Thanks for sharing the info Rob! Great stuff in there. New England sounds like fun. I'd like to see how a salty Striper fights compared to a freshie. Maine is high atop my list of places to visit before I die.
Here's another post from Zach's board From Bob Riggins, a guy who lives on the gulf side.
My go to color for saltwater is chartruese. It will work on about any species but cobia. I'm on the Gulf side, so it may be a little different that Ft. Pierce, but not that much. Here is a list of my favorite patterns for different fish.
Snook: chartruese and/or white clousers, decievers and gurglers. These three flies will cover the entire water column. Tie in sizes 1 to 3/0 depending on what they are feeding on. I also like Sar mul macs, but you have to like to tie them. The snook are on the beach right now and are feeding on glass minnows (at least on the Gulf side), so I would have a couple of small white flies also.
Redfish: Various colors of Prince of Tides bendbacks. I usually try to have a chartrues/white, olive/beige, and black/red. I tie them on 1/0 hooks. Crab imitations are good to sight cast to tailing reds, but you have to put it right on their nose. I don't like clousers for redfish because the eyes catch grass and you have to get the flies down in the grass where they are feeding. Gold spoonflies are a good prospecting fly, but they are a pain to cast and invariably put a twist in your fly line.
Speckled Trout/Weakfish: Same as snook. I tend to like topwater poppers or gurglers if they are feeding on the surface. They are attracted by sound, so a deerhair fly like a muddler that moves a lot of water is good.
Cobia: Black and red conehead bunnies with long tails. 1/0 to 3/0.
Tarpon: Conehead Tarpon Bunnies on big hooks, 3/0 + depending on size. Tie it is a variety of colors, just make sure you have some red on it. Snake flies are also good.
Shark: Big bright flies with lots of flash, preverably in red or orange. Something that will piss them off. You have to get the fly right up against their eye and annoy them with it. I find tube flies with wire leaders work very well.
Jack Crevalle and ladyfish: Throw whatever you have, they will eat anything. A good way to get rid of your beat up old flies.
