# The Less Loved Fishes



## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

(Apologies to John Gierach)

A comment on another thread got me to wondering. We all love to catch trout, or redfish, or salmon, or tarpon, or whatever glamorous species is around on a fly rod. But what about the less loved fishes?

When I say less loved, I'm talking about the kind of fish you likely won't see in a magazine article or YouTube video, but you still enjoy going out and catching on a fly rod. So, let's hear about your favorites of the less loved fishes that you can target on fly, and a little about how and why you go after them!


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

My favorites are lookdowns, ladyfish, and jacks here in South Florida.

The lookdowns are typically found on dock lights in the spring and fall, and they can be real suckers for a small Clouser minnow. I love the way they turn on their side and chase down a fly. The fight is short and intense, but I win 98% of the time. Occasionally, I will turn one into a sandwich if it is hooked bad, but mostly they go back.

I usually find ladyfish when looking for something else, but a 2 pounder will pull enough line to be a thrill and jump approximately 17 times on average. Bigger ones can be a real handful, but I have to fight the temptation to be disappointed they aren't tarpon, even though their fight and pending release are nearly identical.

Jacks may or may not qualify, but while most people consider them a nuisance, I never miss a chance to throw at one cruising a seawall. A jack blasting a popper is so much fun to watch. Anything over 5 pounds (pretty common for a jack) on my trusty 8 weight turns into a fight where the outcome is in doubt. That first run after the blowup on your popper is worth fishing for.


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## dingoatemebaby (Sep 14, 2011)

Big bluefish in shallow water are an absolute blast. Growing up on Cape Cod, we could consistently find 5-15lb bruisers in the shallows in the spring and catching one of those on a 8 weight is why I fly fish!


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

More votes (I'm in Florida) for ladyfish, certainly jacks and I'll add Spanish mackerel, which will gladly munch an epoxy minnow or Clouser. They have good stamina and blistering speed.

In the Keys, boxfish and barracuda are a challenge. Boxfish will run almost as hard as a bonefish and will eat similar flies. Cuda are suckers for needlefish patterns with a tiny trace of wire leader.

Haven't ever gotten one to eat a fly, but sharks on medium spin tackle are a blast, too. Lemons, blacktips and spinner sharks are great sport. I know Capt. LeMay and others target sharks on the long rod. Maybe he'll chime in here.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

My vote is ladyfish, primarily because it's the only fish in saltwater that I can get to eat a fly consistently.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Zika said:


> More votes (I'm in Florida) for ladyfish, certainly jacks and I'll add Spanish mackerel, which will gladly munch an epoxy minnow or Clouser. They have good stamina and blistering speed.
> 
> In the Keys, boxfish and barracuda are a challenge. Boxfish will run almost as hard as a bonefish.
> 
> Haven't ever gotten one to eat a fly, but sharks on medium spin tackle are a blast, too. Lemons, blacktips and spinner sharks are great sport. I know Capt. LeMay and others target sharks on the long rod. Maybe he'll chime in here.


I got a small bonnethead to eat a deceiver a couple of months ago. It was honestly a blast.


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## eightwt (May 11, 2017)

Ladyfish are almost the perfect fly rod fish, plentiful, take a fly readily, acrobatic, fight hard, just not tasty. Carp. Only have caught small jacks, but definitely accounted well for themselves.


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## jsnipes (May 1, 2011)

Another vote for ladyfish! That's what hooked me on fly fishing back when I was 12 or 13...


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## Fishshoot (Oct 26, 2017)

Carp


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Baby AJ's, bar jack, green jack, mangrove snapper and on the fresh side crappie.
All will eat a white clouser and will compete to be the first to hit it.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

I never miss a chance to throw at jacks.

I'm seriously not a fan of ladyfish as they're just not worth the hassle of retying a chaffed up leader.


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## texasag07 (Nov 11, 2014)

Gar of any species.

Will most times be interested in a fly even after 4-5 casts, Hard to hook until you get the eat and the set timed right, will usually put one or two crazy jumps together. 

And no I am not talking about using rope flies haha.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

crboggs said:


> I never miss a chance to throw at jacks.
> 
> I'm seriously not a fan of ladyfish as they're just not worth the hassle of retying a chaffed up leader.


Good point on the leaders.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

texasag07 said:


> Gar of any species.


Cichlids, gar, and etc can be fun when you are chasing baby tarpon on foot.


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## mightyrime (Jul 18, 2016)

We have some lesser known here on the west coast..
Corbina...quite possibly the most dificult fish to sight fish
Calico Bass.. the smallmouth of the pacific


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## J-Dad (Aug 30, 2015)

In freshwater it's spotted bass. They are less finicky and pull harder (I think) than largemouth. I've caught them at Lake Lanier on clausers and EP baitfish.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Good thread Cronced!

For me, it's about anything that will grab my fly. I really love them all (well, except for hard head catfish).

Noted species I like to catch other than the glamorous fish...

Saltwater -
Big ladyfish, jacks (all of them), big spanish mackeral, bluefish, little tunny, trigger fish, snapper, grouper, big hound fish, cudas, sheepies, drum, flounder, pompano...

Warm Freshwater -
Mayan chilids, oscars, bluegills, shell crackers, stump knockers, war-mouth bass, bowfin, gars, crappie

My "" fish list -
saltwater catfish of any kind (tho the big sail cats can pull some string, but slime up everything), sting rays, bull rays (cow rays), toad fish, puffers, cow fish, frog fish, lizzard fish, needlefish, small ladyfish, pinfish, baby jacks, ramoras, and my worse fish I hate to grab my fly.... leather jacket fish!

No doubt there are many fish I've yet to hook on fly. But here's hoping! 

Ted Haas


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

Oh man, I forgot all about carp! I remember stalking them on the mud flats on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. I wish I had pictures of that. The backdrop is the looming towers of Three Mile Island nuclear plant (the one that melted down in '78).

Same river, I used to fly fish for channel catfish, too. During the white fly hatch the cats would come up to the surface and make snaking paths while they slurped up flies. My mom used to drive down to the river in the truck and blow the horn at me. I was a few hundred yards from shore in the pitch black. She was understandably nervous but there was no way to stop me!

The scale of that white fly hatch is worth looking up on google. At its peak, they pushed enough air upstream that it felt like the wind and you could hear billions of insects flying the same direction.


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## Scrather (Mar 12, 2018)

Brought a friend out to target small blues last summer. Every cast had multiple sea robins competing for the fly. At first it was annoying, but there were no blues around and hey, when you get lemons make lemonade. Maybe next summer I’ll try and set a new IGFA record for sea robin on a fly.


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## acesover (Aug 21, 2015)

Don't get a chance to fish much salt anymore, but jacks are a hoot. Mostly fish freshwater now and really like getting into a bunch of bluegills.


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## Breeze (Aug 7, 2016)

Cronced said:


> Oh man, I forgot all about carp! I remember stalking them on the mud flats on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. I wish I had pictures of that. The backdrop is the looming towers of Three Mile Island nuclear plant (the one that melted down in '78).
> 
> Same river, I used to fly fish for channel catfish, too. During the white fly hatch the cats would come up to the surface and make snaking paths while they slurped up flies. My mom used to drive down to the river in the truck and blow the horn at me. I was a few hundred yards from shore in the pitch black. She was understandably nervous but there was no way to stop me!
> 
> The scale of that white fly hatch is worth looking up on google. At its peak, they pushed enough air upstream that it felt like the wind and you could hear billions of insects flying the same direction.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Bonita, Stripers way up in a river, Largemouth and big Bluegill with poppers, when they're acting aggressive up top.

Also recently developed an appreciation for Smallies in shallow water in Minnesota.


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## THX1138 (Dec 20, 2016)

Carp is what I target the most during the warm months. Wouldn’t trade a good day of carp fishing for a week of prime bass fishing...


Lou


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## Dawhoo (Oct 27, 2015)

Shoal bass.... They have a very small habitat range amongst the shoals of east Alabama and Georgia . The common man can feel "included", he must not be an amateur Patagona or Simms pro-staffer. The angler may proudly wear booted waders. Typically, these fish are equal opportunity as a fly thrown from White River rods are a worthy as one displayed from the guides of Sage rods. Also fish in hand is considered a catch, instagram filtered photographs need not be required. What more can I say, the experience demands nothing more than blue collar values with a Bud Diesel in hand.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Wait a minute all fish listed above are fish i would target
How about Frog Fish or Lizard Fish


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## GG34 (May 2, 2014)

Dawhoo said:


> Shoal bass.... They have a very small habitat range amongst the shoals of east Alabama and Georgia . It allows the common man can feel "inclusive", he must be an amateur Patagona or Simms pro-staffer. The angler may proudly wear booted waders. Typically, these fish are equal opportunity as a fly thrown from White River rods are a worthy as one displayed from the guides of Sage rods. Also fish in hand is considered a catch, instagram filtered photographs need not be required. What more can I say, the experience demands nothing more than blue collar values with a Bud Diesel in hand.


That's my stomping grounds too.


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## MatthewAbbott (Feb 25, 2017)

texasag07 said:


> Gar of any species.
> 
> Will most times be interested in a fly even after 4-5 casts, Hard to hook until you get the eat and the set timed right, will usually put one or two crazy jumps together.
> 
> And no I am not talking about using rope flies haha.


This ^^^^^


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## Megalops (Oct 23, 2011)

Saltwater Whiskertrout.


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## Ferrulewax (Mar 19, 2018)

Dawhoo said:


> Shoal bass.... They have a very small habitat range amongst the shoals of east Alabama and Georgia . The common man can feel "included", he must not be an amateur Patagona or Simms pro-staffer. The angler may proudly wear booted waders. Typically, these fish are equal opportunity as a fly thrown from White River rods are a worthy as one displayed from the guides of Sage rods. Also fish in hand is considered a catch, instagram filtered photographs need not be required. What more can I say, the experience demands nothing more than blue collar values with a Bud Diesel in hand.


Shoal bass are definitely a favorite of ours as well, not to mention Striped bass as well, particularly when they run up the rivers. Our local rivers are awesome due to the diversity of fish present. In the spring/Summer you have Shoal bass, Spots, Largemouth, Stripers, White Bass, Longnose Gar, Walleye, Bluegill, Redbreast, and all kinds of other panfish.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Megalops said:


> Saltwater Whiskertrout.


Nooooooooooo.... 

slimey bast_ _ ds!!! ~cough cough~


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## sevenweight (Sep 3, 2015)

+1 for jacks and ladyfish. I’m hoping the current cold snap will be enough to drive them into the spring-fed rivers in good numbers.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Grass Carp


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## Edublund (Sep 10, 2016)

Box fish on the fly! way under appreciated


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## dbrady784 (Feb 17, 2014)

Mullet on the fly! tons of them, and make some great fish dip too.


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

Tilapia...at a friends pond today and had a blast catching them on topwater flies.


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## YnR (Feb 16, 2015)

I love catching ladyfish but man do I hate it when they take a dump all over my deck. They have some kind of insane GI system that allows them to defacate their own body weight.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Hardly any fish that isn't fun on fly --- with two exceptions - the saltwater catfish (both kinds) and the dreaded puffer (most would call it a blowfish..). In the backcountry of the Everglades we have a two catfish rule... catch two of them at any spot - and it's time to leave...

Puffers in the interior of the Everglades are a constant nuisance since they'll chase after any fly (or nice soft plastic tailed leadhead) and continuously nip at it - each time removing a half inch off the tail of any fly or leaving a bite size piece missing from any soft plastic lure... Darned things will pursue a fly or soft lure all the way to the boat some days.... When we're sight-fishing I point them out to my anglers and simply tell them - take it away from him...
But all too often, not before I'm going to need to tie on another fly for whoever is on the rod... 

Just to make it clear about puffers and their behavior - they have very noticeable green eyes just filled with hunger.... Not a lot good to say about them at all...

And for those who complain about ladyfish - two things to remember.... simply don't bring one into the boat (then it craps over the water...) and if you do catch one - they may be the absolutely best big fish live bait you'll ever use... Once I found out about them they began to have a reserved spot in my livewell.... To minimize the clean up simply leave your livewell open and swing one into it - before you even un-hook him...


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

lemaymiami said:


> the dreaded puffer (most would call it a blowfish..)


View media item 2108


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Yep, that's the dreaded puffer - and still part of the "trash can slam" ( a puffer, a lizardfish, and a catfish) that any enterprising angler will probably not be bragging about.... 

By the way.... be careful how you un-hook a puffer - those little sharp chisels they have for teeth would be just fine to take a divot out of a finger while you're trying to un-hook one....


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

lemaymiami said:


> be careful how you un-hook a


I can think of a few others to be wary of.
Imagine my surprise when I got a load of the "fangs" on my first little trout...

Normally if it will take a fly I like it...


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

Sharks. Especially spinner sharks. They go completely bonkers when hooked.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

jmrodandgun said:


> Sharks. Especially spinner sharks. They go completely bonkers when hooked.


I've hook them on spinning & conventional rods (big ones) but never landed one since they wrap you line so many times around them and break you off. But the jumps are spectacular. Never hooked one on fly, but I know a guide that use to have a guide service down in the Caribbean that figured out a way to catch them on fly and hand good numbers year round. He said people would fly in from all over the world just to catch them on fly. He stayed booked year round for many years just doing that. That was back in the 90's and early 2000's. Then he sold out and moved back to the states. Today he's retired in NC.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Monster smooth puffer I caught on a bucktail in the Brownsville Ship Channel. It went 5 1/2 pounds on the boga. I released it and should have submitted it for the water body catch and release record but I was too embarrassed.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Here’s how to stay connected with your next spinner (or blacktip shark). Simply lighten your drag until it’s almost nothing at all at first. When that critter quits jumping and spinning then go to your normal drag and you’ll have a much better chance of staying connected (even if you do have to give up half a spool of line at first). When you first hook a spinner it goes so fast that water pressure and a normal drag will usually pop your line otherwise...
This will work for spin or fly gear...


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Monster smooth puffer I caught on a bucktail in the Brownsville Ship Channel. It went 5 1/2 pounds on the boga. I released it and should have submitted it for the water body catch and release record but I was too embarrassed.
> 
> View attachment 49932


I'm not into mounting fish to the wall (except pictures) but that puff would have been a cool conversation piece....


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## brokeoff (Sep 2, 2016)

Another vote for stripers.


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

Strippers deserve their own forum 
Found coast to coast, even have "hybrids".
And they love eating flies as well as top water offerings.

For decades I had one of the sweetest deals for strippers. As good as having your own personal guide. My dad lived on a island in the SF/San Joaquin delta. When he located a school of strippers he'd call me and I would drop what I was doing and run up there. Little over an hour away and I'd be casting to fish.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

Love catching bluegills (bream) on the bed...stripers are getting hot right now.
And freshwater catfish, especially bluecats on the fly are awesome. They will hit a brown wooley booger or leach imitation, and are good eating. Never caught a carp but they are on my bucket list.


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## Austin Bustamante (May 11, 2015)

Backwater said:


> I've hook them on spinning & conventional rods (big ones) but never landed one since they wrap you line so many times around them and break you off. But the jumps are spectacular. Never hooked one on fly, but I know a guide that use to have a guide service down in the Caribbean that figured out a way to catch them on fly and hand good numbers year round. He said people would fly in from all over the world just to catch them on fly. He stayed booked year round for many years just doing that. That was back in the 90's and early 2000's. Then he sold out and moved back to the states. Today he's retired in NC.


Good stuff man


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Austin Bustamante said:


>


Wow! Big shark on fly man! Way cool! You catch it from the beach? East coast? What's the fly?


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## Austin Bustamante (May 11, 2015)

Backwater said:


> Wow! Big shark on fly man! Way cool! You catch it from the beach? East coast? What's the fly?


From a skiff, just beached it to handle it better. Gulf coast, big baitfish pattern.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

One of my winter goals is to get a bonnethead on fly.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

crboggs said:


> One of my winter goals is to get a bonnethead on fly.


Good luck. I can't seem to figure them out after several decades of casting to them when they show up here and there (even just the day before yesterday, I threw at 2 of them). I've even thrown in schools of hundreds of them with no takes . You get lots of follows, but no eats. I heard the only place where they will regularly take a fly for some reason is the Keys. But I've never caught one on fly down there either. I guess they rely on smell too much.

Now small black tips are another story. They'll take a larger size chartreuse and white clousers.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Backwater said:


> Good luck. I can't seem to figure them out after several decades of casting to them when they show up here and there.


I have a buddy who seems to have cracked the code a bit and has caught some recently on fly. So I'm going to pick his brain and see if I can follow suit. Never a shortage of those guys on the winter flats. 

Hooked into a nice 4' blacktip once on the 6wt...broke him off before he broke something. *lol* That was one of those, "I'm gonna make practice casts at him because he'll never eat...OH CRAP NOW WHAT!" situations...


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Let me know Chris if you cracked the code. Then I'll actually set out to target them instead of casting to them as a by-catch as they swim by. Whatever I think it is, it will probably have to be heavy on a intermediate sink line, if not a full sink line in deeper areas because the only say I've gotten them to follow the fly is to somehow forecast their direction they are swimming (really hard to do cause they go all over the place) what for the approach and then take it away from them. Last winder, I got one to grab a newer style of one of my lug worm flies and it shredded the tail as I tried to strip set it. I think they eat those lug worms, so that's what I'm going to try again this winter.


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## jay.bush1434 (Dec 27, 2014)

There aren't too many fish I can think of that I don't like to catch on fly.
sheepshead
gar
ladyfish
black drum
any jack
Spanish macks (also delicious to eat)
frigate mackerel (look like little bonito and school voraciously nearshore)
spade fish
gafftop (ocassionally since they make the best ceviche)


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## BM_Barrelcooker (May 4, 2011)

crboggs said:


> Cichlids, gar, and etc can be fun when you are chasing baby tarpon on foot.


Absolutely.


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## Pierson (Mar 16, 2016)

Backwater said:


> I guess they rely on smell too much.


This is the same conclusion I had with them. I can get them to follow and when they are on top of the fly its like they wonder why they cant smell it and bail out. Kinda like my flush dog with the laser pointer.....

There are so many of them in the bay. Way too many times ill be wading and out of nowhere something will blow up right behind me only to turn around and see 3 footer flying the other direction. They follow your mud trail all the way to you feet. God only knows one day one of them is gone have a go at my wading boots and I'll be scarred for life.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Pierson said:


> This is the same conclusion I had with them. I can get them to follow and when they are on top of the fly its like they wonder why they cant smell it and bail out. Kinda like my flush dog with the laser pointer.....
> 
> There are so many of them in the bay. Way too many times ill be wading and out of nowhere something will blow up right behind me only to turn around and see 3 footer flying the other direction. They follow your mud trail all the way to you feet. God only knows one day one of them is gone have a go at my wading boots and I'll be scarred for life.


I have this suspicion that bonnet heads are really baby hammerheads.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Bonnets are fun - but unlike most sharks on the flats -they're shrimp eaters (and if you used to chum for bonefish the way many of us did years ago they can be a real nuisance when you're chumming with broken up pieces of shrimp...). My guess is that most folks tossing flies at them don't use the right flies.... I'd be using shrimp or crab flies on bonnetheads.

Check out what I wrote about "monsters on fly" -the same rules apply, sharks can't see right in front of them (they're relying on scent to get onto food that close) so you have to position your fly near one eye or the other.... then keep pace with them as they approach your position. Don't bother tossing flies at sharks that are moving away from you -at least it's never worked for me...


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

lemaymiami said:


> Bonnets are fun - but unlike most sharks on the flats -they're shrimp eaters (and if you used to chum for bonefish the way many of us did years ago they can be a real nuisance when you're chumming with broken up pieces of shrimp...). My guess is that most folks tossing flies at them don't use the right flies.... I'd be using shrimp or crab flies on bonnetheads.
> 
> Check out what I wrote about "monsters on fly" -the same rules apply, sharks can't see right in front of them (they're relying on scent to get onto food that close) so you have to position your fly near one eye or the other.... then keep pace with them as they approach your position. Don't bother tossing flies at sharks that are moving away from you -at least it's never worked for me...


Thanks for the tip Capt LeMay. They are tough little rascals to get to eat.


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## Forcefed (Aug 5, 2016)

Catching spinner sharks on top water in the surf might be my favorite less desirable species.


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

Forcefed said:


> View attachment 51014
> Catching spinner sharks on top water in the surf might be my favorite less desirable species.


Where do you do this at? I've wanted to get in on this for a long time but have no idea how to go about it.


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## Ryan Russell (Apr 18, 2017)

Up in the Panhandle, stalking pompano on the sandbars with a 6 wt or 7wt is our version of bonefishing. Probably my favorite thing to do.


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## Forcefed (Aug 5, 2016)

Cronced said:


> Where do you do this at? I've wanted to get in on this for a long time but have no idea how to go about it.


Palm beach county beaches, find the bluefish and jacks, the sharks won’t be far behind.


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## Pbertell (Apr 22, 2015)

I have caught 2 bonnet heads. The first when someone said it wont eat a fly and...
I was bone fishing so I expect it was a shrimp pattern. 

The second one was when there was a shrimp chum tube in the water. They also Saved the day plenty of times while bonefishing w live shrimp...


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## Cam (Apr 5, 2017)

Something you won't see on this list... remora. We had one on our boat and I hope we never catch another... the smell was foul and it spewed shit seemingly endlessly.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Cam said:


> Something you won't see on this list... remora. We had one on our boat and I hope we never catch another... the smell was foul and it spewed shit seemingly endlessly.


Cam, I caught one this past May on a very light spinning rod with a light jig, but offshore. I saw something swimming around up top that looked like a small cobia on a glass calm day. The set up and cast was text book cobia fishing, it ate just as expected and the thing looked and acted like an undersized cobia till I got it up to the boat. It was almost 36" but thinner than a regular cobe, of course, with that massive sucker plate. I didn't pull it into the boat cause I kept thinking it would suck onto my leg or something! Lol I saw a catch and cook video once on it, but I said to my buddy, "no thanks!" Ha! But good thing I didn't pull it into the boat, according to what you experienced.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

We deal with remoras frequently. They’re small ones riding on big snook, tarpon, and other species. They fall off -then stick to the deck and are hard to remove. The trick is to slide them along until you break the seal... We do catch the larger ones as well as baby cobia and it’s hard to tell the apart -until they’re at the boat. They’re easy to handle and un-hook -just stay away from that head plate... Never know what you’re likely to hook with a jig or leadhead along the gulf coast of the Everglades...


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## Pole Position (Apr 3, 2016)

Seeing the mention of spinner sharks gave me a chuckle. My first experience with them must have been when I was @ 12 and Dad was letting me take our old Wellcraft V-20 out by myself for the first time. I invited a friend to go live bait fishing , and whereas he had never caught a king, we agreed he would handle any fish that struck. Sure enough, one of the pogies got nailed, and the fish promptly ran off @ 150 yards before we slowed him down. Well, the s.o.b. jumped out of the water @ 10' high and spinning like a top. His next jump was @ 100 yards away. The third leap was @ 50 yards, and about that time both of us were convinced he was coming into the boat. When he jumped at 25 yards, my friend, who was big enough to later play on the offensive line @ UNC, threw the rod at me and ran and hid under the bow deck. I have to admit, I was about ready to join him, but mercifully saw the spinner shark swim past the boat going like a freight train. The line had so much slack in it as my friend had quit reeling after the 1st jump that when he reached the end of it on the other side of the boat, it snapped like a rifle shot By then, we had had all the fun we could stand and came home. 

Sorry for the derail, but just one of those memories that has never gone away after 50 years....


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

Remora can be a big pain in the neck, but are very good eating fish. The thrashing around and the pooping everywhere is usually enough to dissuade me.


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## Henry Lee Fowler IV (Jan 11, 2017)

I am addicted to carp and cats on the fly. I am going to do some more gar chasing this year.


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## State fish rob (Jan 25, 2017)

Henry Lee Fowler IV said:


> View attachment 57138
> I am addicted to carp and cats on the fly. I am going to do some more gar chasing this year.
> View attachment 57134
> View attachment 57136


 i ve had some luck w gar using hookless flies not really a fly , pc of dewound nylon rope , the finer the better , 3” long 1/4-3/8 diameter. Frayyed ends snag their teeth. Gar seem to mouth a bait / fly forever. Good luck. I ve enjoyed your stuff.


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

I think I'm going to get into fishing for needlefish (also known as houndfish) with the smallest fly rod I have. I imagine that would be a good bit of fun.


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## Megalops (Oct 23, 2011)

Cronced said:


> I think I'm going to get into fishing for needlefish (also known as houndfish) with the smallest fly rod I have. I imagine that would be a hood bit of fun.


My buddy caught an absolutely enormous houndfish on the backside of Egmont several summers ago. It was scary huge, guess you can eat em but hear their bones turn the meat green. Mmmm.


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## Pole Position (Apr 3, 2016)

Houndfish = female Sailfish


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## Captjp (Aug 6, 2016)

Cronced said:


> (Apologies to John Gierach)
> 
> A comment on another thread got me to wondering. We all love to catch trout, or redfish, or salmon, or tarpon, or whatever glamorous species is around on a fly rod. But what about the less loved fishes?
> 
> When I say less loved, I'm talking about the kind of fish you likely won't see in a magazine article or YouTube video, but you still enjoy going out and catching on a fly rod. So, let's hear about your favorites of the less loved fishes that you can target on fly, and a little about how and why you go after them!


Sheepshead all day long, hardest fish we have to catch on a fly. My best day was 5 and that's throwing at them all day and passing on redfish. Small crabs but I figure you have to throw to about 30 to 40 to catch one and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to when one bites. We call them Cajun Permit.


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

lemaymiami said:


> Yep, that's the dreaded puffer - and still part of the "trash can slam" ( a puffer, a lizardfish, and a catfish) that any enterprising angler will probably not be bragging about....
> 
> By the way.... be careful how you un-hook a puffer - those little sharp chisels they have for teeth would be just fine to take a divot out of a finger while you're trying to un-hook one....


Guess I had my first "Trash Can Slam" a couple weeks ago. Threw in a bluewinged sea robin as a bonus!


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## Henry Lee Fowler IV (Jan 11, 2017)

Anyone here fly fish for parrot fish?


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## Asher Covillon (Nov 25, 2018)

Here in the midwest - fly fishing the great lakes and tributaries for carp has become one of my favorite species to target from spring through late summer until I focus on musky. What started as a bycatch swinging for great lakes “steelhead” in the spring turned into a full blow blown obsession after figuring out how to sight-fish for them. They are available everywhere, and in my experience I’ve found them to be more difficult than bonefish and even permit at times - and the accuracy / delicate presentation required to catch them has made me a much better flats fisherman. They keep me very sharp for when I venture off to the salt. Having 20-30 lb fish chasing big weighted streamers on 6-7 weight glass in freshwater is as good as it gets for me. I’ve almost been clocked out several times on bonefish setups as well. I’ll be chasing these fish until the day I die. For saltwater - big jacks are a crazy amount of fun and seem to be very underrated to me. Cheers and tight lines everyone!


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