[KyleW]

I’d love to get a nice jack on the beach this winter. I’m down in south Florida(east coast). Does anybody have suggestions for a good fly throw at em? I’m sure the typical baitfish patterns would do, but something a little more specific would be great.

 

[7WT]

I've used both poppers and clouser or deceiver types. Heck I've caught them with crab patterns on the bottom fishing for reds. Not picky. If you find them busting they will eat what you throw em. If they aren't busting on the East coast I have spotted them on a fish finder and then sometimes throwing a topwater with the hooks removed on a spin rod and ripping it in will get them going with the disturbance and then a fly will find them. Walls of course are also good locations. Good luck!

 

[Smackdaddy53]

Jacks will eat a cat turd

 

[karstopo]

Yea, if they are really getting after it, just about anything ought to do it. I’ve gotten eats on Steve Farrar Blend baitfish, borski sliders, and redfish crack.

 

[KyleW]

Jacks will eat a cat turd

Yea I know that, on spinning gear I’ve had luck with whatever was tied on when they showed up. Being that fly guys are way more technical I figured there was potentially some order to it. Rowdy jacks eat everything

 

[Tailer]

I’ve had more luck with topwater for our big winter jacks than anything else. I like a gurgler tied on a 2/0 SL12s with a short intermediate tip line on a #10 unless there’s really big bait around (then I’ll throw a popper on a 3/0 or 4/0 hook).

 

[Backwater]

Caught lots of them on a slightly larger bucktail chartreuse and white clouser. If the water is gin clear, you can go to a synthetic version of the same fly. Strip it faster than normal if it's a warm day and the water is not overly cold.

 

[Smackdaddy53]

Caught lots of them on a slightly larger bucktail chartreuse and white clouser. If the water is gin clear, you can go to a synthetic version of the same fly. Strip it faster than normal if it's a warm day and the water is not overly cold.

How do you work a cat turd pattern? Dead stick?

 

[Lowtidelowlife]

Gurgler is the most fun way

 

[Backwater]

How do you work a cat turd pattern? Dead stick?

Depends on if you are just blind casting, scouting around for them. Just make sharp, long hard strips with about a 1 second pause in-between them.

In the late spring when you see them schooling up on the beaches, throw past them and to the side of the school. You don't want to throw into the school, just to the side of the school where they can just catch a glimpse of it. Then, let it sink. While it's sinking, tuck the rod handle up under your arm pit, spread your legs apart while you square up to the fish (not sideways). Make sure your rod tip is pointing down to the water and then two hand strip that thang in as fast as you can, throwing the fly line straight down to the deck as you strip in in, or a stripping basking set in-between your legs and watch them compete with each other to see who can get the fly first!

 

[LowHydrogen]

Depends on if you are just blind casting, scouting around for them. Just make sharp, long hard strips with about a 1 second pause in-between them.

In the late spring when you see them schooling up on the beaches, throw past them and to the side of the school. You don't want to throw into the school, just to the side of the school where they can just catch a glimpse of it. Then, let it sink. While it's sinking, tuck the rod handle up under your arm pit, spread your legs apart while you square up to the fish (not sideways). Make sure your rod tip is pointing down to the water and then two strip that thang in as fast as you can, throwing the fly line straight down to the deck as you strip in in, or a stripping basking set in-between your legs and watch them compete with each other to see who can get the fly first!

Striper Strip, it also works great for breaking people from trying to trout set big fish on the beach!

 

[backbone]

White Surf candy or white clousers/seaducers work well for me.

 

[7WT]

So fast strip method for jacks- Backwater's two handed approach is a good one. Charlie Smith of crazy Charlie fame once showed me his method. We had been out the previous day and ran into some jacks and despite my attempt at fast stripping while getting a lot of follows I could not conduce a hit. Early the next morning I walked out on the long dock at Pot Cay with my coffee. There was a very old crusty fly rod each section a different make- orvis butt- T&T mid section, sage top and an old reel attached lying on the dock. Charlie sauntered out and asked "Do you want to know how to streep to get da jack to bite?" I sure do I said. Charlie picked up the old rod, broke off a piece of styrofoam from the empty coffee cup, put it on the fly attached to the line and proceeded to throw the entire fly line out with two false casts. I sighed and watched with wide eyes. The custom made gurgler worked perfectly."You do da long streep- long streep- like dis" he said "See- long, not quick short, l-o-n-g streep." His hand pulled the line from the fly rod and reel extended far in front of him and pulled straight and way back behind his back. I caught jacks that day.

 

[Backwater]

So fast strip method for jacks- Backwater's two handed approach is a good one. Charlie Smith of crazy Charlie fame once showed me his method. We had been out the previous day and ran into some jacks and despite my attempt at fast stripping while getting a lot of follows I could not conduce a hit. Early the next morning I walked out on the long dock at Pot Cay with my coffee. There was a very old crusty fly rod each section a different make- orvis butt- T&T mid section, sage top and an old reel attached lying on the dock. Charlie sauntered out and asked "Do you want to know how to streep to get da jack to bite?" I sure do I said. Charlie picked up the old rod, broke off a piece of styrofoam from the empty coffee cup, put it on the fly attached to the line and proceeded to throw the entire fly line out with two false casts. I sighed and watched with wide eyes. The custom made gurgler worked perfectly."You do da long streep- long streep- like dis" he said "See- long, not quick short, l-o-n-g streep." His hand pulled the line from the fly rod and reel extended far in front of him and pulled straight and way back behind his back. I caught jacks that day.

Cool story!

 

[Snakesurf]

Just use something with a lot of silver flashabou and a good sized hook. Hell you could probably just cast a hook.

 

[Backwater]

Hell you could probably just cast a hook.

I wish it was that easy.