Outfitting for the Tropical Flats

[sweetandsalt]

Rods and reels have been discussed exhaustively for flats fly fishing so I will add little except to say, you must have back-ups. Unless you are in Florida, few tropical flats destinations have tackle shops or UPS access. You can not enjoy a tropical destination if you are sunburned. Bring the highest rated, broad spectrum cream, spray and lip protector. I slather up pre-coffee in the AM so the stuff can dry on me before it gets too hot and carry the lip balm in my shirt pocket. Naturally, make sure you have any meds you may need including something in case something tropical disagrees with you digestion. I am a long time fan of a Hemingway-esque long billed fishing hat and now I prefer one that has a removable sun shade to protect my neck and ears. Early on I criticized dedicated tropical fishing shirts as being too stylish, but their SPF protective fabric and useful pockets have long ago won me over. I would like to wear light weight nylon, quick drying shorts while fishing and sometimes do, but more and more I am wearing full length nylon pants. I don't mean to get too personal but cotton underwear under nylon wadding pants defeats their purpose, I like Patagonia's Capalene boxers but there are many quick drying undergarments intended for sports from multiple makers. And lets not forget footwear! Sandals are fine on land or even in the boat assuming they are designed to not have line entangling protrusions of any kind. But for wading, flats boots are a MUST HAVE. Stepping on an edge of coral, sharp shell or spinney critter can hobble your trip badly and I have seen anglers develop some trip impacting infections by being cavalier about foot protection. I have heard that Patagonia has discontinued their famous Marlewalker boots, an essential piece of gear I have long used but Simms still makes their version...a supportive, protective flat wading boot is really important in my opinion. Simms wading socks, be them perforated neoprene of reinforced conventional socks are very good and I like neoprene slip-over gravel cuffs to keep the gnarly ich out. A waterproof boat bag for extra everything, leader building kit, rain shell, sun screen, whatever, is a good thing to have when fishing from a skiff. Many like a waist mounted pack to carry flies, tippet material, a compact camera. etc. while wading while others manage to stuff the necessities into big shirt pockets, this is personal style but something to consider pre-trip. I f you plan on pursuing bonefish exclusively not many specialized tools are needed, a shirt or lanyard affixed nipper (with a back-up one in your leader kit) is about it. I like my nipper mounted on a split ring to use as a third hand when tightening no-slip loop knots. If you hope to pursue toothy barracuda or shark, wire or better, polymer coated wire material is required. This can be Albright knotted to a stout class tippet and I recommend having this pre-rigged on a separate 10-weight (or larger) rod that can be stowed in the boat. If intending to fish in this way a pair of pliers are a good idea and they need not be hundred dollar ones; as long as they can cut wire and are long enough to reach into Mr.Tooths mouth, they are fine. Dr. Slick has a good assortment with a nylon sheath. Practice your knots at home while preparing your leaders for the trip and check them thoroughly. The blood knot, non-slip loop knot, perfection loop, Albright and I use Biminis too should all be comfortable for you to tie and tighten without tools beyond your fingers. I am using fluorocarbon leaders and tippets that I hand knot exclusively but there are good saltwater intended nylon monofilaments for flats applications too. See below in this Forum an article on Saltwater Leaders. The last really important piece of equipment critical to enjoying a tropical flats, or any sight fishing experience is top quality polarized sun glasses. And I emphasize "glasses" not "plastics". Genuine laminated glass lenses as employed by specialty angling eyewear companies like Smith's Action Optics and Costa Del Mar are far superior optically than CR39 high-end plastic lenses and popular polycarbonate lenses are just not optical grade products. You are peering into sun drenched rippling water striving to detect the subtle movement or shadow of an elusive and well camouflaged bonefish, you need every optical advantage available. I wear Rx glasses for distance correction and e-mail a scan of my prescription to which I have my ophthalmologist add my Pupillary Distance, to Action Optics. My primary pair for both flats and trout fishing is photochromic cooper but I have an amber pair too for lower light or cloudy conditions. I can't emphasize strongly enough the imperativeness of top quality shades and don't overlook an eyewear retainer to assure they stay attached to you.

Compared to traveling to a trout fishing destination, you can travel more lightly to the flats. No waders and warm clothing required. I use a cordura covered tubular rod case I can get up to eight rods packed in their cloth sleeves which come on board the planes with me as my "personal" item and my boat bag is my carry-on item. Fly boxes, reels, cameras, eyewear, non-liquid medications and other essentials are stuffed into this bag and I wear my hat. I wear a pocketed fishing shirt as a travel shirt with a printed out itinerary including all contact data I may need. Not all cell phones will work in exotic destinations and sever roaming charges may apply, check with your service provider about unlocked cards and foreign travel plans for where you are heading. Some countries like the Bahamas are GSM only so Verizon CDMA phones just will not work at all.

As I write all these details it is 24 with a wind chill of 11 degrees outside and the weatherman is predicting 6 degrees tonight. Palm trees from which the fishing camp can harvest a ripe coconut so I can mix its fresh water with aged Rum from the duty free shop as I sit beneath a thatched roof watching the sun go down into the sea in preparation for tomorrows flats adventure...that is exactly the state I want to be in.

 

[scoutm]

Great information! Thanks for taking the time to share.

On the glasses - do you have a color preference? Amber/Bronze/Blue?

 

[sweetandsalt]

Cooper or Redish Cooper, sometimes called Vermillion seem best polarized sunglass tints under bright conditions; enhancing contrast yet keeping color perception neutralish while filtering out a good amount of hard-to-focus blue light waves. Under cloudy or morning/evening light Amber or Yellow/Amber enhance visual acuity by allowing more light to pass, through the glass and again filtering blue light. I avoid mirrored surfaces for all the do is reflect light thus offering no perception advantages.

 

[1spd1way]

Do you check your flies or put them in your carry-on?
How do "grip a 'cuda or bonnethead when releasing them?
Headed down to Islamorada at the end of march and will be DIY wading the flats...-19 this morning upta Maine this morning......

 

[mcnerney]

S&S: That was some great information in that article, thanks for sharing!

 

[sweetandsalt]

The below is copied from the TSA document on plane travel with fishing tackle and specifies flies are permitted as carry on appropriate. I went to their web site and copied this document, carrying it in my travel bag. This pertains to the US but I have a taken flies on board traveling to the Bahamas too without issue. I hedge my bet when traveling to Central or South America though by packing my vest/pack which may contain larger pointy pliers, hemostats, whatever, with its fly boxes but taking one core box of flies in my carry on, just in case.


Traveling with Special Items
Hunting & Fishing Equipment
Fishing
Fishing Rods / Poles
Fishing Rods are permitted as carry-on and checked baggage. However, please check with your air carrier to confirm that it fits within their size limitations for carry-on items. Ultimately, it is the carrier's decision as to whether or not it can be transported as carry-on baggage.
Spear Guns
Spear guns are prohibited from carry-on luggage. These items should be packed in checked luggage. Any sharp objects packed in checked luggage should be sheathed or securely wrapped to prevent injury to baggage handlers and security screeners.
Tackle Equipment
Fishing equipment should be placed in your checked baggage. Some tackle equipment can be considered sharp and dangerous. Expensive reels or fragile tackle such as flies should be packed in your carry-on baggage.

 

[mcnerney]

S&S: I have an issue with my lips getting sunburned over several days of consecutive fishing (even with me using the lip protector). I can only imagine that it would be much worse with all that high intense sun on those flats. Maybe I don't apply it often enough. How do you solve that issue?

 

[sweetandsalt]

Sunburned lips really hurt and I suffer from this on my June/July Montana/Idaho fishing trips too. I buy the highest rated SPF lip balm I can find, keep it in my shirt pocket on the flats and one of those otherwise useless little upper pockets on my trout vest and apply it often...I don't wait to begin to fell the burn, I put it on in the AM and after lunch or drinking water...just regularly. My other technique is I grow my beard in at the beginning of fishing season and no doubt in my mind, a lush mustache helps in lip protection too. Sun burn hurts and we all have heard or experienced the serious medical risks involved but the body part I particularly want to protect is my eyes. Sun exposure is the leading cause of cataract development. Flats fishing doubles your dose of sun exposure by adding the water reflective light waves to the intense ambient sunshine but lets not underestimate the intensity of Rocky Mountain sun exposure with a thinner atmosphere at our higher elevations. I wrote above about the importance to visual acuity of top quality, glass, polarized sunglasses so I will add that such shades maximize UVA/UVB protection too by virtue of their design and ubiquitous inclusion of appropriate coatings as well. Even when walking the dog or performing local chores I wear a pair of such glasses and one of my signature long-billed hats to further shade my eyes. I leave the rods at home though.

 

[oldskewl808]

I know some don't like them and see them as a "fad" but I used to have bad problems with chapped lips so I started wearing a face buff and it has helped tremendously. Also, it may sound silly but once I get to the fishing area, I pull up the buff and go into "ninja mode".. It's game on at that point. I am in "the zone"

 

[adealarcon]

Great post as always ss

I will add my additions of favorites for travel fishing to salt destinations

1)fishpond dakota bag- lets me take as a carryon all my reels rods camera sunglasses in one bag. fits in any overhead. never had to check to date. dont all the tubes for any rod. this has been an awesome travel bag for carryon fishing gear

2)patagonia stormfront backpack vs sling. i have both and use both as my carry on and then on the boat.

3) fishpond rolltop boatbag. Love this bag. totally waterproof , easy in and out without the waterproof zipper and can break down fold flat and throw in my checked bag.

4) trabvel tying kit. with essentials ( hooks, beadchain, lead eyes, flash, legs and syntehetics. )

3) three pairs of polarized sunglasses. 2 that are all arounders in case in gets broken or lost and one low light pair. i where prescription so my spares are just slightly older prescriptions still usable)

 

[labradorguy]

I prefer hardsole dive boots to what Simms offers. Dive shops carry them for divers going in from rocky shorelines. Mine are Cressi and Mares. Super tough soles that don't even let urchins poke through. Discount places have them for a fourth of what Simms wants, sometimes even less.

As I put in another thread on here, it's also hard to beat a pair of good ole Channellock needle nose pliers for sharks, cuda, and whatnot. If they had the Simms name on them they would cost a hundred bucks. I get mine at Home Depot.

All of my shark and cuda wires come from the local hardware store. Twenty bucks will buy you all you will use in ten years.

I like a handkerchief under my Cat freebie baseball hat. I wet it now and then and drape off the back of my head so it covers my neck. I stick my ball hat back on to hold it and I'm ready to go.

The money I saved on this stuff goes towards my Revos and new lines.

I'm sure I don't look as pretty, (the last lodge I was at someone thought I was with the landscape crew), but the fish don't care. You can be poor and still be a flats hound.

Don't get me started on Abel nippers.....

 

[sweetandsalt]

An update to my original post garnered at the Patagonia booth at Somerset. I mentioned that Patagonia had discontinued their seminal Marlwalker flats wading boot. Apparently, there was construction and quality control issues with the off-shore manufacturer. Patagonia is totally redesigning this product and identifying a superior supplier and hopes to reintroduce Marlwalker for 2016. Lab makes a good point though, these boots are great if you are doing a lot of wading but to wear them in the boat for occasionally pursuing fish into water too skinny for the boat is cumbersome. A neoprene bootie with protective sole is a lot lighter weight and more flexible than a serious boot. Though no longer available, a golf shoe company called Bite that briefly ventured into angling footwear offered a really cool neoprene bootie that should really be re-introduced by somebody.

 

[adealarcon]

SS Great to hear the patagonia marlwalker is making a come back. When i bought my first pair of boots last year sadly no oatagonia offering so went with the simms. Interestingly on the trip i got a pair of the lighter simms zipups but havent gotten a chance to try them.

Curious what is your favored flats pack for wading? Lots of new waterproof options poped up this year ...2 simms, one patagonia (not new) and umpua. All look interesting. the umpqua especially

 

[sweetandsalt]

I like the new Umpqua products and am intending to get a strap vest for trout applications. I do not employ a conventional flats hip pack as I need to carry a camera holster on my chest (I don't recommend this but I have to do it) so I use a compact, light weight earlier Orvis minimalists strap vest that I can clip the holster to the shoulder straps. I carry two large waterproof fly boxes, an assortment of fluoro tippet material, high SPF lip balm and a water bottle.

 

[utflyfisher]

I'm new to prescription glasses. Where do you get your prescription sunglasses? Everything I've looked at is very expensive.

Mike

 

[sweetandsalt]

Something I love to do is tie flies with my buddy's around the lodge table after dinner. These are invariably my best flies because they are based on the day's fishing experience with creative input and shared materials with my companions. Fishing the north side of Grand Bahama with my wife a few years ago, I was impressed by an unusual greenness to much of the coral bottom. Crustaceans always mimic bottom colors and I added some green crystal flash and body dubbing to my more tan shrimp fly pattern and convinced myself it enhanced the flies effectiveness. Tying flies rather than watching sport recaps on satellite TV or playing cards or whatever makes me feel more thoroughly engaged in the flats fishing experience and is an enhancer of conversation and an excuse for another Kalick.

 

[dynaflow]

Great info from someone who has walked the walk.May I add a couple of comments? Firstly,I'm not a fan of the long-billed cap as they inhibit your vision when you need to watch your back cast.Also,the hard soled neoprene Dive boots might do on the sand flats for a week on somewhere like C.I.but they offer no real ankle support for any other terrain like (for example) the
Korean Wreck.
Cheers

 

[moucheur2003]

Some things I found useful on my last trip that you might not think to pack:

• Fast-drying wading pants with bottoms that zip off, so you can convert them to shorts. I started wading in long pants, but the rippling of my pant legs in the water spooked the bonefish.
  
• A basic fabric belt to hold up your pants. You don't want to dunk a good belt in salt water.
  
• Knee-high socks, to keep the sun off your bare lower legs when you're wearing shorts. They also help guard your legs against scratchy or prickly or stinging things in the water.
  
• Flats gloves, to protect your hands from sunburn. If you have sunscreen on your hands and it gets on your fly, the fish can smell it. Alternatively, a little travel-size bottle of unscented dish detergent to wash the sunscreen off your fingers before you change flies or tippet.
  
• Lycra finger sleeves, to guard your fingers against line burns/cuts.
  
• Super glue, to seal up any finger cuts and prevent bleeding. (It's bad luck to bleed in the water when sharks are around.)
  
• Long nose pliers can reduce your anxiety if you need to release a toothy barracuda.
  
• A lanyard with alligator clips on both ends. Attach one end to your collar and one to your hat, to keep it from blowing away.
  
• Lead or lead substitute fly tying wire, to add extra weight to the head of your fly when the bead chain eyes aren't heavy enough.
  
• Zip ties or TSA-approved luggage locks, to discourage inventory shrinkage from your checked baggage when not in your possession.
  
• Buff or other sun gaiter for your neck and face. Get an insect repellent one if there are biting flies or mosquitoes.
  
• Hand towel, to wipe fish slime off your hands before lunch.

 

[sweetandsalt]

I prefer not to use DEET if I don't have to, however, when fishing the Bahamas, Doctor Flies (a fast flying, hard biting unpleasant insect) can be a distraction. My wife came up with the idea of bringing disposable latex gloves to avoid hand contamination with this volatile insect confuser...you want it on your lower legs not on you line hand and fly. I had the wildlife observation pleasure last week of watching a sand wasp, more than equal to the Doctor Flies flying capabilities, engage in areal combat, catching and fly off with its meal. Cool.

The lodge I fished in southern Andros features a long, 1/2 hour minimum, run from camp to the fishing grounds. I favor a 4" long, long-billed SPF Nylon cap with a Velcro removable ear and neck sun protector. In conjunction with sun screen, it protects me from the sun well and its long, wide bill enhances my visual acuity by shading my shades. It does not, though, stay planted on my head while up on plane during our long runs...the big bill has a lot of aerodynamic lift. Though I apply sun screen to my thinning hair scalp, it is insufficient to protect me adequately from the tropical sun with the hat off.

For my next flats trip I intend to identify a shorter billed, up-and-downer style hat that has a chin strap to wear primarily during runs in the skiff but to serve as a back-up cap in my boat bag in case of the improbable blown overboard loss om my serious fishing hat.

 

[denver1911]

Thanks to all who have contributed! This thread helped me outfit for my first Belize trip a few years back. A couple of contributions I will make are:

1. White socks to wear for sun protection instear of going barefoot. Slip them over a 1x2 board and spray the bottom with plasti-dip spray (multiple coats) to prevent slipping.

2. Wear tights under a pair of shorts when a lot of wading is called for. They provide sun protection and protection against biting bugs in the water, but don’t drag when wading like flapping pant legs do. I also put sunscreen on and let it dry before I don them.