The Fly Division of the CCA STAR tournament is off to a great start, with a number of big fish weighed in. And while late summer is perhaps the toughest time to catch big trout on the fly, that doesn’t mean you can’t still be a winner.
Thanks to the “Bonus Drawing,” weigh in any speck 14 inches or larger caught on fly and, even if it doesn’t make the leaderboard, your name goes into a drawing, held at the end of the tournament, for a TFO fly rod.
For larger trout, fish very early, in areas adjacent to deep water, with good tidal movement. Always look for the bait — schools of mullet especially. Try topwaters early (poppers or gurglers), then switch to deceivers in chartreuse/white or purple/white depending on water color.
The sand trout run has begun. Work oyster reefs, beaches and mouths of bayous on a moving tide with a clouser tied 30 inches under a VOSI. Their average size in July is 10 to 11 inches — great fun on a 6-weight rod.
Tripletail is another fly-friendly species that gets hot in late summer. Last year’s best pattern was a Waldner Terminator Crab.
Spanish mackerel up to 6 pounds love fast-moving clousers and seaducers. A two-handed strip is recommended for the “El Diablo.”
As water heats up, larger reds move to open water. Look for pods along the shorelines of lakes. If you fish ponds, hit them early before it heats up. Best flies are spoonflies, charlies, Apte flies, and crab patterns.
Bream are still hitting jitterbees under a tiny float on most of the larger lakes and reservoirs, while foam spiders and popping bugs will work better on ponds and backwaters.
July is a great month for spotted bass on streams in the Florida Parishes and Kisatchie Hills. Work poppers next to logs, and Tom Nixon spinners in deeper holes.
