October 21st Chapter Meeting - Billy Trimble: Rigging & Casting for Redfish

by Rob Burlingame, AFF Vice President

Have you ever found yourself deep into one of our Texas flats when that miraculous red flag starts waving 30 feet away? Your heart races as you realize that huge commotion is the tail end of a hungry redfish just breaking the surface, with the front half just below waiting to swallow your fly. Your eyes get laser focused on the target, your arm begins a familiar motion and as your line lands delicately with a huge splash right over the fishes back. As your line lays there slack and the fish hits warp speed on his way to Mexico, the voices start in your head telling you that you should have spent more time practicing your casts before heading out for that day on the water. Don’t worry, we have all been there and chalked that day up to experience.

To help us all avoid the frustrations of bad casts and poor set ups, we have invited one of our favorite Texas coast fly fishing guides, Captain Billy Trimble to be our host speaker for October. He has prepared a wonderful presentation full of “professional secrets” on how to rig up and cast for redfish. Capt. Billy Trimble has been an avid fly fisherman since he was introduced to the sport over 25 years ago. Since that time he has fly fished in eleven states and 4 countries. To say that Billy is an avid angler is an understatement. Before he began guiding professionally, he averaged over 100 days a year on the water catching everything from Redfish and Black Drum to Red Ear and Black Bass, along with more exotic species like Cutthroat to Chum Salmon. Capt. Trimble specializes in guiding clients on his Hell's Bay flats boat, sight casting to Redfish, Speckled Trout and Black Drum. He is a gifted fly tier, designing practical, successful patterns for his guiding business and for a few fly shops. Just recently, a couple of Capt. Billy Trimble’s flies have been picked up for commercial production, including probably his most famous, the “Blind Chicken”. Capt. Billy Trimble is the owner of Trimble Fly Fishing, a professional guiding service for fly fishers of all experience levels. Check out his photos and stories at www.trimbleflyfishing.com. Capt. Billy’s patience and exceptional knowledge make for a pleasant and informative day of fishing, regardless of your skill level. He is based out of the Aransas Pass area. Billy guides clients on the coast for most of the years in the bays between Rockport and Corpus Christi.

Captain Billy’s presentation comes just in time for the cool weather coast fishing on the Texas coast, when hoards of redfish cruise the flats eating nearly everything in sight. With his vast experience gained from many days on the water, Capt. Billy Trimble is a great resource to teach us all something new, regardless of experience level. For those new to the sport, you will gain the insight we all wish we would have known to help shorten the learning curve on casting and catching the residents of our state’s coastal flats. For those with more experience, you just might learn that one tip you hoped to learn years ago.

Whether you are heading out later this month or further into the fall to chase redfish in the flats, this is a presentation you will not want to miss. With a few more tips and tricks added to your arsenal, you will be much better prepared for your next Texas coast tug of war.

I look forward to seeing everyone there!