# Flamingo fishing report, 1 October



## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Back out on the water this past weekend after a lot of re-fitting (new motor, and lots of extras as well) and found the usual end of September scene out of Flamingo (down in the Everglades for those of you not familiar with south Florida...). The Gulf coast of the 'glades, and back inside the rivers that drain into the 'glades are just full of bait - everywhere you go. Finger mullet, pilchards, bay anchovies and others are just thick along every shoreline - and every hungry fish is taking advantage... Just one throw of a castnet and you might have to open a panel or two just to be able to lift the net with all the bait.... it's that time of year... This will go on for the entire month of October and only begin to taper off towards the end of November when falling water temperatures will send the mature bait fish offshore a bit... 


The weather recently has been beginning to ease off of late summer's high temps and thunderstorms as well so we're finally getting a hint of the fall... On both Saturday and Sunday I had visiting angler Joe Huggard aboard and we were chasing tarpon with a fly rod - and no bait aboard... We found lots of fish - but most of the tarpon were very tough (I suspect they've been feeding all night long for days now...)... we did get a few strikes - but no hookups... Still plenty of snook, redfish, speckled trout and others any time we slacked off and used a lighter rod but the tarpon sent us home without... Joe did make one nice catch - an 8lb tripletail on fly (at over 21" it was well within the new size limits here in Florida but was carefully released - local anglers would have taken this prize table fish home.... ). Here's a pic...








Lots of these around now sliding in from offshore following the baitfish schools right at the surface, perfect for an angler with a fly rod or light spinning gear...









Here's a favorite fly I always have ready during this time of year - it's a perfect match for much of the baitfish along the coast... It's called a Silhouette - and it's one of my original patterns... We usually do them up on stout 1/0 hooks in white with fl. green thread...

We've taken just about every fish around that's actively feeding on whitebait with this fly...

The fall season is underway now and it couldn't come soon enough for me...

Be a hero... take a kid fishing.....


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

Yep, that TT would have been on my table!


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Tripletail are like flounder...they'll test your commitment to catch and release.


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

lemaymiami said:


> Back out on the water this past weekend after a lot of re-fitting (new motor, and lots of extras as well) and found the usual end of September scene out of Flamingo (down in the Everglades for those of you not familiar with south Florida...). The Gulf coast of the 'glades, and back inside the rivers that drain into the 'glades are just full of bait - everywhere you go. Finger mullet, pilchards, bay anchovies and others are just thick along every shoreline - and every hungry fish is taking advantage... Just one throw of a castnet and you might have to open a panel or two just to be able to lift the net with all the bait.... it's that time of year... This will go on for the entire month of October and only begin to taper off towards the end of November when falling water temperatures will send the mature bait fish offshore a bit...
> 
> 
> The weather recently has been beginning to ease off of late summer's high temps and thunderstorms as well so we're finally getting a hint of the fall... On both Saturday and Sunday I had visiting angler Joe Huggard aboard and we were chasing tarpon with a fly rod - and no bait aboard... We found lots of fish - but most of the tarpon were very tough (I suspect they've been feeding all night long for days now...)... we did get a few strikes - but no hookups... Still plenty of snook, redfish, speckled trout and others any time we slacked off and used a lighter rod but the tarpon sent us home without... Joe did make one nice catch - an 8lb tripletail on fly (at over 21" it was well within the new size limits here in Florida but was carefully released - local anglers would have taken this prize table fish home.... ). Here's a pic...
> ...


Bob, 
Is the head just Marabou? Don't see ant BT

Thanks


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## NotdeanKane (Oct 1, 2019)

Great report and nice trip. Thanks Capt!


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Double... I often get that question about the Silhouette... Here's something I posted on another site that covers it...

This time of year my primary baitfish pattern is the Silhouette - and we've been catching fish with it for years and years.... Here's an extra photo and a brief tying description....












This is an all saddle hackle pattern that I first began tying for shops in the early eighties... It has almost universal appeal since the idea is to match the profile (and the size.... ) of whitebait (a generic term down here in Florida for small scaled sardines or pilchards, threadfin herring, menhaden, spanish sardines, etc.) that come in small pods or great schools - many times with more than one specie in the mix - and all getting shredded when they get close enough to locations along any shoreline - or offshore - that has hungry fish taking advantage....

Thread: Danville's flat waxed nylon, color of choice - usually fl. green for an all white Silhouette...

Hook: Stout, very sharp 1/0 (or larger to suit the size of the bait) originally Tiemco 800s (discontinued), then Owner Aki, Mustad 7766, Tiemco 600sp (and others...)

Eyes: Ex-small presentation lead eyes from Wapsi fly with painted eyes ( painted and baked before the eyes are tied in place one eye width behind the hook eye... 

Tail: Six wide, webby saddle hackles (generally from strung saddles) bleached white, Three on a side with the curve of the feathers set inward (three on a side), very similar to the way tails are tied on a Lefty's Deceiver

Flash: Pearl flashabou or Flashabou accent - 8 to 12 strands on each side of the tail

Body: Three wide webby white saddle hackles (the same feather used for the tail - with as much of the "fluff" left on the butt ends as possible. All three mated together with the curve inwards - tied in by the butt ends - then palmered forward as a unit all the way to the hook eye.. Finished with a whip finish - then
touched with a bit of super glue on the thread only...

Weedguard - optional for many - they're a necessity where we fish along wild mangrove jungle shorelines.. but that will be a topic for another day....

Note: We tie and use this pattern as small as 3" overall and as large as 7" plus - all depending on the size of the bait that's present at the moment ... The bigger versions are on 3/0 or as large as 5/0 hooks.... the smallest on size #1...

Hope this helps - I actually used to run organized fly tying classes years ago (early eighties) at my local community college (night adult classes of course) so I've been at it for a while....


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

lemaymiami said:


> Double... I often get that question about the Silhouette... Here's something I posted on another site that covers it...
> 
> This time of year my primary baitfish pattern is the Silhouette - and we've been catching fish with it for years and years.... Here's an extra photo and a brief tying description....
> 
> ...


Thank you Bob! very generous of you to share this. I don't believe that I've ever seen this fly before- It looks great. I think this looks like pretty foul resistant too. Like that you can tinker with the size to match your hatch. I will try this soon.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I used to fill orders for this pattern for almost every shop I tied for in the years when I was a commercial tyer. One of them was for one hundred of them. I quit tying commercially a few years ago and now just need enough for my anglers....


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

lemaymiami said:


> I used to fill orders for this pattern for almost every shop I tied for in the years when I was a commercial tyer. One of them was for one hundred of them. I quit tying commercially a few years ago and now just need enough for my anglers....


That is cool. Sounds like the proof is in the pudding with this Fly.

The lead eyes are tied on top of hook shank, correct?

Regards


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Yep... I have been buying lead eyes in bulk ( 1000 per size) for years and make a point of painting them and then baking them to harden the paint - long before using them. My usual routine is to tie in eyes (always on top) for every hook for that pattern as a first step, production style before moving to the next step since it saves time....


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

lemaymiami said:


> Yep... I have been buying lead eyes in bulk ( 1000 per size) for years and make a point of painting them and then baking them to harden the paint - long before using them. My usual routine is to tie in eyes (always on top) for every hook for that pattern as a first step, production style before moving to the next step since it saves time....


Sounds good. I'm happy if I get 5 or 6 flies tied in a week, LOL


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