Am about 30 days out from our annual trip to FL. Get to fish everyday for three weeks (baring bad weather) with my kayak on Tampa and Sarasota Bay grass flats for Speckled Trout, Redfish, Ladyfish, Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Jacks and Pompano. Going to have some great morning low tides during the trip so wade fishing along deep channels and potholes should produce decent catches everyday. Although there are dozens of patterns that work in this scenario, my primary fly box is made up of just five patterns. Unweighted Gartside Soft Hackle streamers and Myakka Minnows are proven producers on long sink tips and short, stout leaders. The thunk strike of a speckled trout is unmistakable. I’ve tied a lot of these on the new Firehole Predator series barbless hooks so it will be interesting to see how they perform. Gurglers, Shrimp Gurglers and Crease Flies are my top water choice. I always encounter a fair number of bite offs (sharks, bluefish and mackerel) every day so this box will get replenished every evening (There are at least a gross of similar flies stashed in backup boxes I’ll take down to FL).
