Rods, Reels, and Lines
I use Islander reels, Abel reels, and have one Old Florida reel. Actually, all my reels are old (that's an attempt at guide humor, haha). All are well maintained and are in excellent condition.
I use Temple Fork Outfitters rods, with some Loomis and Orvis rods in the mix. I even have a Redington Nano-Titanium, a seven-weight.
I use both Scientific Anglers and Airflo flylines, depending on the application. For lagoon fishing a floating line is all that's needed. I've been known to overline my rods by one weight of flyline.
Fly outfits for the lagoon should be between six- and eight-weight, depending on your casting and fish fighting skills.
Leaders
I make all my own leaders, two piece big game style leaders. To break a fish off with one of these you will have to work at it. The fluorocarbon tippets range from 12 pounds during the winter to 20 pounds during the summer. Leaders for the lagoon need to be long, 12 feet or so. Our fish are spooky and they know what a flyline hitting the water sounds like.
Flies
I tie all my own flies. SInce I'm a fishing guide I like them to be simple to tie and effective on the water. Flies range in size from #4 and #2 for redfish and other inshore species to 2/0 and 3/0 for tarpon and other ocean fish.
Flies must cover the water column from the surface to the bottom. Flies for the lagoon must have weedguards, especially important for weighted flies. Flies should imitate shrimp, crabs, small fish, or some combination thereof. People get crazy about this topic. Fish aren't rocket scientists. If you make a good cast with something that looks like food they'll probably try it.
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What We Do: Spotted Tail Charter Service provides expert fishing charter services and fishing instruction. We specialize in shallow water sight fishing with fly fishing and light spinning tackle. We fish on the Mosquito Lagoon, the Indian River Lagoon, the Banana River Lagoon, and near coastal Atlantic Ocean, for redfish, tarpon, seatrout, snook, and many other species of fish. The cities we service include Orlando, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Melbourne, New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach, and the rest of the central Florida area and attractions.