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Thread: Trout fisherman trying the salt

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
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    Default Trout fisherman trying the salt

    So I have been fly fishing for freshwater for a long time (relatively). But since I live on Long Island (NY) I figure, why not catch some of those local stripes?
    Any advice on what I need to do/learn/buy to get started?
    Also, any local advice would be much appreciated.
    Thanks.

  2. #2

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    You will need a 9' 9wt rod with full sinking line (I prefer 350gr) and a reel that holds 200+ yards of backing. A stripping basket and to get started a few Clousers and deceivers.
    The man who coined the phrase "Money can't buy happiness", never bought himself a good fly rod!

  3. #3
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    Us freshwater flies also need to learn to strip set the hook rather than raising the rod tip as soon as we have a hit

  4. #4
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    A full sink line would not be my first choice. I use one but only when there a need to cut through a heavy wind , like over 20 knots
    Most people fish intermediate lines when wading. I'm a floating line guy myself as I feel that you have better line control, but that's a minority opinion.
    Your reel doesn't need to be all that fancy either and I don't think that one of my saltwater reels has more than 150 yards of backing. There's almost no chance that you would ever need more, and if you ever did, it would be quite a story.
    You will need a hook file, not just a stone. Wire leader material for bluefish and some kind of corrosion resistant pliers for extracting hooks from said bluefish.
    Blue fish are mean. They will bite you on purpose and they have very sharp teeth.
    You can buy a stripping basket or make one as easily as attaching a bungee cord to a Rubbermaid wash tub. There's a lot about this on the web.
    Deceivers and Clousers are fine to start with.
    If you tie your own there's a lot of simple flies you could go with. The Brooks Blonde bucktail makes for a good sand eel when tied sparse and the Tabory snake fly makes for an easy topwater, wide profile fly.
    There's actually a number of good fly options right here in the archives of FAOL
    Last edited by dudley; 03-06-2013 at 10:42 PM.
    The simpler the outfit, the more skill it takes to manage it, and the more pleasure one gets in his achievements.
    --- Horace Kephart

  5. #5
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    There's quite a few good books on the northeast saltwater fishery that you may be interested in.
    Fly Rodding the Coast by Ed Mitchell is probably my favorite, but you wouldn't go wrong with Inshore Fly Fishing by Lou Tabory either
    I recently got a copy of Saltwater Naturals and their Imitations by George Roberts Jr, but haven't read it yet. As I remember he's a Long Island guy too.
    The simpler the outfit, the more skill it takes to manage it, and the more pleasure one gets in his achievements.
    --- Horace Kephart

  6. #6
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    dudley covered most of what you will need to start.

    Hint.......watch for flocks of seabirds diving

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by okflyfisher View Post
    Us freshwater flies also need to learn to strip set the hook rather than raising the rod tip as soon as we have a hit
    Okay fellow Okie...Why? I see it on TV...I read it on boards...And I've read where a guy couldn't get into fish until he did this. Why is our freshwater "life the rod" or cross their eyes hook sets not productive? Even with spinners and bait casting with see them keeping rod low and reel and snapping to side on hooksets.

    I am in no way arguing the technique as I've seen and read enough to know this is accepted as the way to go, but I just wonder why our fresh water techniques are not productive in getting and keeping a hook in saltwater fish. I know from years of bass fishing that when I started fly rodding again for trout I missed a whole lot of fish trying to set too hard and was pulling the small hook right out of their mouths but saltwater uses big hooks and flies so that shouldn't relate to tiny 18 and smaller flies for trout.

  8. #8
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    The fish and hooks are bigger so it is harder to get good hook penetration.
    The casts are typically longer which compounds the issue above
    Another reason is if you lift the rod to strike and miss hook up you have pulled the fly away from the fish and you may not get another shot. If you strip set and miss hookup the fly is still in the water near the fish and another strip may get the fish.
    once you strip and fell solid weight you can lift the rod

  9. #9
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    I totally agree with okflyfisher. That's why also set the hook with a strip.

    Beaver

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by vicrider View Post
    Okay fellow Okie...Why? I see it on TV...I read it on boards...And I've read where a guy couldn't get into fish until he did this. Why is our freshwater "life the rod" or cross their eyes hook sets not productive? Even with spinners and bait casting with see them keeping rod low and reel and snapping to side on hooksets.

    I am in no way arguing the technique as I've seen and read enough to know this is accepted as the way to go, but I just wonder why our fresh water techniques are not productive in getting and keeping a hook in saltwater fish. I know from years of bass fishing that when I started fly rodding again for trout I missed a whole lot of fish trying to set too hard and was pulling the small hook right out of their mouths but saltwater uses big hooks and flies so that shouldn't relate to tiny 18 and smaller flies for trout.
    This is a little late of a reply.

    You always want to wait until you feel the weight of a fish to really set the hook, because as you mentioned above you can easily pull a fly away from a fish setting the hook on visible take, no matter what you are fishing for. Whether it's with fly gear or conventional gear.

    There is a little exercise you can perform with a friend that demonstrates why you want to strip strike instead of just lifting the rod to set the hook.Hold the the end of the leader in your hand and have a friend on the rod 30-50 feet away. Have him lift the rod to set the hook with varying amounts of force, then have him strip strike. The amount of force you receive on your end at the leader won't be close. Fly rods don't have good stiffness to set the heavier more difficult to penetrate salt water class hooks, no matter how much backbone the manufacturer claims is built into the rod. Fly rods are good at protecting light tippets not driving hooks home into the bony mouths of many saltwater fish. Strip strikes take the softness of the rod out of the equation when it comes to hooking fish. In fresh water it is not as much of a big deal seeing as the hooks tend to be much smaller and penetrate much easier. Not to mention a hard strip strike in fresh water will pop the lighter leaders typically associated with fresh water tactics.

    Always check your hooks and keep a file handy. That will aid tremendously in hook setting. Unless the hooks are chemically sharpened most hooks , brand-new out of the box will need some TLC with a file to get them really sticky sharp.
    Last edited by Micropteris; 10-14-2013 at 02:33 AM.
    Your hooks sharp????

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