others. I always find a few, usually trying some of the new tarpon patterns that SS Flies comes out with but usually they don't work out so hot. But its fun looking.

"Ole Reliable' will come through. A couple of years ago I read a wonderful article from Chico Frenandez on now much he liked throwing marabou at small tarpon. I said to myself this sounds like my style of fishing so I gave it a whirl and have never looked back. In the last three years I figure I have brought close to 185 of the little silver fellows up to my SUP mostly on this fly. I throw this thing in everything from a 2/0 to a 6.

I have to admit that I also have had good luck with Capt Bob's Snakes. But I have to settle on the knock off because his great flies are hard to come by. I like throwing the black in a 2/0 at night.


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