I am taking my family on a well deserved vacation as soon as school lets out. We have three little boys (4,6,7), and they and my wife want to hit the beach. We live in Jackson, MS and plan on hitting the Alabama coast or West Florida panhandle. If I knew I could do some saltwater fly fishing, that would definetly help me choose a spot. I would also need to gear up for saltwater, which I have always planned to do but have yet looked into what I would need. Any tips would be appreciated.
Hello Bedlam, i haven't fished the salt yet, so i'm hoping those that are familiar with the Alabama cost and West Florida panhandle will chime in. Looks like you've got plenty of time to gear up too. I've got this plan of using a 9ft 9wt when i go and hopefully that will be enough horsepower for what i'm likely to hook on the left coast. Good luck with the trip.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
Bedlam,
I used to live in and around the west florida panhandle. In the pensacola area you can fish all over the place. I would take your 8wt and your standard fare of saltwater flies (clousers, decievers, crab and shrimp patterns, etc...). If you can tell me where exactly you're going I can try to steer you into a few spots.
I don't know about Alabama, but anywhere in the panhandle from Pensacola to Appalachacola Bay has lots of wadeable and fishable water. Florida Sportsman website has a lot of good info. Go to the Panhandle and Big Bend boards.
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/forum
An 8wt would be ideal, but you can get by with as low as a 6wt depending on wind conditions. As far as flies, I would use some 2 to 2/0 clousers and decievers. My favorite all around subsurface fly is the schminnow and my favorite surface fly is a 1 or 1/0 gurgler. Both are easy to tie and effective.
I'm from Pensacola, and I can tell you the Gulf Islands National Seashore right across the state line in FL is loaded with accessable wadeable water, and a great beach with pavillion at Johnson's Beach. It has showers and picnic tables with shade if it gets to hot for the kids. I've fished all around Alabama Point, and the Orange Beach, Gulf Shores area, and because of private property most of it has to be done by boat. The area around Alabama Point, and Goat Island has some fantastic pier fishing, but again from boats only. Back to West FL. Once you cross the intercoastal waterway bridge coming from the beach there is a state park (Big Lagoon State Park) that has some more fantastic wadeable water. If you wade out of the park to the east you'll come into a residential area that has good pier fishing that you can hit wading to give you shots at black snapper, flounder and redfish. You will probably get some reds, and flounder on the grass, but that will primarily Speckled Trout and stuff like Spanish Mackeral, and ladyfish. You never know when some sort of Jack will show up though that will strip you into your backing. If you have a boat in FL the intercoastal waterway all along there from the AL state line to Pensacola Pass is loaded with all sorts of good fishing spots. Good fishing in either area, just need a boat for the AL portion. My brother won the Speckled Trout portion of the AL Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo with a 7lb. 9 oz bruiser he caught right at the end of Goat Island a few years ago.
Do a Google Maps of Gulf Islands National Seashore Perdido Key, and you'll see all the places I'm talking about.