# First Redfish on a Fly



## dennis_99 (Feb 27, 2006)

Well, it was bound to happen; I'm reminded of the saying "even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while" lol

I caught my first redfish on the fly. It was my second time on the water with my fly rod; hadn't been out due to family, work, deer lease chores and dove season. My buddy who got me into it took me out on his skiff; we went out of Port Mansfield and were greeted by the highest tide Ive ever see without a storm; well its the coastal flooding remnants of Beta.

I was first in the box and when we found them I had tons of sight casting opportunities at BIG reds, but I'm still a work in progress. My buddy hammered'em with his biggest going to a little over 27. What a blast. Caught this little guy, and what a rush. He fell to a redfish crack from sightcastfishing.com.

I had my chances at TONS of other reds and I work on my cast as well. It was a great day on the way, sun was perfect for sight casting. I can't wait for my first keeper, what a rush.


----------



## 2thDr (Jan 25, 2014)

*first red on fly*

OK, you did it! Always tough at first, especially with high water. Sight casting redfish with a fly rod, to me, beats out any other method. You are way ahead on the learning curve...keep it up!


----------



## dennis_99 (Feb 27, 2006)

Thank you! Yeah, it was super rewarding. I've caught fish about every way possible and I could have loaded an ice chest several times over had I busted out my rod/reel and a lure. This was just so much more rewarding; I am truly hooked....

Appreciate everyone's advice and expertise on here. I'll post the next one soon.


----------



## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Nice going! Pretty addictive I think you will find it. The fall is generally prime time for finding eager and schooling redfish working over shrimp and other little bait up shallow. You story just fires me up to get out and chase and stalk some of the fish. Thanks for the report.


----------



## Popperdave (Jul 9, 2016)

Great going. I've been addicted to it for 30 years. Seeing the fish and trying to make a good cast to it. The adrenaline flows when you see the take, it never gets old. My only advice is to practice casting before you go fishing.
Good luck be safe.


----------



## dennis_99 (Feb 27, 2006)

Yeah, the adrenaline is crazy; in my back yard I can cast to a dime, out there on front of boat, seeing the red clear as day is just a tad bit different; lol. Just like I'm a pro at the driving range. LOL

Great experience and I'm thankful I'm finally into it. I look forward to reading reports on here and stories as well. Thanks again fellas!


----------



## Bird (May 10, 2005)

Good job! I know the feeling well. I've been fly fishing a long time and it still doesn't get old.


----------



## Golden (Aug 1, 2006)

Those flys from Sightcast are awesome, those guys are dedicated fly fishers and have some awesome tying skills. 

If I may offer a good practice routine for a fly fishing newbee, try taking a strong folding chair out to your practice area. Set up your target (hula hoop works great) 30 to 40 feet away, stand on the chair and practice your casting into the target. The first thing you will notice is you have to quite down your lower body completely during the cast. Make sure your back cast is at an upward angle well above the guy on the rear platform. The second thing you will see is that you are casting in a downward direction towards to the target. Also try to get your fly casted to an imaginary point approximately one foot above the target. On the fore cast, you want to lay down the tip of fly rod downward to ground level (water level) and watch the fly how it hits the target. What you wanting to achieve is to get the fly to set down that last foot like a "butterfly with sore feet". Eliminate the fly hitting the water hard. As a good practice when fishing, is to keep your rod tip down on top of the water when stripping your fly back. Do not raise your rod tip up when setting the hook. Practice the "Strip-set" with the rod tip down at water level. Practice these tips and you will be much more proficient in your fly fishing quest. And remember saltwater fish are way smarter than you think. Have fun! 

The more you practice standing on the chair the better you will feel and cast from the bow of your buddy's skiff. Watch out, if you transfer your weight backwards on the chair, the chair might fold up and you will go down. I've used this technique for my fly fishing friends and they immediately get way better at presenting the fly to the target. This also eliminates the caster shifting his weight on the bow sending out a sonic warning to the redfish, and BOOM they are gone before you can say "where did he go?" 

Good Luck on your fly fishing addition, there is no cure. The more you try it the more overwhelming it becomes.


----------



## dennis_99 (Feb 27, 2006)

Wow; that's some great advice and reasoning. I will definitely try that. I do have a question; what do you all use when practicing in the back?? 

Do you all use the actual set up (line, leader and fly) as you do when fishing? Or some other set up?


----------



## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Things to think about when practicing. One, grass is very hard on fly line, so is concrete. Grass, at least our dominant San Augustine has a lot of silica that abrades fly line. A lot of people donâ€™t realize this, but a flyline will be torn up after not too many hours of practice on grass or concrete. On the water practice is much better if available. 

When I practice now itâ€™s on the water and with the lines, leaders, flies I normally use. Back when I practiced in the yard, I used a worn out fly line and removed the hook point from a worn out fly. Same rods, leaders, etc.


----------

