Flies for the Mosquito Lagoon and Adjacent Waters
By Capt. John Kumiski
Which flies work best when fishing the Mosquito Lagoon? What day are we talking about? Accept the fact that the fish have moods. Some days they’ll eat anything. Other days they’ll eat nothing. You need to cover the water column, and you need to think about what your target species eats.
Redfish eat crabs, small fish (generally two inches or less) and shrimp. They have an inferior mouth, and prefer to feed down. Seatrout eat small fish, shrimp, and occasionally crabs. They have a superior mouth and prefer to feed up. They will take a much larger baitfish than reds typically do.
For reds I like flies on #4 and #2 hooks, lightly weighted, and equipped with weedguards. Patterns include Clouser Minnows, Borski sliders, Merkins, and similar types of flies. I always have some unweighted bendbacks (same sizes) for when the plop of a weighted fly landing spooks them.
Yank's Redfish Assassin, a commercially available fly.
Kreel Tackle Company's Klawdad, another commercially available tie.
The black Bunny Booger is one of my personal favorites.
The black and green Clouser Minnow has long proven its worth to me.
If you're going for redfish you need some crab patterns.
A weighted Seaducer tied with all grizzly hackles makes a fine shrimp imitation...
...as does a Slider.
For seatrout I like minnow-type flies, similar to the popular Puglisi patterns, in sizes 2, 1, and 1/0. Small poppers or sliders are also good to carry. There’s quite a bit of crossover between the two species in terms of what flies they’ll take.
The Electric Sushi, an effective seatrout pattern.
A SexyFly Minnow, another effective seatrout pattern.
I call this fly a Trout Bite, a simple bendback tie.
A seatrout will certainly take a Clouser Minnow.
Colors are more important to fishermen that fish most of the time. That having been said, my redfish flies are typically black, brown, tan, gray, green, or purple. My trout flies imitate the natural coloration of small fish, or are hot pink and chartreuse.
Lastly, for days when blind casting is needed, I like the Dupre Spoonfly and the Rattle Rouser in addition to a few larger sized streamers and some popping bugs.
Jim Dupre's Spoonfly, commercially available, is a great choice for blind casting.
The rattle chamber on this fly is clearly visible.
If you carry a selection of the types of flies mentioned you’ll be ready for almost any situation you’re likely to encounter here.
This big drum took a black Bunny Booger. Crab patterns are effective on them, too.
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All photos and text copyright © John A. Kumiski 2010. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute anything on this website in any manner or medium without written permission from its author, John A. Kumiski, 284 Clearview Road, Chuluota, FL 32766; 407.977.5207; spottedtail@spottedtail.com.