Like I said, fly fishing is my thing, since a wee one. My grandfather was a fly fisher, from Weiser Idaho, and a confirmed wet fly fisherman.
I've professionally guided, tyed flies, and taught fly casting/fishing, even to teaching at a college credit level, for Environemtnal Science or Physcal Eduation credits.
I grew up in SoCal, on the coast, and started fly fishing in saltwater in the early 70's, in Redondo Beach, in King Harbor, at the bait barge, and near the big Edison Plant cooling water return pipe in the harbor. That warm water source would bring Bonito, a tuna family member, into King Harbor, and in range of my canoe. If no Bonito, there were always Mackerel that were ready to play. I created a lot of anchovy pattern streamers in those days, from peacock hurl, and flash dubbing.
I've also long been a surfer, and, have run into a Croaker species that is called a Corbina. Croaker also include a host of named Croaker cousins, and, White Seabass.
Corbina, and surfing,.... if you surfed near sand, you have experienced Corbina banging off of your legs when the waves roll up onto the beach, and then back out. They allow the waves to push them up onto the beach into inches deep water, where they chow on sand crabs that burrow into the sand. When the wave recedes, the fish get pulled back into the surf, mere feet from shore, and the whole thing plays out again with the next wave.
In this way, you can sight fish for them.
I've seen this play out thousands of times as a surfer, and then the idea hit, that of fly fishing for them.
Problem,... at that time, there was no such thing as a sand crab fly pattern. So, I made one of a sand crab colored rabbit skin strip (natural buff-tan), and a bright orange "egg sac" that is what the fish are after and keying on in the surf line.
I grabbed my 8'6" 6-weight graphite fly rod, and off to Dana Point Strands I go.
I knew nothing of surf fishing with a fly rod, except that I knew a regular line wasn't going to work. So, I grabbed a chunk of lead core trolling line, about 15' of it, and, rigged the rest of the reels spool with backing. I developed a crude chuck and duck style of casting, but, it worked, and got the fly out to just beyond the waves breaking.
The lead-core brought the fly to the bottom, instantly, and allowed me to crawl the fly back on the sand bottom.
I continued this for a couple of hours, and not much going on. I was seeing fish, but, no contact. So, I worked my way north, and was running out of beach.
I got to where a strong rip current had created a nearly parallel to shore deeper channel, that was flowing like a creek. This chennel was formed by the beach on one side, and, a sandbar on the other side. I went out onto the sandbar, and was casting back towards the beach into this creek. I was trying everything I could think of, and my mind started drifting back to trout stream fishing, with a nymphing rig. So, I started a hand twist retrieve at the end of a drift, and I could watch the fly dragging bottom. Suddenly, as if on cue, a Corbina flashed into view, and settled directly onto my fy (their mouthes are on the bottom). It inhaled, and I set the hook, and, I was hooked into a rocket. This thing took off for the next horizon, in a long reel screaming run that started to run fairly deeply into my backing. I pulled, it pulled back, and this went on for a good five minutes. Suddenly, I went from this weird guy fly fishing on the beach, and to be avoided, to, someone that everyone was watching and hooting for.
My first fly caught Corbina:
I have a fisherman friend who has raved and raved about Corbina on the grill. This one went home with me, and made White Seabass seem like eating garbage fish. Its very rare that I ever keep a fish.