Big Red, Light Tackle by Basil Dubrosky

Posted on March 14, 2023 by kelli

Departed the dock before sunrise today, March 14, easy to do with the time change. Went to the mangroves near our condo in Sarasota, Florida on Sarasota Bay. I caught this personal best red on a 1/16 ounce jig with a root beer color paddle tail. The fight on my very light outfit was noteworthy with a lot of drama and emotion. The fish was hooked securely but I’m glad I had a 30 pound fluorocarbon shock leader on. We took pictures after netting the fish and returned this beauty to the water to fight another day. Reds are very spooky and favor shallow water in the bay. We finished the trip with a couple nice spotted trout and were back home by 10:30.

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Fishing Facts

Of the fifty United States, thirty-eight have a striped-bass record. New Jersey has the largest striped-bass record—a 78-pound 8·ounce whopper that was caught in 1982. The state with the smallest striped-bass record is Iowa. That landlocked striper weighed only 9 pounds 4 ounces and was caught in 1983.

There’s something fishy about beer these days. Fish Tail Ale is popular as ever, and New Jersey’s Flying Fish Brewery is one of the state’s largest specialty breweries. There’s also Washington’s Wild Salmon Organic Pale Ale, Florida’s Land Shark beer, Delaware’s Dogfish Head beer, and two versions of Stingray beer—a lighter version from the Cayman Islands and a dark beer from Canada.

The triangle fly is probably the most unusual of saltwater flies. It’s one of the few, if not only, flies tied to a treble hook. It’s also barely a fly at all, because hardly any material is used. It is complete after tying the two straw pearl twinkle flashes and the tiny tuft of natural squirrel, leaving an entire hook fully exposed. Incredibly this barebacked treble fly is a knockout when it comes to sea trout.