First corbina on the fly

[Martin McFly]

Thank you sir.

[dryfly2010]

not to argue, but that looks a whole lot like the kingfish we have in charleston. i caught several very small ones with hardware (i know, slap my hand) this week. they looked just like that. beard and everything.

Jordan

[tailingloop]

The corbina is a member of the croaker family as is your kingfish I think. Martin's first corbina would be considered quite an accomplishment by most left coast surfzone anglers. These fish are considered among the more difficult fish to fool with artificial offerings, especially flies. This opinion is shared by anglers who have had the opportunity to fish for many species around the world. They are much more difficult to fool than other local croaker species. During the summer months they come into the surf zone and are often seen with their backs exposed in mere inches of water while they root for sand crabs. They will come in with the waves and often skitter back out at the last possible moment as the water recedes. When exposed like this they are very spooky and when they do pick up flies, they usually expel the fraud very quickly. As with many difficult species, some anglers who have spent considerable time stalking them have become more successful. They are easier to hook with live bait with soft shell (molting) sand crabs a preferred bait. Largest I have seen was 8lbs. In skinny water these fish will really pull line off the reel quickly.

[Martin McFly]

They are known by many names such as the fish of the thousand casts, beans, frijoles, sliders etc. A fellow fly angler who has been fishing these waters for years offered to help me, he even showed me a secret location where they are very aggressive. It is amazing and something I had never seen before, they do show their backs when they are sliding back to the deeper water. I'm going fishing tomorrow again, hopefully I'll catch more of those. I will sure post whatever I manage to catch.
Thanks