I don’t know what I enjoy more about saltwater fly fishing, the variety of species I pursue or the cast of characters I meet during the pursuit. Saltwater fly fishing is still relatively new in many respects. The saltwater fly fishing legends like Chico Fern?ndez and Stu Apte helped to define the sport of saltwater fly fishing; hence there is a wealth of knowledge as it relates to species like bonefish, permit, tarpon and places like the Florida Keys, Belize, Bahamas etc.. I live in Maine and I make fly fishing trips a couple times a year to places like Mexico or the Florida flats or the Florida Everglades; but those are not my home waters and those are exotic trips for me. I am amazed at all the fly fishing opportunities that my buddies down in Florida have available to them. Exotic fish such a bonefish, tarpon and permit are only a bike ride away. Through Flies and Fins, I have been fortunate enough to expand my personal fly fishing network in way that boggles my mind. I feel blessed for the fact that when I go to Florida, I have friends like Dave Tepper of fliesandfinssouth.com, to share with me their networks and intimate knowledge of the fisheries they know so well. With that said, I often notice that when I travel to these type of “exotic” saltwater fly fishing destinations that the fly fisherman whom I am fishing with know very little, if anything at all, about my home salt waters. I often find myself saying, “Yah man, we got some pretty killer stuff available to us. Catching hard tales from foot, chasing bluefin Tuna in shallow water, spanish mackerel, stripers, bluefish, blue shark, mako shark and more.” They typically respond with “Really?” I then say, “Yah man, you gotta come to the Northeast and try fly fishing for some tunoids from foot or boat. Pursuing albies, bones (bonito) and bluefin tuna when they are feeding on top is killer! Also, the stripers are amazing because we fly fish for them in so many types of environments such as open ocean surf, estuaries, rivers, salt ponds, flats sight-fishing … so many possibilities” They seem genuinely intrigued but conversation usually goes back to big tarpon, bonefish, permit, snook, marlin or whatever type of amazing species we are targeting in their back yard. So, I was super excited when Dave Tepper called me one day and said, “Dude, I have been down here in Key West fly fishing for Permit and shooting some film with Will Benson and a bunch of other Florida guys. We are having a big film release party in Key West at some movie theatre and we’d love for you to supplement our “Permit” film with a short film of some of the stuff you and your buddies do in the salt water.” So, I was psyched because I said to myself “This is an opportunity to really show what we do up here in the Northeast.” This is an opportunity to show “the world” that some of my saltwater fly fishing buddies like Ed, Alex, Mark, Mike etc.. are amazing fly fishermen and the guys like Ken Abrams that paved the way for them and me are legends too. So, hopefully the “Permit” film was a success for the boys in the keys and hopefully this little “Flies And Fins Saltwater” teaser that was shown was well received. It includes some fly fishing footage from many different locations; but the first 2 and a half minutes focus on Northeast saltwater content in an effort to highlight and show some of the fly fishing we do up here. In many respects there are many similarities between Northeast saltwater fly fishing and anywhere else. In other ways, what we do is somewhat unique to the Northeast. Whatever the case, all I know is that I love Northeast fly fishing and the salty characters I’ve met on Northeast beaches, flats, break walls and boats are some of the funniest, fun and best guys I have ever fly fished with. My most memorable fly fishing memories are somehow related to the Northeast Saltwater and the cast of characters I have met and continue to meet along the way. The only thing that could be better than last salt season, is next season.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
AWSOME video jeremy…..i really feel as though tonight was a complete success! the northeast saltwater is somthing that is so great and so close to home that it would be a sin not to fish it! looking forward to another great saltwater season!
Awesome video! Its films like this on this website that made me go out last summer and pick up my first salt water rig. Although no success yet, I think 2008 will be the year and spring feels just a little bit too far away right now…
The albie mega-pod footage is scarry. Can’t imagine what that moment must have been like with all those tuna coming in from the bluewater and to capture it on film. Well done.
Now that’s puttn’ some brine in your blood.
Love it.
Nothing compares to the salt up here…nothing.
ya .. well … the first 2 minutes or so of this video was just a snippet of what you got to work with in terms of content for the 2008 video … take your time, don’t rush it … we are expecting good work from you in terms of taking our precious 65 gigs of best content .. and leaving it up to you to edit it and cut it up and produce the final “2008 year end video” … i know there will be much more never before seen content … i can’t wait to see how you compile and boil an entire year into 8 minutes or so … alot of great stuff was captured on salt and fresh water … it’s up to you, this year, boil it all down, cut out all the fat, sanitize all of it, refine all of it .. and produce the final 2008 year end video …. i have no doubt, you’ll amaze everyone with your work … good luck .. can’t wait to see the end result, i know i am not the only one ….
ps.. for those who are interested we are anticipating to have the 2008 flies and fins year end video live on fliesandfins.com no later than mid january’ish. …
jeremy,
what a great season we had this year. the morning you and alex picked me up off the wall in the “weapon” and asked if i wanted to chase some hardtails turned into one of the most incredible days on the water and an instant friendship. from chasing bluefin tuna in maine to albies on foot in rhode island you are always ready, and i like that. i can’t wait to see what ’08 holds in store and i look forward to fishing and filming with the whole new england crew. -Ed
ps…i never had to worry about you starting the motor to chase them down
Just an unbelievable two months on the water, and the video brought back the unlimited madness we saw on the water. Incredible times and I am still speechless, and I know there is much more video to come.
Alex
Thats not a video it’s an emotional rocket ship dude. It starts as a great video and rises to a crescendo of emotions. The music was a perfect choice and theres nothing I can say about the video that won,t sound trivial or trite.
What an incredible video! I loved the footage of the bluefin coming out of the water. It’s videos like this one that make the winter bearable.
Jer,
Your film WAS well-received in Key West at the Tropic Cinema last night, there were maybe 300 people there, including many local guides….everyone applauded your film. Dave introduced me to the ‘crew’ and Wil and Dave’s film, “PERMIT” was very well received with its terrific soundtrack and state-of-the-art photography…Permit had a great sound track and the editing job dave and wil did was amazing. Amazing close-up shots of Permit takes, breif interviews with hardened Permit anglers and humorous takes on blown chances, spit-bitten off releases, typical tangles and spooking frustrations that are most of any Permit hunt….were entertaining and musically presented. Wil’s narration was excellent. I predict this film will be an award-winner.
The spectacular footage on your film was as exciting as any I’ve ever seen….the audience roared back aloud when you and we were all hit by that wave …many sitting near me knew the pain!
hurry down…and explore more reasons the guys down here seem to show only mild interest in northern fishing…the cold has something to do with it…but the true answer lies even deeper, I suspect.
marsh
That was just what I needed! Man is winter tough!
Jeremy, I really hope we can get some fishing in this coming year.
What is it about taking on those waves lol… sometimes I just get a feeling and am like…I know if I fight it something will come out of it…and usually something does. I know one thing, when a wave pounds you down and that wash is sprayed into your face, you know you are alive and living life to the fullest!
Nice video Jeremy. I miss living near an ocean…great job.
Hola Jeremy !!!!! soy Miguel , el amigo de Alex en Bariloche .siempre habla de sus hermanos en usa , veo las fotos y los videos y me dan muchas ganas de conocer y aprender de ustedes , los espero en Argentina ….junto con Alex !!!!! saludos
Miguel, Usted vive en país hermoso con la gente, la cultura, el paisaje y la pesca asombrosos de la mosca. Mucho miro adelante a satisfacerle y vuelo la pesca con usted y sus amigos. Me sentiría muy bendecido y muy afortunado al eperience la Argentina e iría pesca de la mosca en la Argentina y aprendería sobre la Argentina con usted y sus amigos. Si usted y sus amigos argentinos de la pesca desearan siempre venir pesca en los E.E.U.U., me sentiría honrado para ayudarle. Mucho estoy mirando adelante a visitar la Argentina. ¡Esperanzadamente en 2008
awesome ! that is what i love about fly fishing … there is endless opportunities and options in freshwater and saltwater. the world of saltwater fly fishing is so vast and there are so many species and geographic locations; much like freshwater fly fishing. so, whether you have just “piked up” your first saltwater rig .. or you have been saltwater fly fishing for 30 years … there is still so much to learn for everyone … nobody could ever “know it all” and if they did, it would be an absolute bore to fish with them …. for me, the “good energy” is found in someones level of passion and excitement … the ultimate goal is to never loose that “good energy” … so in many respects, i am in a constant quest to be in the same exact position you are … and see things and do things that give me the same exact feeling of “good energy” as my first striped bass on a fly … so, good luck on your saltwater fly fishing journey, cherish the “good energy” you have now … and no matter how good you become or how many species you catch or whatever or how many places you go …. whatever it takes, don’t lose the “good energy” … because the “good energy” is not measured in pounds, inches, type of fish or geographic location .. those things are all a means to an end! … good luck! keep us posted .. let me know when you catch your “first” fish with your first saltwater rig …
i had never seen anything like it in my life. standing waves of massive amounts of tunoids coming into the inshore waters from offshre … literally thousands of fish traveling in unison … and, i kid you not … many times we did not use our eyes to find them … we used our ears … the “mega pods” had such a presence that we could hear them moving through the water from very far distances .. and we would follow the sound of the fish ….. just amazing … awe inspiring really to see that volume of tunoids on the surface ..
exactly … i love sight fishing … and sight fishing to 1 or 2 fishing on the flats is fun …. but, for me, i really enjoy sight fishing to bluefin tuna or albies or bonito when they are feeding on the top …. it is for me, about as visually stimulating as it gets, to cast to a fast moving 100 pound tuna that is feeding on the surface … and, a bit scary:), when 300 pound tuna is mixed in with it, you know what i am talking about .. and i think it is so funny here in maine to think that as fly fisherman .. we are looking for and hoping to find the “small” fish .. because, the “big fish” are simply too big … or, maybe they are not? … but, i still got a lot of learning to do chasing 25-100 bluefin tuna before i even attempt to pursue a 300-600 pounder ..
ed – 2007 was the best northeast saltwater fly fishing season ever for me … amazing in terms of the presence of astounding numbers of fish … but without the good friends and all the laughs … it would have just been a good fishing season … 2008 was the best, for reasons so much more than just great fishing … 2008 is gonna be even better!
“unlimited madness” … cases of redbull, fast boats, fast fish, hours of shear boredom interrupted only by hours of shear adrenaline pumping madness!! .. the tunoid game is infamous for that … someone once coined albies, bonito, bluefin (any “hard tale” tuna species) as “funny fish” … and the description was not in relation to the fish, rather the effect that these fish have on fly fisherman … i think the person who described it was a guide or something on marthas vineyard and he said that in 20 years of chasing the hard tales he had seen these fish, time and time again, turn the most refined fly fisherman into madmen …. yelling and screaming .. fighting and swearing and evenn soiling themselves while running down the beach or breakwalls chasing the “funny fish” … he said that the “hard tales” had this effect, to some degree, on every fly fisherman from every walk of life (lawyers, doctors, roofers, software developers, unemployed fish bums, taxi drivers etc…) …. point being is, if the “hard tales/tunoid species” in the northeast don’t get your blood pumping and provide you with an experience of “unlimited madness” … hang up the fly rod …. cuz nothin’ will.
to some degree… that is the draw of saltwater fly fishing for me and saltwater fly fishing is an “emotional rocket ship”.. you really never know what you might see when you exit the harbor, or arrive at the beach or pear over a breakwall on the other side of a current or temperature break .. the shear number of species world wide and possible ways to fly fish for them … is almost impossible to comprehend … and certainly impossible to master .. i am constantly amazed and constatly humbled.
ya rhody .. next year, you better come up to maine and fish with me and “be” the footage … i had so much fun chasing the hard tales with you all over the northeast … i can’t wait till july and my cell phone bill shows 100’s of phone calls to “rhody fly guy” …. that’s the fun of it all, for me … so, this season you better make it up to maine for some bluefin tuna fly fishing …. but, i love going south new england to your neck of the woods for the ablies and bonito …… so are you moving to maine or what? last i talked to you .. you were coming to school up here or somethign???
cool marsh .. wish i could have been there to see it on “the big screen” .. glad people dug it … last year, i caught my first tarpon on the fly on foot in the florida keys .. that was awesome for me and the memory of a lifetime because i enjoy going new places and trying to accomplish some “fish’ goals on my own or with a good friend .. it’s fun to try to “figure things out” with a friend by finding “our own” fish, figuring out the tides and the currents and what they are eating and appropriate flies etc.. . So to have been with boz and find “our own” tarpon, trick them with our own flies and land our first tarpon ever on foot was a highlight of my fly fishing journey … i enjoy this challenge whether it is here in maine, florida, rhode island, marthas vineyard, mexico, florida, brazil etc.. I certainly have a ton of learning to do down in florida, mexico as well as even here in the Northeast and obviouly other warm water locations around the world … some of the species that are on my saltwater “lifetime WISH list” (and that can be found in florida as well as many other geographic locations) are: blackfin tuna, white marlin, swordfish, longbill spearfish, blue marlin, black tip shark, sailfish, kingfish (i have caught one but it got chomped in half by a barracuda .. so it doesn’t really count), jumbo jack, wahoo, permit, bonefish …… i enjoy flats fly fishing … but, i equally enjoy fly fishing for offshore/bluewater species that is similar to the fly fishing we do here in the northeast … offshore species such as bluefin tuna and little tuny (albies/bonito) interest me greatly …. it’s a different game than the flats .. some guys like it and some guys don’t .. i like it all …
ps. i fogot to mention spinner sharks … i am hoping to go with pete from fishing jones to target some of these on the fly … i hear it is a killer experience and they jump high! … anyway, hope to see you down in florida on the trail, on the flats or off shore .. cya marsh.
jesse — you nailed it .. the whole purpose of it all for me … regardless of species or where or whatever … it makes me feel alive …. that’s why i fly fish .. and, from the few times we have fly fished together, i know that is what drives you too .. whether it is chasing steelhead or tuna .. it’s not really the fish .. it’s the feeling of being alive ….. in the end, that’s what we are chasing!!!!!!! and it don’t matter if its a small fish, big fish, common fish, exotic fish .. if it makes me feel alive … i wanna chase it .. period…
hope we get to fly fish together more in 2008! later jesse!
i would have a hard time not living near the ocean…. think of it like this man .. i think you live in NY right? .. you DO live on the ocean .. as far as someone from lets say wyoming is concerned .. i’d be willing to say, if you can get in your car and drive to the ocean within a 5 hour drive .. you live on the ocean … so, see … as they say “perception is everythig” .. so, in many respects .. you do live on the ocean:) … maybe i;ll see ya on the salt this season…
Yeah dude, this year was a blast! I’m probably, coming to maine for school, I’ve got one more place to check out but odds are I’ll be going up there for school. I’d love to chase bluefin with you, I’ve wanted to catch one on a fly rod for a long time! How early do you start getting tuna up there?
rhody —- call me on my cell for any “where, when” type details .. just like the “albie/bonito” info we share only via cell phone or private messages and protect for obvious reasons … i try my best to keep any “specifics” related to any fishing “where’s/when’s” amongst my close fly fishing friends…. call or pm me .. cya.
ps.. hope you wind up here in maine, that would be killer! either way, we’ll chase the bluefin together .. keep an eye on the bonito and albies for us down there:) you know how much i love chasing those down there ..
Sweet salt teaser….loved it. Looking forward to 2008 and what is to come.
Great video…really enjoyed the footage…And it would’ve been cool to see it down south on the Big Screen.
You definately broke some new ground in 2007 with your saltwater game…congrats.
I know in 2008 when someone asks what your favorite thing to fish for is the answer will change from week to week, sometimes day to day…and that is the key to being a well rounded angler… Variety is the spice of life…
Looking forward to a crushfest in 2008!
como dice Alex , los pescados estan ….y aca hay muchos , estamos esperando tu arribo , tenes todo a tu disposicion para cuendo quieras , solo tenes que avisar y salimos a pescar
feliz navidad y buen año 2008
Great tale jeremy, that lower pic is awesome. I love the salt
That is one thing Alaska and Maine have in common, great coldwater saltwater fishing to go along with great freshwater fishing.
ya right … i was reading somewhere about giant sharks (salmon sharks i think?) .. that guys in alaska catch with kayaks and fly rods … insanity! .. that interests me .. know anything about that??
Yeah I do. It’s a fast growing sport up here and now there are several charters that have become very effective at it. I don’t think i would do it in a kayak, just because a big salmon shark can be 700 pounds, hard to land that in a kayak.
Basically these sharks will group up in big schools much like hammerheads especially when they are hunting salmon. Most captains look for a big school near the surface and cast out a big fly and strip it in, hold on if you get one on as it could be half a day till you land it!!
JEALOUS
That’s all I can say.
Nice video You made a boring day at work much better.
Thanks