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By Captain Tony Petrella
Because my livelihood depends upon repeat clients, every time I take out a charter I have to do my absolute best to put my people into fish. Fish equals happy. Happy equals repeat bookings. Pretty simple, eh?
Except for one small matter. Sometimes the fish are just as finicky as that three-year-old you’re trying to feed creamed peas, succotash, and pureed Brussels sprouts.
The only real difference is that fly patterns don’t splatter the hull of a flats skiff like those vegetables do on the dining room wall. Thank goodness for small favors, at least.
But the furrowed brow and disgusted, downward twist of the mouth are exactly the same on the face of a thirtyyearsomething fly angler who isn’t catching fish as it is on a thirtymonthsomething kid who despises Brussels sprouts.
As the grownup who’s responsible for guiding both thirtysomethings in the proper direction, that means I have to figure out what food du jure is going to please everybody’s palate. Know what? Some days I can’t, sad to say.
But, when it comes to catching saltwater fish on southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast from Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor to the Ten Thousand Islands, I’ve narrowed down my choice of “food” items considerably over the years.
NUMBER ONE: Without question, the King of Fly Patterns is the Clouser Minnow. This lead-eye fish-catcher in various color combinations undoubtedly results in more hook-ups than any other fly. On any given day and location, that is. Remember the creamed peas?
But, if I had to pick one pattern to fish with in a “Florida One-Fly” tournament, it would be the pattern I call Petrella’s Whitebait. It’s especially dominant during daytime fishing during the winter months, when baitfish (except whitebait) are largely absent from inland waters. Here’s how it’s tied:
PETRELLA'S WHITEBAIT
THREAD: White 3/0 monocord
HOOK: Size 4 2X/L shank
BODY: Silver mylar tubing
EYES: Yellow dumbbell eyes with black pupils (small or extra-small)
BELLY: White Polar Fiber
FLASH: Scraps of whatever color Krystal Flash are laying on your tying bench
WING: Electric Yellow Polar Fiber
Tie on the thread in line with the barb of the hook. Remove the cotton core, if any, from the mylar tubing and slide the tubing over the hook shank from the eye of the hook rearward and bind it down . Some fibers will separate and flare out, which is fine. Make a couple of half-hitches to secure the tubing and cut the thread. Re-tie the thread at the eye of the hook and bind down the front of the tubing. Leave enough room to tie in the lead eyes and remaining materials.
Bind down the eyes using the figure-eight method, then tie in the white Polar Fiber for the belly behind the eyes. Move the thread in front of the lead eyes, pull the white polar fiber over the mid-section of the lead eyes and bind it down behind the eye of the hook. Trim off the butt ends of the white polar fiber and rotate the vise so that the eyes now are on the bottom of the fly.
Tie in the flash material, then tie in the Electric Yellow Polar Fiber for the wing. Half-hitch or whip-finish the head and you're finished.
NUMBER TWO: And this is a close second, by the way, is the Commissioner Johnson. It was first designed by my partner, Capt. John Gospodarek, and it’s a real fish-catcher.
It’s outstanding for tailing redfish in early winter, and is excellent for large trout on deep grass flats, or snook that are hunkered down in potholes during warm weather.
My variations, the Copper Commissioner and the Silver Commissioner, are tied the same way with the obviously different colored materials.
Here’s the pattern:
GOSPO'S COMMISSIONER JOHNSON
THREAD: White 3/0 Monocord
HOOK: Size 4 2X/L shank
EYES: Red with black pupil sizes small and extra-small
BODY: Gold mylar tubing or twisted gold Krystal Flash
BEARD: Gold Krystal Flash
WING: Gold Krystal Flash
This is a very quick and easy fly to tie, and it's extremely effective on all species of fish that we target in southwest Florida.
Tie in the tubing and eyes as in the Whitebait pattern. Now cut about an eighth-inch wide clump of gold Krystal Flash and bind it down just behind the eye of the hook, forming a beard about a half-inch long. Pull the K-flash over the middle of the eye and bind it down with three or four turns of thread. Then wind the thread back behind the eyes and take a couple of turns of thread.
Rotate the fly so that the hook point is up. Pull the K-flash back over the eyes and bind them down. Finish off with three or four half-hitches. Trim the K-flash just past the bend of the hook and you're finished.
ANOTHER excellent pattern for tailing redfish, or snook that are laid-up in shallows near mangroves with oyster bars, is Petrella’s Creepy Crawler. Crab? Shrimp? Yeah. And it works.
PETRELLA’S CREEPY CRAWLER
THREAD: White 3/0 monocord
HOOK: Size 4 2X/L shank
TAIL: Champagne Polar Fiber
FLASH: Copper Krystal Flash
CLAWS: Mottled hen back, pheasant, grouse or quail
LEGS: Shlappen or other very webby hackle
BODY: Light olive Estaz Metallique
EYES: Yellow with black pupils small or extra-small
Tie in the thread at the point of the hook. Bind down the Champagne Polar Fiber. Rotate the hook and tie in the flash. Tie one hen back (or pheasant, grouse or quail) feather on each side of the hook shank.
Strip some material off the Shlappen so there is about one-quarter-inch bare stem when it’s tied onto the top of the hook shank. Tie in the estaz and work the thread toward the eye of the hook, forming a base for the lead eyes. Tie in the eyes and leave the thread behind the eyes. Wind the estaz forward and tie off behind the eyes, leaving enough material to finish covering the eyes after wrapping the Shlappen forward.
Palmer the Shlappen forward three or four turns. Tie off behind the eyes and trim off the excess. Move the tying thread ahead of the eyes, figure eight the eyes with the estaz and finish the fly with four half hitches.
Now give your “Crawler” a haircut, trimming off the barbules on the top of the hook so that the fly has a leggy look.
Of course, there are dozens of other patterns that have caught millions of saltwater fish over the years—beginning with Lefty’s Deceiver and ranging through Del Brown’s incomparable crab patterns.
But if you want flies that catch fish in southwest Florida every day and are quick and easy to tie, whip up a few of these and I’m sure they’ll become your Instant Favorites, too!
Capt. Tony Petrella guides fly and spin anglers in southwest Florida from Thanksgiving through mid-June, then chases large brown trout in northern Michigan in late-summer and guides grouse and woodcock hunters in the fall. He can be reached at 941-496-4289, or tightloops@peoplepc.com. His web site is www.tightloopsflyfishing.com. |
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