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Help on saltwater fly outfit


Pugs

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As much as I do enjoy fly fishing with traditional gear will readily try any method that will take fish. Yes I will have to admit to using the good old bubble float with a fly on the end. Reckon I can lob it approx 70/80 yds with my 12 foot salmon spinning rod. Have just been tying up some new "flies" - 6" long sandeel imatations on a 4/0 hook. Not quite purist material. Will let you know if the bass and pollack are partial to them.

 

 

Fishing digs on the Mull of Galloway - recommend

HERE

 

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Me when I had hair

 

 

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy

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Ref the mountain goat dimension. Point 2 from Mark.

 

 

I have had success from shingle beaches. However whenever marks are recommended to me including those in publications, I either read, or find out on arrival that some scramble down a cliff or over seriously high rocks is necessary, even if the destination is some secluded sandy cove, so I have to turn around and go back. Its a factual observation that Mark is not qualified to challenge as he has not been with me.

 

I did not offer advice but made an observation based upon my experience. So thats that sorted.

 

 

Closeness to River Trouting.

 

A personal opinion that did not constitute advice.

 

Most of my spinning/lure work involves swinging a food source imitation around in the current, allowing to sink then moving it again. So thats that criteria put to bed.

 

The yellow thing the 6lb bass has taken does nothing to alter my opinion.

 

However saltwater fly fishing, like Pike fly fishing, is fun and a challenge due to the additional constraints it allows to impose upon our selves.

 

Stripping small shrimp imitations back through weed or along the edge of weed does work for Coalfish, Codling and Sea Trout. So this is sound advice for the venues I fish.

 

As for crab flies well as initially indicated I think it was me who got hooked there, but fingers crossed for two weeks time. I do not believe I advocated their use.

 

Now some really good advice always go fishing with expectation. My first attempt a SWFF produced 2 codling and a three coalfish, flies used were crazy charlies :D . First morning of my first attempt for salmon. 1993 was a good vintage !

 

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Tight lines.

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Mal,

 

as i said,i'm sure your words were well meaning

 

of course i can't comment on those marks, but a guess would be that they are places where fish are caught and suggested initially by pluggers or bait fishers rather than actual experienced SW Flyfishers.

 

If you read the plethora of works by American writers such as Tabory, Kreh, Don Phillips or Ed Mitchell, rock marks or shingle beaches feature very little, the focus is on current and structure instead.

 

as to the yellow thing - its actually weed on the line ! the fish was caught with a sparse sandeel pattern of my own design, certainly no bigger than a waddington or tube fly.

 

in regard to the crabs/ shrimps, yes they do work, but as you say thats ' in your ( limited) experience' - my brackets. a newbie to SWFF is much better trying baitfish/eel patterns which is proven to be far more effective in the UK.

 

My general point is that UKSWFF has now over 200 members who are out there every week, using methods and tactics quite alien to your comments, but very similar to my suggestions. i know, i am one of them - if there is a 'book' on UK SWFF the members are literally currently writing it.

 

i'm very pleased you were lucky enough to have a fine salmon on your first trip, but i'd guess you had a good ghillie or someone who knew what they were doing, or had a very good book ( falkus ?) to help you out

 

pugs i figure doesn't.

 

Finally, i'd say that i hope my advice will help you too and maybe with more experience and knowledge you may one day realise that Saltwater Flyfishing has a lot more in common with river trouting than you thought.

 

And to anyone else reading this thread doubting the efficay of SWFF in the UK, several SWFFers i have had the pleasure of meeting (and who post on UKSWFF.com) have had over a 100 wild bass already this year - how many people do you know that have had a 100 truly wild trout or salmon this season ? think about it. then think about how much your fishing costs you.then think about how much it costs them.

 

good luck to all.

 

GB

 

[ 26. July 2004, 11:20 PM: Message edited by: guernseybass ]

www.swff.co.uk - Guernsey Saltwater Fly Fishing

 

Member of B.A.S.S. - www.ukbass.com

 

Member of NFSA www.nfsa.org.uk

 

"better to have fished and lost than never fished at all "

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Guernseybass thank you for your comments about my earlier post re seawater fly fishing. You comments to ignore me I feel I need to answer. Firstly I was speaking to somebody who is now fishing generally in the North of Scotland.

Secondly we do not catch mullet or bass up here in any numbers at all.

We do catch pollack and coalies and I can assure you a 12 " live launce is the way to go for biggies !!

Good luck to you with the salt water fly fishing however I feel I need to point out it is not the most delicate, skilfull or successfull method I have tried. In our neck of he woods is probabaly only recommended in certain locations for seatrout

A bad days fishing is better than a good day at the office. Tight lines all.

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Peter,

 

1 - sorry my apologies, i thought you were talking to Pugs who is in Crawley in the South. Bass are indeed rare in Scotland, but becoming less so every year i believe. I do know there are a couple of Scots SWFFers around, but they mostly focus on power station outlets and as you say sea trout. As to mullet - no-one catches many so far on the fly, they now have their own fishing condition - Mullet Madness.

 

2 - i was actaully referring more to SWFF as practised in England, Ireland, Wales and parts of Europe ( mainly Holland/France/Italy) where methods are being adapted from US North East coast methods, rather than the 'heavy tactics' necessary in your neck of the woods and Denmark/Norway etc for coalies, codling and big pollack.

 

3- as to delicate, skilful or successful - i hope thats a stereotype that will be disproved over time as people become familiar with the discipline.

 

I firmly believe that if you looked into SWFFing fully you'd find it can indeed be all three - sight fishing for bass or mullet in shallow water with light tippets (3lb) and dry flies or small nymphs can be a very delicate business. as for skilful, it takes a lot of skill to read the water well, & SW casting generally requires a fair bit of skill to attain distance in windy conditions with a single handed rod. Successful, i've already addressed - just look at the UKSWFF.com catch reports.

 

I should let you all know where i'm coming from here -i do enjoy using a doublehanded rod to speycast on the Blackwater & Bandon in Ireland, and also C&R flyfishing on English stillwaters for brownies or rainbows. I just think that SWFF should not be considered a poor relation to Trout & Salmon fishing anymore - particularly by those who know very little about it.

 

it would be a bit like me, a self confessed one or two-week-a-year salmon fisherman, telling someone keen to try catching a salmon on the fly - " oh don't bother, you'll need a big heavy rod, heavy lines, you'll stand all day in the river for a week and probably only catch one or two stale fish if you're lucky " not very accurate or encouraging yes ?

 

 

Mark.

www.swff.co.uk - Guernsey Saltwater Fly Fishing

 

Member of B.A.S.S. - www.ukbass.com

 

Member of NFSA www.nfsa.org.uk

 

"better to have fished and lost than never fished at all "

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Hi Peter/Mark,

my comments were based upon the majority of my saltwater fly fishing being done over a period of 10 years in the Northwest Highlands, I go three or sometimes 4 times a year. All the various spots respond to the technique of basic stripping back.

 

Bloody good fun.

 

I will confess that the 1993 trip was a lads trip to celebrate my 30th birthday, primary focus was beer, non of us had clue what we were doing, got the day ticket through pure fluke, when we rang up and found the river was free (got number from the little booket the rod and gun produce) as a let had been cancelled, we purchsed rods and reels from the rod and gun the morning we went fishing. Had not got a clue about salmon any of us, never dreamt we would fish for them, ever.

 

Talking of dreams or should I say nightmare. I am here in the midlands at home with 4 kids, although at work during the day, and she is on the river in scotland :( and has had 48 wild brownies since Monday and has just reported in a nice twelve incher. Mind you I brought her a new rod and reel for her birthday and this is the first time out with it in anger, she dropped it on rocks and has scratched the reel quite badly, so she is not pleased.

 

Tight lines

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Just a comment on the remarks made ref Mullet on the fly.I have found that with Thin Lipped Mullet in estuarys the fly far out fishs bait most days.Cant speak about Thick Lips as I have never tried the fly for them.

My "open" beach fishing would be more akin to reservoir lure stripping.

And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

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Pugs, Ive been playing around for some years trying to get to terms with fly in the salt, seems you started a lot of interest with your querie, I bought a series of cheap rods, all of which I broke,( usually by treating them like boat rods), so I treated myself this year to a more expensive salt/pike 8/9wt rod, and I reckon the expense was worth it , the action, weight and power are better than any cheap rod I had tried, and what is more, the expense was worthwhile if only for the tube it came in. I also picked up an outstanding economical reel the other day , and having read your original querie I did some checking and found that Mike Thrussell also gave it a rave review. so if you havent got a reel yet, get yourself an Okuma airframe check out this site. http://www.worldseafishing.com/reviews/oku...a_flyreel.shtml

 

The reel is available for less than 30quid here:

 

http://www.tackleshop.co.uk/ProductsList/m.../CatName/Fly/v/

 

 

I live in the same area as you, have you tried the mouth of the Cuckmere at Hope gap, at low tide for schoolies, and Seaford Beach for Mackeral, Splash point, and Tidemills for schoolies.

As for ready tied flies, they are thin on the ground in this area, although I was recently in the Cornwall where the shops I checked out all had ready tied bass flies. I have tried tieing my own , but they never seem to catch fish. Ive just ordered a load Ill let you know what they are like when they arrive. If anyone knows a good fly catalogue on line I would appreciate their recommendation .

 

Good luck, maybe Ill see you fishing round here sometime , youll recognise me Im the bloke standing behind a heap of yellow fly line on Seaford Beach.

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For Information on fly fishing for mullet, try these links:

 

http://www.chippyjersey.co.uk/mullet_on_the_fly.htm

 

http://www.hartflyfishing.demon.co.uk/mull...et_fishing.html

 

http://www.mikeladle.com/

 

For general information about mullet, have a look at:

 

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/authors/leon22.htm

 

Tight Lines - leon

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Member of the Angling Trust

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