Saltwater Fly Fishing - The Basics... next instalment

Old Smoothound · #1 10-17-2004, 06:23 PM

OK guy’s here’s the next instalment.

We left off with you deciding to have casting lessons from a qualified casting instructor, with your new rod, loaded line on your reel but what of the business end.

How do we attach both stiff and tapered mono lines to our fly line?
We decided against a braided loop, as they do not last long, so how do we achieve having both types of leaders attached.

Quite simple really, when you actually sit and think about it.

What we want to achieve is a clean join between fly line and leader, this we can achieve with a double overhand mono loop.

1. Attach a short piece (maximum 4-6”) of stiff mono to your fly line using a nail knot.

2. At the end of this short piece of stiff mono tie a double overhand loop so it’s 1 ½ “ long.

3. At the end of your tapered leader tie another double overhand loop again so it’s 1 ½ “ long.

4. At the end of your stiff non-tapered fluro carbon or mono leader tie another double overhand loop, 1 ½ “ long.

5. Now this is the tricky part, push the loop of the mono coming off your fly line up through the loop of the tapered or stiff non-tapered leader, now bring the tag end of the mono or fluro carbon leader and push it up through the loop of the short stiff mono and gently pull it all the way through, so you end up with two loops that form a figure of 8. It is very important that you end up with a figure of 8 as this is then easy to push together and get them apart for change over of leaders. The wrong way will put strangulation pressure on both leaders and may cause a break off, when playing a fish.

So we are now armed with our new kit, rod, reel, fly line and leader attached. So what’s next?

Lets just re-cap first:

1. 9½ foot fast taper rod: this is the spring that propels the line and fly through the air.
2. Large Arbour reel: is the medium in which we store the line and reel in the fish with.
3. Fly line: PVC coated nylon central core that has a thicker end (weight forward) than the back or running line.
4. Backing line: this is what “packs out the reel” so we don’t have to fill it full of fly line.
5. Leader: this is the line we attach our fly to.
6. Line speed: is what propels the line through the air to the fishing area.

Now we have learned how to set up our gear, lets take a look at casting techniques.

1. Back cast. Line goes behind you
2. Forward cast. Line goes forward of you
3. False cast. Keeps the line in the air (aerialized)
4. Put the three together = Overhead cast. (Single cast)
5. Roll cast. The line rolls out in front, to either side of you
6. Single haul. Puts slightly more line speed in your cast
7. Double haul. Puts a lot more line speed in your cast to enable you to gain extra distance and cast fairly big flies.

Ultimately we want to get to the double hauling stage for saltwater fly-fishing, but first, we must learn the other casts.

To do this we must first visualise how the cast is made. Think of the face of a clock turned side on and you are standing in the 6 o’clock position. 6 is at your feet and 12 is directly above your head.

Straight out in front of you is 9; straight out behind you is 3.

For the rest you will have to get yourself a casting instructor!

Reading the water and finding the fish.

To be continued……………