2008 Google - Map data 2008 NAVTEQ - Terms of Use

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1 2008 Google - Map data 2008 NAVTEQ - Terms of Use

2 2008 Google - Map data 2008 NAVTEQ - Terms of Use

3 1/27/ Google - Map data 2008 NAVTEQ - Terms of Use

4 1/27/ Google - Map data 2008 NAVTEQ - Terms of Use

5 2008 Google - Imagery 2008 DigitalGlobe, The Florida Department of Environmental Protection - Terms of Use

6 Crazy Charlie "Fly of the Week #112 - FAOL Page 1 of 3 1/27/2008 Previous Flies Fly Tying Terms Crazy (Or Nasty) Charlie By Dick Brown, USA Excerpt from BONEFISH FLY PATTERNS Published by Lyons and Burford Crazy (Or Nasty) Charlie Bob Nauheim, owner of a northern California fishing travel firm originated the Crazy Charlie. It was orginally tied in white to suggest glass minnows, Jenkinsia lamprotaenia, Anchoe mitchelli, or A. cayorumon Andros. Now, however, in all its variations of color and material, the Charlie is an effective emulator of just about every species of shrimp and even some smaller crabs. By adopting the steelheaders' bead-chain weighting technique to both sink and jig the fly, this fly became the father of modern bonefish design. Materials List: Hook: or 3407; sizes 1, 2, 4, 6, 8. Thread: White Monocord 3/0, or color to match body. Eyes: 1/8" silver bead chain. Tail: Ten or twelve strands silver tinsel. Body: 15-lb. Mason or other clear mono over flat silver tinsel (underbody later changed to silver or pearl Flashabou). Wing: Two long white saddle hackles, convex sides facing to splay tips. Tying Instructions: 1. Position the eyes on the shank 3/16" to 1/4" behind the rear of the hook eye, to allow enough room to tie in the wing and finish the head. Secure the bead-chain eyes to the hook by wrapping in a figure-eight path around the eyes and shank. Then wrap a

7 1/27/2008 Crazy Charlie "Fly of the Week #112 - FAOL "donut" in a horizontal plane underneath the bead-chain eyes, binding all wraps tight. Super Glue. Page 2 of 3 2. Behind the eyes, attach six or eight silver tinsel or pearlescent Flashabou fibers on top of the shank as an underbody, extending them one half-shank length beyond the bend to form the tail. 3. Tie in 15-lb. Mason mono (or other clear bodywrap such as V-Rib, Larva Lace, or Swannundaze) along the bottom of the shank, and overwind with silver tinsel or pearlscent Flashabout (or pearlescent Mylar tinsel). 4. Wind the mono or body material forward to the eyes to form the body. 5. Inverting the fly, tie in two long white saddle hackles, convex sides facing each other to splay the tops. Invert again and build up the head with thread. Whip-finish.

8 Crazy Charlie "Fly of the Week #112 - FAOL Page 3 of 3 1/27/2008 Fishing the Charlies Strip the fly once or twice until the fish sees it, let it drop, and watch the fish's movement to see a pickup. ~ Dick Brown

9 Northeast Florida American shad fishing Page 1 of 4 1/22/2008 The Prodigals of Puzzle Lake Light rods, sinking lines and colorful flies are the tools of the trade. widens into a lake. It's all very puzzling, except to the fish. When travelers quit the interstate at Highway 46, they trade vistas of pine and scrub palmetto for a look at the open range. Pretty soon, they'll cross a plain where a river braids into a marsh, and later when they look north from the bridge, they'll see where it The St. Johns River forms a labyrinth at Puzzle Lake. Close to the road, the current flows deliberately but farther downstream, it loses itself again in blind alleys. Only one thing's certain: The tea-brown current doesn't confuse schools of returning American shad. As a result, fly fishing can be totally straightforward. Once you've seen other rivers, the St. Johns might look a little tame. The setting's pastoral, and while the current is discernible, in other, wider reaches it seems to practically stand still. Despite appearances, it never stops and below Puzzle Lake, it winds its way north between sod banks and moss-draped cypresses until it finds the Atlantic near Jacksonville. Anglers downriver cast to striped and sunshine bass as well as native largemouths, while those above Lake Harney fish for even-larger lunker bass and several varieties of panfish. The stretch below Puzzle Lake captures Central Florida at its best, with fishing that proceeds at a drawl's pace until fly fishers gather to intercept the ocean migrants. Winters heat up whenever schools of American shad enter the St. Johns from the Atlantic. This occurs any time between January first and the middle of February, whenever water temperatures reach the 60-degree mark. Reduced commercial fishing pressure downstream along with low water levels and proper water temperature can trigger banner runs. But, since dates aren't etched in stone, shad clairvoyants still mark their calendars in pencil. By early March, the run's in full swing. Thousands of shad swarm upstream on their way to spawning. After mid-april, the action dies. Since the shad don't survive here like they do in northern rivers, there's no

10 Northeast Florida American shad fishing Page 2 of 4 1/22/2008 holdover fishing. Everyone reluctantly reels-up to wait for next year's show. St. Johns shad fishing isn't new. Years ago, the locals filled their coolers by trolling the bends. Merchants sponsored shad derbies, where top catches earned lavish prizes. But over the years, enthusiasm waned and the shad fishing drifted downstream in the wake of one of Florida's greatest outdoor enigmas. Now, thanks to fly fishing, these silvery fish are making a comeback. Because of innovators like Charley Waterman and the late Ray Donnersberger, shadding is once again a popular pasttime. Still, shad fishing focuses on a world of improbabilities. A popular myth concerns banker's hours. I remember fishing early one morning when I'd been warned that shad wouldn't bite. Actually, I'd been told the story more than once and besides, it was cold and foggy. I was excited and couldn't sleep, so I decided to go. When I arrived, the river was so steamy that I couldn't wear my glasses. The fog formed a wall and I had to kneel on wet metal to follow the channel. But eventually I found the fence. The air was damp and deathly still and I remember slipping while struggling onto the bank. As I pulled myself up, all I could hear was the gurgle of the current. It was only eight but I was soaked with oily mud. Anyway, I was rigged so I started casting. I hooked a shad on my very first cast and the pace never let up. By the time the mist finally burned off, the fish had trashed so many orange-andsilver flies that I ran out. I actually had to quit. I guess if there's a moral in this, it's to fish for shad whenever you, and not the experts, feel like doing it. The St. Johns hosts the Atlantic's southernmost run of American, or white, shad. According to statistics, anglers fishing the stretch just downstream from Puzzle Lake enjoy the best of it. The small males arrive first, followed by the larger hens. Along with the river and its schools of feisty, 1- to 4-pound shad, the surrounding banks deserve a look. History abounds here. Mounds conjure visions of primitive cultures while nearby Geneva bills itself as the second oldest city in the U.S. Osceola and the Conquistadors passed through the region, and although it's only slightly removed from Indian River Lagoon and the NASA launch facility at Cape Canaveral, it still looks like dinosaur turf. Nearly everything is lush and prehistoric-looking, like a Jurassic meadow, but the black oily river mud might just as well have come from a garage. Fortunately, these sod banks are walkable during low water and as shad schools surge upstream, fly fishermen gather there to meet them. If it hasn't rained, the river current concentrates into narrow channels where shad and shad fishermen are practically eye-to-eye. It's ironic, but St. Johns shad make the long run to Puzzle during periods of extreme drought rather than during high water. For anglers at least, the fishing's less-puzzling when the water drops and the current is easier to see. When the water is high and Puzzle floods, the river fishes better downstream. Trollers head north to locations like Lemon Bluff and Mullet Lake because they realize that shad are broadcast spawners and are more interested in finding current than in returning to exact locations like salmon. Then, once anglers find the run, they look for washes. Washing offers a visual indication of spawning shad. Anglers may think it resembles a splashy surface strike, but spawning shad are too preoccupied to feed. While some individuals in the school may continue to strike flies, others have lost interest. An increase in the number of washes, which occurs in the afternoon, signals a halt to the fishing. Peak surface activity usually commences between four and five o' clock, when anglers have had enough. Still, the sight of washing shad teases them with possibilities for tomorrow's fishing. For fly fishermen, that can mean wading. The middle St. John's doesn't brawl or brake for dams, and although channels may disappear and the current may wind, the river remains predictable. Of course, fishermen should

11 Northeast Florida American shad fishing Page 3 of 4 1/22/2008 know the depth of the water where they intend to wade but except for the occasional stingray, there's no need for white knuckles. The mood is languid. Leisurely casting sets the pace for anglers who marvel at the incongruity of taking ocean migrants from a sleepy marsh filled with snipe and ibises. The shad themselves are anadromous and ascend rivers only to spawn and die. Despite studies, little is known of their life histories, except that some authorities believe they spend their adult lives at great depths off the continental shelf. Unlike anadromous trout and salmon, they don't respond to specific homing mechanisms, so a fish born in one river sometimes ascends another to spawn. And like salmon, migrating shad aren't supposed to strike. But fortunately for us, Florida's shad can't read. After entering the river, the shad disappear. They show up again in anglers' boats at Mullet Lake or Lemon Bluff, but they'll soon arrive at the Puzzle Lake stretch where anglers fish on foot. If Puzzle isn't classic fly water, it at least lets anglers probe the pools with ease. Knowing where to fish is easy, once you understand the banks. High, steep banks indicate channels where the current has swept the bottom. Look for them on the outside of bends. Since shad hold in these nearshore channels, bank fishermen can cast to endless processions of migrating fish. Trollers find fish too, and may have the advantage, but below Puzzle lake, the shore casters do most of the catching. Although they fish from shore, Puzzle Lake shadders use boats to reach the fishing. Walk-ins are impractical, due to distances and terrain, but small skiffs can easily reach the action. Then when they arrive at a likely-looking spot, anglers beach their skiffs and cast from the bank. Once on land, anglers make it a point to steer clear of grazing cattle. Passing trollers are accustomed to seeing casters and cattle sharing the sod in a state of agreeable d tente. Usually, relations remain peaceful since on the banks, neither is pressed for room. Shad schools move upstream, so angler mobility is important. A skiff with gas motor helps in finding concentrations. Boaters access the region from the public launch facility next to the Highway 46 Bridge, while landlubbers can rent skiffs at the Two Rivers Fish Camp, practically next door. 1 2