What To Bring

You could show up on the day of your charter with no rods, flies, leader/tippet or terminal tackle and it will all be provided for you. Below is a list of necessary equipment to pack that will not be provided for you.

Hat

Polarized Sunglasses

Protective Sun Shirt

Rain Jacket

Sun Screen

Wading Shoes (permit only)

Specific snacks/beverages

Bag/Day Pack (waterproof recommended) 

If you wanted to bring your own gear, I’ve attached some recommendations below. 

We target our tarpon with 8-11 weight fly rods. The sweet spot for our fishery are 9 and 10 weight set ups with both floating and intermediate lines.

We are normally running 40lb leaders to the fly, but it is wise to have 30 and 50lb as well.

We like to keep the fly selection simple. Standard tarpon flies (toads, bunny’s, EP baitfish) in sizes 1-3/0 work well in black/purple, tan, white, brown, and chartreuse. Gurglers/poppers can also be effective

For permit, a 9 or 10 weight set up with floating line works the best. We also use tapered leaders and tippet from 12 to 20lbs. Full fluorocarbon is my preference, but monofilament leaders with fluorocarbon tippet also work well.

Suggested flies- Sizes 2-6 in green, white or tan

Mayan Claw/Strong Arm Merkin

Danger Muffin

Flexo Crab- Green

Raghead

Mantis Shrimp

Rio’s Fiddler on the Reef

Bauer Crab

While we offer great options for beginners that are new to salt water fly fishing and I love to teach the art of the fly cast, no amount of gear in the world can replace practice and preparation. A little bit of casting preparation before your trip goes a long way and can prove to be invaluable on the day of your trip. Most shots to fish fall between 30 and 50 feet and the quicker we can get the fly to the fish, the more productive we are!