| Thirty five years ago a buddy took me saltwater | | | | soon find out what he was talking about. On my |
| fly fishing to Cape Hatteras, NC. Though I had | | | | very next cast I hooked a twenty two pound |
| been fly fishing for freshwater trout and bass for | | | | bluefish. For the next two hours we followed the |
| many years, this would be my first experience | | | | school and caught fish on just about every cast. |
| with saltwater fly fishing. My friend had a small | | | | By the time the school disappeared my arms, |
| sixteen foot fishing boat that was well suited for | | | | hands shoulders and back ached. |
| fly fishing the NC. Sounds and bays. | | | | The next day I was sore all over and suggested |
| We spent the first day fishing the flats and areas | | | | we opted of a little calmer type of fishing. We |
| where rivers and streams fed into the sound. We | | | | again revisited the flats and caught some redfish |
| managed to catch a few nice drum and trout | | | | and trout. On our third we revisited the inlet and |
| with our fly rods. Later that day we stopped by a | | | | again experienced the amazing bluefish run two |
| bait shop and one of the local watering holes. | | | | days earlier. |
| Everyone was talking about the large schools of | | | | Bluefish are voracious feeders and will attack just |
| bluefish that were entering the sound at the point | | | | about any saltwater flies with a little color and |
| at Cape Hatteras. The next morning we anchored | | | | flash to it. That morning I caught fish on Clouser's |
| the boat just inside the entrance to the sound at | | | | Minnows and Lefty's Deceivers. Since that day |
| the point and waited. The shoreline was filled four | | | | the Clouser's Minnow and Lefty's Deceiver have |
| wheel drives parked right next to each other. It | | | | become my favorite flies, and I have caught |
| was not long before I witnessed something that I | | | | bluefish, snook, redfish, tarpon, stripers, drum |
| will never forget. What I saw looked like the | | | | false albacore and other species. |
| water starting to boil. The area was larger than | | | | That was my first experience with saltwater fly |
| the size of a football field and was coming within | | | | fishing but was by no means my last. Since that |
| fly rod reach of us. On my first cast I hooked a | | | | week I have been fly fishing at the Florida Keys, |
| twelve pound bluefish and was amazed at the | | | | up and down the eastern US coast and Belize but |
| power of the fish I had hooked. After I landed | | | | nothing I ever replace the memories I have of |
| the fish, my friend said, a small one. It was the | | | | my first saltwater fly fishing trip. |
| largest fish I had ever caught fly fishing. I would | | | | |