THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608110225
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
LENGTH: 262 lines
For most of us, fishing with a fly rod probably conjures images of a pristine stream flowing past snow-capped peaks. A rainbow trout rises to the surface only to refuse an artificial lure designed to imitate hatching bugs.
The angler is dressed in chest-high waders and wears a cowboy hat. A wicker creel hangs from his belt, along with a small landing net. Spare flies speckle a patch on his breast.
He works the rushing water with a 9-foot rod, almost as limber as a buggy whip. Gently, he casts and retrieves the floating line and tiny fly. He repeats and repeats, hoping his two-pound adversary will change its mind and take.
Now, take that fly rod, double its strength and move to the next frame, showing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel during the peak of the striped bass season, when rockfish of 25 pounds are commonplace.
Several anglers in small, open boats use their beefy fly rods to work 4-inch streamer flies around the crossing's artificial islands and countless thousands of concrete pilings.
This is the picture of the latest adventure in fishing with a fly rod. It's called saltwater fly rodding and while it really isn't sweeping the country, a la hula hoops, it certainly is making inroads.
More and more tackle shops in Hampton Roads and on the Outer Banks are offering saltwater fly tackle. Fishing guides are increasingly specializing in saltwater fly fishing. And boat dealers are offering more craft expressly designed for the sport.
Many area residents have saltwater fly rods as part of their arsenal. They're pursuing everything from white marlin and yellowfin tuna to speckled trout and spadefish.
And for a variety of reasons.
When Tom Savage, a druggist from Cape Charles, obtained his first saltwater fly rod last year, he had a specific purpose.
``With fishing so restricted by all the recent rules and regulations,'' he said, ``you just can't catch as many fish as you could a few years ago.
``So I figured a fly rod was a way to get more enjoyment out of coming home with less. And I was right. I don't catch a lot of fish with it, but I sure am having a lot of fun.''
Charlie Johnson of Suffolk has a different explanation for his new-found interest in saltwater fly rodding.
``I was looking for a challenge, something to add a little more excitement to my fishing,'' said the retired Lipton Tea Co. executive.
``I've caught a little of everything, from bream to blue marlin. I wanted a new challenge, something that excited me. And saltwater fly fishing excites me.
``I've caught several species on flies, from dolphin to bonefish. You feel like you've really accomplished something, like you've met the challenge.
``But I still have one challenge. I want a tarpon on a fly rod. In fact, I'd love to be the first person to land a Virginia tarpon on one. I've caught tarpon here, but never on a fly.
``So I guess ego is a part of the picture. When you tell other fishermen that you caught this or that on a fly, they're usually impressed.''
Nick Durney of Virginia Beach, just getting into saltwater fly fishing, takes yet another approach.
``What intrigues me most is the presentation,'' he said. ``It's so delicate, not at all the kind of fishing I've always done.
``I've always been a hard charger. I fish for (red) drum with six or eight rods. Same with cobia and tarpon. I really put a lot of effort into my fishing.
``Maybe it's because I'm not a kid any more. I guess I'm trying to slow down a bit. I think a fly rod is a way to do that, to be satisfied with catching less because you make a different presentation.''
Having been a saltwater fly fisherman for almost 30 years, I rarely leave the dock without at least one fly rod in the boat.
I've used it to catch tarpon, bonefish, dolphin, spadefish, speckled trout, gray trout, cobia, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle, ladyfish and even saltwater catfish.
Only the tarpon was impressive in size. Caught and released in the Florida Keys, it probably weighed more than 150 pounds. It's the one catch I don't mind bragging about.
Now, I am not the world's greatest fly caster. I still make mistakes, still wrap the line around my feet. I still get excited when getting ready to throw to a tailing bonefish.
But I learned to fly cast as everyone should, casting, casting and casting in my backyard.
I made all the rookie mistakes before I developed a feel for what I was trying to accomplish.
As a beginner, it isn't necessary to cast 100 feet. Most catches are less than half that distance. It's more important to cast quickly and accurately.
The basic principle of casting any fly line, salt or fresh, is the same as snapping a piece of rope and watching the loop run from one end to the other. The sharper the snap, the smaller the loop, and the farther it will go.
That's all you need to understand. And practice, practice, practice.
Once you've learned to cast, several tricks can lure fish within range.
With dolphin, bluefish, cobia and other species, nothing will get them close faster than chum, such as ground fish. Then the problem is reduced to selecting a fly resembling a piece of chum.
When going for amberjack, the fish can be ``teased'' away from a tower or wreck with a live bait, pulled away just as the excited jack is ready to dine.
This same approach works with billfish, wahoo and other larger offshore species. The boat trolls with hookless baits until a fish is ``raised'' and excited. Then a streamer or popper is quickly substituted for the bait.
This means devoting the entire effort to catching a fish on a fly. You can't use a fly rod when everyone else on the boat is trying to get a billfish on a ballyhoo. Nor can you fly rod an amberjack when others are trying to hook one on a live bait.
The bottom line is that saltwater fly fishing on a bouncing boat at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a long way from standing in the icy waters of a mountain stream.
But the two do have something in common. Freshwater fly fishermen are always trying to offer an artificial lure that resembles whatever bugs may be hatching on a stream.
In selecting saltwater lures, you should always try to present a popper or streamer that resembles what the fish are feeding on. It's known as ``matching the hatch.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
BOB HUTCHINSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Charlie Johnson of Suffolk displays a spadefish and the fly rod he
used to pull it from around a Chesapeake Bay structure.
Graphics
TACKLE TALK
You don't have to take out a second mortgage to launch your
career as a saltwater fly rodder.
While it's easy to spend more than $1,000 for a top-of-the-line
outfit, you can get started with a $30 reel and a $40 rod.
You'll spend at least $30 for a fly line. And the ``backing,''
the 200 or so yards of 20-pound test dacron most reels hold under
the fly line, will be another $6.
That's a total of $106. Not bad, so far.
You'll need some flies, or lures, and there's no limit to what
you can spend.
A balsa popping bug can cost as little as $2. A Deceiver is about
$3, same as a Clouser. These are three of the most popular
offerings. On the high end, a crab-like fly can run $8 or $10.
Selecting a ``matched'' outfit, a rod, reel and line which work
together, once was a complicated matter. It involved a confusing
size-identification system of letters of the alphabet, such as HGH
or HFG.
No longer.
Today, all components are identified by numbers ranging from 1
(the lightest) to 15 (the heaviest).
Most saltwater fly fishermen use outfits between No. 7 and No.
15, with a No. 10 a good all-around compromise.
Remember, other that the weight and species targeted, determining
factors in size selection will be the weight of the flies you want
to cast and the wind velocity.
A No. 7 would be ideal for tossing small Clousers and Deceivers
for speckled trout, flounder, gray trout, small bluefish, small
dolphin, Spanish mackerel, croaker and school striped bass.
A No. 8, No. 9 or No. 10 will work well on epoxy flies, streamers
and small poppers for bonefish, permit, spadefish, dolphin of 10
pounds and up and bluefish of 10-15 pounds.
For tarpon, red drum, cobia, bluefish above 15 pounds, amberjack,
yellowfin tuna and school-size bluefin tuna, where larger streamers
are required, select a No. 12, although you can get by with a No.
11.
But you'll need a No. 15 if you're targeting billfish, yellowfin
tuna over 60 pounds or bluefin tuna over 60 pounds on big flies,
including larger streamer/poppers.
Regardless of the outfit, the reel should contain at least 100
yards of backing for fish up to 10 pounds, 200 yards for bigger
targets and 250 yards for billfish and big tuna. If you're after
bonefish, which rarely exceed 12 pounds, 200 yards of 20-pound is a
minimum.
All reels have built-in friction drag systems. Some are
anti-reverse, others direct-drive, meaning the handle turns backward
when a fish is taking line. Most experienced hands opt for the
latter.
HOOKING HAVENS< Where are the best spots for saltwater fly
fishing?
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Striped bass can be caught on
flies all along the crossing. The best action is after dark and the
best season is October through December. Spanish mackerel and small
bluefish can also be targeted in tide rips around the two tunnels.
Coastal buoys, towers, wrecks. Amberjack love these structures
and can be taken on both streamer flies and surface poppers from
early summer through early autumn.
Lynnhaven Inlet, Virginia Beach. Flounder can be taken on sinking
lines worked around the mouth of the inlet from spring through late
fall.
Grass flats of Eastern Shore bayside, Pamlico Sound and Lynnhaven
Inlet. You'll find speckled trout in the shallows throughout this
area, although 1996 does not promise to be a memorable season.
Offshore beds of floating Sargasso grass. Dolphin concentrate
around these beds, as well as floating debris, from spring into mid
autumn.
Outer Banks surf. Several of the biggest bluefish taken on fly
tackle have been victimized during the November runs in the surf,
especially in the Nags Head area.
Lower Chesapeake Bay. Wherever you find them, cobia can be
suckers for surface poppers and streamer flies, especially when a
free-swimming fish follows a hooked one to the surface.
Magothy Bay and Smith Inlet (Eastern Shore) and Hatteras and
Ocracoke inlets (Outer Banks). Several red drum have been taken on
flies here in springtime, when the fish school in shallow water.
Open waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Small popping bugs and
streamers will produce wherever you can find schools of bluefish and
stripers near the surface, usually in the fall.
LINGO LIST
Like golfers, bridge players and anyone else who follows or plays
a game, fly rod fishermen have a lingo all their own.
Here are some of the expressions you're likely to hear:
False casting: Making a couple of casts, forward and backward, to
gain line speed and get some additional distance on your final cast.
Backcast: Lifting the line off the water and tossing it over your
shoulder before making another forward cast.
Double-hauling: Using your spare hand to pull on the line during
false casts, again to increase line speed for a longer cast.
Mending: Stripping line off the reel after a cast to keep the fly
in the area you want to cover, such as the center of a flowing
stream or close to some structure.
Running line: Another name for the dacron backing on the reel
under the fly line.
On the reel: Indicates that any extra fly line around your feet
has cleared the rod tip and the running line is now going through
all the guides after a running fish has been hooked.
Level line: A fly line of equal size and weight throughout its
length. Like most fly lines, the length usually is between 82 and
105 feet.
Saltwater taper: A fly line that's tapered to provided extra
weight at the shooting end for longer casts.
Sinking tip: A fly line with a sinking metal-core in the first 10
feet, allowing it to be fished under the surface.
Deep-water express: A complete metal-core line, usually 30 feet
long, which can sink the fly as fast as 9 1/2 inches a second.
Leader: The clear monofilament between the fly and the end of the
fly line. It's usually stepped down, in 3-foot lengths, of 40- to
30-pound test to the trace/tippet.
Trace: The lightest part of the leader, which determines what
weight-class you're fishing, such as 12-pound. For record
consideration, this must be at least 15 inches between knots.
Tippet: A heavier piece of monofilament, even wire, between the
trace and fly for tooth-abrasion protection. This must not be more
than 12 inches between knots.
RETAIL DETAILS
Numerous retail outlets in Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern
North Carolina offer saltwater fly rodding equipment.
They range from large sporting goods stores to small specialty
shops and conventional bait-and-tackle shops.
But only one outlet in the area is devoted almost exclusively to
equipment for the growing recreation. It's the Outer Banks Fly
Angler in the Pirate's Quay shopping center on U.S. 158 By-Pass in
Nags Head.
Among other places in the area, you'll find saltwater fly tackle:
Sandy Point Tackle, Colley Avenue, Norfolk.
Lighthouse Tackle, 2511 Granby St., Norfolk.
The Sports Authority, Janaf Shopping Center, Norfolk.
Virginia Beach Sports, intersection of Witchduck and Virginia
Beach Boulevard, Virginia Beach.
Anglers Lab Outfitters, an Orvis store, Hilltop area, Virginia
Beach.
Cap'n Marty's Tackle Shop, on the By-Pass, Nags Head.
Red Drum Tackle Shop, Highway 12, Buxton-on-Hatteras.
TI's Bait & Tackle, on the By-Pass, Kill Devil Hills.
Kitty Hawk Kites, on the By-Pass, Nags Head.
KEYWORDS: FLY FISHING by CNB