February from the bench

As we sat down at the fly tying bench for this month, February. We’re still in a winter pattern and our favorite gamefish are still not relying on the pilchard or scaled sardine that are so prevalent during the warmer months. They’re still foraging for smaller resident fish like killifish as well as shrimp and crabs. So, we’re tying clouser, kwan, and shrimp patterns. Moreover, we’re tying them more on the small side using a #1 or #2 hook combined with lighter eyes. We do keep a couple heavier clousers on hand tied on a 2/0 hook with heavier eyes for those days the trout are holding in the deeper holes and really want the fly bouncing off the bottom. Out on the grass flats, it’s hard to beat a chartreuse tied with either white and yellow. in the backcountry in and around the mangroves, brown and olive mixed with white are our favorite.