Fishing:

Getting Started in BTBFF - Part III: What's in the Fly Box?

If I Only Had Two Flies...

We asked some top local captains and anglers: "If you could only pick two styles of flies for fishing Beyond The Breakwater, what would they be?" Here are their answers...

Captain /Angler (alphabetical by last name)	Pick 1	Pick 2	Specialty flies, or notes
Capt. Conway Bowman	Clouser Minnow	Crease Fly	The Crease Fly is also deadly fished on a sinking line
Tim Burwell	Bucktail Deceiver	Clouser Minnow
Capt. Robert Cooper	Clouser Minnow	Abel Anchovy
Nick Curcione	Lefty's Deceiver	Catamaran Popper
Capt. Scott Leon	Sar-Mul-Mac	Lefty's Deceiver	The Deceiver, when tied very full, can be a good squid imitation
Randy Norris	Clouser Minnow	Lefty's Deceiver
Craig Smith	Flashtail Clouser	Lefty's Deceiver
Floyd Sparks	Tuna Kahuna	Angel Hair Clouser
Capt. Jeff Stock	ALF	Mushmouth
Capt. Dave Trimble	Clouser Minnow	ALF
Capt. Bryan Webb	Clouser Minnow	Crease Fly	Sliders for fishing rocky areas!
BTB Staff	Half-and-Half	Sea Habit Deceiver

A few interesting observations:

• 7 out of the 12 #1 picks, and 9 out of the 24 possible are Clouser Minnows or a derivative (Flashtail Clouser, Half-and-Half, Angel Hair Clouser)
  
  
• The next most popular style was the Lefty's Deceiver or derivatives (Bucktail Deceiver, Sea Habit Deceiver, Half-and-Half), which garnered 3 out of the 12 #1 picks, and 7 out of the 24 possible. In third place was the ALF (1/12, 2/24).
  
  
• None of the #1 picks was a surface fly. Of the surface flies mentioned in the survey, the Crease Fly was notable because it can be fished below the surface quite successfully on a sinking line, as well as on top as a popper. Contributing Editor Nick Curcione's Catamaran Popper is a surface fly only, and while it is a relatively new design, it has become quite popular on the East Coast for all sorts of fish. It was first publicized in the September/October issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine.