Tail Fly Fishing Magazine Issue 39 January/February 2019

J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 019

FLY FISHING MAGAZINE

INSIDE THE BOX JOE BROOKS CHASING FAT ALBERT MARSH GOLD FLYING HIGH

The man, the myth, the legend who started it all.

Ring the dinner bell for big reds with a collection of flies from Alexander Hochner Jr.

39

Chasing false albacore with the man who wrote the book on it.

Crashing weddings in the Crescent City and finding gold deep in the marshes.

Travel with Joe Doggett to the Costa Rican jungle in the early 1980s to search for the Silver King.

J/F 18 $10.99 CDN $9.99 US Januar y/Februar y 2019

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experience counts for everything Some of the most dedicated anglers we know are women, and T&T Ambassador Abbie Schuster is at the forefront of her generation of pro guides. Whether hosting trips, crushing albies on the Vineyard, or at the oars on a New England tailwater, her experience and insight helps us to approach rod design with a unique perspective.

Abbie’s knowledge, expertise, and understanding are passed to our craftsmen, who strive for perfection and uncompromising performance in every rod we make.

To us, Abbie and her fellow professionals are our unsung heroes. We salute you.

introducing the new award winning zone series, 3 through 10 weight, uncompromising quality. legendary performance.

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4 TAIL F LY F I S H I N G MAGAZ I N E

A spectacular underwater scene of big-eyed jacks as they begin to spiral harmoniously. An impressive sight to see if you happen to be in the right place at the right time. A fantastic framing of this undersea light show called a tornado. Shot in Cabo Pulmo National Park, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Photo: Leonardo Gonzalez TAIL FLY FI S H I NG MAGAZI N E 5

Often, the greatest satisfaction is a face-washing from the vigorous kick of a tarpon’s tail. We always appreciate seeing them go off with piss and vinegar. Tell-tale that we got tested by a good one. Photo: Michael Roth

8 TAIL F LY F I S H I N G MAGAZ I N E

The horizon visible only because of the random structure that contrasts the sky. It virtually disappears while the water and sky blend into blue and white.

Some days are better than others and we can run for hours on days like this.

Photo: Arthur J. Lux

TAIL FLY FI S H I NG MAGAZI N E 9

10 TA IL F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

Mobula rays congregate in the Sea of Cortez near Cabo San Lucas every year. In a most spectacular wildlife performance, they can be seen leaping from the water, reaching heights of 9 feet or more above the surface before returning to earth with a loud splash. Photo: Gudkov Andrey

TAIL FLY FI S H I N G MAGAZI NE 11

New Zealand is home to amazing fishing and now boasts a most unique opportunity to sight fish while wading on the flats. Seasonal opportunities for yellowtail kingfish present themselves, and savvy anglers have honed in on these shiny blue and yellow treasures. Photo: Lucas Allen

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TAIL FLY FI S H I N G MAGAZI NE 13

JOIN TODAY. PROTECT TOMORROW.

BTT is a membership-based organization,

and our members are our lifeblood. Since our founding in 1998, we have grown to include concerned anglers from over 20 countries, researchers from throughout the world, and guides committed to working with BTT in order to educate anglers and gather data while on the water. The generous support of our members is critical to our mission: Conserve and restore bonefish, tarpon and permit fisheries and habitats through research, stewardship, education and advocacy.

We have celebrated many accomplishments, but there is still much more work to do.

Please help us in our mission by joining and urging your friends, guides, lodges, and fishing clubs to join. Please go to www.btt.org and click “Join BTT� to become a member today.

14 TA I L F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

TM

Editor-in-Chief Joseph Ballarini Creative Director Shawn Abernathy Creative Consultant Michael Thomas Managing Editor George Roberts Associate Editor Tyler Justice Allen Historians Pete Barrett, Ed Mitchell Food Editor Kelli Prescott Publishing Consultant Samir Husni, Ph.D.

Proven. Performance.

Creative Contributors

On the Cover Artist Ed Anderson's drawing of a roosterfish.

ABOUT Tail Fly Fishing Magazine provides a voice for saltwater fly fishing culture in a bimonthly print publication. We focus on delivering the best photography, destination travel, reputable commentary, and technical features from the saltwater fly fishing lifestyle. Tail Fly Fishing Magazine began as a digital publication that debuted in September 2012 and has been in print since September 2016.

In many places, fly fishing has become important to both people and the environment. As a method of fishing imbued with values of stewardship and conservation, it connects people with the marine world in significant and positive ways.

Tail Fly Fishing Magazine supports creative expressions that heighten our appreciation of fly fishing and encourage us to look at it in new ways. The magazine strives to provide content that reflects our mutual fascination with all aspects of saltwater fly fishing. We are grateful for your support and we welcome photographic and written contributions.

Tail Fly Fishing Magazine is published six times annually.

Subscriptions are available on our website and by mail.

International subscriptions are also available for most countries. Prices vary for international subscriptions. Please contact us with any advertising, subscription, or submission questions.

2300 Alton Road Miami Beach, FL 33140 WWW.TAILFLYFISHING.COM 305-763-8285

Shawn Abernathy Ed Anderson Joseph Ballarini Pete Barrett Joe Brooks Mike Brooks William Cochran Joe Doggett Tom Gilmore Alexander Hockner Jr Arthur J. Lux Tom King Gabe Lefevbre Kelli Prescott George Roberts Connor Tapscott

Photographic Contributors F100 Photo Shawn Abernathy Lucas Allen Ed Anderson Gudkov Andrey Kyle Banashek Joseph Ballarini Pete Barrett Joe Brooks Mike Brooks Patrick Cahill Ramon Carretero Jag Czech Joe Doggett Tom Gilmore Leonardo Gonzalez Christine Hinkle Gabe Lefevbre Arthur J. Lux Kelli Prescott Michael Roth Connor Tapscott

I N LOV I N G M E M O RY O F J O H N C . M E L F I

To the thousands of anglers who put their trust in our reels, and our reels in their hands [ day after day and year after year ], WE THANK YOU!

www.3-TAND.com 203.345.7000

info@3-TAND.com

CONTENTS 39

the dinner bell with this collection of flies for big 22 INSIDE THE BOX Ring redfish. By Arthur J. Lux tech, and sound. Check out our picks for this 24 GEAR GUIDE Watches, issue’s gear guide. with Joe Doggett to the Costa Rican jungle in the early 1980s to 26 FLYING HIGH Travel search for the King. By Joe Doggett along with artist and angler Ed Anderson as he takes 34 ED ANDERSON'S CABO JOURNAL Goa journey to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. By Ed Anderson Chasing false albacore up and down the East Coast with 40 CHASING FAT ALBERT the man who wrote the book on it. By Tom Gilmore Learn about legendary angler Joe Brooks and what he means to saltwater

50 JOE BROOKS fly fishing. By Mike Brooks and Joe Brooks (Great Nephews) Behind the vise, ending the day on the water, or just relaxing with friends, 56 TAPPED we have you covered with some new beers to try.

Crashing weddings in the Crescent City and finding gold 60 MARSH GOLD deep in the marshes. By Connor Tapscott A simple, yet killer bonefish fly tied by William Cochran.

69 COCHRAN'S SKRIMP By Gabe Lefevbre hungry for Indian-spiced halibut and bacony navy 74 ON THE PLATE Come beans. By Kelli Prescott Learn the history of Joe Brooks' Blonde, one of the first 78 BLONDES STILL HAVE MORE FUN saltwater flies. By Pete Barrett Learn to tie this foundation saltwater pattern.

84 PLATNUM BLONDE By George Roberts A look at the events leading up to Massachusetts' first 88 MAN EATER shark fatality in 82 years. By Tom King Honoring the old before respecting the new.

96 AN ANGLER OPINES By Joseph Ballarini 16 TAIL F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

No rod has ever silenced all the variables.

No engineer has ever found a way to transfer back cast energy directly into forward accuracy.

No angler has ever erased all the doubt from his or her mind.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING.

TAIL FLY FIS H I NG MAGAZI N E 17

ALASKA Mossy’s Fly Shop 750 W Diamond Blvd Suite 114 Anchorage AK 99515 COLORADO Front Range Anglers 2344 Pearl Street Boulder CO 80302

GET TAIL AT THESE RETAILERS

CONNECTICUT

18 TAIL F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

The Compleat Angler 541 Boston Post Road Darien CT 06820 FLORIDA Apalach Outfitters 32 Ave D Apalachicola FL 32320 Black Fly Outfitters 11702 Beach Blvd #109 Jacksonville FL 32246

Cohutta Fishing Company 39 S Public Square Cartersville GA 30120 The Fish Hawk 764 Miami Cir NE #126 Atlanta GA 30305

Bayou City Angler 3641 Westheimer Rd Suite A Houston TX 77027

IDAHO

Gordy & Sons 22 Waugh Drive Houston TX 77007

Jimmy’s All Season Angler 275 A Street Idaho Falls ID 83402

Sportsman Finest 12434 Bee Cave Road Austin TX 78738

MARYLAND

Swan Point Landing 1723 Cherry Street Suite 4 Rockport TX 78382

Alltackle 2062 Somerville Rd Annapolis, MD 21401 MASSACHUSETTS The Bear's Den 34 Robert W Boyden Rd Taunton MA 02780 MONTANA

Bill Jackson’s Shop for Adventure 9501 US 19 N Pinellas Park FL 33782

Frontier Anglers 680 N. Montana St Dillion MT 59725

Forgotten Coast Fly Company 123 Commerce Street Apalachicola FL 32320

NORTH CAROLINA

Florida Keys Outfitters 81219 Overseas Highway Islamorada FL 33036

TEXAS

Madison River Fly Fishing Outfitters 20910 Torrence Chapel Rd D5 Cornelius NC 28031

Tailwaters Fly Fishing 1933 E. Levee St Dallas TX 75207 UTAH Fishwest 47 West 10600 South Sandy UT 84070 TENNESSEE Fly South Fly Shop 115 19th Ave South Nashville TN 37203 WASHINGTON

NEW YORK

Emerald Water Anglers 4502 42nd Ave SW Seattle WA 98116

Flounder Creek Outfitters 515 Garden Street Titusville FL 32796

Urban Angler 381 Fifth Ave, 2nd Floor New York NY 10016

The Avid Angler 17171 Bothell Way NE Seattle WA 98155

Harry Goode’s Outdoor Sports 1231 E New Haven Ave Melbourne FL 32901

RHODE ISLAND

CANADA

The Saltwater Edge 1037 Aquioneck Ave Middletown RI 02842

Fish Tales Fly Shop Ltd. #626, 12100 Macleod Trail SE Calgary AB T2J 7G9 Canada

Ole Florida Fly Shop 6353 N Federal Hwy Boca Raton FL 33487

SOUTH CAROLINA

Orlando Outfitters 2814 Corrine Dr Orlando FL 32803

Bay Street Outfitters 825 Bay Street Beaufort SC 29902

The Angling Company 333 Simonton St Key West FL 33040

Charleston Angler 654 Saint Andrews Blvd Charleston SC 29407

West Wall Outfitters 787 Tamiami Port Charlotte FL 33953

Charleston Angler 1113 Market Center Blvd Mt Pleasant SC 29464

GEORGIA

Lowcountry Fly Shop 626 Coleman Blvd Mt Pleasant, SC 29464

Blue Ridge Fly Fishing 490 E Main Street Blue Ridge GA 30513

Bass Pro Shops over 80 locations in the USA Dick's Sporting Goods over 86 locations in the USA Field & Stream Stores over 25 locations in the USA

TAIL FLY FISHI NG M AGA ZI NE 1 9

editor’s note

ANOTHER NEW YEAR Calendars in my house have the words, “Work harder, be better,” written on the top of each January page. This phase has been on every one of my calendars since 2008.

I wrote this for motivation as I was finishing my residency and started working, untethered, as an Emergency Department physician. Walking the tightrope without a net, there was little room for error.

When you first place a calendar on the wall— void of mangled corners from multiple falls, without reminders scribbled everywhere—each shiny clean January page is the embodiment of the fresh start of the New Year. After a period of reflection, many focus on the things they’ve done well and try to build on them going into each shiny new calendar. Being an innate self-loather, I go in the opposite direction and highlight what went not-so-well in hope of creating a method to ensure that the not-so-well list gets shorter each year.

because one doesn’t sound like a complete tool when discussing something gone wrong.

Maybe it's because we’re all subconsciously looking for a little help sometimes, but it’s probably because we’re all human.

Tail Fly Fishing Magazine was started out of my passion for fishing and my desire to help spread awareness about the need to protect our resources. The only problems were that I had no formal training, no publishing experience, no connection to the publishing industry, and literally no idea what I was doing. (Tom Rosenbauer, where was your voice of reason then…?)

But after six years, Tail Fly Fishing Magazine remains the number-one saltwater fly fishing magazine in the United States. I should probably also point out that it is, in fact, the only saltwater fly fishing magazine in the United States. Regardless, we appreciate your support, and we encourage you to invite your friends and family to become readers in 2019, if they have not already subscribed.

Ironically, despite this conscious willingness to improve, if my progress were to be charted on a graph, it would be strikingly similar to the S&P 500: up and down, but trending upward. It could be a function of my taking on more and more each year, or that I’m just getting old, or tired, or any combination of things. This is why each December 31st, I write this reminder on my calendar. If you can relate, then perhaps we should get out on the water together sometime and share ideas.

We hope you enjoy the innovations that we have been bringing to the magazine, and we want you to know that more are coming.

We’ve added some seriously good writers and artists to the roster for 2019, we’ve tweaked our design and layouts, and we've improved in every area that we can—for now.

In any case, we keep trying to get better. We take our lumps with dignity and try, with grace and optimism, to move forward.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” —Thomas Edison

I take solace in the fact that there are other people like me—lots of them. Many of them are willing to share their successes, but it’s easier for them to share their failures.

Maybe failure is not that hard to talk about

We will continue to work harder and be better, always.

Happy New Year,

Joseph Ballarini Editor-in-Chief

20 TAI L FLY F I SH I N G M AGA Z I NE

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GEAR GUIDE

1. Bose Soundlink Micro The Bose SoundLink Micro is a pocket-sized Bluetooth speaker that has good volume output and produces richer and louder sound than competing micro wireless speakers. It’s fully waterproof, and it has a built-in microphone for speakerphone calls while on the skiff. It also has an integrated strap for clipping the speaker onto another object. Bigger speakers might deliver similar or better sound for the same money, but they are, well, bigger. Battery life is average but pretty good considering the speaker’s size.

Retail $69.99; bose.com

2. Ultimate Ears Blast Speaker Let’s face it. Smartphones just can’t produce the same sound that speakers can. The Ultimate Ears Blast is waterproof and provides 360 degrees of sound. This is the perfect speaker that connects to your smartphone and provides you with tunes in any situation without having to do the old smartphone-in-a-cup trick again.

Retail $179.99; ultimateears.com

3. Coleman SoundTrail Barrel CBT18

6. Suunto Core Watch

Coleman is a trusted name with a nice product for the casual user.

The SoundTrail Barrel has a built-in microphone for wireless, handsfree speakerphone operation,a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery for up to 10 hours of audio playtime at 50 percent volume level, and a power bank to charge your small electronics. Dual 5-watt speakers provide robust, enhanced, crystal-clear sound.

It’s Bluetooth 4.0 compatible and streams music from up to 33 feet.

Great product for the price.

Suunto is a well-known brand of watch for outdoor types, but this one is cool for a few reasons. It has a very sleek and clean look, and is probably what Apple was striving for with the iWatch.

It boasts functions including altimeter, compass, sunrise/ sunset and a barometric pressure monitor that trends the last six hours like most of the others.

What we like about the Core is the storm-warning feature, which alerts you to drops in pressure and gives you the jump on impending storms while on the water. Nice feature, but it would be more useful with GPS.

Retail $89.99; colemanoptics.com

4. Puluz for iPhone X Mark Hatter, your prayers have been answered. No more hatchback-sized housing for your underwater camera. Puluz has made a custom-designed, IP68 Certified Waterproof housing for the new iPhone X. Maximum water resistance is 40 M /130ft, which is more than enough for your underwater fly fishing memories. Made of durable polycarbonate and guaranteed water-tight, this housing also gives full protection against drops, scratches, and dirt. User note: Test the case before using your phone. They ship from overseas and are sometimes damaged.

Instead of your phone, put tissue into the case and take it in the water for at least 10 minutes to test whether the case is fully sealed.

Retail $69.99; puluz.com

5. Galaxy S8 Waterproof Punkcase There are many cases on the market and many price ranges.

Spending $200 for a case to protect a $450 phone is just silly. This case is 100 percent punkproof-and best of all, it’s affordable. Now you can take your S8 on snorkeling trips and use it for all your underwater release videos. It's IP68 certified and also shockresistant. Probably the best case out there for the money.

As we mentioned previously, these come from overseas, so test them with tissue underwater prior to using with your phone.

Retail $39.95; punkcase.com

Retail $215; suunto.com

7. Seiko Monster Diver Since its introduction in the 1960s, the Seiko Monster Diver has developed a cult following and has appreciated in value.

Vintage first-generation watches are fetching $600 to $800 (they cost a fraction of this when first introduced). The Monster diver is an iconic watch and virtually indestructible. It has no special functions or GPS, but it can take a beating and it makes a statement on your wrist. We include this to remind ourselves that improvement is not necessary when you get it right the first time. If you’re a collector, your collection is incomplete without one of these.

Retail $650; seikousa.com

8. Joto Universal Waterproof Case This case is a clear bag, two sturdy locks, and a wrist strap. It's compatible with every smartphone on the market. Although it’s waterproof, we recommend (as with the other cases in the Guide) testing with tissue first. It allows for photos to be taken while in the bag, and the plastic does not seem to interfere with lenses.

Considering most waterproof cases do the same thing at a much higher price, this is $8 well spent.

Retail $8.00; available through Amazon

9. JBL Flip 4 Waterproof Speaker Probably the cream of the crop as far as waterproof speakers go. A full–featured IPX7 compact waterproof portable Bluetooth speaker with surprisingly powerful sound. Powered by a 3000mAh rechargeable lithium–ion battery, it offers 12 hours of continuous, high–quality audio playtime and high-quality sound with booming bass. Many colors to chose from, including camo, and it's 100 percent waterproof. Sold as speaker alone or with a hard case.

Retail $89.99 ($109.99 with case); jbl.com

10. Casio ProTrek PRW2500-1 The Casio ProTrek PRW2500-1 is one of the affordable multifunction watches that does a lot. It’s mainly used for camping and climbing, but we’ve included it in our gear guide because of three major functions. It indicates barometric pressure patterns, and the barometer tracks atmospheric pressure from 260 to 1,100 hPa (7.68 to 32.49 inHg). It also has a digital compass that reports bearing in one degree increments.

It has a thermometer and a tide/moon data graph. If your navigation system has ever taken a snooze on you, you’ll realize how nice this is for us fishing folk.

Retail $250; casio.com

Flying High For A Tarpon

by JOE DOGGETT

“I know how to tie 50 knots and these are no good,” stated Costa Rican guide Guinder Edwin Velasquez-Clark. The subject of his scorn was the tarpon leader that I had manfully labored over during the noon siesta break at Archie Field’s old Rio Colorado Lodge.

During the spring of 1982, my tarpon game had more hackles than the nearest streamer. The serious fly fishing market was just starting to gain momentum around my home in Houston.

“How can you say that, Guinder?” I protested, eying a lumpy spider hitch and giving the 16-pound class tippet a tentative twiggle. Unfortunately, tarpon do not twiggle.

FS MALL SKIF P SHOTS. S M JU E S R CLO RD. NGLES FO ED LOW A H TO LAND ONBOA W O LL A FS S IF FI K L S A LL N SIO SMA THE OCCA ALLOWED

ALSO

COSTA RICAN GUIDE GUINDER EDWIN VELASQUEZCLARK CUTS A CONFIDENT WAKE ACROSS RIO COLORADO. NOTE KILLER FLY IN CAP.

“No good, not snug, poor knot strength.” Guinder was young and cocky, and it was understood up front than the opinions of anybody with four names and a hyphen would dominate the confines of a 16-foot aluminum skiff. He grabbed the leader in both hands and gave a sharp jerk and the tippet snapped. With a shrug, he tossed the unworthy ruin of monofilament into the olive-brown flow of the Rio Colorado.

“If you want to catch tarpon on a fly, nothing less than 90 percent will do.” Guinder grabbed several spools of mono and, using hands, knees, toes, and teeth, whipped out a leader system consisting of a perfection loop, a Bimini twist, and an Albright special. He tested with the same quick jerk and the sections held.

I was impressed. This unseemly villager in his faded T-shirt and torn shorts wrapped connections that looked as good as the ones illustrated in the sweat-stained and oft-cursed bible of knots back in the cabin.

“I have learned from the best. Chico Fernandez, Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte—they have all come here to fly fish for tarpon.”

Many saltwater masters rate the tarpon as the king thrill. And during those early years, I would never have a better chance than amid the tarpon-rich tides of Costa Rica's rainforest rivers.

Guinder cranked the crusty outboard and we ran several hundred yards from the dock. The motor abruptly stopped and the skiff drifted.

Great, I thought, engine trouble.

“We're here; start fishing,” Guinder announced.

“Here? The dock's right back there!”

“Guinder was young and cocky, and it was understood up front than the opinions of anybody with four names and a hyphen would dominate the confines of a 16foot aluminum skiff.”

“Well, Señor, if you prefer we can run an hour to a spot I know upriver, but this hole is filled with big fish.”

The river opened into the boil of the Caribbean and, back then, the main channel served as a funnel to draw schools of milling tarpon. As Guinder slipped the anchor, several fish surfaced in lazy rolls, intimidating brutes with thick backs stamped with heavy scales and poured from liquid aluminum. I was a long way from Houston's Hermann Park duck pond.

Scattered skiffs dotted the wide river. The nearest was a Casa Mar boat close enough to hail. It held a pair of pro-class anglers from California. They carried high-end Fenwick rods; one was fitted with a golden, gleaming Seamaster, the other with a golden, gleaming Pate.

I glanced smugly at my cutting-edge Orvis boron 11-weight and golden, gleaming Fin-Nor. The reel was spooled with a sinking line backed by 200 yards of “9 thread” 27-pound Dacron. Rookie status aside, I felt “armed and equipped as the law directs.”

Guinder noted that the lanky, salty guy fishing solo across the river was Harry Kime, a legitimate Big Name. As we

28 TA I L F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

watched, Kime yelled as a great green-and-silver fish twisted into the air, hanging suspended against the jungle canopy before crashing back to the flat water. The shout was followed by a groan as the fish pulled free.

BACKHAND HAUL WAS USED TO COVER RIVER TARPON SCHOOLING WITHIN SIGHT OF RIO COLORADO LODGE.

I held my fly box open for inspection, displaying the pride of the new Houston Orvis. Prominent was a lineup of proven Cockroach patterns. From Key West to Islamorada to Homosassa, tarpon specialists would nod approval. The guide's fingers ran a quick parade and review through the assembled hair and feathers. “No good.”

“Say, what?”

“We use a special fly here. I tie them—like this.” Guinder fished from a pouch a bushy lashing with fluff and fullness rivaling that of a well-fed, white-winged dove. It sported a thick collar, flashy Mylar strips, and a pair of bright bead-chain eyes. It lacked only a beak and feet for an audition in a Disney cartoon.

“Get away from me with that thing! What's wrong with these?”

My Orvis masterpieces looked wilted and withered alongside.

“Better do what he says, Houston,” called the California pro on the bow. “This isn't sight casting on the flats. Those big Whistler streamers are the ticket. They push a lot of murky water, easier for fish to sense. That's all we've been using.”

“What pattern?” I asked, pro-to-pro.

“Red and yellow's been hot.”

“Black and red's the call,” confided his partner.

“Pay no attention,” said Guinder, the voice of reason. “Green and orange is best, but I can let you have all three for only $3.50 each. American.”

Armed with three new killer flies, I waited for Guinder to affix the green-and-orange Whistler to the 80-pound shock leader (nobody said “bite tippet” back then). He handed the fly over for inspection. It had been secured with a trim Rhode loop knot, and the big 4/0 hook gleamed with white-hot sharpness.

Guinder held up a small file (nobody knew about chemically sharpened points back then). “They are never sharp enough from the box for tarpon. I have triangulated the point the way Chico Fer—” “Never mind about Chico Fernandez.” I stepped onto the flat bow and started stripping off generous coils of shooting line. I worked a cast into the air, getting the feel of the big outfit. The outrageous fly buzzed back and forth like a persistent parakeet, and the uncertain guide crouched behind the bulk of the outboard.

Gathering confidence, I let drive with a decent double haul and shot the line about 75 feet across the river. The short leader

TAIL FLY FIS H I NG MAGAZI N E 29

ALL-AROUND ANGLER VELASQUEZ-CLARK JUMPS TARPON ON LIGHT PLUG ROD AND FAST-SINKING SEAHAWK LURE. AGAIN, NOTE HAND-TIED KILLER FLY.

“The outrageous fly buzzed back and forth like a persistent parakeet, and the uncertain guide crouched behind the bulk of the outboard.”

SPORTING PRESUNSCREEN ZINK OXIDE NOSE PASTE AND PREBUFF BANDANA, DOGGETT EXULTS OVER HIS FIRST FLY ROD TARPON.

30 TA I L F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

turned over and dropped the fly with a light touch. Guinder said nothing but once again sat upright on the beer cooler.

back in San Jose: “American Fishing Writer Found Garroted on Rio Colorado: Embassy Demands Investigation.”

The current caught the sinking line, creating a growing weight as the length bellied to straighten. I pointed the rod tip low and started a slow retrieve, stripping a foot or so with each pull. The dark line fell in random coils on the deck.

The tippet broke and I was zero for three and out of killer flies. When Guinder stopped laughing he offered another jazzy, snazzy trio. “Because you are such a good customer, a discount. Only $10 for all three. American.”

After 15 or 20 minutes of steady casting, a tarpon struck.

The take wasn't that dramatic but the fly stopped against heavy life. I pulled straight back, a proper strip strike to set the hook. The weight of the startled fish transmitted like a charge of electricity through the fly line.

“The fly-tying business seems to treat you well, Guinder.” No doubt he had a palatial estancia high in the mountains and built on a foundation of broken tippets.

I hit again, reacting to a gathering force of uncontrollable power. A 6-foot tarpon twisted high, heaving a fan of spray. The bold gills were wide against the shaking head and the fish seemed to vibrate like a tuning fork.

I felt like a sorcerer's apprentice waving the master's wand. I stared in shock and awe. Steppenwolf had called it: "Fire all of your guns at once and explode into space!"

Then the hooked tarpon was running and outgoing line seared an arc across the surface.

I glanced down to see the coils tangled underfoot. The terriblelooking wad of fly line was in a frenzy against my clamped fingers. The snarl of twisting loops bounced and whipped and fired straight at the rod. The knot slammed into the stripping guide and the rod sprang slack. I stared at the fouled guide and the diminishing wake of the largest fish of my fly rod career.

“Hey, Houston,” laughed the Californian. “What are you doing over there—working on your Junior Woodchuck Basket-Weaving Merit Badge?”

Tarpon Number Two was a mondo-giant house-wrecker.

Guinder guessed it at over 125, a thick “yellow belly” grouchy with age and furious at the insignificant fly. The fish came straight up, looking high enough to walk under, and toppled back against a prehistoric welter.

Remarkably, the rod still pointed the way and the tarpon was on the reel as line hissed smoothly from the spool. The fish blasted for 50 yards, then the fly pulled loose. Dejected, I reeled in and discovered that the hook had opened against metalplated jaw pressure. Guinder's hooks maybe weren't the best.

Tarpon Number Three tried to choke me. It struck during an unguarded moment—”Guinder, another icy Imperial, por favor”—and once again a billow of maniacal shooting line flew about the bow. I raised the rod high, trying to take up slack, and the last of the up-rushing coils fouled in the line clippers dangling from my neck.

The snagged lanyard sprang tight and I screeched and sputtered with visions of bold headlines in The Tico Times

Tarpon Number Four was on for four Roman-candle jumps before it fell against tight line and broke free. “Too much pressure,” critiqued the guide. “You must give controlled slack on the jump by bowing to the tarpon. Chico Fer—” “Guinder, I don't want to hear about it.”

Tarpon Number Five was never hooked. I couldn't get tight to the fish. It sucked up the fly and ran straight at the boat. I was watching the pile of inert line and kept trying to push a busy handful through the stripping guide. The rod didn't want it. A hideous sag of slack kept falling to the deck.

No way this is going to end well, I astutely judged.

The incoming tarpon jumped alongside, almost hitting the outboard on the way down as Guinder held the stick gaff like a riot club. The unset fly sailed free.

“Too much slack,” he said, a master of understatement.

At least the tippet was intact. The hook point was good and the long rod shot a cast across the afternoon shimmer. The line swept deep and the fly snagged bottom, forcing a break-off.

"I have more flies and at a special price," announced the guide, reaching for the pouch.

“I still have one.”

The final Whistler drove 85 or 90 feet across the river. If nothing else, the full afternoon of casting was improving the double haul. The line bellied and swung—and pulled tight against a solid grab. The strip stabbed the point and bent the rod.

A tarpon-cascade raged across the surface and coiled line spun from the deck and through loose fingers. The fish hit the reel and the Fin-Nor took the jolt without balking. Fly line shot through the guides, followed by the trim backing knot as Dacron raced after the run.

I worked the fish hard, fearful of a break-off but knowing that toying with a tarpon is a poor tactic. The idea is to pressure the fish to whip its spirit—and hope that Lady Luck joins the beach party.

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EVEN EARLY ON, AND DESPITE SEVERAL MISCUES, DOGGETT DISPLAYS GOOD FORM BY FISHING BAREFOOT TO MINIMIZE DECK TANGLES, AND KEEPING COOL BEVERAGE WITHIN REACH.

“A tarpon-cascade raged across the surface and coiled line spun from the deck and through loose fingers.”

After six or eight jumps and 20 minutes of give and take, the tarpon was wavering and plodding. The big tail broke the murky water and the low 11-weight put side pressure to turn the fish and keep it on top.

A boat motored slowly past—the California fly masters going in early after a pair of catch-and-releases. An arm waved, lifting a longneck. “Hey, Houston, I think you're going to do it!”

As if hearing, the shining fish turned on its side, spent.

Guinder reached for the shock leader and glided the tarpon close. The big eye rolled as the stick gaff snatched the gaping lower jaw. The fish wallowed and bucked, pinned to the side of the skiff and going nowhere.

Guinder looked up and smiled. “A 50-pounder. Small fish.”

“That may be, my guide—mi guia,” I said, “and Chico Fernandez no doubt has caught many larger ones.

But I'll bet he's also caught many smaller ones.”

Bio: Joe Doggett was an outdoor columnist for the Houston Chronicle for 35 years. He also was on the masthead of Field & Stream as a contributing editor.

He is retired but writes occasional features for various outdoor magazines.

He enjoys traveling to fish, hunt, and surf.

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We posed the tarpon for a quick photo, then slipped it back into the river. Guinder held the lower jaw and worked the chromium fish back and forth in the flow until the gills flared and the fins bristled. He opened his hand and with a confident swirl the tarpon was gone—the conclusion to one of the pure angling experiences.

I snipped off the victory fly as a trophy and studied the glowing clouds above the shrouded mountains. The calm jungle air felt wonderfully cool. “We've still got 30 minutes of good light.

Let's try for another. What's the going rate for a new fly?”

Guinder fingered through the pouch and held up a tropical beauty. “For you now, Señor pescador—free.”

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chasing FAT ALBERT

by Tom Gilmore

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For almost five decades, I have had the opportunity and pleasure of landing over 50 species of gamefish on a fly, but no fish gives me the adrenaline rush that I get when I hook into to a false albacore, aka little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus).

YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST I was first introduced to this ocean speedster by Captain Steve Bellefleur off the coast of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, in the fall of 1986. Bellefleur found a large school of fish blitzing through a pod of helpless baitfish.

As we approached the action, he cut the engine on his 21-foot Mako, and I could hear the violent eruptions of albies greyhounding through the masses of bay anchovy that were being sucked down-tide. I could see white spray being thrown in every direction as the albies crashed through the terrified baitfish, sending them flying in every direction and then falling back into the frenzy like wind-driven raindrops.

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I grabbed my 10-weight fly rod, hands trembling, stomach churning, and somehow managed a 60-foot cast into the melee. Two short strips and something with the speed and strength of a thoroughbred took my offering. The running line exploded off the deck, flying through the guides. Within a few accelerated heartbeats, the line melted from my reel and turned into backing. Seconds later, I noticed the 100-yard marking as it sailed out the rod tip.

After what seemed like an hour, the fish’s runs grew shorter as it began to tire and I began to take control of the fight. When the fish was boatside, it still wouldn’t give in—it began to circle in the dark depths below. Eventually, I was able to bring the fish to the surface, where Bellefleur was able to grab it in front of its powerful tail and hoist it over the gunwale.

While the captain was releasing the fish I just sat on the bow seat shaking my head in disbelief at the speed and power this fish had displayed. I realized then that I had just encountered a fish I would never get enough of. Ever since that autumn morning in the rips off Watch Hill, I have been consumed with pursuing this fish. I began to read every article on false albacore I could find, both in angling literature and in marine research libraries.

However, since false albacore are not a commercially viable species there was very little information about them. This led me to a five-year research project that resulted in my first book, False Albacore: A Comprehensive Guide to Fly Fishing’s Hottest Fish, (Countryman Press, 2002).

A SHORE THING For the last 30 years I have had the pleasure and thrill of chasing false albacore from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, and while they exist all along our Eastern Seaboard, a handful of hot spots keep “albieholics” like me returning year after year. In the Northeast, albie season starts in mid-August, and I follow their migration south to the Outer Banks of North Carolina through November and into December.

One of the first places I’ll start looking for albies is Martha’s Vineyard.

Prime fishing usually starts right after Labor Day and continues into early October. The Vineyard is unique in that you can fish it in almost any weather condition and somewhere you’ll find the right combination of tidal flow and fishable winds. No other location affords shore-bound anglers so many opportunities to catch false albacore and bonito, and this is because of its numerous tidal ponds, which host vast amounts of bait. The outflows of these ponds on a falling tide deliver tons of bait through narrow openings to waiting predators. The Vineyard boasts “Albie Alley,” which just might be the best place on the planet to fish for tuna from shore. Stretching from the entrance of Edgartown Harbor to Cape Poge Lighthouse on the northeast corner of Chappaquiddick Island, the Alley provides daily shore shots at tuna. Other hotspots for the shore-bound angler include Lake Tashmoo, the Bridges along State Beach, the Vineyard Haven Jetty, and the outflow of Menemsha Pond, which has accounted for many bonito and false albacore Derby winners.

RHODE ISLAND BREACHWAYS AND CONNECTICUT RIPS As the fall migration begins to move south, I’ll target Rhode Island’s tidal salt pond breachways between Point Judith and Watch Hill. These breachways are lined with stone jetties, providing fly anglers platforms from which to target false albacore.

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While the captain was releasing the fish I just sat on the bow seat shaking my head in disbelief at the speed and power this fish had displayed. I realized then that I had just encountered a fish I would never get enough of.

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For boating anglers, you would be hard-pressed to find a better location for a Northeast grand slam (striped bass, bluefish, bonito, and false albacore in a single day) than the nearshore rips at the entrance to Long Island Sound. These world-renowned rips like the Race, Plum Gut, and the Sluiceway contain some of the strongest tidal flows on the East Coast, and they funnel immense quantities of bait to the hungry predators that stage in these food factories during the fall to feed before their long migration south.

GET TO THE POINT Montauk Point or “The End” (as Long Islanders like to call the east end of the south fork of Long Island) juts well out into the Atlantic Ocean, and all the predators and prey species coming out of Long Island and Block Island Sounds must round the Point before heading south or offshore for the winter. Montauk is one of the most famous aquatic food funnels and gamefish staging areas on the planet. There is a sign on the way to this fishing hub that reads: “Welcome to Montauk, Fishing Capital of the World.” More International Game Fish Association (IGFA) saltwater world records have come from Montauk than any other place on the East Coast. Peak season for albies at the Point would be the last two weeks in September and the first two weeks in October.

While all of New England’s prey species must navigate the waters around Montauk Point, the baitfish that makes Montauk rock is the diminutive bay anchovy. False albacore will corral these tiny baitfish into tight balls on the surface, and once the anchovies are balled up, the albies will tear through the schools, giving the fly angler excellent opportunities to hook up. The key to success during these times is to fish very small flies of no more than an inch and a half in length and to present your fly under or along the edge of the bait ball, where they can be easily targeted.

WHERE 10-WEIGHTS GO TO DIE For decades, the Outer Banks of North Carolina has had the reputation of being a world-class surf fishing destination. The surf along the Outer Banks has produced three all-tackle world records: a 31-pound, 12-ounce bluefish; a 94-pound, two-ounce red drum; and a 13-pound Spanish mackerel. Every autumn, false albacore come inshore along the beaches and inlets of the Outer Banks, but it wasn’t until relatively recently that they got any attention. With the wealth of good-eating fish available, it seemed foolhardy for local anglers to pursue these “trash fish” that you wouldn’t feed to your cat. That all changed in the mid-1990s, when Tom Earnhardt and several other outdoor writers started to fish for the big albies that congregated off the Outer Bank inlets each fall—particularly those around Cape Lookout and Harkers Island.

My first trip to Harkers Island was in November of 1995, shortly after Tom Earnhardt’s first article on this fishery was published. During that week we saw dozens of boats, but only one other boat was targeting albies; the rest were targeting gray trout. It didn’t take long for the word to get out, and fly-rodders from all over the East Coast started making annual pilgrimages to Harkers Island.

The Harkers Island false albacore fishery is best described by Captain Sara Gardner, who coined the phrase, “Where 10-Weights Go to Die.” Sara and her husband, Captain Brian Horsley, estimate that up to 150 rods have been broken in a single season at Harkers. Doubledigit albacore are common in the fall, and each year several fish over 20 pounds are landed. (If submitted to the IGFA, a 20-pound false albacore would break all existing fly rod tippet-class world records.)

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The Harkers Island false albacore fishery is best described by Captain Sara Gardner, who coined the phrase, “Where Ten-Weights Go to Die.�

Sara and her husband, Captain Brian Horsley, estimate that up to 150 rods have been broken in a single season at Harkers.

FINDING NIRVANA While researching my book on false albacore, I came across an article on the obstacles to offshore summer trolling. In the article, the author, a Floridian, stated: “The day was a disaster, we couldn’t catch any decent fish because the damn boneheads wouldn’t leave our baits alone.” Boneheads? Could he be referring to bonito, which is what false albacore (Euthynnus alletteratus) are commonly called in the Sunshine State? My first few calls to charter captains confirmed the nuisance boneheads were in fact my beloved false albacore. It was evident from my brief conversations with these charter captains they didn’t share my enthusiasm for “boneheads.”

My luck changed when I called Captain Scott Hamilton (561-745-2402; flyfishingextremes.com), an offshore South Florida fly fishing guide who works the edge of the Gulf Stream from Palm Beach to Jupiter. Hamilton opened my eyes to this great fishery. How good is it? I can state unequivocally that the best false albacore fishery in North America is found along South Florida’s east coast—in terms of numbers of fish, average size, and consistency of the fishery. You don’t have to take my word for it. According to the IGFA, 11 of the 13 tippet-class world record albies were caught there. As a bonus, unlike the other East Coast albie hot spots, you will have acres of these Floridian albies to yourself. In the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, false albacore have a cult-like following. In contrast, false albacore are disdained by most Florida charter captains, who regard them as bait-stealing, tackle-busting trash fish.

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STREAMSIDE

trip to Palm Beach, we landed a dozen fish of 15 pounds or better, with the largest weighing 18 pounds, 8 ounces.

When albie fishing in Florida, we typically fish just offshore between Palm Beach and Jupiter. Here the Gulf Stream flows closer to shore than any other location in North America. The Gulf Stream is an immense ocean river of warm water that flows at speeds of 2- to 4-miles per hour from the Gulf of Mexico through the Florida Straits and along the east coast of Florida, flowing past the Outer Banks of North Carolina and eventually toward Iceland.

While my target species is false albacore, you never know what might grab your fly in the Gulf Stream.

Most trips produce blackfin tuna and mahi mahi (for a reasonable fee, most local restaurants will prepare a meal with your catch). Other species you might encounter include jacks, rainbow runners, blue runners, ladyfish, snook, tarpon, and an occasion sailfish.

The area from Miami north to the town of Stuart has a virtually-continuous reef running the length of the coastline. Between Miami and Jupiter, the reef is only about 2 to 3 miles offshore. While albies do chase bait along the beach and occasionally come through the inlets to feed in the backwaters, the focal points for southeast Florida’s fishery are the nearshore reefs and wrecks.

Florida false albacore can be caught year-round, but the peak season is June through July. With the addition of Palm Beach to my annual false albacore itinerary, I can now fish for these magnificent creatures for six months a year (June through November). I urge you to try the spring and summer runs of false albacore off Florida’s east coast – you won’t be disappointed.

A TYPICAL DAY

Bio: Tom Gilmore is President Emeritus of the New Jersey Audubon Society. He is a freelance writer and photographer living in Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania.

On a typical day fishing the Palm Beach run with Captain Hamilton, we frequently land about a dozen albies per angler, per day, up to 18 pounds. The morning starts with Hamilton cast-netting for live chum in the estuaries or along the beaches—insurance in case albies aren’t feeding on the surface. Once he has a full live well, Hamilton picks up his sports dockside at the Sailfish Marina, which overlooks Lake Worth on Palm Beach Shores.

SPRING TRAINING FOR THE BOYS OF AUTUMN

It’s a short ride out Lake Worth Inlet to the western edge of the cobalt waters of the Gulf Stream, where we begin fishing in 70 to 90 feet of water. If we don’t spot birds or busting fish, the Captain begins chumming over the reefs and wrecks. Chumming with live pilchards (or “greenies” as the locals call them) quickly creates a massive blitz of false albacore surrounding the boat. Long casts are not necessary; you literally just have to get your fly out of the boat to hook up. This is a great fishery to introduce a novice angler to saltwater fly fishing. While I don’t fish for world records, Palm Beach gives you a legitimate shot at the fly rod record of 19 pounds, 5 ounces. On a recent

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Instinct by design.

Days on the flats can be a wild ride of slow hunting punctuated by adrenaline pumping action unfolding at warp speed.

When the opportunity comes to intercept prehistoric poons, or to psychoanalyze neurotic permit, your instinct kicks in.

And that’s the moment you take your place on the bow and make the improbable possible.

Colorado, USA | 970-249-3180 | scottflyrod.com 48 TA I L F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

We designed Meridian fly rods with a similar mindset. At the core of it all is the kind of fine tuned performance that comes with 45 years of innovation and experience. The result? Something akin to effortlessness, something intuitive.

Take a Meridian along on your next saltwater journey, and fire on instinct.

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When we were growing up, dinner-table conversations at our house were quite the event. There were 10 of us sitting elbow-to-elbow around the the long timber table, with conversation flying and the banter continuously funny, if not biting. You had to be quick-witted to survive. Often we would ask my dad about his life. He would then launch into stories of what it was like in the military, or his childhood growing up in Baltimore, or maybe what we were like when we were younger. Inevitably, though, it would come back to Uncle Joe. The stories were always of how my grandfather, at the pressing of our grandmother, had to bail Uncle Joe out of jail, often because of his run-ins with the police due to drinking. We did not know of Joe Brooks’ status in the fly fishing world; we were not kids who grew up fishing, let alone fly fishing. April Vokey called Joe Brooks a mythological icon she had heard so much about. We will endeavor in this article to shed some light on this hero, this mythological icon to millions.

the story of

JOE BROOKS

by Mike Brooks and Joe Brooks

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So, who was Joe Brooks…? We don’t have enough time or space to cover the man in detail; we can offer the reader only a glimpse. Joe Brooks’ many books and articles, still available today, provide much more detail than we ever could.

Joe Brooks was a gifted athlete. At age 17, he was signed

by Jack Dunn of the Baltimore Orioles—the same team that a young George Herman “Babe” Ruth was drafted to (and sold from) in 1914. In those days, the Baltimore Orioles were a very successful semi-professional baseball team. From a newspaper clipping: “On June 25, 1917, in the second game of a doubleheader in the Original Semi-Pro League between the Irvington Baseball Club and the Tindeco Tuxedos, representing Baltimore’s inner harbor, 15-year-old Brooks is given the ball for the Tuxedos. He’s facing batters of the experienced Irvington Club, which just two years earlier had won 35 of 43 games and proclaimed themselves Maryland State Champions. The kid is dazzling.”

Joe’s aspirations to be a professional hurler were squashed by his father, however. The idea of professional sports as a career was in its infancy in those days, and this lifestyle did not appeal to a man who had worked very hard to create an insurance business in order to give his children the very best in life. Professional baseball was not in the cards.

Joe Brooks was a gifted athlete.

At age 17, he was signed by Jack Dunn of the Baltimore Orioles—the same team that a young George Herman “Babe” Ruth was drafted to (and sold from) in 1914.

Joe Brooks was also a very fine golfer who took to the sticks late in life, at the age of 22. He would hold the course record of 65 at the prestigious Baltimore Golf and Country Club and would later travel around the country playing in tournaments.

The sport did not matter—Joe Brooks seemed always to excel. He took up boxing and immediately shined.

SIX KNOCKOUTS IN EIGHT BOUTS. “Joe Brooks stopped Harry Messick in two rounds” at the Polish-American Athletic Club at St. Stanislaus Hall, and “the kayoes pleased the spectators.” —The Sun, Baltimore, February 17, 1928. Some have said that while living in Minnesota, Joe even sparred with the legendary Jack Dempsey.

Joe Brooks played semi-pro football and was a crack wing shot. It’s also said he bowled several perfect games of 300.

Needless to say, Joe Brooks was a very fine fly caster, bringing all that natural athleticism to the sport he so dearly loved. He took up fly fishing as a young boy, honing his skills on Maryland and Pennsylvania trout streams. In his 1950 book, Salt Water Fly Fishing, he wrote, “I was a dry-fly fisherman from away back, brought up on eastern brown

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“ I was a dry-fly fisherman from away back, brought up on eastern brown trout streams and imbued with all the lore of the purest of the purists.”

trout streams and imbued with all the lore of the purest of the purists.”

It was, however, the magical meeting with friend and mentor Tom Loving that would change Joe Brooks’ life—and the sport of fly fishing—forever. Tom introduced Joe to fishing in the salt back in 1923, when Joe was just 22 years old. According to Joe, Tom Loving was the first fly angler to expressly tie flies for salt water. It wasn’t that fish were not being caught in the salt, but those who were doing it, both here and abroad, were using trout and salmon flies.

“When Tom Loving began catching brackish-water largemouth black bass in 1922,” Joe wrote, “he used streamers, bucktails and popping bugs that he made himself especially for that fishing. The next year he tied a two-hooked fly for shad, made with white bucktail wings and a black body with silver ribbing. As far as I know, that was the real beginning of salt-water fly tying.”

It’s interesting to think that Salt Water Fly Fishing, the first book dedicated entirely to the sport and still a go-to classic for anyone interested in chasing the mighty denizens found there, was written in 1950. With 27 years of trial and error under his belt, Joe Brooks was the authority on the subject at the time. He wrote the book to share his knowledge, but more important so that fly anglers could have as much fun as he was having.

Joe Brooks was not the only pioneer of saltwater fly fishing. By 1950 he was living in Islamorada and learning from the best of the best guides in the business. Joe would often quote and give credit to everyone who helped him gain his knowledge. In fact, when Joe landed the first permit ever caught on a fly, his guide was none other than Frankee Albright (wife of Keys guide Jimmie Albright). Frankee Albright was the best of the best, and you can find

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her mentioned often in many of Joe’s books, such as when she guided him to an 85-pound tarpon (which would have been a world record, at the time, if they had boated it).

“ The next year he tied a two-hooked fly for shad, made with white bucktail wings and a black body with silver ribbing. As far as I know, that was the real beginning of saltwater fly tying.”

In his book Salt Water Game Fishing, also a classic, Joe devotes an entire page to those individuals who helped bring the contents together. Pioneering saltwater fly fishing was a team effort, and Joe never wished to take all the credit for himself; rather, he would downplay his role. If you read his works you’ll notice how frequently he mentions guides and outfitters; he did this to give them their due credit, but also to help them build their name in the business.

Joe Brooks was not about Joe Brooks—Joe Brooks was about others. As a young man he burned through two wives and was a very angry and abusive drunk, coupled with the abilities of a pugilist. Not a good combination. It was said that when he entered a bar in those days, everyone took notice. He was not a man you wanted to cross.

With help from a clinic in Ontario, Canada, Joe pulled himself out of his alcoholic addiction and developed the iron will to never drink again. Lefty Kreh, who received his first fly casting lesson from Joe Brooks, told us that Joe considered his victory over alcohol the greatest accomplishment of his life.

It was 1935 that Joe Brooks emerged a new man—and that man was on a mission. That was when he threw himself into the world of fly fishing and the outdoors. He became a man dedicated to helping others, and he would go on to spend the rest of his life doing just that. In the 1972 collection Fishing Moments of Truth, Ed Koch wrote a remembrance of Joe. In it, he recounted a story told to him by Mary Brooks, Joe's third wife and soulmate. Mary recalled that a friend and fishing companion of Joe's from the Brotherhood of the Junglecock, an organization that Joe helped to found, had suffered a stroke some years earlier that had left him almost completely incapacitated. Once a month, regardless of where he was or what he was doing, Joe would telephone the man and talk to him—even though his friend could not speak.

Everyone who knew Joe Brooks later in life referred to him as Gentleman Joe. It’s likely that many readers of this magazine have never heard of Joe Brooks. The space of an article does not permit us to go into great detail about what he did for others, or of the influence he had in the sport we all love. By producing a documentary of our great uncle’s life, we hope to introduce this important historical figure to a new generation of fly anglers.

Bios: Mike Brooks and Joe Brooks are the great nephews of the late fly fishing icon Joe Brooks. They’ve produced an impressive documentary on Joe Brooks’ life, Finding Joe Brooks (joebrooksdocumentary.com). They’ve also created the Joe Brooks Foundation, which focuses on conservation, outdoor education, and stewardship.

You can contact the foundation at the URL above.

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stouts,ales,lagers,porters, and hooks

TAPPED

Cold fronts. Northeastern snowstorms. Nonstop Pacific Northwest rains. Winter is here whether you like it or not. With changing weather comes changing tastes. While we remain hop heads here at TFFM, we also love the warmth and rich flavors of winter beers. These pair nicely when tying flies for upcoming trips or just restocking the box for your favorite local haunts.

WINTER LAGER

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery Website: brooklynbrewery.com Location: Brooklyn, New York Beer Type: German Schwarzbier Appearance: Rich dark brown.

Aroma: Toasted malt and sweet caramel.

Flavor: Toasted grains, slightly caramel and nutty, very smooth.

ABV: 5.6% Final Thoughts: Fantastic mediumbody lager with a great flavor profile.

Perfect on a cold winter day and very easy to drink.

Almost too easy.

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DUNKIN’ COFFEE PORTER

Brewery: Harpoon Brewery Website: harpoonbrewery.com Location: Boston, Massachusetts Beer Type: American Porter Appearance: Black with beautiful dark tan head.

Aroma: Intense coffee, faintly smoky with overtones of bitter dark chocolate.

Flavor: Rich roasted coffee up front with a dry, smoky finish.

ABV: 6% Final Thoughts: Big coffee flavor with a slightly roasted presence from the beans. Surprisingly light-bodied for such bold flavors. Makes for a great beer.

HOOTER BROWN TUPELO HONEY ALE

Brewery: Oyster City Website: oystercitybrewingco. com Location: Apalachicola, Florida Beer Type: American Brown Ale Appearance: Mahogany with a light tan head.

Aroma: Chocolate and honey.

Flavor: Chocolate, earthy bitterness from hops and malts, sweet finish from honey.

ABV: 8.5% Final Thoughts: A robust brown ale made with local Tupelo and Florida wild berry honeys.

Full-bodied and easy-drinking, thanks to rich honey and chocolate malts.

NECRON 99

Brewery: 3 Floyds Brewing Company Website: 3floyds.com Location: Munster, Indiana Beer Type: American IPA Appearance: Golden apricot, slightly hazy.

Aroma: Tropical fruit, melon, and caramelized sugars.

Flavor: Citrus and tropical fruit, including tangerine with sweet caramel.

ABV: 7.3% Final Thoughts: With its bold flavors and heavy mouthfeel, this IPA is the perfect choice for colder weather.

CITRUSINENSIS KALAMAZOO PALE ALE STOUT Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company Website: lagunitas.com Location: Petaluma, California Beer Type: American Pale Ale Appearance: Rich amber.

Aroma: Citrus, strong orange with grapefruit overtones.

Flavor: Rich orange juice and bitter rind (but not overbearing), with floral hop notes.

ABV: 7.5% Final Thoughts: A solid winter pale ale that has a good balance of blood orange, hops, and sticky sweetness.

Brewery: Bell’s Brewery Website: bellsbeer.com Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Beer Type: American Stout Appearance: Jet black with a rich caramel head.

Aroma: Coffee and toasted oats, black licorice.

Flavor: Roasted coffee, slightly nutty.

Bitter dark chocolate and surprisingly good licorice flavor makes it all come together.

ABV: 6% Final Thoughts: Extremely wellbalanced with lots of bold, rich flavors.

The black licorice complements this this style of beer perfectly. A must-try.

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snuff

THE ROOSTER

by Arthur J. Lux

photos by Kyle Banashek For very good reasons, the roosterfish is quickly becoming a popular target among saltwater fly fishing enthusiasts. Roosters are hunted on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama in the winter and on the beaches of Mexico in the summer.

It’s assumed that the Panama Canal allowed them access to the other side, but no one knows if this has been confirmed; however, there have been roosterfish caught on the Caribbean side.

The Cabo big-fish habitat ranges from Ranchito, about 20 miles south of Los Muertos, up through the waters of Cerralvo Island and Baja beaches parallel to Cerralvo Island and as far up to Las Pillar if you’re looking for your best photo opportunity.

Unlike most other surf species, the roosterfish has a striking appearance: a big-profile body covered with silvery blue scales and distinctive black stripes, topped with a crown of seven long black dorsal spikes that can flair or flatten at will. Not your typical catch-of-the-day. If you’ve never seen the species, the crown can appear menacing at first look, but it’s relatively harmless. While hunting the shallow waters near beaches, roosters will sometimes flair their dorsal crown; to see it cutting through the water is a really special thing. Their excellent eyesight makes

roosterfish fierce hunters in shallow water, and they have been known to beach themselves while chasing down baitfish. As with other jack-like species, roosterfish readily take flies.

Anglers often talk about the fight of a tarpon or a giant trevally, but roosterfish can hold their own with the heavyweights.

They seem to be more active and more aggressive in the shallow waters along beaches, which is where the chaotic excitement begins. Get ready for a show. It might be because of the fierce competition among small schools of roosterfish, or simply because they only visit the flats and beaches to feed. They are usually accompanied by jack crevalle and other less notable surf species that hunt along beaches, and don’t be surprised if you catch a few of those by accident. What makes for such an adrenaline rush is the rooster’s purely erratic, completely unpredictable behavior and blinding speed. There’s no telling where they’ll pop and bust on bait, or even how many different places they’ll show. They can even change direction several times during a cast and frustrate the most patient angler. (Kind of sounds like permit fishing, doesn’t it…?)

Plan a trip for roosterfish. You won’t be disappointed, as this species is worthy of its crown.

marsh GOLD CONNOR TAPSCOTT

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Stepping off the plane, we didn’t know what to expect from our first trip to New Orleans. The trout rods my buddy Parker Thompson and I were used to in western Virginia were only recently replaced by rods with full Wells grips and stiffer graphite. The redfish bug had bitten us hard, so Louisiana quickly jumped to the top of our list. The summer heat seeped through the cracked windows of our classy rented Nissan Sentra as we rolled in style through the city. Images of crawfish, Mardi Gras, and redfish played in a loop in my head as we maneuvered our way to our spot in Chalmette. It was still early afternoon, and we had a whole night to explore before our five a.m. wakeup call.

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Although our sedan earned us no style points, servers and even a few of the guests were the narrow crowded streets and limited parking convinced that we belonged, resulting in of the French Quarter made us satisfied with some unexpected champagne and crab cakes. our choice. After eventually finding a spot, When accusing glances started coming our we headed straight for the walkway along the way, we slipped out of the party discreetly. banks of the Mississippi River, which we had caught glimpses of through the gaps in the Bourbon Street was next on our agenda as historic buildings. The architecture and culture we headed back toward our luxury vehicle. was unlike anything we had experienced. I It did not disappoint. The entire street was have been fortunate enough to visit 43 states in blocked off and an all-out party ensued. The our great country and countless cities within, balconies hanging over the street were lined but this was unique. The smell of spicy food with boisterous people tossing beads down drifted through the streets, carried on the back and drinking from tall, colorful glasses. of the faint sound of trumpets. It felt like the Every bar, club, or restaurant on the street playful craziness of Las Vegas, with a historical seemed to have some sort of event or music twist. We continued to explore the wild and overflowing onto the curb and merging with colorful streets and were drawn to the sounds the crowd outside. It was exciting, but we of live music. Eventually, led by our ears, we were ready to rest up and then catch some fish. turned a corner to find ourselves thrust into the middle of a New Orleans wedding. The Our first day of fishing began with an early bride and groom were preparing to make morning meet-up at the infamous Penny’s their exit from the church with an entire brass Café. Penny’s Café has for years been a band playing loudly on the steps. Servers meeting spot for guides and clients fishing dressed in all black moved their way through the Louisiana Marsh. The small parking lot the crowd, balancing glasses of champagne, was dimly lit by a few flickering lampposts, while the invited guests danced along with making it difficult to weave our way through the horns and drums of the band. Although the maze of trucks and skiffs parked outside. our attire was clearly not wedding-appropriate, We pushed our way through the door into we were swept along in the festivities. The the small diner, decorated as if it were still the

1960s. Fish replicas and photos covered the its name, is a piece of the Gulf of Mexico. The walls, boasting of the fishery just a few miles wind was calm and the water was smooth. away. A whiff of coffee and bacon met us We were motoring off toward the Gulf when along with the gaze of everyone inside. Luckily, Bailey suddenly turned and cut the engine. He our guide, Bailey Short, was easy to pick out watched the birds and water with an expert eye with his long blonde hair draping down his before pulling out a teasing rig on his spinning back. Bailey grew up in Louisiana with the rod. “There could be jacks here,” he said. “I’ll marsh in his backyard. Having an addiction to tease them to the boat and you cast to them.” hard-pulling saltwater fish is easily justifiable when the drug is so accessible. His excitement He cast the big cork teaser and popped it back and passion is ultimately what convinced us toward the boat. Some sort of disturbance to hop on a plane and come down here. followed the cork and I put a fly in its path.

The line went tight. “Does it feel big?” Bailey After a filling breakfast and a few much-needed yelled. I didn’t know how to answer as it felt cups of coffee, we moved on down the road big, but it was not running. I brought the fish to the boat ramp. The sun was not yet visible, closer and the excitement of possibly hooking a but the sky was an inferno of color. The ramp jack right out of the gate faded. We all laughed put us out into Lake Borgne, which, despite as the long whiskers of a catfish punched

Bourbon Street was next on our agenda as we headed back toward our luxury vehicle. It did not disappoint. The entire street was blocked off and an all-out party ensued. The balconies hanging over the street were lined with boisterous people tossing beads down and drinking from tall, colorful glasses.

TAIL FLY FIS H I NG MAGAZI N E 63

through the surface of the water. The last thing I expected was for our first catch to be a catfish, but at least we would not be skunked.

We worked miles of grass edges, but the tide and wind were working against each other, keeping the tide from moving. The fish did not want to budge from the bottom. A few massive black drum occasionally floated into view, but the fly never had a chance to get down to them. Eventually, a dark cloud began to build and we had to call it a day. Bailey had covered more than enough water and options, but fish can be strange creatures. We were a little disappointed with the results of our first day, but nothing makes success more satisfying than previous failure.

Our second day of fishing would be our last day in Louisiana. There was no way we could leave with only a catfish under our belt. We went down the boat ramp for the last time and moved our way out to work a grass edge. This produced nothing. We had to make a decision. A possible storm was building in the distance, but the spot we wanted to head to was a good distance from the ramp and safety. We rolled the dice and decided to go for it. The risk of being stuck out in the storm was worth finding fish.

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After a lengthy boat ride, we moved our way into a section of grass. The tide was moving better now and small patches of mud began to be visible. We didn’t have to search long in these inner sections of the grass—or “ponds,” as Bailey called them— before we spotted fish.

Due to some excited habitual trout-sets, we missed the first few, for which Bailey jokingly berated us. I hopped up on the bow and squeezed the cork in frustration as we moved deeper into the ponds. Bailey poled us through a pocket of water toward a small opening in the grass. The bow of the skiff had hardly protruded into this opening when, “Fish, 10 o’clock!” came abruptly from the poling platform. I scanned the edge of the grass about 30 feet from my perch as I began my cast. I was not going to let another opportunity pass.

I laid my line down, still not seeing the fish.

“Half the distance,” Bailey remarked, and I scanned the water for a glimmer of gold. I

The wind was calm and the water was smooth. We were motoring off toward the Gulf when Bailey suddenly turned and cut the engine. He watched the birds and water with an expert eye before pulling out a teasing rig on his spinning rod. “There could be jacks here,” he said.

“I’ll tease them to the boat and you cast to them.”

TAIL FLY FIS H I NG MAGAZI N E 65

“At your feet!� Bailey said. I looked straight down and saw a small school of fish unconcerned with the boat. I moved my rod tip in an arc and simply dropped the fly gently on top of the fish, where it was instantly crushed on the surface with a thrashing splash.

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made another blind cast toward the grass.

“At your feet!” Bailey said. I looked straight down and saw a small school of fish unconcerned with the boat. I moved my rod tip in an arc and simply dropped the fly gently on top of the fish, where it was instantly crushed on the surface with a thrashing splash. The fish had few options of places to run in the shallow water, and the chaotic splashing continued until we lifted up our first Louisiana red. After that, Parker and I took turns hooking into some marsh gold.

Bailey was ecstatic to get us some fish, and we were happy to reward his tireless efforts to find us fish in less-than-ideal conditions.

“The best kept secret about this place,” Bailey began, when we took a brief break to rest our arms and fill our stomachs, “is that it’s a year-round fishery. Between resident bull reds, a huge population of puppy drum, jacks, and black drum, there’s always something to pull.”

Fall sees the greatest number of anglers hunting these marshes. Because this is regarded as the best time to hunt bull redfish, and also sees the greatest numbers of jack crevalle, the other seasons tend to be overlooked. Fish can be found here throughout the year, however. Winter is big-fish season as well, and typically brings clear water with it. The spring months are great for hunting large numbers of reds in shallow water and on top, with opportunities at bulls still available. Summer is another great time to catch numbers of fish in a variety of sizes. Big reds and black drum can be found tailing then, and the topwater bite can be incredible. Summer is also a good time to catch jack crevalle.

No matter the season, there are always fish to be found in the marshes of southern Louisiana.

Bio: Connor Tapscott Is a freelance writer and photographer who supplies content to popular fly fishing magazines within the United States. He is a lifelong angler and continues to work in the industry full time for Orvis while taking frequent short breaks for assignments and his passion.

Connor is a frequent contributor to Eastern Fly Fishing Magazine and plans to spend more time in the salt contributing to TFFM in 2019.

TAIL FLY FISH I N G MAGAZI NE 67

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68 TA I L F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

fly tying

Cochran's Skrimp

by Gabe Lefevbre

Some say ”Shrimp,” but in the Low Country we call them “Skrimp.” This fly was inspired

by Vaughn Cochran, who has had great success with a similar pattern at his Black Fly Lodge on Abaco. The Skrimp can be tied in a number of colors and color combinations and is most popularly used for bonefish, redfish, juvenile tarpon, and snook.

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MATERIALS

1

Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H, size 4.

Thread: Danville Flat Waxed Nylon, 210 denier, tan.

Eyes: Medium bead chain, silver.

Flash: Hareline Krystal Flash, UV Herring Back.

Tail: Finn raccoon zonker strip, tan.

Body: Hareline Senyo’s Laser Dub, tan.

Wing: Hareline Magnum Rabbit Strip, tan.

Adhesive: Zap Goo. Weed Guard: RIO Hard Mono Saltwater Tippet, 20-pound test.

Head Cements: Loon Outdoors UV Clear Fly Finish Flow; Loon Outdoors UV Clear Fly Finish Thick.

2&3 DIRECTIONS Step 1. Start the thread on the hook shank and wrap back to the bend of the hook, laying a solid thread base to which the materials can grip.

Step 2. Fold a strand of Krystal Flash and tie it in at the bend of the hook. The flash should extend several inches beyond the tail on the finished fly.

4

Step 3. Cut a generous amount of Finn raccoon from a zonker strip and trim the butts so that it’s 1.5 inches in length. Tie this in at the bend of the hook.

Step 4. Rotate the vise (or, for non-rotary, remove the hook and turn it upside-down in the jaws) so that the hook is riding point-up. Take a 1-inch strip of Magnum Rabbit Strip in tan and attach it to the underside of the shank where the flash and Finn raccoon are attached.

Make sure that when you pull the rabbit strip forward on the finished fly the fibers will be flowing back toward the bend of the hook.

Trimming the rabbit skin to a point where you tie it in will prevent unnecessary bulk. Add Loon Outdoors’ UV Clear Fly Finish Flow to the thread base and cure.

TAIL FLY FIS H I NG MAGAZI N E 71

5

9&10 Step 5. Rotate the vise or flip the hook so that it’s again riding pointdown. Apply a generous amount of Zap Goo to where the rabbit strip is attached. Tie in the bead chain eyes using cross-wraps, making sure they’re well-anchored to the shank.

6

Step 6. Prepare a dubbing loop using Senyo’s Lazer Dub in tan. (If you’ve never created a dubbing loop, there are a number of excellent videos on YouTube to which you can refer.) Wrap the dubbing toward the eye of the hook, cross-wrapping through and around the bead chain as necessary. Tie off and trim any excess.

Step 7. Rotate the vise or flip the hook around once more in the jaws so that it’s point-up.

Step 8. Pull the end of rabbit strip forward, tie it off just behind the hook eye and trim any excess skin.

Step 9. For the weed guard, I prefer a single length of RIO Hard Mono Saltwater Tippet in 20-pound test. Tie this in just behind the hook eye, then take several wraps completely around the base of the mono, pulling forward with the thread to make the mono stand up.

7

8 72 TAI L F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

Step 10. After securing the weed guard, finish the head of the fly with a series of half-hitches knotted behind the mono. Apply Loon Outdoors’ UV Clear Fly Finish Flow again. Once this cures I generally top off that finish with a light coat of Loon Outdoors’ UV Clear Fly Finish Thick for added durability.

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TAIL FLY FISH I NG MAGAZI N E 73

ON THE PLATE beans,potatoes,halibut,watercress

by Kelli Prescott

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Indian Spiced Halibut 4 pieces of halibut, 6 oz each 2 tsp salt 2 tsp ground mustard powder 1 tsp ground tumeric 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp butter

I really like the hearty texture of halibut for the wintertime; it holds up to bold flavor well and feels substantial when you eat it.

The halibut in this recipe was sourced from Alaska. A good buddy of mine caught it himself and shipped it down to Texas. I was lucky enough to get an ice chest for myself.

If you don’t have any halibut on hand, feel free to use another kind of fish. Striped bass, salmon, and redfish would all work wonderfully.

In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, ground mustard, turmeric, ginger, garlic powder, and cayenne.

Get a cast iron pan hot and add olive oil.

Sprinkle seasoning on all sides of the halibut, and sear. Halibut cooks extremely fast and will take only about two minutes per side.

Flip once. Finish by adding the 2 tbsp butter in the pan. Spoon melted butter over fish as it finishes cooking.

Top with watercress salad and serve with curried sweet potatoes.

Curried Sweet Potatoes 3 sweet potatoes, peeled 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp curry powder 1 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp cracked pepper

Watercress Salad

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix curry powder, salt, and cracked pepper.

Cut the sweet potatoes in 2-inch chunks, then toss them with the olive oil and spices.

Place the seasoned sweet potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast in the oven until fork tender—about 35 minutes.

All root vegetables are delicious this way—try beets, carrots, parsnips, or red potatoes.

Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl and toss gently.

1 cup watercress 1/2 cup cilantro leaves 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion 1 tsp lime juice 1 tsp olive oil pinch of salt

TAIL FLY FISH I NG MAGAZI N E 75

Creamy, Bacony Navy Beans 1 lb dry navy beans, rinsed 1 lb bacon, cubed 1 large yellow onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 4 sprigs of thyme 6 tbsp butter 6 cups chicken stock 3 cups water 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp celery seed 1 tsp cracked black pepper kosher salt, to taste

This is the perfect “get home from fishing and can’t feel my fingers” meal. A bowl of these creamy, bacony, white beans will make you one happy fly angler. This recipe calls for 1 lb of beans, so it yields quite a big pot. Eat them as a meal or accompaniment, and save leftovers for the next day.

Heat a large dutch oven. Add cubed bacon to the hot dutch oven and cook until crisp.

Once bacon is crisp, add yellow onion. Stir so the bacon and onion are mixed evenly. The rendered bacon fat will help the onions sweat nicely and give the beans big flavor. Turn the heat to low. Cook for a couple of minutes until onions become translucent.

Add butter, garlic, and thyme, and stir until butter melts. Next, add cayenne pepper, celery seed, black pepper, and a hefty sprinkle of salt. Stir again, and continue to cook on low for about 10 minutes.

Add rinsed and drained navy beans, chicken stock, and water. Stir well and leave the heat on low. At this point, taste the cooking liquid and add seasoning as needed.

Cover your beans and cook for three to four hours until the beans become tender and the cooking liquid thickens up nicely.

I frequently uncover the beans to stir, at least three or four times per hour. Frequently stirring the beans releases starch and creates a thick, creamy consistency. The more you stir, the thicker and creamier the pot of beans will be. The less you stir, the soupier the beans will be. So stir more or less, depending on your preference.

These beans take a bit of time but are definitely worth it. I like mine by the bowlfull, with a big piece of cornbread or homemade buttermilk biscuit.

76 TAI L FLY F I S H I N G M AGA Z I NE

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BLONDES STILL HAVE MORE FUN PETE BARRETT

Joe Brooks used the Platinum Blonde to catch Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay striped bass in the 1950s and wrote about the fly, but did not name it, in his book Salt Water Fly Fishing. Photo courtesy of International Game Fish Association Library.

78 TAI L F LY F I SH I N G MAGAZ I N E

Despite their age, the 70-year-old Brooks Blondes are still having a lot of fun catching just about every gamefish that swims. They’re quick and easy to tie, and many veteran saltwater fly anglers continue to tie and fish them because they’re so versatile. It’s been one of my favorite patterns since I first learned how to tie it in the late 1960s. It’s a “comfort” fly that, while sitting at the vise and tying a few for the next day’s fishing, brings back a flood tide of memories and experiences, old and new, of fish caught and some that were lost.

The Blonde also has an interesting history. The name is attributed to Joe Brooks, who used an all-white fly he called the Platinum Blonde for striped bass in Chesapeake Bay; however, according to Joseph D. Bates Jr., author of Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing, this tying style was first seen in the 1930s in West Coast steelhead patterns like the Bellamy and the Orange Steelheader.

Both had short tails, a tinsel body, and a bucktail wing.

Of greater influence was the Homer Rhode Jr. Tarpon Bucktail. Rhode’s family came to Florida in 1925, and he soon adapted his boyhood Pennsylvania trout-stream knowledge to the wonders of fishing Biscayne Bay and the expansive Everglades. In the late 1930s, Rhode developed two influential fly patterns: the Tarpon Bucktail (forerunner to the Blonde) and a companion fly, the Tarpon Streamer, which featured splayed wings and a palmered hackle collar (eventually popularized by the legendary Chico Fernandez as the Seaducer). By the late 1940s, the Wapsi Fly Company was marketing both patterns.

TAIL FLY FISH I NG MAGAZI N E 79

The Blonde name became firmly established when Brooks wrote about a 1955 trip to Argentina, where he caught big brown trout on a fly he specifically called the Platinum Blonde.

From the Florida Keys to northeast striped bass, the Blonde has probably caught every species of game fish that swims. At 70 years of age, it’s still a great fly. Photo courtesy of International Game Fish Association Library.

As saltwater fly fishing rapidly evolved after World War Two, Brooks began traveling to the Florida Keys, where he and other well-known fly anglers like Ted Williams mixed with local fly anglers such as Rhode, Jimmy and Frankee Albright, Stu Apte, and others to share tackle, techniques, and ideas about fly patterns. What an exciting time it must have been! I can imagine these icons talking about all things fly fishing— perhaps over a Cuban dinner at Manny and Isa’s Cafe, or on the docks at marinas or over the counters at tackle shops—and most certainly while fishing. The swapping of information must have been astonishing, and early fly patterns were fished, modified, and enhanced by these saltwater fly fishing pioneers.

Although several notable fly anglers preceded him to South Florida, Joe Brooks is generally considered the patriarch of saltwater fly fishing. It’s clear that he knew and fished with Homer Rhode’s flies. Brooks’ 1950 book, Salt Water Fly Fishing, describes the development of South Florida patterns and credits Rhode with tying “fine imitations of the underwater life upon which those fish fed,” and as being one of “several pioneering anglers” of that time period. However, Brooks’ book doesn’t mention Rhode’s flies by name.

Streamer fly expert and author Joseph D. Bates Jr. fished and corresponded with Homer Rhode in the late 1940s and referred to him as “… an old angling companion and one of the earliest pioneers in salt water fly fishing.” Bates put things into perspective by writing in the 1950 edition of his book Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing, “Joe Brooks’ ‘Blondes’ in suitable sizes are excellent flies for tarpon, as well as other game fish.

The Homer Rhode, Jr. Tarpon Bucktail … probably was the father of this type, because Homer gave me some of them prior to 1950.” In the 1966 edition of the book, Bates included a color photo in Plate V, titled Well-known Salt Water Patterns.

The description of the fly on the facing page reads: “Brooks Blonde. Originated by Mr. Homer Rhode and Mr. Joe Brooks.”

In his own book, Brooks credited Howard Bonbright as creator of the Bonbright Tarpon Streamer and H. J. “Red” Greb, of Miami, as “the first man to tie a fly especially

designed for bonefish.” He goes on to say, “Not be outdone, I put my oar in and designed an entire line of salt-water streamer flies, bucktails and poppers …” and he marketed them through Bill Upperman Lures of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The book’s description of the Upperman Brooks Bucktail describes a fly with a wing of “divided bucktail.”

After the Upperman-produced flies were discontinued some years later, Brooks purchased flies from his friend Bill Gallasch, who apparently continued to improve on the the Blonde.

The earliest Brooks Bucktails were tied fluffy and full. There’s a picture of his three Upperman flies in his book (Streamer, Popper, and Bucktail), and the Brooks Bucktail looks like a shaving brush compared with later Blondes. These had a more elegant appearance; they were tied more sparsely, and there was a distinct separation of the tail and wing.

The Blonde name became firmly established in the pages of Outdoor Life when Brooks wrote about a 1955 trip to Argentina, where he caught large brown trout on a fly he specifically called the Platinum Blonde. Brooks wrote, “Remembering that old theory that a big trout likes a big mouthful, I reached into my salt water tackle box and picked out a handful of ‘blonde’ flies – big white bucktails I used for striped bass.”

As the Blonde evolved over time, Brooks eventually took credit for developing the Blonde series of flies, and his writings popularized the fly in its many color variations.

With the 1966 edition of Bates' Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing, the name Brooks Blonde was firmly established.

Kenneth Bay’s 1972 Salt Water Flies (the first book devoted to saltwater fly tying), leads off with tying instructions for the Platinum Blonde and a quote from Brooks: “I think the Platinum Blonde, which I use for striped bass, jack crevalle, spotted sea trout, channel bass, bonefish and tarpon (the fly I designed more than twenty years ago) has proven the best all-around salt water fly I ever used.” With detailed photos, Bay’s book shows the Blonde in its quintessential form: a tinsel body and a distinct separation of the tail and wing.

TAIL FLY FI S H I NG MAGAZI N E 81

The breathing action of the Blonde depends upon a strip-andpause retrieve. As the fly is pulled forward, the wing collapses close to the body, and then relaxes upward on the pause. In the early days of saltwater fly fishing this was a significant innovation, as Rhode and others emulated Pinocchio’s Papa Gepetto, breathing life into hair and feathers.

To enhance the breathing action, some tiers make several thread wraps behind the wing, pulling the thread forward after each wrap to raise the bucktail slightly. Holding the fly in the palm of your hand, the gap between the body and wing may look odd, but in the water the pulsating action is hard for gamefish to resist.

A simple fly that can be tied fancy or plain, the Blonde has evolved continuously since its inception, especially as more modern fly tying materials have become available. The silver and gold tinsel originally used for the body quickly tarnished in salt water, and by the late 1960s fly tiers happily replaced it with Mylar, a plastic-based material that doesn’t discolor.

I prefer Mylar braid for its prismatic appearance. Estaz, or tinsel chenille, gives the fly a fuller body and can make it look more “shrimpy.” Adding a few strands of Flashabou,

Aki 5170 in stealthy black. This is a never-break hook that can stand up to zippy albies, hard-charging tarpon, and bridge brawls with striped bass and snook. Gamakatsu’s SC-15 and SC-12, as well as Mustad’s C70SD, are also good choices.

Early saltwater tiers must have encountered the problem of the wing fouling, because many early photos show Blondes with a wing that is considerably shorter than the overall length of the fly. A wing that ends just past the bend of the hook, with the tail extending another 1 to 3 inches, is less likely to foul during casting. As an added benefit, a shorter wing produces a different action than a long wing and also gives the fly a more robust appearance (think peanut bunker) if the tail and wing are tied full.

The Blonde’s silhouette can be changed to imitate virtually any bait, plump or skinny. To represent sand eels, tie a slim-profile Blonde by keeping the top wing very sparse and omit the thread wraps behind the wing to make it lie flatter. Be aware, however, that this fly may be more likely to foul. To help prevent this, you can add a light application of Softex to the first quarter to half inch of the wing.

The quintessential Blonde is usually tied sparse and with a distinct separation between the tail and the wing. To enhance the breathing action, some tiers make several thread wraps behind the bucktail wing to raise it slightly. Held in the palm of your hand, the gap between the body and raised wing may look odd, but in the water the pulsating action is hard for gamefish to resist.

Krystal Flash, Sparkle Flash, or a similar material to the tail and wing is standard procedure for many tiers.

Although bucktail is the most popular material for the tail and wing, synthetic materials—Angel Fiber, Steve Farrar’s Flash Blend, DNA Frosty, Fluoro Fiber, EP Sparkle, and Kinky Fiber, to name only a few—are also used, though synthetic fibers breathe somewhat differently than natural bucktail. Synthetics that either are very stiff, or too limp, breathe poorly. Color variety of synthetic materials is astonishing, allowing today’s tier to infinitely blend colors to duplicate the iridescent tones of the natural baitfish.

Blondes originally were tied on hooks with either upturned or downturned eyes, but these styles of hook are rarely used today in salt water. The Eagle Claw 254 in stainless steel was a popular hook from the 1950s through the 1990s. Although the stainless steel version has been discontinued in smaller sizes, tiers who wish to uphold tradition can use the Eagle Claw 254F in Sea Guard finish, as well as the similar L253 in nickel. A terrific modern alternative to the 254 is the Owner

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One of my favorite adaptations to give the Blonde a more seductive motion is to add one or two narrow saddle hackles tied with the feather curving upward on top of the deerhair tail. Fished in a current, the fly is effective with no stripping action required, because the feather gently moves in an appealing lifelike manner caused by water flowing around the fly. This is a top-notch striped bass pattern, and you’ll find that tarpon and snook will eat them, too.

Replacing the deer hair tail with marabou was shown to me by an angler I met while wading the seagrass flats of the Indian River Lagoon. The added motion of the marabou tail proved itself time and again on sea trout and redfish, and also for snook around docks. The marabou tail has proven irresistible to striped bass when fishing shadow lines around bridges and marina docks. The pulsating marabou fibers look alive even when the fly is at rest, and suspicious bass often let down their guard when a marabou-tail Blonde is dropped near them.

If you substitute marabou for both the tail and the wing and downsize to a number-6 or smaller hook, the Marabou

By using a bend-back hook, you can tie Blondes reverse, with the wing on the same side as the hook point. Apply a light coat of Softex or Tufffeye to add stiffness to the wing and the Blonde becomes nearly weedless.

Snook are notorious for chewing a fly to shreds and striped bass can do the same. To make a more durable body, before tying in the wing, apply a coating of Tuffleye Acrylic or two coats of clear nail polish, such as Hard As Nails, to protect the body of the fly.

Tie in the wing after the body coating dries. To hasten the tying process, use an assembly line to tie up a half dozen or so Blondes, stopping at the body stage to apply the coating, and then let them cure on a slow-rotating dryer before adding the wings.

Although most flies from the 1940s and ‘50s had no eyes, as the Blonde evolved over time it became fashionable to paint eyes over the thread wraps of the head. Today we have adhesivebacked prism or 3D eyes; a coating of epoxy or acrylic will secure the eyes and form a durable, glossy head. However, I still take pleasure from painting the eyes on most of the Blondes I tie— yellow or white for the iris with red or black pupils. Although it takes a little extra time, I enjoy the job as part of the comfort that comes from sitting at the vise and tying up an old friend.

For shallow calm water with minimal current, the weight of the hook is enough to get the Blonde into the feeding zone, but strong currents and deeper waters require a half dozen or so wraps of lead around the hook shank before the Mylar body is applied. To keep track of what’s what in the fly box, I use red thread wraps for weighted Blondes and black for unweighted.

The Blonde is a remarkable grand old lady of fly fishing, attracting fresh- and saltwater gamefish with her beauty and charm. She’s a fun gal to spend the day fishing with and always tries hard to be the life of the party. Blondes really do have more fun.

Bio: Pete Barrett has fished from New England to the Bahamas, offshore and inshore, fly and light tackle, and skippered the charter boat “Linda B.” He now spends most of his time in Florida’s surf, back-bay and local ponds. His saltwater fly fishing experiences began in the “fiberglass” era catching his first fly-caught striped bass in Chesapeake Bay. Pete has written over 1000 fishing articles in regional and national publications and authored several books. He’s a Florida representative for the International Game Fish Association, has won several gamefish tagging awards, and is an active member of the Atlantic Salt Water Flyrodders and the West Palm Beach Fishing Club.

The Rhody Fly Rodders was established in 1963 as the first all-saltwater fly fishing club in America. The Platinum Blonde was a favorite fly of Al Brewster, one of the club’s founders. This one was given to the author in 1970.

Blonde is a deadly pattern for schoolie striped bass, small jacks, redfish, snappers, pompano, sea trout, and weakfish.

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The all-white Platinum Blonde is the original version of the legendary fly pattern named

by Joe Brooks in the 1950s. He used it to catch striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay near his home in Maryland, giant brown trout in Argentina, and numerous other gamefish in tropical waters. As the fly became ever more popular, other color combinations evolved, including the following:

Argentine Blonde – white tail, silver body, light blue wing.

Black Blonde – black or purple tail, silver body, black wing.

Blushing Blonde – white or pink tail, silver body, red wing.

Electric Chicken Blonde – chartreuse tail, silver body, pink over white wing.

Honey Blonde – yellow tail, gold body, brown or yellow wing.

Irish Blonde – light green tail, silver body, dark green wing.

Martini Blonde – white tail, silver body, brown or olive wing.

Mickey Finn Blonde – yellow tail, silver body, yellow over red wing.

Pink Blonde – pink tail, silver body, pink wing.

Portuguese Blonde – green tail, gold body, red wing.

Strawberry Blonde – orange tail, gold body, red wing.

Tutti Frutti Blonde – pink tail, silver body, chartreuse over white wing.

Marabou Blonde – replaces tail and wing with marabou feathers.

DRESSING THE

PLATINUM BLONDE

by George Roberts photos by Patrick Cahill

Thread: Danville’s Flat Waxed Nylon, white.

Hook: Daiichi XPoint X452, size 2 to 4/0.

Body: Bill’s Bodi-Braid, silver.

Tail and Wing: White bucktail.

Free Gift for Tail Fly Fishing Magazine Readers: A great fly deserves to be tied on a great hook. More important, the hook is perhaps the most overlooked and underrated piece of fly fishing equipment. Daiichi distributer Angler Sport Group would like to send you a sample of their premium chemically sharpened XPoint hook to try. Like the blood grooves of a knife, the unique configuration of the XPoint reduces the coefficient of friction for easier penetration. Because they’re chemically sharpened, right out of the box they’re as sharp as they’ll ever be. This hook has set a number of IGFA line-class records. To receive your free sample of the Daiichi’s XPoint X452 in white finish, simply drop us an email with your mailing address.

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1

5 Step 1. Lay a thread base from just behind the eye of the hook back to the base of the barb.

2

Step 2. Select a clump of white bucktail from the top two-thirds of the tail and cull out any wild hairs as well as any very short hairs. The bucktail should be two or three times the length of the shank (depending on the length of the fly you wish to tie). Pretrim the butt ends at an angle and fasten the bucktail to the length of the hook shank as far back as the base of the barb, forcing the fibers around the circumference of the shank. Tightening only on the upstroke will prevent the bucktail from rolling as you wrap.

Before you complete your wraps, coat the bucktail that is fastened to the shank, as well as the butts, with a generous amount of head cement, allowing it to seep down into the fibers. This will create a more durable fly.

Step 3. Fasten the Bodi-Braid just behind the eye of the hook, wrapping back to the end of the thread wraps, and then forward again. Make sure you cover all of the thread wraps. Tie the BodiBraid off just behind the eye of the hook.

3

Step 4. Select a second clump of bucktail for the wing. The total length of the wing should be the same length as the tail (or nearly so). Again, cull out any wild or very short hairs, and pre-trim the butt ends at an angle. To fasten the wing directly on top of the shank, first take a wrap of thread completely around the butts of bucktail, and then take a wrap beneath the shank of the hook.

Place the wing on top of the shank as you tighten on the upstroke.

This causes the thread wraps to pull straight down on the wing, preventing it from rolling. Take a few wraps to hold the wing in place—again, tighten on the upstroke—then coat the pretrimmed butts of bucktail with head cement before finishing the fly.

If you wish to raise the wing higher to accentuate the “breathing” action of the fly, take several wraps of thread beneath the wing and pull it forward.

4

Step 5. Use thread wraps to build a tapered head, finish with half hitches or a whip finish (preferred), and coat the head of the fly with head cement.

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What exactly is released?

Photo by Darcy Bacha from his conservation-minded feature in the premier issue of Strung Magazine.

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Get your subscription: strungmag.com TAIL FLY FISH I NG MAGAZI N E 87

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man-eat[er]

On Saturday, September 15th, 2018, Arthur Medici, a 26-year-old engineering student living in Revere, Massachusetts, was boogie-boarding off Cape Cod’s Newcomb Hollow beach in Wellfleet when he was fatally attacked by a great white shark.

by Tom King

Shark fatalities are statistically rare. According to the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, in 2017 there were 88 cases of unprovoked shark attacks on humans worldwide (slightly higher than the five-year average of 83 annual incidents). Of those 88 attacks, there were five fatalities.

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Before Arthur Medici, the last shark fatality in Massachusetts had occurred on July 25th, 1936, off Mattapoisett, near New Bedford, when Joseph Troy Jr., 16, from Dorchester, was attacked while swimming. After an investigation by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, former director of the US Bureau of Fisheries, Troy’s death was attributed to a “man-eater” (what is now called a great white shark).

Although fatalities are rare, shark attacks in Massachusetts have been on the rise in recent years. On July 30th, 2012, a white shark bit the feet and leg of a body-surfer at Ballston Beach, Truro, on Cape Cod’s eastern side. He recovered.

In 2014, two female kayakers were observing seals off Plymouth when a white shark attacked. Their kayaks were very close together. The shark came up from beneath and knocked both women overboard. A state shark biologist who investigated the incident told me that the bite marks on one of the kayaks indicated it was a predatory bite—as opposed to an investigatory bite—as the teeth had penetrated deeply into the cockpit of the well-made kayak. The woman in the struck kayak, he said, was very lucky to have escaped unscathed.

There have been several other attacks since.

Let’s take a look at the background information on why shark attacks are increasing in Massachusetts.

Worldwide, a few of the larger shark species have fatally attacked humans. One of the leaders in fatal attacks is the great white, whose scientific name is Carcharodon

carcharias. For centuries, the great white was commonly known as the “man-eater.” After World War Two, it came to be referred to as the white shark, the great white shark, the white pointer, white death, and other similar common names. Yet very little was known about the elusive creature. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that filmmaker Peter Gimbel captured the first underwater footage of the great white—and that required four months and 12,000 miles of travel. Gimbel’s 1971 documentary, Blue Water, White Death, was doubtless a source of research for author Peter Benchley. Benchley’s 1974 bestseller, Jaws, along with Steven Speilberg’s 1975 blockbuster film adaptation, made the great white shark a household name and caused many people to be afraid to go into the water.

Fully grown, great whites are 16 to 20 feet long and weigh 2,500 to 5,500 pounds. They have large triangular serrated teeth that are well-adapted to ripping meat off seals and whale carcasses, which are the preferred meals of the larger whites. Several years ago a dead whale off Provincetown, in Massachusetts Bay, had six different great whites come up from the depths to feast on its carcass. More recently, on October 14th, 2018, a boat owned by Hyannis Whale Watcher Cruises was on a tour with about 160 passengers when it spotted a dead finback whale with two great whites attached to it. One of the sharks was 18 feet long.

This shark species can function in water temperatures from 43 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That is one of the widest temperature ranges for any shark, and is the reason an occasional great white is spotted in New England in midwinter.

Enacted in 1972, the Marine Mammal Protection Act has resulted in a population explosion of grey seals in Massachusetts, especially along Cape Cod’s remote eastern beaches. Seal surveys are difficult to conduct because they can’t be done in a day and also because seals move around unpredictably. However, drone surveys estimate there are now 50,000 to 70,000 seals in Massachusetts waters. This massive increase in seals is a big attraction for their predator, the great white shark, which itself received federal protection in 1997. The combination of protecting both the seals and their predators is a good example of “Today’s solution is tomorrow’s problem.” It’s especially a problem for those who presently frolic in Massachusetts waters, as humans are about the same size as seals.

A decade ago there were early signs of a potential problem developing. On Labor Day weekend in 2008, tuna spotter pilot Wayne Davis observed a rarely seen great white off Chatham, and he took definitive photos. On September 2nd, 2009, pilot George Breen spotted two large sharks off Chatham. The sharks were identified later that day as great whites by Dr. Greg Skomal, senior biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). Three days later, Skomal, along with DMF shark researcher John Chisholm and commercial tuna fishermen Captain Billy Chaprales and his son, Nick, were able able to place satellite pop-up tags into two great whites off Chatham, close to shore.

At this writing, Dr. Skomal and his colleagues have tagged 146 great whites for the purpose of research.

Several types of devices have been used to tag great whites. Some of the tags send information via satellite, while others transmit acoustic signals that are collected by hydrophones (underwater microphones). As the great white population off Massachusetts has increased over the years, the taggers have become more skilled at placing tags. However, because of a lack of tagging funds—each tag costs thousands of dollars—coupled with the increase in sharks as well as the relatively small tagging area, there are many untagged great whites out there. For example, if spotter pilot Wayne Davis were to see 10 untagged whites in a day, yet only three tags were available on the tagging boat, then seven sharks would go untagged.

Many of the untagged sharks are filmed with a GoPro camera from the tagging boat and are then cataloged.

They are identified by their physical characteristics.

The tagging and filming takes place in a relatively small area, limited by the range of the tagging boat. The tagging boat is located at Chatham, on easterly Cape Cod, so it can’t go to every shark sighting in the state. Tagging takes place along the oceanside beaches of Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, and Truro. Some of the sharks are trailed for miles in the shallower sandybottom areas and tagged in 4 to 6 feet of water close to shore—often right in front of clueless beachgoers. (The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a private non-profit enterprise, has been an enormous help, monetarily and physically, in assisting the state tagging program.)

On Cape Cod, people both ashore and in boats have videoed attacks on seals by great whites.

These incidents have increased yearly.

The Cape Cod tagging area is not so much an area where the white sharks regularly linger, but rather is an area where the nomadic whites visit to participate in the seal buffet present there. An adult great white probably has to eat about three seals a month when available. Most of these whites eventually will travel along the coast after feeding and could return for a meal—or find one elsewhere.

On Cape Cod, people both ashore and in boats have videoed attacks on seals by great whites. These incidents have increased yearly. YouTube now hosts a number of videos of smaller great whites in the 8- to 10-foot range snatching striped bass and bluefish from anglers’ lines. Shark warning signs are posted at a number of Cape Cod beaches to alert people to the danger of a possible interspecies mishap.

Right now the situation between the seals and great whites exists primarily on Cape Cod’s easterly beaches, but a number of sightings and incidents (such as with the female kayakers off Plymouth) suggest that it could be spreading. Given enough time, the situation may exist along the entire New England coast.

When great whites enter Massachusetts Bay, they are harder to spot. The water is deeper and darker than it is on the easterly side of Cape Cod, where it is easier to see them from the spotter plane. White sharks cruising on the surface in Massachusetts Bay have resulted in beach closings as far north as Plymouth.

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Marshfield Harbormaster Mike DiMeo places five hydrophones along the beaches close to shore, from Scituate to Plymouth. When an acoustic-tagged shark gets within a few hundred yards of a submerged hydrophone, the signal it transmits identifies the shark and the time it was there. The great white pings DiMeo has recorded have increased yearly. Untagged sharks are not detected, so there are likely more great whites in this area than what the hydrophones indicate. The hydrophones have to be retrieved and checked to acquire the data. A month or more could elapse between checks. This is good for shark research but is not useful information for beachgoers. DiMeo told me he plans to keep pushing for real-time hydrophones. “I feel this is the new norm and society wants real-time information.”

On August 3rd, 2017, a paddle-boarder was attacked in 3 feet of water by a great white on an East Cape beach; his board was damaged from the bite. In another August 2017 incident, a great white attacked a seal amid bathers very close to shore, sending everyone swimming and running to get out of the water.

On August 15th, 2018, a 61-year-old man was standing in shallow water off Truro, about 30 yards from shore, near at least 10 seals, when he was bitten on the leg and torso by a great white. He was med-flighted to Tufts Medical Center in Boston, where he underwent a prolonged recovery.

After that close call, many people started to sense it was only a matter of time until a fatality happened. They didn’t have to wait long. One month later Arthur Medici was attacked. The shark severed Medici’s femoral artery, and he died on the way to the hospital.

Although fatal shark attacks are statistically rare, if the current trend of seals, white sharks, and people in the water in Massachusetts continues, we won’t have to wait 82 years for another fatality.

Bio: Captain Tom King has been a longtime angler in the Massachusetts area, purchasing his first boat in 1949. Tom has been a fly fishing guide in Boston Harbor for striped bass, and he has also guided offshore for sharks. For a number of years Tom wrote a column for On the Water. He has given many public presentations on New England’s shark species.

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Further Reading and Viewing Peter Gimbel’s 1971 documentary, Blue Water, White Death, is widely considered the best shark movie ever made. You can purchase it as a DVD on Amazon or buy or rent it through iTunes.

One of the crew members on Gimbel’s expedition was the late National Book Award-winning nature writer Peter Matthiessen, who was hired as the voyage historian. Matthiessen’s account of the voyage, Blue Meridian: The Search for the Great White Shark, is available through Amazon.

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An Angler Opines

Right Place, Wrong Time

by Joseph Ballarini

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“I like your magazine but can you please stop writing about these old dudes that no one cares about?”

I recently received an email from someone who, I assume, is a young man in his late teens or early 20s, because it came from an .edu address from a university. The subject line was titled “Homer Rhode,” and the body read like this: “I like your magazine but can you please stop writing about these old dudes that no one cares about?”

At first I was offended and actually a bit angry— not because he was criticizing the content, but because of the complete lack of respect for the genius and ambition of previous generations.

Without pioneers like Homer Rhode, Joe Brooks, Lefty Kreh, Bill Curtis, Mark Sosin, and Chico Fernandez, to name only a few, fly fishing in salt water as we know it would not exist. These figures are as important to modern saltwater fly fishing as Hippocrates is to modern medicine. To trivialize or disrespect them is simply not right.

Don’t get me wrong. There are young innovators today who are doing some pretty special things, but that doesn’t mean we should disrespect the past. (By that logic, in about 40 or 50 years fly anglers will be discounting the contributions being made today.)

Some fly anglers have spent years exploring and developing new fisheries and the techniques to be successful there—people like Keith Rose-Innes in the Seychelles. John Olch is fanatical about permit, and he probably knows more about them than any angler alive. He wishes to remain anonymous, but he is a retired physician who is quietly closing in on Del Brown’s permit record (and probably will do it within the next few years).

Sandy Moret has done so much for the sport of fly fishing and conservation that filling the pages of our magazine couldn’t begin to tell his story.

Saltwater fly tying has been enhanced by Nick Davis and his 239 Flies. I’m pretty sure Nick will have a place in the history books as an innovative fly tier, but some of our younger readers may not know that one of Nick’s most popular patterns, the Gangster Gurgler, is simply a reimagining of the late Jack Gartside’s classic pattern, which was first tied at least 30 years ago.

We shouldn’t discount a contribution based on the year that the contributor was born. Homer Rhode Jr. should be revered for doing the hard work to pave the way for others. These early pioneers innovated with the tools and technologies they had. They didn’t have prepackaged shrimp eyes or synthetic fibers in 48 million colors. Nor did they have tapered monofilament leaders, sealed drags, or ultrafast carbon-fiber fly rods. There was no GPS, no Google Maps, and no internet to help them. They did what they could within their means. They should be honored and remembered.

If the young man who emailed me has ever tied a Seaducer to his tippet, I would remind him that he has fished with a fly that Homer Rhode originated.

So to our young readers I say this: Please respect the past; it matters more than you may now realize.

To quote Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

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THE WA REMEM UNFORGE After you display a Boen original, go ahead, embellish your fish stories just a tiny bit more.

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AY WE MBER IS ETTABLE. Bucking Rainbow, Tooled Leather 84"x28"x10" 2018

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