For the budding fly-rodder, timing is everything.
Fly fishing has continued to rise in popularity, and over the last few years I’ve noticed more and more anglers with fly rods plying the New England coast. While getting into saltwater fishing has its own barriers, the learning curve with saltwater fly-rodding can be even more daunting.
I suspect that there are many more anglers who are interested in fly fishing our coastline who have shied away or lost touch with the sport due to the complexities of the gear and challenges of learning how to fly cast effectively. Luckily, the New England coast offers a multitude of great opportunities to find early success with the fly rod, even if you have no experience fly fishing. I’ll try to provide some helpful pointers here to get you started or back into your fly fishing journey.
Rods & Reels
Choosing an appropriate fly rod and reel can be extremely confusing with the huge number of options available today. If you have any friends who are seasoned pros, seeing their complex arsenal might give you pause about where to even start when searching for your first setup. For this reason, I highly recommend going into one of the numerous fantastic fly shops in our region to solicit their advice. With the technology in rods, reels, and lines constantly evolving, you’ll oftentimes be able to find discounted gear from a previous year at these shops. The knowledge of their staff is an invaluable resource when it comes to selecting an appropriate setup within your budget.
Fly rod “weight” is essentially a system that refers to what situations a fly rod is best utilized for. Lower weight rods, like a 3-weight, are often ideal for small trout streams, while offshore anglers may opt for a 14-weight for billfish. Overall, for a budding fly-rodder looking to hook into stripers and bluefish, I’d recommend an 8- or 9- weight rod of 9 feet in length. This is really a ‘jack of all trades’ for saltwater fly fishing and can also be used if you travel to more tropical locations for bonefish, redfish, or snook on vacation.
Fly rods, like spinning and conventional rods, have different actions. While the expensive rods you see advertised may be an excellent choice for experienced casters due to their fast action, they’re generally a poor option for newcomers to the sport. Look for rods with a slower action, which will be more forgiving of casting mistakes as you learn the intricacies of fly casting. Orvis, Redington, TFO, and several other companies make solid beginner combos that include a rod, reel, and floating fly line. These can be a great way to get your first combo without having to buy each component separately.
If you decide to purchase your reel and line separately from the rod, a few additional words of advice. In terms of reels, you really don’t need anything top of the line to begin with. If the reel has a solid drag that won’t stick and is somewhat resistant to saltwater corrosion, it will likely work just fine for your first setup. Stripers and bluefish can generally be handled by any decently constructed reel in the 8- to 9-weight range. When selecting a reel, some companies use a Roman numeral system. Simply look at the product information, and this will tell you what weight rod this corresponds to. For instance, many companies have reels whose Roman numeral model is listed as compatible with both 8- and 9-weight fly rods.
Line “Class”
A whole article could be written about saltwater fly lines. For the beginner, I recommend sticking to a floating fly line to start. Floating lines are generally the easiest to cast and the most versatile. In addition to topwater and subsurface presentations, with proper line management, you can present a fly into deeper areas as well. With fly lines, just like every other part of the setup, there are a variety of options. Out of any part of your first setup, I’d recommend splurging for the mid-level price bracket on your fly line. There are a lot of entry level lines that cast terribly and kink up easily, making casting a chore – exactly what you don’t want when first venturing into the sport.
Expect to spend around $100 for a fly line if you are buying it separately. Rio, Cortland, Scientific Anglers, AirFlo, and Orvis make some of the most popular lines. Once you’ve purchased your fly line, connect it to an appropriate amount of backing to fill your spool on the rear end of the line. On the forward end of the fly line, connect your line to a leader. For the leader, you can generally get away with a 9-foot trace of 15- to 20-pound mono. Alternatively, you can purchase tapered leaders, which turn over more easily on the cast, if you prefer. Consider tying to your fly with a loop knot for an improved swimming action from your flies. A non-slip loop knot is easy to learn and works well.
The Fly Cast
Casting is a complicated topic, but learning to cast effectively enough to catch fish shouldn’t be. While you can spend a lifetime perfecting your cast, the truth of the matter is, countless people have caught their first saltwater fish on the fly minutes after learning how to cast for the first time on the bow of a boat or along the lip of the beach. Don’t let the quest of becoming a perfect caster prevent you from getting out on the water and catching some fish!
With that being said, to refine your casting technique and bring more fish to hand, I recommend attending a class with a local casting instructor. You can oftentimes find an instructor or class through your local fly shop or fishing club. These instructors will help you to learn the basics and take your casting to the next level. YouTube also has a huge number of helpful instructional videos, but an instructor will watch you cast and give you the personal feedback needed to become a more skilled caster. Once you master the basics, I highly recommend learning how to double haul (a specialized type of cast), as this will help you punch into the wind and launch your casts further.
Situations for Success
One of the best ways to get interested in any new type of fishing is with immediate action. To maximize your chances of success with the fly rod, put your fly into high probability situations to start out with – think blitzing stripers, or spots where you know there are consistent bites at certain times of the year. Some of my first fly rod stripers came in the spring in saltwater marshes. This is a great place to start for a beginner. Casting is generally easy, as these creeks and estuaries are often smaller, protected from the wind, and relatively free of obstructions to hang your line up on when casting.
Most of us begin our seasons here anyway, so once you get dialed into a good bite and have had your fill of the smaller early season fish, leave your spinning gear at home and arrive with only your fly rod. Force yourself to fish with just the fly rod for an entire day. You’ll learn exponentially more and won’t have the temptation to pick up your spinning rod if you struggle to hook up initially. Once you land your first fish on the fly rod, regardless of how small that early season schoolie is, you’ll understand the allure of fly fishing and be more likely to stick with it in the future.
For this early season marsh bite, I recommend starting with weighted flies like Half and Halfs and Clousers. Other flies certainly produce too, but fish in these backwaters can be lethargic at times, and throwing weighted flies will allow you to easily get your fly down to where these fish hold in the cold waters of spring. Throwing weighted flies can be challenging initially, as their weight can cause your line to jump during the cast. However, the shorter casts typically required for this fishery make the backwaters a prime place to learn how to deal with the unique challenges of casting weighted flies, which will pay off throughout the year when you turn to these patterns again.
On The Boat
If the marshes aren’t your thing, or you don’t get a chance to try the fly rod here before the fish move out to cooler waters, bring your fly rod with you on early season boat trips. Oftentimes, fresh migrating stripers feed with reckless abandon on small baits, creating high probability blitz conditions. Try to identify what the fish are feeding on and match it as closely as possible in size, profile, and color with an appropriate fly. Try to get upwind or up current with your boat and orient it so your port side is broadside to the blitz (for a right-handed caster). This will put you in good position to deliver a simple forehand cast into the feed. In these conditions, start with a slower retrieve than you would expect. It’s easy to get excited by the action and work your fly too fast initially. Change up your retrieve, experimenting with pauses and the speed until you get a bite.
| FIRST FLIES |
| For flies, I recommend starting with some of the classics. Fill your box with Clouser Minnows, Half and Halfs, Lefty’s Deceivers, small sand eel patterns like Surf Candies, and a few topwater patterns like Bob’s Banger and Gartside Gurglers. These should be enough to get you started and work well in a variety of situations. |
Once you get your casting mechanics and boat positioning down, you may find that you land more fish with the fly rod than you do with a spinning rod. Flies do an excellent job of replicating these early season baits, and with practice, you’ll see that accurately casting a 2-inch fly is an easier proposition than casting a 2-inch lure. And when stripers key in on a size, matching that profile is everything.
Take the cue this season, pick up the fly rod and put yourself in a position where you know you’d be getting hookups with your spinning gear. Once you land your first few fish on the long wand, you may find that it becomes an invaluable and enjoyable tool for you for seasons to come.
