Fly Fishing the Myakka River
I'm not sure where this post should go, since the Myakka River where I'm fishing is fresh water. However, I catch both freshwater and saltwater fish. Since I target snook, I'm guessing the post belongs in the saltwater folder.
Winter is the time to target big snook. I start in mid December and usually fish until February, sometimes longer. It wall depends on the fish. If they want to cooperate, I'll fish them into March.
We use mostly 8- and 9-weight rods, with floating or sinktip lines. I like a 20-pound leader with 20- or 25-pound shock tippet.
Flies of choice include Clouser Deep Minnows and baitfish imitations.
While snook fishing, you'll also encounter largemouth bass, redfish, gar and tarpon. You just never know.
It's rarely great on the river, but you're always just a cast away from a 25-pound trophy snook. The percentage of fly anglers who have taken 20-pound-plus snook on fly is minuscule.
The season to date has been fair. On one trip, we managed 12 snook and four bass. The latest trip (three anglers) produced two snook and one bass.
A Myakka Big Boy:
This 42-incher wasn't caught on fly, but I posted it just to give you an idea of how large they get:
Typical bass while snook fishing:
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