"Stormy Monday," a favorite tune from the bluesmaster B.B. King and Lucille, poured out over the radio. It was loud enough to be heard over the sputtering of our engine, but notso loud as to cover the automatic horn of the large yellow gasplatform not 40 feet in front of us. Nor was it loud enough tobreak our concentration on searching for the big fish that oftenfrequent these sturdy structures. From the tower on my 24-footskiff, I watched patiently as my friend and accomplice, VanKirchoff, retrieved a hookless chugger across the surface. We werelooking primarily for amberjacks, hoping to catch them on bigpoppers. A client of mine, Walt Holman, had sent me several poppershe ties in his spare time, and they are truly beautiful. Afterseeing how aggressive amberjacks (AJs) can be when chummed up onlive bait, we agreed his poppers might serve as the perfect surfaceflies for teased-up fish.
When we pulled up to the big platform, I pitched out ahalf-dozen or so live and dead menhaden. Then I eased up into thetower and waited. Drifting slowly down-current, I studied thebaitfish as some settled toward the bottom and others ambled off. Iarmed myself with my trusty 12-weight. When the jacks came up, Iwould be ready. I asked Van to cast his teaser as far as he couldto the north side of the rig. We have used this bait-and-switchtechnique together several times for many different types of fish,and we have it down to a science. Van pops and chugs the teaserback to the boat as fast as possible without ever fully raising itout of the water while we watch for activity on the teaser and inthe chum slick.
"Here we go!" I called over the tunes. "They're on the teaser!"One false cast and my fly landed in front of the teaser. I strippedin the slack and waited for the fish to get close enough to see mypopper. "Now!" I instructed. Van yanked the teaser from the water.One real hard pull left the AJs in a frenzy and looking foranything to eat or chase. By now several of them had begun feedingon the menhaden we had thrown over earlier. With a solid "chug" ofmy popper, two nice fish tore themselves from their search andpounced on the big fly. Another "chug" and one of the big jackslifted half its body across the water in an attempt to catch it.Momentum caused the first jack to miss the fly completely, but theother fish found it. With a solid strip-strike, I set the hook."Van, pitch in some more live ones, and grab your stick!" Ihollered. "We can get a double on!"
Another netful over the side brought in the little tunny.Streaks of blue green and amber raced to the surface, and theirbreaks and boils surrounded us -some were right at the boat. Theview from the tower was awesome. Half a dozen amberjacks andnumerous little tunnies scurried around us, circling closely. Downdeep, I could see the dull redness of the red snapper, rising toinvestigate the activity at the surface. Van flipped his flyinattentively in the water as he hurriedly stripped the fly lineoff his reel. The large white Lefty's Deceiver, lying motionless inthe water next to the boat, got engulfed, and fly line peeled offthe deck as Van grabbed for a hook-set. But slack formed in theline before he had a chance to set the hook. He gave me an amazedlook that said "how did that happen?" and "did you see that?" allat once. "Strip it in fast and see if there's still a fly on there;maybe you'll get a bite," I said. No sooner had I spoken than thenext fish hit. "There he is -I'm on, too," Van grunted. In a matterof minutes, we had an amberjack doubleheader. That's when the realtest began - trying to keep them away from the barnacle-encrustedsecurity of the rig.
Pick Your Platform
It is fortunate that the Alabama coastline, although relatively small, is located on the dividing line for the Gulf of Mexico.Split Alabama's coast right down the middle, and to the east liesthe deep water of the continental shelf, with the Desoto Canyonpushing clear deepwater currents onto our beaches. To the west liesthe Mississippi River Delta, depositing its nutrient-rich waters for hundreds of miles in every direction. Orange Beach, Alabama, is on that line, and fly-fishing opportunities abound, including natural and man-made reefs, oil and gas platforms, beaches,sandbars and flats.
Due south of Alabama's Mobile Bay, easily in sight from the mouth of the pass, lie several different natural gas platforms.Since many of the fish migrate or follow bait migrations, one platform often offers as many opportunities as the next. However,the bigger platforms seem to hold more bait and, therefore, tend to yield more shots. Depths range from less than 80 feet nearshore all the way to several thousand feet offshore. The spring, summer andfall migrations bring many opportunities to these platforms. Largeconcentrations of different kinds of baitfish move through the area either to spawn or relocate for the winter. Some will also winteraround the platforms. When large groups of baitfish like hardtails(or blue runners) gather around the platforms, it can be a prettygood indication that kingfish, as well as amberjacks and littletunny, might be there. Chum lines used in conjunction with teaserscan tell you in short order just which predators lie beneath thebait.
Fit for a King
Whenever I think the kingfish might be present, I attach a wiretrace for bite tippet. I use 6 to 8 inches of the lightest singlestrand of wire I can get by with to fend off the scissorslike jawsof a king. A shorter piece of wire will usually work as well sincewe are not feeding or free-spooling the kings, and the shorter thelength of the wire, the greater the chance for a hookup.
For kingfish and amberjacks, I like to use a fairly large whiteor chartreuse Lefty's Deceiver that has a decent amount of flashand is tied on a high-quality, supersharp 3/0 or larger hook.Epoxying the head can help the fly last longer. Big bright popperswill also work, and the bites can be dramatic, but subsurface fliestend to draw more strikes. A fast-sinking line will help turn overthe larger flies and give the angler the option of getting down tothe deeper fish.
Retrieves should be varied, but remember to make the fly looklike a wounded or dying baitfish -erratic, uncoordinated and evenstill. It helps to understand that kingfish often strike their preyand cut them in half only to spin around and then eat the leftovers. When retrieving the fly and a strike is missed, try slowingthe retrieve and letting the kingfish turn back around. Often theywill try to hit the fly again. Hook-sets should be solid, but beready to clear the fly line from the deck in a hurry -a kingfishstrike going away is tough to hold on to. Being taken down into thebacking is almost a certainty.
Angling for AJs
The object of using live baits for chum is to entice the game fishup to the top and give them so much confidence that they will eatanything in sight. Amberjacks are a perfect target for this type offishing. Generally they are schooling fish, so a large number ofthem can be present at any given time of year. And when AJs are inthese large groups, the competition can be fierce. The ensuingmelee that chumming causes will be the driving force behindsuccessfully hooking these fish on fly. If the baitfish are on topand the big jacks are down deep, the jacks will have to chase thebaitfish to the surface to feed. AJs chase these baits with suchabandon that they will hit almost anything, especially flies.
I like to use live baits that I can get in large numbers. Adozen or so won't do it -you'll need several hundred to make adecent go of it. Alewives or menhaden are my two top choices. I canoften find them in large enough concentrations to catch with a netor sabiki rig (a multihook-rigged leader consisting of about six toeight small, usually gold hooks). Baitfish size is not thatimportant. I can fit more 2-inch baits into my livewell than I can6-inch baitfish.
Once the jacks are found, I like to start a chum line bypitching live baits over the side two or three at a time. Iconstantly watch for jacks or anything else to appear. Before anyfish are even chummed up, I break out the teaser rod. My personalfavorite is a big Yo-Zuri Chugger with all the hooks removed. Ilike to cast the Chugger as far as possible, then retrieve iterratically. The combined activity from the teaser and the livechum can create a very aggressive feeding frenzy in shortorder.
When the amberjacks come up on the teasers or live baits, Istart throwing four to six live baits at a time to keep the jacksright at the boat. My choice of flies is the same for amberjacks asfor kingfish -a big, bright Lefty's Deceiver stripped fast. I haveseen several jacks actually fight over a fly. You'll often see thefish hit the fly, and hook-sets need to be solid -amberjacks havetough, thick jaws. Wire shock tippet is unnecessary, but you shoulduse at least a 40-pound bite tippet.
Tunny Time
These high-speed gamesters are made for the fly rod. A 10-poundfish is a good one, and they fight like a fish three times theirsize. With their long runs, they make a perfect candidate for an8-weight fly rod. They will readily come into a chum line if theyare in the area. No shock or bite leader is needed, and most anysmall, bright fly will work. Chartreuse-and-white Clousers andsmall Lefty's Deceivers tied on No. 2 or 4 hooks are my favorites.Most of the time the retrieves should be fast, but sometimes littletunny like the fly to just sit there and drift slowly toward thebottom. For a real show try a popper. If the little tunny, orbonito, are excited enough, they may clear the water in an attemptto rush the fly. The fish themselves usually set the hooks, andthey routinely run you into your backing.
Opportunities Abound
You never know what might appear in your chum line, so be ready foranything. Jack crevalle, bluefish, redfish, Spanish mackerel andeven pompano visit these rigs, as do some prized game fish. Redsnapper have occasionally frequented our chum slicks, risingcompletely to the surface and even busting baits there. Mangrovesnapper are also an added bonus. When the snapper do come around,we use a 9- or 10-weight fly rod with a small Clouser orbonefish-style fly in tan or white. Crab flies and shrimp fliesalso seem to produce well. A short strip with a slow retrieve worksbest, as does a slow drift. A short bite tippet can help sincesnapper have rough mouths, and it is especially helpful when a bigsnapper heads back into the rig to escape.
Cobia offer another possibility on the rigs. In the spring andsummer our beaches and offshore structures hold these fish in greatnumbers, so we try to keep a 12-weight rod rigged with a 5/0 or 6/0light-colored Lefty's Deceiver. Conventional and fly-anglers alikeseek cobia. Although big cobia have seen many a bait in their days,I think flies are still new to them. Tease them and feed them a fewlive ones, and these fish can get aggressive. Cast the fly a fewfeet in front of one, and retrieve it moderately without stopping(cobia tend to lose interest in a fly that stops moving).
Rigging for Rigs
This is aggressive fly-fishing at its best, and standard tackleincludes an 11- or 12-weight fly rod as a minimum. Bigger rods canturn over and cast bigger flies easier and farther. There is alsothe added benefit of plenty of backbone for lifting and pulling thebigger fish out from the safety of their haunts. Fly rods withfighting foregrip are nice, too, because they make long drawn-outbattles more bearable for some anglers. I try to keep at least twobig outfits ready at all times. The first one has a standardweight-forward floating fly line; the second outfit is rigged witha sinking line. My leaders are pretied with loop connections on theends. This way I can change from a kingfish leader with a wiretrace to a leader with or without a shock tippet in a hurry.
Fly reels with quality drags are a must. The bruisers thatinhabit these rigs can burn out a weaker drag quickly, as can eventhe smaller fish. Backing capacities should be at least 300 yardsor so, even though most of these fish won't take you out -justdown. Still, it's nice to have the backing if you hook a big kingor a jack crevalle.
For a teaser I like to use big spinning outfits loaded with30-pound test. The bigger outfits can handle bigger teasers andcast them farther. Any old topwater plug will work, but we prefer aYo-Zuri Chugger. Don't forget to set your drag, though. More thanone fish has forgotten to let go of the teaser in the confusion andhas taken it into the rig never to be seen again.
