Fly fishing...Help.

[driftwood]

Hi there... Been thinking about taking up fly fishing lately. Does anyboady have any experience they want to share? What kind of set up do i need? Been watching this video to get me started. Your help is very much appreciated.

[robmandel]

I assume you're interested in fly fishing off the yak.

you'll need one to two basic outfits: an 8wt and a 10wt.

rod - I like the TFO TiCR or TiCRX rods. Fast action, tremendous casting power and fish fighting. not the most subtle or prettiest rods, but awesome SW rods and a good deal at around $225 to $250. lots of good sticks in that price range

reels - something that will hold 200yds of backing plus line. I have a lamson konic which I really like, goes for about $130. also, good redington reels in that price range. you'll need something with a pretty good drag, btut mostly look for a sealed drag. you'll need a second spool.

lines - first line you need is a fast sinking line. I use the RIO outbound T14, but there's other pretty fast sinking lines. you'll need something that can get down deep relatively quickly. second line you'll need is an intermediate sink for surface/subsurface fishing. a floating line might seem better but an intermediate line sinks slowly and allows more options. the intermediate line is not necessary, only a bonus.

leaders - nothing fancy. I just tie on a 1' 30-40lb butt section and then a 2' 20lb, then a 2' flouro leader 10-15lb. I use the perfection loops on the end and loop the loops together.

flies - lots of fancy SW flies but really, that's fluff. primary fly is a clouser minnow size 2 - 2/0. colors should be usual: olive/white, chart/white, blue/white, orange/tan, etc. bait fish colors usually, though I like to tie some to match favorite swimbait colors, like xmas tree. other than taht, shrimp imitations like a borski slider or bunny shrimp. but you don't need to make hte flies all technical and fancy. screw the deer hair on the borski and use rootbeer ersatz. works all the same. I tie most with a loop weedguard.

the fishing part - this is the trickiest of all. really. a fast sinking line goes down about 8-9 ips, which is great but in 30' of water will take at least 45 seconds to hit bottom. sometimes I add a small bullet weight in front of the fly. if there's good water movement, or wind, you'll drift way past your line by the time it gets down. guys I ff with will use flippers and sit sideways and flipper the kayak sorta like a float tube. works kinda decently but if you've got a bigger yak, really tough. so sometimes you have to cast and use the paddle to manuever while your line sinks. flippers work better for me in the harbors. also the water's shallower which helps.

the techniques are a little different fly fishing than regular tackle. but lots are the same. I like to play with the fly rod in the kelp and wish in between the stringers, on the edges, etc. also, inside the kelp line. I try to keep in under 40ft of water but sometimes you gotta fish deeper. the fly rod would be great around the boiler rocks.

a tip: when you get hit, don't set the hook with the rod. not gonna happen. strip, strip, strip. then fight the fish with the butt of the rod. almost point the tip at the fish. top half will do nothing for the fight.

start out in the harbors and learn the routine before you head offshore. lemme know if you have any other questions.

[rodbuilder]

Try san diego flyshop in solana beach they have what you need for the budbet minded angler. Morgan and jeff fly fish from kayaks