Tackle, Flies & Gear
Gear
- polarized sunglasses
- long sleeve shirt
- long pants
- wading boots (wear gravel guards or hightop socks with the shoes as this will save your feet from sand and coral that will get into your shoes)
- fishing hat w/sun protection for the neck
- sun block 30+.
We do have extra rods and reels at the lodge for rent if you do not
want to bring a back-up.
Bonefish Tackle
Rods: 7- or 8-wt., fast action. Three or four piece makes for easier traveling. Bringing along a spare rod is not a bad idea.
Reels: Fully anodized, with smooth, strong drag systems, in appropriate rod size and large enough to accommodate a minimum of 150 yards of 20 lb. backing. Large arbor design is a plus.
Fly lines: A weight forward floating line that performs well in hot weather is all you need.
Leaders: 10’ to 12’ tapered saltwater leaders in 8 - 15 lb. class. Bring along some fluorocarbon tippet material in same weights.
Flies for Bonefish: The following list of flies, should cover most of the bonefishing situations you will encounter. Crazy Charlies #6 (silver, amber, crystal pink, crystal chartreuse); Blind Charlies #6 (silver, amber, crystal pink, crystal chartreuse); Mini Puff #6, # 4 (pink, tan/orange, chartreuse); McVay Gotcha # 6 (chain bead-eye); Christmas Charlies #8 (tan, pink, yellow); Nasty Gilbert #6; Bonefish Clouser #6 (chartreuse); Raghead Crab #8;, Popovic Ultra Shrimp #4; Mangrove Critter #1/0. Finally, Jan Isley's Yucatan Charlie #6 (pink or beige marabou tail with 3 - 6 strands of chartreuse crystal flash tied in, all about a 1/2' long, white kip tail wing tied in on throat 3/4" long, bead chain eyes or blind, translucent yellow swannundaze or v-rib wrapped over chartreuse flymaster plus thread).
Permit Tackle (Fly fishing)
Rods: 9- or 10-wt., fast action. Three or four piece makes for easier traveling. Bringing along a spare rod is not a bad idea.
Reels: Fully anodized, with smooth, strong drag systems, in appropriate rod size and large enough to accommodate a minimum of 200 yards of 20 lb. backing. Large arbor design is a plus.
Fly lines: A short belly, weight forward floating line that performs well in hot weather is all you need.
Leaders: 10’ to 12’ tapered saltwater leaders in 8 - 15 lb. class. Bring along some fluorocarbon tippet material in same weights.
Flies for Permit: Bauer's Fur Crab #6, Turneffe Crab (olive) #6, Raghead Crab #8, #2, or 1/0, Del's Permit Crab #2, Popovic Ultra Shrimp # 4 or 1/0, Bauer's Mantis Shrimp.
Tarpon Tackle
Rods: 10- to 12-wt., fast action. Three or four piece makes for easier traveling. Bringing along a spare rod is not a bad idea.
Reels: Fully anodized, with smooth, strong drag systems, in appropriate rod size and large enough to accommodate a minimum of 250 yards of 20 lb. backing. Large arbor design is a plus.
Fly lines: A short belly, weight forward floating line that performs well in hot weather, and a clear intermediate sinking line are all you need.
Leaders: Leaders for tarpon fishing incorporate a shock tippet section married to a class tippet section, by a series of special knots. If you are not into tying your own , then we recommend the Rio Powerflex Big Game Leaders. They are sold in packets of three with prestraightened shock tippets ready to go. The 16 lb. class tippet / 60 lb. shock tippet leaders are perfect.
Flies for Tarpon: In general,tarpon flies should be tied on 1/0 & 2/0 size hooks. Slight variations in shape and color can be all that is needed to entice tarpon into striking. November - March) brightly colored flies work best in stained water. Dark flies are the ticket (April - October) when the water is typically gin clear. They key here is contrast in color between the water and the Fly. Flies that work well include the Paradise Sunset (orange, yellow & grizzly), Paradise Purple (black & purple), Prince of Tides, Paradise Cockroach, Grim Reaper, Borski's Orange Butt Tarpon, Red & White Tarpon, Lefty's Deceivers in various contrasting colors, and the Tropical Punch. Your flies should be dressed heavily in order to maintain neutral buoyancy and create an attractive silhouette that moves water. Mini Crystal Poppers can produce savage top-water strikes, especially during the fall months.
Snook Tackle
You can use the same tackle that you use for permit.
Flies for Snook: Snook key in on surface flies with a vengeance. Surface patterns like Whitlock's Swimmin' Frog, Swimming Baitfish, Randy's Gator Frog, Peacock Diver, Snook-A-Roo, and Crystal Poppers are good choices. Flies outlined in the tarpon flies section will work for your subsurface patterns including Whitlock's Sheep Fly, Lefty's Deceivers, and Dahlberg's Rabbit Strip Divers.