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The Cover Shot
Here is a cool little video that a client from NY made from a Mosquito Lagoon trip he booked with me back in April of 2011. Little did either of us know that the photos that I took that day would get him on the cover of the 2012 Florida Saltwater Recreational Fishing Regulations Magazine! Sergio Diaz is also a great fly angler and has been down a couple more times since that day to land his first Redfish on fly with me. Enjoy!
Tails of the Mosquito Lagoon
The reason why I focus most of my trips in the Mosquito Lagoon is because the fishing is never the same. There are so many little nooks, crannies, and creeks to discover that every trip for me is a new adventure. Nothing gets my heart pumping more than tailing Redfish on a quiet, calm morning with no other boats in sight.
Me and fellow Mosquito Lagoon guide Capt. Billy Rotne ran around looking for some tailing fish to photograph, which we found plenty that cooperated very well for us. It was so peaceful just to watch these fish tail for minutes that all we wanted to do was watch instead of catch. That’s what we did the first part of the morning, then we ventured off to different areas to catch a few with the fly rods.
In these areas, we had to change up flies to match what the fish were keyed on eating for better success. For the tailing fish, a copper slider with a rattle inserted in it did the trick really well. The rattle helped call out the fish which had their heads buried thick in the grass searching for a meal. Once the fish detected where the rattling was coming from, they would then see the copper flash of the fly and move in for the kill.
We then found some fish that were cruising the sandy shorelines busting on mud minnows and small finger mullet. A tan pattern that resembled a mud minnow got better reactions than the copper slider that we were using for tailers.
In another area where we found Redfish cruising on top of dead grass, we noticed small shrimp skipping all over the surface. I had the perfect shrimp pattern that a good buddy Capt. Honson Lau tied which worked great on these picky fish. It’s good to have a nice variety of flies in your box just for these occasions.
Last week I had journalist Jan Maizler on my boat to do a write up on me and my guiding career. Jan who is from Miami, FL. travels the world to write for multiple fishing magazines and online publications. We had a short day on the water due to some rain storms but we did manage a few fish using D.O.A. Shadtails.
Branden Roberts from a new lure company out of Texas called Logic Lures joined me on his first trip to Mosquito Lagoon the other day. He brought a camera man along with him to film for a video project that they are working on. Branden proved that his lures work well catching multiple fish that clobbered his 4″ PlastiX. visit www.logiclures.com if you would like more info on lures and innovative hook systems.
Fishing is definitely getting better in the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, and Banana River. Fish are starting to school up and attacking topwater lures. Fly fishing is really good in the Mosquito Lagoon and will be getting better as the cooler temperatures approach. Fly fishing in the fall is great but winter can get even better with crystal clear water and blue birds skies.
Also, the Black Drum start to show up in big schools around late Fall early Winter. They are a blast to target with the fly rod and can put your patients to the test.
Gotta love the year round fishing down here in Florida!
-Capt. Willy Le
www.NativeFlyCharters.com
ICAST 2011, Shimano, Daiwa, Okuma, TFO new reels
7.12.2011
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ICAST 2011, Shimano, Daiwa, Okuma , TFO new reels
Here are all the new reels from Shimano, Daiwa,tfo and Okuma..this is literally hot right off the press. Being hot off the press have not had time to go through and decipher all the information.
I basically took photos of all the new reels and took photos of the information page.
I am typing this on my laptop in the rental car. 
I will have to through them all later when I have time. I just wanted to get this up for you guys asap.
New is the Shimano Talica 50 2, Talica 50 II
Daiwa Saltiga Satg500H
Okuma Raw 2 mooching reel
2011 Okuma Cedros baitcaster
TFO BVK fly reel for 2012
Shimano Chronarch 200 e6
Shimano Sustain 2500 fg
Daiwa Z action Casting reel
Daiwa Certate ct2500ha
Daiwa Ballistic bls2500sh
Gear Review: 2012 Shimano Stradic FJ
I’ve owned many spinning reels from many different manufacturers but I remeber owning my first 2 top grade spinning reels: the first generation Shimano Stradic and the Daiwa Whisker SS Tournament spinning reels. That was the foundation of my light tackle fishing. I fished 8lb, 10lb, and 12lb mono on my spinning reels back then, using 4000 size Stradics to get the line capacity I needed for catching species such as bonefish and tarpon. The Shimano Stradic spinning reel has been the gold standard of spinning reels even until this day. There was the original first generation Shimano Stradic, clad in silver. Then the next 3 generations, Stradic FE, Stradic FG, Stradic FH came clad in white and gold. The current Shimano Stradic on the market is the Stradic FI, which boosted the benchmark for spinning reels once again.
The Stradic FI won the 2010 ICAST best freshwater reel catagory. But don’t let that fool you, the FI is every bit and even more capable then it’s predecessors. There are more inshore saltwater fisherman using the Shimano Stradic FI these days then any other spinning reel on the market. The Stradic of today felt like the Stella of the past. Stradics often introduced Shimano’s latest technologies at their time period such as Aerowrap, Anti-Rust Bearings, and now X-Ship. X-ship was introduced on the current year Stella but it comes to the next generation of Stradic.
Here I introduce the new Shiamano Stradic FJ. The new Stradic FJ will be clad in a beautiful irridescent pearl white color, like that found on a Lexus luxury sedan. The spool is silver and gold, with a smooth spool lip for reduced friction on casts. The new X-Ship makes the retreive feel even more smooth and solid then before.
This is a Stradic that almost feels like a Stella. My one feature that I am most excited about with these new Stradics is the introduction of a mini Power Ball handle on the Stradic 5000FJ model. Every component of this reel feels solid and it’s beauty and solid construction appear to be flawless. The Shimano Stradic will again raise the bar and prove itself again as the benchmark of spinning reels.
My buddy and I have been testing the new Shimano Stradic FJ spinning reels for the past couple of months, having to keep hush about them. We tested the 3000FJ, 4000FJ, and 5000FJ models on some of the toughest species on the saltwater flats such as bonefish, permit, tarpon, redfish, and snook. The reels prove just as capable as the FI, but with an even more solid feel. We paired the new Stradic FJs on Shimano Terez WaxWing rods and found them to match perfectly for handling all your inshore and nearshore duties.
The Shimano Stradic Ci4 will remain the same. I still own a couple and use my Stradic 4000Ci4 on a G Loomis Greenwater Spinning rod for most of my day to day fish fights. A fleet of Shimano FJs will now be joining my Ci4s aboard my skiff. The new Stradic FJ will be released towards the middle and end of July 2011. Keep an eye out for them at your local tackle store.
the last northerly blow…..
They say that March is the windiest month of the year here and while I do not care to argue the last few northerly winds have made for decent fishing. Given the soon to be hotter than hell weather in the not so distant future I welcomed the last few days of northerly winds and cooler temps.
Lucky for me I was able to stick my head out on the edge a few last times before all focus is turned to those silvery giants in the shallows, which have already thrown me into a fly tying frenzy. Some of these northerly days were better than others but given my fair-weather fishing attitude as of late most days had many fish dancing.
All good days require many dozen fresh baits…………fact of the matter is you never know when a good bite is going to take place so you attempt to prepare for the epic bite every venture until one of those times it plays out as you had hoped.
Some mornings are prettier than others at Miami’s own bait hotel.
Yet another tedious requirement as with everything else……………good tackle ready to fish.
Kitefishing by comparison to most other offshore fishing techniques is a pain in the ass. Soo many lines to tangle. Guys in the pit to the guy behind the wheel always gotta be watching. Lots of team effort here………….
More often than not when your paying attention you see what you came for………
While these spindlebeaks aren’t always creatures of habit, when it blows north with a nice swell there is a respectable chance they will show. No matter how many times you have seen these fish jump…….they still amaze you in neck breaking aerobatic fits.
I know I mention it all the time but us folks in Miama are simply spoiled with an amazing fishery………
The unveiling… G Loomis NRX Fly Rod Gear Review initial thoughts
We all heard the “hype”… we all anticipated what was going to be next in the evolution of the skeleton fish… 8/13/10, Friday the 13th… NRX has finally arrived!!
The G Loomis NRX rods were officially launched tonight to the public. I was at the south FL leg of the NRX launch at the Flyshop of Miami. While at the launch, I was able to throw the whole gamut of the new G Loomis NRX Fly Rods from 7wt to 12wt. If you want the technical aspects of the NRX, you can find them on the G Loomis website, but if you are seeking the nitty gritty of how the rod performed in the hands of the fly caster then you might enjoy the following read.
9wt G Looomis NRX rod with Nautilus G8 reel... perfectly balanced
Here are my initial thoughts on my favorite 3 NRX models…
7wt NRX… This is the true gem in the entire NRX Flyrod series. This rod is fast but still carries a light enough tip to make those short ninja casts when a fish pops up within pushpole stabbing range. Unlike most other 7wt rods, the NRX had the reserve to handle the wind when needed. Most importantly, of every fly rod I have ever cast in my life, the 7wt NRX had the absolute best line feel I had ever experienced. You are never lost as this rod keeps you aware of where your line is at all times so you can make the proper adjustments for your shot and not have to take your eyes off the fish. This was also a very forgiving rod, such that casts that would have fallen apart because of an error in your casting stroke were corrected with ease. Weightwise; the 7wt NRX is extremely light weight. For Sage fans, I would say the NRX weights in between the TCX and Xi3. This 7wt NRX is a must have in every summer time redfish or bonefisherman’s arsenal. I have thrown just about every flagship model 7wt from all the top flyrod manufacturers and the NRX has found it’s place at the top of that world.
9wt NRX
9wt NRX… If I ever had to choose one rod to redfish or bonefish with for the rest of my life, it would be the 9wt NRX. I need not have to explain the versatility of a 9wt but to be specific about the NRX 9wt, it is currently my favorite 9wt Flyrod on the market today. This is the most forgiving rod in the entire NRX series as errors are corrected easy and those who decide to muscle their casts will find that this rod will still punch out the line and lay it out nicely. Unless you absolutely suck, you just can’t shock this rod. It feels as if the rod wants to cast for you. Line feel is incredible as all the technologies were put together into this rod to transfer what is going on outside the tip guide straight through the blank, through the best quality cork, and right into your hand. This 9wt rod has plenty of reserve and should punch out a wind resistant permit fly with ease if need be. The particular one I cast today had a 9wt Airflo Ridge bonefish/redfish taper line on it, which felt perfectly matched. I am going to throw a Monic clear line on there next and report back. Weight-wise, this rod is in the same weight class as the Sage Xi3, perhaps a tad bit lighter.
11wt NRX
11wt NRX… This is “the” travel big game rod. What else can I say except that the 11wt NRX is a cannon with the weight of a small pistol. This rod is crazy light weight and as with the other NRX models, very forgiving and powerful. GTs and Tarpon around the world better say their prayers…
Stay tuned for more details and some “on the water” feedback…
G Loomis NRX Fly Rods, South Florida Launch August 13th
Official G Loomis NRX Flyrod Launch in South Florida.
08.13.2010
Location: Flyshop of Miami
8243 South Dixie Highway
Miami, FL 33143
(305) 669-5851
Time: 6:00PM
Come join me at the official launch of the new G Loomis NRX line of flyrods at the Flyshop of Miami on August 13th. There will be horderves and drinks served for this event. It took many years for G Loomis to finally release a new fly rod. From what I have heard, G Loomis has implimented the latest resins and highest modulus graphit into their new NRX series of fly rods. The top shelf components blend together to make this the most sensitive and lightest weight fly rod G Loomis has ever produced. Will the new NRX top the old GLX Classic series of rods in line feel, light weight, and sensitivity? Will the NRX be more powerful of the G Loomis Crosscurrent series? Come and find out for yourself. Feel free to contact me or anybody at the Flyshop of Miami for further details. We look forward to seeing you all there.
DOA Outdoor Writer’s Festival 2010, River Palms Fish Camp and Cottages, Shimano and G Loomis new products!!
New Minnkota Talon
New Stradic 3000Ci4
they do eat from behind sometimes
Operation Pigeon rescue
Flounder caught on Stradic 4000Ci4, Teramar Rod, and DOA CAL
Snookzilla
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