Fly Fishing For Fall Redfish       Life doesn't get much better for Tampa Bay area fly fisherman then September on the flats. The water temperature begins to cool, the wind is usually calm, and the fish start to cooperate in a large way.       Snook will filter their way out of the passes and take up residency in the mangroves and potholes. Cooler water temperatures put trout in a feeding mode. Herds of marauding jack crevalles will eat anything that gets in their way. And best of all, the redfish are here and on the prowl.       As much as we flyrodders love redfish, they can be among the most complex creatures we've ever dealt with. A couple of years ago a friend of mine and I were fishing a particular school of redfish that wouldn't eat anything except for the biggest fly we had in the boat, a 4 inch white bucktail streamer that he tied on a 3/0 bendback hook. A week later that same school of fish ate on every cast no matter what fly we used. What was surprising about this is we watched those redfish get mauled by a dolphin and her calf not more than a half hour before we started catching them.       Redfish can be moody and are tough to figure out at times, but for the most part when they're schooling they're competitive feeders and are fairly user friendly. It's not unusual to see two or three of them race out of the pack and crush almost any fly that's put in front of them. As cooperative as schooling redfish can be is as uncooperative as tailing redfish usually are.       In the Tampa Bay area tailing redfish are the closest things we have to bonefish, and at times more difficult to catch. There's a two-fold problem to overcome when fishing for tailing reds, one is getting close enough to them to make an accurate cast. These fish hangout in shallow water and will quickly vacate a flat if approached improperly.       The second problem is a matter of timing, when to cast and when to strip the fly. A tailing redfish has its head buried in the bottom grubbing for food and has a hard time seeing or hearing anything, this is when the cast should be made. In turn the fly shouldn't be wiggled until the redfish's tail goes back in the water and its head rises from the bottom. If the fly is worked before this happens the fish will never notice the offering and the cast will be wasted.       When it comes to tackle, a floating weight forward line on anything from a five to a ten weight outfit will work depending on the situation. If the wind is light and the fish are in shallow water, a five or six weight outfit is desirable. A nine or ten weight outfit is perfect for casting big top water bugs early in the morning along the mangroves. But if only one outfit could be picked a seven or eight weight would probably be best. This size tackle can handle almost any redfish that swims and will cast all but the biggest hair bugs with ease.       As far as flies go there's a number of different patterns that work great. When redfish are feeding on baitfish and mullet, streamer style flies like Lefty's Deceiver or Whitlock's Baitfish are awfully effective. Later in the year when the baitfish become scarce, redfish become very crustacean oriented. This is a good time to try a crab or shrimp pattern such as a Del's Merkin or Broski's Shrimp. For top water action it's hard to beat a slider or a big hair bug. These flies are tougher to cast then most but the results are well worth it. And for all around versatility a Sea-Ducer or a Muddler has to top the list. These are both full-bodied flies and have a good amount of neutral buoyancy, which allows them to just hover in the water. This hovering ability is important when fishing for tailing reds because it allows the fish a better opportunity to find the fly once it's done rooting in the bottom.       No matter what fly is used it's best if it has a weed guard tied on it. The weed guard will help prevent the fly from snagging on the bottom when fishing for tailing redfish. It also helps keep the fly clear of floating grass which we have plenty of at this time of the year. Back