Fish Species That Defy the Fly

DimeBrite said:
The Guinean Pomano (Trachinotus maxillosus)

This species lives on the Atlantic coast of west Africa. Not much is known about it, and very few photos are available. On a recent fishing trip a friend of mine was obsessed with catching one. Early one morning I was getting coffee when a local villager walked into the kitchen area with a strange golden fish. "A gift from the chief" was the message translated to me. A few minutes later I snuck into the back rooms of the kitchen to find and document the fish, accompanied by the obsessed fly angler...

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It was indeed a Guinean Pompano caught by nets within the lagoon the previous evening! I was told they were rarely caught on gear, usually eating a live crab. Another guy said there may be two sub species of Guinean Pompano, one that stays inside the brackish lagoon and a larger version that feeds along the surf zone. I felt its belly and it was full of something hard. "They eat those hermit crab things that live in those long sharp snail shells." The lagoon shore was littered with these dark shells and at night they tickled my feet as I waded the surf.

Guides said there was a spot about 3 kilometers to the north where they could be seen grazing on rocky rubble in the surf. My obsessed buddy gathered a group of anglers and marched up there early one morning. I opted out due to the group already being too large, thinking I would make my attempt 2 or 3 days later when the tide was higher.

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They reached the place and watched for the Guinean Pompano to appear. My buddy thought he saw one briefly, but the sighting was unconfirmed. No casts were made. I never had the chance to visit the location when the tide was higher due to heavy rain changing the fishing schedule. But, I took photos of the hermit crab things they eat and learned about the tides when they feed within the range of a fly rod. I'll add a photo of these critters soon.

To my knowledge no one has landed a Guinean Pompano on a fly yet. Take these notes and continue the story.
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Stonedfish said:
Besides starry flounders 😉, grass carp.
I have access to a private lake where they’ve been planted to control weeds. The things are huge and will sit on the surface and look like a cross between a sturgeon and a tarpon. They spook easily. I tied up some green pattern that looked like weeds. I’ve spent several days targeting them but never got a sniff. Now I don’t even bother. It used to be you couldn’t target them in public waters but I’m not sure if that still holds true.
SF
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Last year a gear fisherman of mine caught some carp on bread. Look-up bread fly.
 
Paige said:
Great whites have already been targeted and hooked with fly gear, if I recall correctly, it was off the east coast of New Zealand. I dont think they ever landed 1 but had hooked into a couple.
Was in a magazine I believe.
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Tiger shark, Bull shark, Lemon shark, Mako shark as well.
 
Shark week
 
Eastside said:
Sockeye on the Columbia. Caught a few in Alaska, but not in the lower 48.
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It can be done. There's one spot in particular I know of where they run through thick enough in the right kind of water for like 1wk a year to do the Alaska methods. I haven't done it but know a few who have.
 
Sol Duc Sockeye fall into the doable but challenging category in our PNW area. I remember talking to Jim Kerr about that run many years ago. Any sockeye run that lacks big numbers where flossing won't work... I grew up watching Jim Teeny videos showing him targeting coastal chinook and sockeye. Fly fishing for salmon was quite rare in that era, so there was much to figure out with flies and sinking lines. I really enjoy revisiting how various folks pioneered a new fly fishery at the tying bench and on the water.
 
ocean sunfish/Mola Mola
giant cichlid (native to Lake Tanganyika) - I used to be really into rift lake cichlids, always wondered if folks would start fly fishing for them.
Puffer fish - for comedic value
Goliath Tiger Fish
Piraiba
Goonch
Orca...not a fish, but maybe Evan's seal popper comes in handy?
 
Long_Rod_Silvers said:
ocean sunfish/Mola Mola
giant cichlid (native to Lake Tanganyika) - I used to be really into rift lake cichlids, always wondered if folks would start fly fishing for them.
Puffer fish - for comedic value
Goliath Tiger Fish
Piraiba
Goonch
Orca...not a fish, but maybe Evan's seal popper comes in handy?
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I've caught puffers on a fly rod. Have pliers ready or they'll literally snap your finger off.
 
Side bar, there's a ton of african cichlids that are endemic to the great rift lakes. They have some popularity in the aquarium trade - a lot of them are mouth brooders, which is pretty wild.
I've always thought a fly rod would actually work really well for these species (Aulonocara, Haplochromis, pseudotropheus, lamprologus, etc.) because most are omnivorous and feed on invertebrates.
Very colorful fish. Probably a blast on a 2wt.
But let's be real, if you're traveling to Africa for fishing, you just ain't bringing a 2 wt....
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Long_Rod_Silvers said:
Was it fully puffed up when you landed it? I'd die laughing if I saw that happen. :ROFLMAO:
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Fishing with mems on the big island in a tide pond we caught about a bazillion of them. Don would carry them out to the main bay every time. He's in the background coming back from depositing the last one she caught 🤣🤣🤣

They usually come out deflated but a little shake on the tail and they puff right up!
 
Long_Rod_Silvers said:
ocean sunfish/Mola Mola
giant cichlid (native to Lake Tanganyika) - I used to be really into rift lake cichlids, always wondered if folks would start fly fishing for them.
Puffer fish - for comedic value
Goliath Tiger Fish
Piraiba
Goonch
Orca...not a fish, but maybe Evan's seal popper comes in handy?
Click to expand...
The tiger, piraiba, and goonch would be fun as heck on a fly rod; I've caught plenty of catfish on flies, see no reason why a 10 or 12wt and a big streamer wouldn't do some work on 'em. Bonus points if you get the tiger on topwater.
 
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