Special Techniques
Staying in touch with the fly is your main concern. You can do it with either a single- or two-handed retrieve. A single-handed strip retrieve swims a fly well in calm coves, flats, or estuary water. A two-handed retrieve produces a more natural and constant swimming motion. Keep your rod tip pointed at the fly in the water. To do the two-handed retrieve, place your rod grip under your casting arm and lower the rod tip to the water's surface, then use both hands to strip in line. A two-handed retrieve is also helpful on a beachfront. A crashing wave can toss an extra six or eight feet of line toward you, and the two-handed retrieve is the only way to recover line and keep the fly moving.
A strip strike is the preferred way to set the hook. If you keep slack out of your line, the strip strike provides the fastest and most direct route to the fly. Bass have tough, cartilaginous mouths, and to fight and land them, you need a solid hookup. To strip strike, keep your rod tip low and pointed at the fish, then quickly tug several times on the line with your line hand, or both hands if you are using a two-handed retrieve.
Don't use a tip strike; it causes the rod to flex considerably before solid hook penetration occurs. The strip strike is the only way to set the hook if you are using a two-handed retrieve. This approach also allows you to use both hands to clear fly line when the fish runs, which can help prevent tangles and lost fish.
Three casts are important. The double-haul is the standard saltwater distance cast. It is the only way to work a shooting-taper system properly. While fish frequently take flies close to shore or a boat, a longer cast enables you to cover more water and thereby get more fish interested in the imitation.
Steeple casting is important to beachfront fishermen. As the tide recedes and you move toward the water's edge, you find yourself at a steeper angle with the beach. The steeple cast can keep the line off the sand.
A sidearm backcast, drift, and forward cast with the rod high over your head is the way to avoid hooking yourself when the wind blows across your body.
Flies
[See our Archive of Fly Patterns for recipes on some of the following flies and others in this Great Waters section. The Editors.]
Imitation and attraction patterns are both solid choices. The beauty of saltwater fishing is the ease of fly selection. Chartreuse Clouser Minnows and white Lefty's Deceivers (black at night) work well for stripers. Yellow foam poppers work well for blues. Fish, especially stripers, can be selective when large numbers of bait are present. More imitative patterns like Lou Tabory's Slab Fly (menhaden and herring), Bill Catherwood's Giant Killers (squid, mackerel), and Bob Popovics's epoxy Surf Candy (sand eels) all account for large numbers of stripers and bluefish taken on a fly each year and are invaluable when the fish are selectively feeding. Crab, shrimp, or cinderworm patterns make a fly assortment complete.
Rigging
Proper terminal tackle is important for fighting saltwater fish. Saltwater fish are not leader-shy. Huffnagel knots or Bimini twists offer 100 percent breaking strength and are great for connecting a leader to a fly line. Double surgeon's knots are suitable to build a graduation, and a double surgeon's loop or Homer Rhodes loop knot offer swing and great strength for tying on a fly.
Use a shock tippet to protect your leader from the sharp gill plates of big bass or the bluefish's teeth. The shock tippet also provides extra strength if a fish rakes your leader against a sandbar or a mussel bed. Attach the shock tippet to the tippet. Use either heavy but supple monofilament or wire (80- to 100-pound-test). To connect a fly to a wire tippet, use a haywire twist.
Playing and Releasing
Once you feelor see the fish take, strip strike three or four times to set the hook properly. Immediately make your rod parallel to the water's surface, all the while keeping pressure on the fish. With the line on the water, add resistance to the drag to tire the fish.
If the fish wants to run, clear the line by forming a ring with your line hand and moving your hand away from your body. When the fish stops running, wind the spare line onto the reel and set the drag strong enough to tire the fish yet loose enough so as not to break the tippet. Change the rod angle as necessary to keep the fish from wrapping around obstructions or raking the leader on rocks or mussel beds.
Releasing bass is relatively easy. Barbless hooks come out with a bit of twisting. Lipping a striper with one hand and holding its tail with the other provide a stable way to handle a fish. A striper is ready for release when it bites down on your thumb. Partially revived fish will want to swim off and may not survive.
Bluefish, on the other hand, have razor-sharp teeth and good vision. Play the fish until it rolls on its side. A salmon tailer is an efficient landing tool. A cloth rag in your hand enables you to grip the tail well, and pliers or long-handled forceps can make hook removal easier. Never put your bare hands near the bluefish's toothy mouth.
Tom Keer is a Fly Fisherman field editor. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and has a home on Cape Cod. has a home on Cape Cod.
A.A. Outfitters
Full service, fully stocked flyshop located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
Allen Brothers Quality Fishing Flies
Quality is more than just a word. We use Daichii hooks and all our beadheads are tied with tungsten. Check out unique variations on a lot of the classics, plus our original patterns!
Angler's Pro Shop
The finest products the fly fishing industry has to offer.
Bighorn Fly and Tackle Shop
Montana's premium fly shops, lodging and guide service. We're dedicated to helping you experience the best Montana has to offer.
Bob Henley's TIE-A-FLY
19 traditional patterns. TIE-A-FLY kits have all materials needed to tie them, instructions/illustrations, a pre-tied fly to use as a model.
Gary LaFontaine's "The Book Mailer"
Every angling book & media in print—10% off 3 or more. LaFontaine fly patterns & materials.
FREE anti-catalog.
Crystal Fly Shop Online Store
Quality products at reasonable prices from Winston, Elkhorn, St. Croix, Galvan, Solitude, Idylwilde, Chota, etc. Many items 15-35% off.
Custom Fly Rod Crafters
Fly rod building components, tools & supplies.
Dan Bailey's Online Fly Shop
Outfitting fly fishermen since 1938. Equipment & information to make your next fly fishing trip be a memorable one.
|
|
Fly Fishing Flies & Gear
Shop RiverBum.com for premium FLIES and GEAR from Simms, Sage, Fishpond & more ... Free Shipping on orders over $25!
FlyShack.com
High quality, hand-tied flies. Assortments from $.60/fly. Great selection and excellent service. Free Shipping.
FlyShopCloseouts.com
Now—new and expanded—with much more brand name fly fishing tackle and gear at huge savings. Save 30-50% on quality brands you will recognize in an instant.
Galloup's Slide Inn Online Fly Shop
Full online store offering cutting-edge flies, equipment, and the best streamer selection found anywhere in the U.S.
Hills Discount Flies
Fly shop quality flies at wholesale prices. Over 1,000 patterns. Check out bargains in "Hot Deals" section.
Hooked On Flies
65¢-69¢ a fly. That's 3 flies for less than the retail price of one fly. 450+ Trout Fly Patterns!
Madison River Fishing Co.
Spring is coming! We have TONS of new gear this year. Cloudveil, Simms, Sage, Under Armour, Vosseler Reels and lots more. Click or call 800-227-7127 for catalog.
**Reelflies** - Fly Fishing Flies
Offering incredible prices on top-quality Trout Flies: $0.49 - $0.79. Our flies have great fly illustrations . . . what you see is what you get!
www.ShopUltimateAngler.com
Your steelhead and smallmouth specialists featuring Simms, Sage, Patagonia, Orvis, guide services, local fishing reports and more!
|
Log In