A wide variety of offshore fish species are susceptible to being caught with flies. And Roger del Rio and Chad Billiot have a lot of experience with the following rogue’s gallery of fly fish.
De Rio has been chasing them for more than 20 years, while Billiot has chartered as many as 100 fly trips in a year in their pursuit.
Here’s a list of some of the species available and tips on landing them with fly equipment.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel are easy to catch, especially in clear water, Billiot said, because they are sight feeders and will strike anything bright and shiny.
But these toothy fish present a challenge.
“You need heavy leaders,” del Rio added.
“Yeah, 30- or 40-pound monofilament leaders or wire leaders,” Billiot agreed.
And Spanish mackerel are excellent table fare.
“You can eat them,” del Rio said. “They have red meat and you have to remove the pin bones. I like them broiled — also smoked.”
Billiot added that a mutual friend of theirs makes fish tacos with Spanish mackerel.
Bluefish
Bluefish are strongly attracted to the legs of platforms, and they are easy to provoke to strike, Billiot said.
“They are as common as Spanish mackerel, and are strong and very, very good fighters,” del Rio added. “Because of their teeth, you need heavy shock leaders or wire.”
Most Gulf anglers throw them back, but del Rio said the species can actually be pretty good.
“Contrary to what people believe, they are very edible,” he said. “The secret is to bury the fish under ice as soon as they are caught and shallow-fillet them to leave the red meat on the skin. Then oven-broil them.”
Pompano
The pair got visibly excited at the mention of pompano.
“A very good fighter; very good to eat,” del Rio said.
“A 10 all across the board,” Billiot said.
Flashy flies are the key to getting these great fish to strike.
“Small, bright Clousers are good pompano flies,” said del Rio, to which Billiot added, “You want flashy tinsel in it.”
Del Rio noted that he has caught them offshore on flies before and, while he has one pompano in the state record books, they are what he called a “bonus fish.”
Jack crevalle
Billiot called jack crevalles the “bruiser of the Gulf” for fly fishermen.
“They are the poor man’s yellowfin tuna,” del Rio chuckled.
Both men agreed the species is considered a nuisance fish by local trout and redfish fishermen, although Billio noted that sport fishermen from Florida to Alabama target them as a sport fish.
“They will grab anything colorful, top to bottom,” he said.
Del Rio added that they are extremely common and, along with Spanish mackerel, is one of the most-common fish on the coastline year round.
“When out-of-staters hook one, for the first 20 minutes they have fun. After that it becomes work,” del Rio said. “It’s like being hooked to a locomotive.”
They agreed on the table qualities of the fish.
“Poor to negative,” Billiot said.
“Poor, poor; do not eat,” del Rio agreed.
Blue runner
This fish is most often called a “hardtail” in Louisiana. Both men agreed these fish will take fast-moving, bright flies workedeither near the surface or deep.
Del Rio called them good fighters that are ready to take a fly.
“They are great fighters with a 7- or 8-weight fly rod,” Billio said.
As for food quality, del Rio grunted “Do not eat!”
Billiot said he would eat hardtails if he ate tilapia — and he compared tilapia to pogies.
Cobia
Cobia, also called lemonfish or ling, is a favorite of both men, although Billiot noted they are seasonal fish that appear only in the summer months beginning with April.
He added that cobia seem to have become more common in recent years.
“They are curious and not wary,” Billiot said. “They are easy to persuade to bite a fly on floating fly line. A seducer is good because it is a light, bulky fly that has a slow rate of sink.”
Del Rio, nodded his head.
“It has good action too,” he said of the seducer.
Both were impressed by the fighting ability of cobia.
“They do a lot of head-shaking,” del Rio grinned.
Billiot laughed about how he estimates the weight of these fish during a fight.
“I tell my fly customers that I know how many pounds a cobia is by how many minutes the fight lasts,” he said.
Del Rio added that a landing net should only be used to land borderline legal length cobia.
“Bigger fish must be gaffed,” he said. “Be sure to get everything out of the way; they will break every rod in the boat.
“They go crazy. (Legendary offshore charter skipper) Charlie Hardison had one break his ankle.”
Suprisingly, both men agreed that the table quality of cobia was mediocre. Billiot called it “fair on the table” and recommended grilling it. He bleeds his cobia out and guts them immediately after they are caught.
“A lot of people put them in the great category,” del Rio said. “I don’t think it’s that great.
Redfish
Redfish, properly called red drum, are pretty common offshore Billiot said, but they are not common surface feeders.
They will typically be found at shallower-water rigs in 30 feet or less of water. And they are excellent fighters, he added.
“But not as strong as a jack crevalle,” del Rio stressed.
Billiot cautioned that redfish may only be kept if the boat stays inshore of the 3-mile line that demarcates state from federal waters. Because almost all redfish caught offshore are large fish, commonly called bull reds, neither men rated redfish highly as table fare.
Del Rio said he just doesn’t like it; Billiot suggested the best thing to do with them is make a courtbouillon.
Mangrove snapper
Billiot noted that nearshore rigs can hold a lot of mangrove snappers, but the key to catching them is getting them excited by chumming.
They also resist straying far from a platform’s legs.
“The big dilemma, though, is finding a fly that appeals to them,” said del Rio, noting he has only caught a few mangrove on flies. “The seducer is my favorite.”
He said they are tough to get out of the metal jungle of rig legs.
However, both agreed mangroves are good to eat, with Billiot recommending pan-searing rather than blackening.
Red snapper
Billiot said red snappers can be easier to catch on a fly than mangroves because they are not as picky.
Red snappers, he noted, live farther offshore than mangroves, although they can be caught in 45 to 50 feet of water now simply because red snapper numbers are so high.
The best way to get them to the surface for fly presentation is by chumming.
Sheepshead
Del Rio said he has often caught numbers of sheepshead at closer-in rigs.
“Inside of 30 feet deep,” Billiot said. “They feed heavily on barnacles on rig legs, so crab or shrimp flies fished close to rig legs are best. A golden eye shrimp is very good.”
Del Rio added that Clousers were good flies, as well, but that sheepshead were difficult to get to bite on a fly.
“The fly should have a small hook, like a bonefish fly, and you need to put it right on their noses,” he explained. “They won’t run far to get a fly.”
They are hard fighters, both agreed. Billiot called them “bluegills on steroids.”
They taste wonderful, but they are hard to clean, del Rio said.
“They have fin spines like 10-penny nails,” Billiot chuckled.
Tripletail
Tripletail are not a true fish of the rigs but rather fish of opportunity, these anglers agreed.
“Watch for sargassum or other floating cover, including things man-made,” Billiot counseled. “They are a good-fighting fish. I call them saltwater sac-a-lait.”
Billiot has targeted them from early summer to early fall — especially when south winds have been blowing for a length of time and clear water moves in. Then they can occur anywhere in the area.
“Crab or shrimp imitations are good, but since they are lazy feeders, you have to float the fly right by their noses,” Billiot said.
Speckled trout
Speckled trout are the shallowest-occurring of the species found at nearshore rigs, almost never in water over 30 feet deep, Billiot said.
Clousers are probably the best fly, and early to mid-summer is the best season to catch specks offshore.
Del Rio nodded in agreement, but added ruefully that catching speckled trout at offshore platforms is one feat he has never accomplished.
“I’ve caught plenty of them at rock jetties and along beaches, but none at platforms,” he lamented.
Little tunny
Little tunny are invariably and incorrectly called “bonita” by Louisiana fishermen.
“Bonita are not necessarily found at platforms,” Billiot said. “You will see them in the open water busting baitfish. When you do, pull over and cast to them.”
The guide called them “aggressive little dudes,” and added that they like fast-moving, bright flies, streamers and Clousers.
Del Rio noted that it is relatively easy to chum them to a boat.
Billiot agreed.
“A chum line on a platform will help you,” he said. “It will bring a world of anything to you.”
Neither had heard of anyone eating bonita.
Ladyfish
“Ladyfish are attracted to any kind of movement whatsoever, but I don’t think much of their game qualities,” Billiot snorted. “I think that they are only fit for Yankees to fish for.”
Del Rio was kinder to the fish.
“They are a lot of fun to catch,” he said. “As soon as you hook one, it’s in the air. They are really hard to land, but are probably the most eager of any fish here to bite a fly.”
Both did agree ladyfish can be a nuisance when targeting other species.
As for table qualities, Billiot didn’t recommend them.
“They are fabulous for sharks,” he said.
Del Rio added with a grin, “They make good crab bait, too.”
