Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Rejuvenate your fly rod by overlining it
If your fly rod feels weak and seems to have lost its backbone, maybe it’s time to rejuvenate it by overlining, which simply means to use a fly line rated one step higher than your rod’s stated line weight designation. This works best on modern, relatively stiff graphite rods rather than slow action older gear.
Add a 9-weight line to your 8-weight rod next line change and feel how it increases rod loading, resulting in longer casts in seemingly always windy conditions. Overlining can not only add distance to your casting and bring new life to an under performing rod, but helps load the rod more quickly allowing for less false casting to quick moving or seen-at-the-last-second targets.
If you’re new to fly fishing (or have learned a lot of bad casting habits) and your rod and line match correctly but your casts keep coming up short, it’s probably not a gear issue, it’s a “you” issue. Fly fishing distance casting isn’t about strength; it’s always about correct technique and timing. In 1951 Joan Wulff, “The first lady of fly fishing,” won the National Fly Fishing Distance Casting Championship in an otherwise all-male competition and remained a casting champion from 1943-1960. The typical length of a fly line is 90-100 feet. In 2009, Steve Rajeff set a new world record by casting 243 feet. Famous angler Lefty Kreh would demonstrate distance casting using just half a fly rod and could still cast a mile. Again it’s all about technique and timing.
For general Southwest Florida flats fishing, 200-foot casts aren’t at all necessary. Learn to cast 30-40 feet accurately and you’re in the game for most inshore species, especially when casting a brushy shoreline. Softly cast a large weedless fly to a mangrove edge letting the fly rest on the branches just above the water. Now give the fly line a slight tug causing the bug to lightly and naturally fall to the surface which often causes a major redfish, snook or tarpon explosion. Pure fun!
Southwest Florida is made for salty fly fishing and contrary to what you’ve heard, isn’t at all hard to learn. One thing for sure if you haven’t added fly fishing to your arsenal, you are missing out on one of anglings’ greatest thrills. Learn from a friend, online or take a short course with an instructor. (Email for details on a local beginners course)
Tarpon are in and out of the passes, around area bridges and scattered throughout Pine Island Sound from St. James City to the mouth of the Myakka. Best bet is to hit Charlotte Harbor dragging live bait under floats behind the boat while casting soft plastics from the front deck as the boat slowly moves under electric power. Dead bait works great in the harbor if you want to feed sail cats and toothy types.
Folks often ask are these sail cats edible? Yes, these slime balls are good to eat if you bleed and ice them right away. Skin the whole fish and cut out the center bloodline. They can be wormy during the summer months. River tarpon seem to prefer mud cats but will eat sail cat chunks if hungry.
Finding bait is tough right now except for Mr. Pinfish, which are abundant on most local flats.
Offshore is still humming along if weather and common sense allows a trip out past the 150-foot zone. If you plan on bringing home red snapper for dinner this weekend, FWC officers may change your plans as today red snapper closes till the fall season weekend opener starting Sept. 1.
Lots of reports of redfish catches especially along the mangrove shorelines on the west side of the harbor with good numbers of willing snook mixed in. This should be a great “Red September and October” this year. Still plenty of sharks of all sizes to pull your string, your back and boat.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at captgeorget4@yahoo.com or (239) 440-1621.