Building a Salt Water Fly Selection texas saltwater fishing, texas fishing, wadefishing, wading, bay fishing, speckled trout, redfish, snook, tarpon, texas redfish, texas speckled trout Putting together a fly selection for Gulf Coast saltwater duty can be intimidating for a new fly fisher. However, it doesn't need to be. When choosing flies, there are a couple of considerations. These include: water and wind conditions, type of fishing (sight or blind casting), target species and equipment used. The diet of speckled trout consists mainly of shrimp and small baitfish. Redfish are partial to crabs, as well as shrimp and baitfish. Flies thrown at these species generally should imitate one of the main forage species. There are several good shrimp patterns. Among some of the best are the Petrie Shrimp, Scates' Shrimp, and Cactus Shrimp. Crab patterns are a little more limited, but some of the better ones are the Flexo Crab and Del's Merkin. Baitfish imitations are probably the most common. These include a wide variety of poppers as well as Lefty's Deceiver, the Haines' Pilchard, and the Clouser Minnow. Some popular patterns, such as the Seaducer, are said to representative of a variety of different forage items. Even though these patterns are not exact replicas of any one food source, they are productive and certainly have a place in any fly box. In addition to the type of imitation, fly size will be determined by equipment, wind, and water. A heavier line is able to throw a larger fly. Wind, at times, will also determine fly size, as it is harder to cast a large, bulky fly into the wind. But, the water and type of fishing also plays a role. Sight casting in shallow water usually dictates smaller (sizes 4, 6 and 8) flies. Conversely, when blind casting it is often beneficial to throw larger flies since it is necessary to cover much water and gain the attention of nearby fish. Fly color is also a factor and is usually determined by water condition. In clear water, it is usually best to use muted, subdued tones or natural imitations. Dirty or off-colored water necessitates brighter colors to increase visibility. Two colors that do not necessarily follow the rules are chartreuse and black. Chartreuse is as close to a universal color as possible. It performs equally well in clear water as it does in stained water. Black (and for practical purposes, other opaque, dark colors such as red and purple) is dull enough to use in semi-clear water. However, since it is opaque, it also casts a good profile in dirty water and during low light conditions (night or overcast days). texas saltwater fishing, texas fishing, wadefishing, wading, bay fishing, speckled trout, redfish, snook, tarpon, texas redfish, texas speckled trout