[State fish rob]

been catching ladyfish on live bait, off dock at night. Any thoughts on flies & fly size , for nite fishing ,haven’t hooked one on fly yet. Thx
Also. Any tricks for know how much line to leave out for back cast in the dark. Do they make fly line in Braille? What you can’t see , you’ll feel!

 

[Smackdaddy53]

White clousers, strip fast

 

[State fish rob]

Mucho mucho

 

[crboggs]

Cheap flashy flies...they'll rough them up...

 

[lemaymiami]

Using a 12lb leader for ladies (of any size) will end with you tying on a new fly... The only time I've ever seen the necessity of that light a leader is when all the bait they're feeding on is tiny - and your fly is small as well...

I've been taking folks fly fishing at night for years - and at times ladyfish (big ocean run ladies...) are our targets when the snook and tarpon are scarce, or having lockjaw. Any small white fly will get bit - as long as it's moving with or across the current. Size your fly to the bait you're seeing in the water. A good all around bug is a clouser on a 1/0 hook in all white (or mostly white). When we're needing ladyfish for bait in the backcountry of the 'glades I use a clouser on a long shank hook, size #1 or 1/0 (Mustad 34011) with the eyes and wing tied in towards the rear of the hook so that we can use a leader without a bite tippet (20lb fluoro, generally...). Catching ladies for bait (live ladyfish are candy for any big fish that swims in the 'glades...) is a daytime gig for me...

Night fishing for us is mostly during shrimp runs and we use the same flies for ladies that we use for tarpon up to about 40lbs. Here's a pic of our go to pattern, the Night Fly....

It's done up on a stout 1/0 or 2/0 hook

I like to have at least a dozen of these on hand for a night trip when it's going off...

Ladies aren't that particular - I'd bet that all white Gurglers and small popping bugs would work for them just fine.... and the strike will get your attention.

By the way, the only reason I tie up white flies for the night scene... is so that my anglers can see them. Pretty sure they'll hit anything that is the right size and moving the way the bait is.

Hope this helps

 

[Donh]

been catching ladyfish on live bait, off dock at night. Any thoughts on flies & fly size , for nite fishing ,haven’t hooked one on fly yet. Thx
Also. Any tricks for know how much line to leave out for back cast in the dark. Do they make fly line in Braille? What you can’t see , you’ll feel!

Anything white and flashy , fast strip .

 

[Donh]

Anything white and flashy , fast strip .

 

[hipshot]

I just got back from five days in the LLM. We caught a lot of big ladyfish on flies; they were everywhere. I use 12# tippets, and fished with a 6, 7, and 8 weight. They ate up every fly I threw; mostly Clousers in purple, chartreuse, olive, white, and grey (and combinations of the above), as well as grey bendbacks over the shallow grass and shell. I had one overslot red get me into my backing. Several of the ladyfish got me there. Quite a few of them made off with my flies until I started adding a 17# ABRAZX bite tippet. I retired more flies on this trip than I ever have before; the specks did their share of damage but the ladyfish shredded my tippets and my flies with abandon. They're fun to catch, but tough on tippets and flies. And handle them OUTSIDE the gunwales, if you're new to them...........

 

[permitchaser]

I think they'll eat about any flashy fly

 

[lemaymiami]

Little tigers - that's ladyfish - with abrasive jaws like 100 grit sandpaper (not for nothing some folks call them "poor man's tarpon"...).

Just remember that any place with lots of ladies probably has big fish nearby that eat 'em.... if they can catch one...

 

[Pole Position]

^
I always felt but for the grace of God ladyfish and juvenile tarpon would be damn near extinct if they were edible because I can't think of any fish that are more fun to catch.

 

[pointblank]

Just remember that any place with lots of ladies probably has big fish nearby that eat 'em.... if they can catch one...

Exactly.....

Recently I was walking the beach looking for snook, saw a decent size one and threw a fly out and started stripping it in, and a damn ladyfish picked it up! While the lady was thrashing and jumping around, low and behold that snook came over and ate the ladyfish while still on my line! Tried to strip set nice and hard, but after a few head shakes, the line just snapped. Off swam the snook...ladyfish tail sticking out its mouth and all!!

 

[timogleason]

I hate Ladyfish on so many levels...

 

[Andrew Jones]

I caught quite a few this past weekend on a surf candy fishing from jetties. I started out using a steel leader meant for mackerel but schools of ladyfish were feeding in a frenzy! They kept bumping my line but not taking it so I tied on a 50 lb. fluorocarbon bite tippet and started catching them immediately. The 50 was all I had but there were almost swallowing my fly anyway! I think 20 lb. would have been more appropriate! The best retrieve was by tucking my rod under my arm and stripping my line in hand over hand. I used to hate catching them until I caught one on a fly!

 

[Backcountry 16]

They'll hit anything just like jacks when they're feeding I like catching them on a 4 weight and as mentioned above they tear up flies and leaders.

 

[State fish rob]

Ive got a sweet 5 wt I need to break in thanks to low hydrogen. Many thanks!

 

[eightwt]

Almost a perfect fish, acrobatic, aggressive, plentiful, hits a fly readily.....

 

[kbanashek]

Using a 12lb leader for ladies (of any size) will end with you tying on a new fly... The only time I've ever seen the necessity of that light a leader is when all the bait they're feeding on is tiny - and your fly is small as well...

I've been taking folks fly fishing at night for years - and at times ladyfish (big ocean run ladies...) are our targets when the snook and tarpon are scarce, or having lockjaw. Any small white fly will get bit - as long as it's moving with or across the current. Size your fly to the bait you're seeing in the water. A good all around bug is a clouser on a 1/0 hook in all white (or mostly white). When we're needing ladyfish for bait in the backcountry of the 'glades I use a clouser on a long shank hook, size #1 or 1/0 (Mustad 34011) with the eyes and wing tied in towards the rear of the hook so that we can use a leader without a bite tippet (20lb fluoro, generally...). Catching ladies for bait (live ladyfish are candy for any big fish that swims in the 'glades...) is a daytime gig for me...

Night fishing for us is mostly during shrimp runs and we use the same flies for ladies that we use for tarpon up to about 40lbs. Here's a pic of our go to pattern, the Night Fly....

It's done up on a stout 1/0 or 2/0 hook

I like to have at least a dozen of these on hand for a night trip when it's going off...

Ladies aren't that particular - I'd bet that all white Gurglers and small popping bugs would work for them just fine.... and the strike will get your attention.

By the way, the only reason I tie up white flies for the night scene... is so that my anglers can see them. Pretty sure they'll hit anything that is the right size and moving the way the bait is.

Hope this helps

Those look REALLY good for tarpon || snook, there any resources online that show how to spin them up?

 

[SomaliPirate]

I hate Ladyfish on so many levels...

Aw, come on! They're just budget oriented tarpon! Other than the destroying leaders and shitting all over the deck...

 

[LowHydrogen]

been catching ladyfish on live bait, off dock at night. Any thoughts on flies & fly size , for nite fishing ,haven’t hooked one on fly yet. Thx
Also. Any tricks for know how much line to leave out for back cast in the dark. Do they make fly line in Braille? What you can’t see , you’ll feel!

They make glow in the dark fly lines now but I have no experience.