Ok we have kitted ourselves out with the Saltwater fly fishing basic kit. You have just spent your hard earned money buying it, what do we do now?
It’s a bit like teaching your wife to drive, do not try and do it yourself or let a friend teach her. She picks up bad habits and then thinks she knows it all! Better to be taught by someone who is trained to see the casting faults, advise the corrective method and show you the simplest route to your goal.
After a few lessons you will be able to cast at least 15-20 yards with a smallish fly on the end.
To Saltwater fly fish you need to be able to cast 25-30 yards or even more, with a bigger fly, in a couple of easy double haul’s and sometimes into a head wind full in your face. Easy being more technique = less effort = more distance. So after your lessons go and practice, it is a bit like beach casting, you can do it on grass or over water it is up to you.
A double haul is a way of increasing the line speed of your fly line to propel the fly to the area where you think the Bass or Pollock are feeding. This is watercraft, as with coarse fishing, Carp fishing and even Shore fishing. We will come onto that later.
You have your chosen rod and reel outfit shiny new, but without a fly line loaded onto the reel. You must put sufficient backing onto your reel without over loading it, but enough to bring the line just below the reel guard, too much and you will not be able to wind the line back onto the reel without damaging it. The backing should be braided mono as used to make braided loops, this is strong and light and easily used as a running line for shooting heads and it does not rot.
Do I use a full line or do I use a shooting head? (part line part thin running line) Anglers new to the sport should start with a full line, but some instructors insist you start with a shooting head. I prefer the longer route, as it gives the student time to get used to casting a fly line before moving on to a less manageable shooting head.
How do I connect my mono or fluoro carbon to the fly line?
There are two possible avenues, one is use a braided loop, the other, is to knot the line to your fly line. I prefer the knot method because after hours and days of hauling a big fly through the air and into saltwater and the hinging effect that takes place, the only thing that will be attached to the end will be a bit of glue. Not good when you have just hooked a fish of a lifetime! A nail knot should be used and the first 2-3 feet should be of a softer mono such as 20-25lb “Memorex??? this butt section is used with big flies and works really well, however for smaller flies targeted at Mullet, Mackerel and Pollock then a tapered leader that assists “turnover??? of the fly, as it is about to hit the water, is the thing to use. That is short lengths of stiffish mono in reducing breaking strains starting with 30inches 20lbs then 36 inches 15lbs then finishing with 24inches of 10 or 8lbs, tied with a four turn water or surgeons knot. Be sure to lubricate the knot before pulling tight, then snip off the tag that is facing up the line and the short one down the line, so you are left with two lines joined as one. Why fluoro carbon? It takes a lot more bumps and abrasion than mono and it is virtually invisible in water to wary fish such as the Sea Bass.
But now i hear you saying how can i have two set ups, stiff and tapered on one fly line? There is a way……..
