[philip fibiger]

I’ve come to love the Sand Shrimp:

(http://littleriveroutfitters.com/littleriverjournal/StoriesJan09/sandshrimp/sandshrimp.html a craft fur shrimp).

and its variant, the LC Shrimp :

http://baystreetstore.com/product.php?id_product=60 which is essentially the same thing without the craft fur wing, adding rubber legs, and changing up the colors.

These things are deadly for redfish and particularly for sea trout. The eyes have it float point up and they undulate in a shrimpy way.

[philip fibiger]

I’ve built up a pretty big collection over the years, and for sturdiness and quality it’s hard to go wrong with a Benchmade Mini-Griptillian. It finds its way to my pocket a lot.

When it comes to fishing (particularly in the salt), I haven’t found anything better than the Spyderco Salt series. The blades are H-1 steel, which is extremely rust resistant but also holds a really nice edge. The pocket clip and all non-plastic hardware are titanium. I use the Salt I with a yellow handle, so if I drop it in the drink it’s easy to find.

Here are all the knives Spyderco makes with H-1 blades. Most are in the Salt family.

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/list.php?blade=H-1

[philip fibiger]

Everything Bob said is spot on. I fish a little north of you, mosquito lagoon / indian river east of Orlando.

For flies, you’ll want some crab patterns (merkin, etc) for redfish, you’ll want clousers of lots of colors (white, white/chartreuse, white/tan), i’m a big fan of sand shrimp, as it seems to catch everything (http://littleriveroutfitters.com/littleriverjournal/StoriesJan09/sandshrimp/sandshrimp.html), EP minnows are fantastic, and you’ll want some bendbacks, deceivers, redfish candy.

Almost all my flies are tied on #4s to 2/0s, and most are tied on 2s.

Your 7 and 9wt will handle almost all the fishing you want to do, and you’ll almost always have a floating line on it.

I’ve got a Hobie kayak with a mirage drive and I love it. I can really haul with it while paddlers are struggling to keep up. It isn’t as stable as some other kayaks though, so it’s not as easy to stand up in. You might want to try one of those diablo paddlesports hybrid SUP/kayak. They won’t paddle as smoothly, but they look like a great standing fishing vessel. That, or one of those hobie mirage pro angler boats. They’re a lot of boat, but seem like an amazing fishing machine.

Finally, find a local club if that’s your kind of thing. You’ll end up with great people to fish with who already have local knowledge (and who might even have an extra spot on their boat). Some options:

http://itricks.com/stuartflyrodders/

Mid Coast Fly Fishing Club New Smyrna Beach, FL

[philip fibiger]

I’m with Randy. Here in Florida it’s more about something that’s lightweight and can be stashed on a boat or in my sling pack and also is pretty well vented. It isn’t high end, but I love my Marmot Precip. I called them about the waterproofing delaminating on a seven or eight year old jacket, and they shipped me a brand new one, even let me pick the new color.

[philip fibiger]

So the one “photo realistic” pattern that seems to work pretty well in saltwater is the chocklett’s gummy minnow. It’s not an exact replica (no fins), but it is definitely a lot closer to an actual baitfish than an EP minnow or a clouser, and it’s very successful.

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