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Choosing
a saltwater Fly :
This is a very long subject and one which, as a fly fishing
beginner myself, I am not qualified to cover anywhere near
completely. This categorised knowledge below has served me
well as a beginner though and should therefore give you a
good start. There are 4 main patterns
I would recommend in UK saltwater fly fishing and 3 main colours
to take with you. You need to first think about what fish
you are targeting which will tell you not only the size
of fly to use but also the design. For
that extra edge, consider adding eyes
to your fly if there are none already on it and don't forget
a good sharp hook! You
do not need a weighted fly as the line is the weighted part
of the rig in fly fishing and not the lure. However, there
are lightly weighted flies on the market which you may wish
to consider if you're having initial difficulty getting it
to land where you want it!
We do not stock Flies in our tackle shop but can recommend
a good place online which does. Take a look at the nice range
of saltwater flies at
www.OceanFlies.com which specifically caters for UK saltwater
fly fishing. Like us, they offer very competitive prices with
a good range of flies including the most useful and most popular
patterns.
| PATTERN
I
think there is far too much talk about the importance
of a fly's pattern, as sea fish tend to be far
less fussy than their freshwater counterparts
and I think colour plays a much more critical
part! However, consider the following 4 patterns
for your tackle box :
Deceiver - in Chartreuse and White. Particularly
good amongst the kelp for visibility.
Clouser - in Black and Orange, great for Pollack
and Bass.
Sandeel - there are many Sandeel flies available
which are all similarly long and slim. The important
thing here is the colour. I'd go for black and
white or grey/brown and white with silver tinsel
thread.
Copper Frede - A top fly for anything that likes
ragworm!
Having said all this, our friends at www.OceanFlies.com,
gave me their views on colour and this is what
they thought :
We find that chartreuse/white Clousers outfish
anything, black/orange is good and blue/white
is good on bright days. Olive/white is good
on its day and all other colours such as pink,
purple, yellow/orange etc work when nothing
else does.
Again with the Clouser, size makes a difference
on the day, sometimes large other times small
and when the bass are fussy then a small sparse
Clouser works wonders.
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COLOUR
affects how easy it is for the fish to see. It
depends heavily on the time of day, the weather
conditions and therefore the light.
The three main colours to take with you would
be white, black and a garish design in either
orange/red and yellow. This is very similar to
how we target many species in regular sea fishing.
Bass lures are often white or black and this works
equally well in flies. The white works well during
normal daylight hours as it is very easy to see
and in keeping with the white bellies that most
baitfish have. Added silver thread will reflect
the sun and give a great flash of silver as it
changes direction. As the light fails or on a
cloudy day, the black colour is best as the fish
underneath only really see shadows and strike
according to the fish shaped shadows they see
above them! In this light, black obviously casts
strong and definite shadows. Finally, some fish
just prefer the bright and the loud colours. This
would include fish such as Pollack. A bright orange
or red is also more easily seen in the deeper
water where Pollack are normally found. |
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SIZE
should
be much larger than freshwater fly fishing as
it needs to simulate a small baitfish rather than
a fly.
The optimum fly size in the UK would be 2-3 inches
long. |
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DESIGN
Often
designed just like our regular hokkai lures which
act in the same way ie. to imitate small baitfish.
A
saltwater fly is attempting to imitate small
fry or baitfish such as Sandeels, rather than
an actual fly, as is the case in freshwater
fishing. There are many other types of saltwater
fly but we recommend this as a good place to
start. The design of the fly would therefore
be long and sleek tied on a long shanked hook
with silver tinsel fibres. These flow in the
water imitating the sandeel's streamlined and
fast swimming action. Your rod action in controlling
the fly will really make this design come to
life so some guidance or lessons are definitely
recommeded. The only other design I would like
to mention here is the popper style surface
fly which has a definite bulky, flat head on
it for creating surface water turbulence. Recommended
for Bass.
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EYES
can make all the difference - eyes always attract
more bites!
If your fly doesn't already have eyes on it
then I would definitely recommend adding some.
Fish are particularly attracted to large eyes
and the more realistic the better. You can either
paint them on using special lure paint or you
can buy lure eyes which just attach easily into
place. We have found a definite need for them
ourselves so we have chosen to stock some stick
on eyes which are a whole lot more convenient
than painting them on. Take a look here at some
stick on eyes in the tackle shop. Alternatively
if you chose to paint them on, paint a large white
background circle and then use either black or
red in the centre for a pupil. |
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HOOK
A good sharp hook is always essential but even
more so in fly fishing than in regular sea fishing...
Fly rods generally have very soft tips as they
are built primarily to facilitate continual casting
and retrieval. Unfortunately though, this means
that when a fish takes the bait the striking power
of the rod is dramatically reduced and you are
relying heavily on the hook doing the work. An
supremely sharp hook will mean few lost fish.
Hook size depends on the size and species of fish
you are likely to be targeting in just the same
way as in regular sea fishing. A size 6 is fine
for Garfish but a size 2/O would be necessary
for a shore Bass. If you want to tie your own
flies then both Mustad and Kamasan have some great
hooks for this purpose such as the Mustad 3282
Aberdeen with a long shank or a Kamasan B175 with
turned down eye. |
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Boat
