I have tried. They are extremely hard fighters. The problem I have here in
St. Mary's River, inlet, between GA & FL, off Amelia Island, is that if you
tighten the drag enough to stop them, or try holding them with the spool,
they'll pop something, tippet, leader, line, or rod. If you let them run,
they'll wrap you around the bouy marker chains, or under the jetty rocks, and
break off. I've never been successful catching one on other than standard
hook and line. It has been an ongoing contest for the ten years I've lived
here, and they are still the winner. They are harder to stop than a Tarpon,
which I have been able to subdue. I love the short battles I've had with them
on fly, but it really has been depressing to have them win all the time. I
use about a 12" long streamer made of about 40-50 strands gold flashabou with
a white head and painted red eye tied to a 3" long 4/0 hook . Good luck. Ken
