TARPON DON’T EAT WOOLY BUGGERS
AN INTRODUCTION TO FLATS FISHING
KESLEY GALLAGHER
July, 2019
Newcomers are often intimidated by the very thought of flats fishing. The endless idyllic expanses of crystal clear, warm Caribbean waters are often offset by images of constant wind, spooky fish and long casts. Our July presentation will convince you that it’s worth a try. You will soon think of it as streamer fishing in paradise. Common destinations are Florida, the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and the Bahamas, and for the more adventurous there is Christmas Island, The Seychelles and Venezuela. Your 6 or 7 weight streamer rod might land your first bonefish. If you’re ready to trade a drift boat trip in Montana for a panga in Mexico, don’t miss this excellent presentation.
Local fly fishing celebrity Kesley Gallagher will cover flats basics such as gear, what to wear, where to go to get started, and give a basic overview of how to fish from a flats boat with a guide. The program will discuss specific fish species such as redfish, bonefish, permit, and tarpon and how to fish for them. It is intended for novice and intermediate anglers but will delve into more advanced techniques such as casting with wind and situational awareness from a technical perspective. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.
Kesley Gallagher has been fly fishing since she was 10 years old. She has traveled to such places as Labrador for trophy brook trout, the Bahamas and Hawaii for bonefish, Louisiana for trophy redfish, Belize and the Mexican Yucatan for permit, Costa Rica for trophy tarpon, and throughout the United States. Kesley has 10 IGFA records on fly thus far and enjoys competing in tournaments such as the Ladies Tarpon Fly Tournament in Islamorada, Florida, which she won in 2018.
Kesley has frequently presented on introduction to fly fishing for women as well as her fly-fishing journeys. However, in 2019, she will be touring the Southern California fly fishing clubs and presenting on an introduction to flats fishing for redfish, bonefish, permit, and permit. Kesley is currently a Rio Products Ambassador, Cal Trout Ambassador, Simms Pro, and works for Amgen in Thousand Oaks, CA.
