Saltwater

Tarpon I photo by Jim Shulin Prepare for your first tarpon fishing trip by training a 50-to-70-foot cast in three false strokes or fewer into 15-mph wind, matching your leader butt section to 80–90% of your fly line's diameter, and carrying a clear intermediate line — not just a floater. Those three preparation priorities, stated publicly by working...

Photo by Gforcegerry If you think a twelve-weight is a casting rod, the price gap between a $400 and an $1,100 model looks crazy. It's not — because a twelve-weight isn't really a casting rod. The eleven is the casting tool; the twelve is a leverage tool for wind, big flies, and a fish that doesn't quit. Once you accept that frame, the premium tier...

EP Peanut Butter Fly The EP Bunker fly is the strongest available pattern for matching Atlantic menhaden — the single most important baitfish in the striped bass diet along much of the East Coast. Its synthetic fiber lets you tie a six-to-ten-inch deep-sided silhouette that still casts cleanly, a combination natural materials cannot deliver. When bass key...

Palolo Worm Pattern The Florida Keys palolo worm hatch is an annual late-May to early-June spawning event in which polychaete worms drift to the surface at dusk at ocean-side bridges like Channel Five and Bahia Honda, drawing migrating tarpon into visible surface feeding. The event runs four to six consecutive nights when tide strength aligns — not...

May Tarpon on the Fly Peak tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys runs from late April through early June, with May at the center — a conclusion now backed by acoustic-telemetry data showing adult tarpon hold a 40- to 60-day residency window as sea-surface temperatures climb through 26–28°C (79–82°F). For anglers, that means May is the one month with...

photo by Reid Martin Fighting fish in current demands low, lateral rod pressure, disciplined line management, and lighter drag settings than most anglers expect — because tidal flow adds 10–35 pounds of hydrodynamic drag to your line alone before the fish pulls an ounce. In Florida's bridge channels and inlet mouths, where NOAA documents tidal currents...

The Scientific Anglers ECOastal stripping basket, reviewed by MidCurrent in April 2025, combines light weight, eco-friendly materials, and an integrated rod holder to make a versatile and functional stripping basket for saltwater A good stripping basket is the single most effective upgrade for any fly angler fishing the surf, flats, or open boat...

from "Gotcha Bonefish Fly Tying - McVay's" by IntheRiffle The Gotcha is the most widely recommended bonefish fly across the Bahamas, Belize, and the broader Caribbean — a sparse shrimp imitation built around bead-chain eyes, a pearl diamond braid body, tan craft fur wing, and a pink thread head that mimics a shrimp egg sac. Created by Jim McVay using...

False albacore migrate north through North Carolina's coastal waters in April and May, offering a brief window for nearshore action | Brian Horsley/Wirestock Creators The Outer Banks offers productive fly fishing in April, with red drum as the primary target on both sound-side flats and oceanfront surf, plus a conditional window for false albacore near...

EP Micro Minnow-style fly Surf-zone fly selection in April depends on matching three primary baitfish — bay anchovy (glass minnows), Atlantic silversides, and juvenile mullet — that are significantly smaller than the four-to-six-inch streamers most saltwater fly anglers carry. From the Carolinas south through the Gulf Coast, where April water...