blind casting with a fly rod???

[jp311]

Hey larry,

hey larry i do alot of fly fishing but i usually have to see the fish to catch it.... have you ever just drifted ,and blind casted for redfish???

[dahlberg]

Hi Jp
I've not done it for reds but I've been pretty successful for tarpon blind casting into channels with sinking lines.
Best success has been with 12' leader and a diving fly. Strip until fly gets to bottom. Pause until it rises , repeat.
Obviously, you need to be fishing where they actually are living.
I'd think with reds a short leader, and the same diving sinking biz, or a fly that swims along the bottom should work.
You might also try over sized bonefish type or permit patterns like the bonecrusher, crazy charlie, merkin, etc. or 3-4' streamers tied with a generous wing of Flashabou.
Define the basin or bank or spot you are fishing. Break it into 4' quadrants. Cast so the fly passes through every quadrant.
Keep moving, keep track of what you've fished and what you have not. Be sure you are on fish before getting superstitious about fly patterns.
The longer the cast the better. If the water is 6' or less a sinking fly and floating line might be best.
good luck,
L

[Questor]

I do quite a bit of this, especially at beaches and while wading grass flats. My favorite search lure is a 3" Clouser with relatively heavy lead "eyes". Leader is 9' with a longish tippet and a 6" 30# flurocarbon shock tippet after all the knots are tied. Fly is attached to the tippet with a loop knot. I like the Clouser because you can cover a lot of water with it and it sinks fast. When fishing it in grass flats, I am usually fishing the edges, not directly in the grass. Otherwise there are too many snags. If I want to fish over the grass, I'll switch to a bend-back fly.

If you are not familiar with a bend-back, it will be worth tying some. They really work well when fishing over grass (or oysters) because they don't snag often. They don't sink down into the bottom like a Clouser. You can easily keep it off the bottom just using a normal retrieve.

For deeper water, up to about 6', I'll use a Teeny sink tip line that sinks 6.5 inches per second. Leader is only about six feet, and that has been effective for me.