Fly
	LINES
	by Catch Cormier
	Redfish lite - less rod weight, more fun

Published June 2001 in the Louisiana Sportsman's Magazine.
Portions of the article referring to Capt. Dan are set in bold type.

"Catch" Cormier if a good friend and a tireless fly fisher. His website is a must see. Clicking here will take you there.

Mike LaFleur took this shallow-water Red from a casting distance of only 30 feet. LaFleur's Wilderness Systems kayak provides for an effective stealth approach.

Let's go back in time, say, 25 years. Fishing for Red Drum involved a rod the thickness of your mama's broomstick, a reel so big it required a forklift to get it into the boat, and line so thick it took a 1/2-ounce weight just to get the coils out.

Sometime since then, baitcasters discovered that battling Redfish on light tackle was a lot easier on the muscles, and a lot more fun. Oddly enough, it took fly rodders a little longer to get with the program.

Not that 9- and 10-weight fly rods aren't suitable for Reds. Or that 20-pound tippet is too strong. But those same weight rods were much heavier and the tippets much thicker for the same pound strength back then as opposed to today.

Still, inshore coastal enthusiasts are pushing the envelope. Now the rods of choice are 6 and 7 weights, the tippets are 10 to 12 pounds. Light rods enable more control, while lighter tippets give the fly more action. And a 6-weight line makes far less impact on the water than a 9-weight line.

Part of this revolution originated here in Louisiana. Danny Ayo of Houma is a nationally-renown fly fishing guide who pioneered many light-tackle techniques for Redfish. When I say light, I mean that Ayo has taken Reds up to 17 pounds on a 1-weight rod using 2-pound tippet!

Ayo gives programs across the country, dispelling many of the myths about fly rodding for Redfish. One of those myths is that you need to be able to boom long casts in order to be productive.

Ayo loves to tell of the time he hosted Jason Borger, the great caster who doubled for Brad Pitt in the movie A River Runs Through It.

According to Ayo, he and Borger had just gotten started in a patch of marsh, when Borger told him not to worry about getting too close to the fish.

I can cast 120 feet, said Borger.

OK, Cuz. If I see one, I'll be sure to back up for you, replied Ayo.

He may have sounded cynical, but Ayo was making a point. You can't cast to what you can't see. Being able to see a Red sometimes means getting in close and tight. That requires a good set of polarized sunglasses, a long brim hat, and the ability to limit your movement when the moment arrives.

How close can you get to make a cast to a Red?

Mike LaFleur of Baton Rouge is well-known for his accomplishments as a Redfish angler. His secret? Stealth.

Whether it’s fishing from the bank or out of his kayak, LaFleur’s movements remind one of a heron stalking it’s prey. He keeps a low profile, avoids any sound, and uses light tackle to prevent spooking his target.

On many occasions, LaFleur has gotten close enough to touch Reds with his rod or paddle. Sometimes, his cast involves doodling a pink Charlie right in front of the fish’s nose!

For most of his life, LaFleur pursued cold-water trout and salmon. When he began fishing the Louisiana coast, he simply applied the same tactics he’d used for those species to Redfish. And they worked.

Of course, using lighter tackle involves using smaller flies. Most of the flies Ayo and LaFleur use for Reds range in size 2 or smaller. They include crab patterns, wobblers (spoon flies) and pink Charlies. Ayo has even tied crabs as small as size 12.

Sight casting to the Spottail Elvis or the Poisson Rouge, as Ayo calls them, often involves a shallow-draft boat, kayak or canoe. But what if you own a bass boat or bay boat? Can you still be effective with light tackle? Yes, but it may require blind casting.

That was my predicament when I first started saltwater fly fishing in 1985. Yet, I managed to be very successful at catching Reds. How? I simply applied the same strategies I'd used as a lure chunker.

During fall and winter, when the Reds would stack up in the pipeline canals of Port Sulphur, Golden Meadow or Cocodrie, I'd simply anchor up to a good spot and chunk out flies instead of lures.

In spring and summer, the key was to use a popper along lake shorelines. Much like bream, you can blind-cast a popper and the Reds will seek it out and crash it. And as with bream, it's most effective in the early morning and late afternoon.

Yes, that's right think of Redfish as big bream, and you'll have this light-tackle concept all mastered.

Capt. Dan Ayo
E-mail    -  flyfisher@flyfishlouisiana.com
Website - Shallow Minded Guide Service
(985) 855-1381 before 8 PM Central Time