For me personally, November marks the change from our fall to winter fishery. Of course, it always depends on the weather and some years are better than others, but for the most part it’s the time of the year when I start to change things up.
The beginning of November is the tail-end of the mullet run. We continue to see scattered spots of bait along with big predators still chasing and busting them. During the day I still give the sea walls a fair shot with different top water flies, mostly poppers in 3/0 to 5/0. It is very exciting for my clients to fish these flies along the walls and other structures. An important thing for this type of fishing is that you are able to move your fly as soon as it hits the water. This means there should be no slack in your fly line or leader.
Here’s a little trick on how to control the way your leader turns over. Let’s face it, even professionals don’t always get the perfect cast! Stop your line with your line hand right before the end of shooting your line. In other words, when you let the line shoot, don’t let it go from your line hand but guide the line through your fingers and stop it right at the end of your cast. This will generate a good turn over for your leader. As soon as the fly lands, put the rod tip down, strip short and hard to make sure that your popper is making that loud and deep sound. This sound is what attracts the fish even from a distance and gets them fired up.
What a fun way to catch fish even if it’s not a new world record!
The Fly Fishing Column is written by Capt. Michael Mauri, www.mauriflyfishing.com, michael@mauriflyfishing.com, (772) 485-3321.
