Sight Fishing Redfish in Louisiana | Flats Class
Are you a fly fishing fan? Capt C.A. Richardson from Flats Class TV recently went to Louisiana in pursuit of catching monsters on the long rod. This Louisiana special, Cajun Fly, features fly fisherman and wizard, Peter Crow with Smith Optics. Together, the two are absolutely whacking the redfish on fly.
Having Peter on the show makes this episode one fly fishermen do not want to miss. Peter is a sunglasses guru, and having the best optics plays a massive role in fly fishing. You have to have superior lenses so you can see the fish from a distance. Having the ultimate polarized lens is crucial to seeing exactly where the head of the fish is to be able to land your fly right there.
“I cannot think, in 35 years of fishing, any place I have ever experienced this level of fishing - sight fishing, in particular.”
If you have never been to Southeastern Louisiana and sampled this fishing, you should. It is truly world-class. Louisiana fish are beautiful, thick, heavy, and healthy.
These ponds are loaded with these straight-edge cane banks that hold fish, but the concentrations of fish will be in these little pockets filled with grass. These little zones are filled with small heads and offer stellar feeding opportunities for redfish.
Because optics are so crucial to fly fishing, C.A. gets questions all the time about what lens tints to buy. For instance, did you know because of the angle of the light you should have a different lens when you’re fishing early in the day than when you’re fishing during a higher sun period, somewhere between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.?
Peter gets these questions frequently too, and as an avid fly fisherman and Smith Optics expert, this question is right in his wheelhouse.
“For a flats-fishing situation, my preference is to use something with a brown-based lens. It can be straight brown or brown with a bronze mirror. Or, if we had started very early in the day or came on a day that was rainy and dark, we might use something like our low-light igniter lens, which gives you more light and makes things pop very nicely. I never go fishing with just one pair of glasses in my bag. I always have a few for different conditions. You should consider having more than one pair of glasses like you have more than one rod.”
As a guide, it’s C.A.’s job to be at the bow and spot fish for his clients. He jokes that he’s not a clairvoyant nor does he have the eyes of an osprey. Truly, a lot of the credit must go to the Smith Optics he uses. In low lighting, he’ll use the low-light igniters, but day-in and day-out these brown-based polarizers do the best job for him in overall lighting conditions. The ChromaPop technology has superior contrast and pop where you can see the fish quickly. You can see the shape, color, and the direction in which the fish are moving – it’s almost cheating. Not really, but it’s certainly a huge advantage.
Get your fly fishing fix and learn more about the shades that will give you the winning edge in the Louisiana episode, Cajun Fly, below. Don’t miss the wise words from a couple of wizards on their secrets for sight fishing.
Be sure to visit the Flats Class YouTube channel too where C.A. frequently uploads instructional videos and graciously shares his fishing tips and tricks with the rest of us.
Have questions for C.A. or Peter? Comment below.
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