So I am going to venture into the world of saltwater fly fishing. I have experience freshwater fly fishing and even more experience traditional saltwater fishing, but have never taken a fly rod to saltwater. I have some questions:
I will be primarily targetting redfish; should I get floating or sinking fly line?
I was thinking 7/8 wt reel with 80 yards of 20lb backing. Is that on target?
What kind of leader/tippet should I get for salt?
Thanks for the help. Looking forward to pursuing these fish on the fly.
Thanks for the info. I have an 8 wt rod that I use for bass fishing and was hoping to use it in the salt. I also have some hand-me-down martin saltwater fly reels (one is 7/8 wt and the other is 9/10 wt). Is this OK to get me started or should I make an investment in a better outfit? I wanted to use the gear I already had just because the fly-line/backing/flies are a significant investment alone.
Jay,
your reel should be fine, just take extra care to rinse it off thoroughly after each usage, or put in back of toilet overnight. i use a 9ft 20lb fluoro. leader all year except late winter when i go to 16 ft to 10lb. if you buy a 9ft. leader, cut the end 2-3ft. off, put a no-slip mono loop in end, you can use the same leader for a year by looping on new tippet whenver needed. if you ever have any more questions let me know, always glad to hear that people are flyfishing.
Could I just buy a big roll of fluro and tie it straight to my fly line and tie the fly directly onto the leader, never using a tippet?
I would love to get out ther with you to pick up some pointers on presentation, fly selection, and such. I see you guys cruising around NI on the weekends. Considering the fact that guides don’t like to show local boys their holes, we could just fish my NI holes. I would just like to cut down on the “learning time.”
Your gear should work fine. The biggest difference between fresh and salt water fishing is the distance you’ll sometimes need to cast. Up in the grass, even that isn’t a big issue.
I only use my fly rod when sight fishing so I use floating line. I switch to spinning gear for blind casting.
Some folks use 7 wt. gear. Most use 8 wt. Don’t worry too much about backing because spottails rarely get you too far into the backing However, you want enough backing (or filler) so that your fly line fills the reel. A full reel takes up more line per crank than a half full reel, the line will have less loop memory, and the drag pressure is less consistent as you get closer to the arbor. You don’t need a high dollar reel for spottails. You can get away with using a reel with no drag if it’s got an exposed rim. Corrosion resistance is more important than the drag.
I prefer manufactured tapered leaders. Knotted leaders snag on grass more easily. 9 ft 10# is fine and you can get away with much shorter, especially in the grass. Spottails aren’t particularly leader shy so you don’t really need a super light tippet.
Here is some food for thought for your upcoming trip to Charleston. If you are not use to casting into the wind you may want to pick up a tropical weight forward floating 9 weight line for your 8 weight rod. Just make sure you have enough backing to fill the spool. For what it’s worth I’d rather have a larger reel with more capacity as opposed to a smaller reel just in case you get into a big one along the jetties or inlet however for most inshore sight fishing applications you will rarely get into your backing if you drag is set properly. As for you fly line most any salt water taper as well as any bone fish or tarpon tapers will work just stay away from the east cost cold water striper lines, they won’t work very well in the heat and humidity. As for your leaders keep it simple and go with a premade factory tapered mono leader just make sure it’s big enough to turn over your flies and land quietly, anything in the 10 to 20 pound class that 8 to 12 foot should work just fine. In my book for for most mid atlantic and south eastern inshore fishing applications bite tippets are totally optional and not necessary however it it’s prerigged I would not hesitate to tie one on just remember that accuracy and presentation will get you bit more often this time of year than distance so get something that you are comfortable with and confident chucking. Rio, Scientific Angler and Orvis all make good stuff for what it’s worth there is not much need to go with the FC stuff unless the water gets super clean and the fish get leader shy which is not likely to happen this time of year. Most of your fishing is going to be sight casting to structure on low tides or chasing tailing fish on the grass flats at high tide if you can find them. Your other option is to hit the inlets, jetties, creeks and cust an look for nervious water and baitfish. If you can hit it right and catch them on a blitz it’s a blast if you don’t you will be better off in the creeks and on the flats just make sure that you are fishing moving water. Up or do