Finally! I've managed to catch one fish on a fly in saltwater. I've tried a few times, but never had any success until now. However, this fish is "proof of concept"...I caught him (a speckled trout ) on a deceiver I tied, in a spot I picked...and to show it wasn't a fluke, my dad went with me the next day and he caught two small blues in the same spot on a copy of the same fly! I'd hoped to have a picture to put here, but the camera jammed when I was unloading the film...oh well, I'll have to go catch another!
The gory details:
On a family vacation in July of 1995, I took my dad's skiff across Bogue sound to the back side of Bogue Inlet, on the western tip of Emerald Isle (Bogue Banks). Beached the boat off a deep side channel near the main dredged channel. I found a place where the tide made a rip near a tiny point and created a hole in the lee with a strong eddy. I cast a red & yellow deceiver (with dumbbell eyes & gold Krystal Flash) along the eddy line. I saw one fish follow, then had another bump the fly, and then I hooked my fish. After a brief tussle, I had a ~2 pound speckled trout on the beach.
Although this is the first fish I've caught on a fly in the salt, I have done quite a bit of spin fishing in this area. July isn't the best time to go. It's a better time to drink beer; it's just too hot. However, I've got the fever now, and you can bet I'll be back at the inlet in the autumn each year I get a chance!
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