Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page

Tackle & Gear

Bonefish

• 7 - 8 weight rods (maybe a 9 on a windy day)

• Floating tropical line

• Disc drag reel with 200 yards of backing

• 9 ft-12 ft leaders with 8 lb. flourocarbon tippet

Permit

• 8-10 weight rods

• Floating tropical line and clear intermediate line

• Disc drag reel with 200 yards of backing

• 9-12 ft leaders with 8-12 lb. flourocarbon tippet

Tarpon

• 10-12 weight rods

• Floating tropical line and clear intermediate line

• Disc drag reel with 300 yards of backing

• 9-12 ft leaders with 15 lb. flourocar bon and 60lb shock tippet

Barracuda

• bring the wire bite guards!!

THE FLY BOX

Go a little smaller than you might think,  better to have too many 8's than 4's for the bonefish.  Tie a few patterns with just the weight of the eyes as a variable 1 with lead eyes, 1 with chain, 1 with small chain, and 1 with no weight or mono eyes just to make sure you have flies for very skinny water all the way to waist deep water.  Presentation seems to be much more important than fly selection.

Gear

The following is a list of gear that we recommend. It's short cause the weather is so nice! Your biggest concern should be protecting yourself from the sun. Fishing gear recommendations are on found above.

• Sunscreens SPF 15, 30, Zinc Oxide Sunblock for lips and nose
• Hat with brim and neck guard (or sunhat for non anglers)
• face guard - bandana, neck sock, etc someting to shield your face from sun
• Long sleeve shirt and pants for fishing, white socks ( tops of feet get burned in the boats)
• Sunglasses (polarized of course)
• Wading boots
• Rain jacket (an occasional cold squall will roll though!)
• Bug repellent (not often needed but important if you do)
• Camera & film
• Some cash(nearest cash machine is 3 hours away!) to tip guides
• fishing tackle and equipment

Equipment and Gear Buying Guide

Rods:

Always buy 4 or 5 piece rods - they are so much easier to pack and the technology in making ferrules means you cant' feel the joints anymore. Whether it is the latest and greatest evolution of graphite or technology that is 5- 10 years old, modern rods are a pleasure to cast.

REELS:

I use large arbor reels for saltwater and fresh water. The retrieval rate is awesome and it helps the drag maintain a consistent pressure while a fish is running. ( The diameter doesn't change much as you lose line as it does on a standard arbor) There are some wonderful reels out there but the Mach Large Arbor is a great value, it is light, it is pretty, it is smooth and it doesn't cost a fortune!

FLY LINES:

Fly lines should be specific to the conditions - Broad categories include: Warm Water or Cold Water?, SaltWater or Fresh water? Lines can be full floating,  full sinking,  or partial sinking (sink tip). The tapers can vary infinite ways to help you throw different kinds of flies in different situations, or one taper may help you mend line easier than another.  Almost every manufacture of high quality lines will offer a line for the specific species  and purpose you are looking for.

LEADERS:

I prefer to use flouro carbon leaders for most of my fly fishing needs (salt or freshwater) as they have more abrasion resistance than standard monofilament.

I also always use flouro carbon tippets for fresh and saltwater applications for it's invisible nature. Most of our destinations have pretty stupid fish but it still makes sense to use the most invisible tippet.

If you need flies for one of our trips we can provide you with a selection specific for the time of year and destination you are traveling to.  This is a courtesy to our clients and we do not sell flies to anglers who have not booked a trip through us! ( We are not snobs we just are not set up to provide tons of flies!) The selections usually come in $100, $150, $200 selections.

mer, with plenty of flashabout is all you need.

 
Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page

PO BOX 180446  BOSTON  MA 02118
Phone: 888-857-6700  
Fax: 617-427-7890
ed@flyfishingheaven.com