Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - View Single Post

steelhead · 02-01-2004, 04:45 PM

Fly Rod, Great! May sounds good. New moon on about the 19th or so. Just got some of SB's plugs as well. Can't wait to weta line while there are fish around.

Roger, I like fishing with sinking lines, too.There are specific situations where I will use a sinking line in order to fish a certain way or to address a certain situation. But for me, ultimately, a sinking line is less versitile.

I agree that vertical is important and that there are often fish feeding under breaking fish. Sometimes there's a trail of them several hundred yards long feeding on the dead and injured fish down current of where the action is! But, in order to deal with the vertical, you have to address current and how that affects your fly as it passes thru and travels thru the water column. There are all kinds of current around boats. If you are anchored and fishing the rocks, the waves generate current. If you are fishing the beach breaks, the wave action generates current. in both cases, ther is often current running parallel to shore. Even off shore, there are currents. Whether it's from a boat or from shore, if you can read and fish currents, mend line, you can keep your fly in front of feeding fish longer and create more opportunities to catch fish. As far as getting down to the fish. I have done timed tests. A long leader with split shot attached to a floating line will get a fly down to a fish faster than a sinking line. And if there is current, I can mend the line and keep the fly 8' down in the strike zone in front of a fish instead of the current sweeping the fly away as would happen with a sinking line. If I need to get deeper, I use a sink tip and I can still control my line.

As far as casting "upstream" from a boat. If my boat is drifting toward a pod of feeding fish, I can cast "upstream" into a pod of fish and keep my fly suspended in the pod at a specific depth while mending and managing my line as the boat drifts by the fish. At any time, I can easliy pick up the entire line up out of the water and reposition my fly if need be. These are all tried and true saltwater techniques that have been used since the 50's and their roots lie in the rich heritage of trout and salmon fishing, as these were the pioneers of saltwater fly fishing.

Take the time to learn of its heritage and the older proven techniques. I guarantee you, you will catch more fish because you have become a more versitile fisherman. And isn't this what it's all about? Hunting and catching fish!

02-01-2004, 04:45 PM	#10
steelhead Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: North shore Posts: 1,247	Fly Rod, Great! May sounds good. New moon on about the 19th or so. Just got some of SB's plugs as well. Can't wait to weta line while there are fish around. Roger, I like fishing with sinking lines, too.There are specific situations where I will use a sinking line in order to fish a certain way or to address a certain situation. But for me, ultimately, a sinking line is less versitile. I agree that vertical is important and that there are often fish feeding under breaking fish. Sometimes there's a trail of them several hundred yards long feeding on the dead and injured fish down current of where the action is! But, in order to deal with the vertical, you have to address current and how that affects your fly as it passes thru and travels thru the water column. There are all kinds of current around boats. If you are anchored and fishing the rocks, the waves generate current. If you are fishing the beach breaks, the wave action generates current. in both cases, ther is often current running parallel to shore. Even off shore, there are currents. Whether it's from a boat or from shore, if you can read and fish currents, mend line, you can keep your fly in front of feeding fish longer and create more opportunities to catch fish. As far as getting down to the fish. I have done timed tests. A long leader with split shot attached to a floating line will get a fly down to a fish faster than a sinking line. And if there is current, I can mend the line and keep the fly 8' down in the strike zone in front of a fish instead of the current sweeping the fly away as would happen with a sinking line. If I need to get deeper, I use a sink tip and I can still control my line. As far as casting "upstream" from a boat. If my boat is drifting toward a pod of feeding fish, I can cast "upstream" into a pod of fish and keep my fly suspended in the pod at a specific depth while mending and managing my line as the boat drifts by the fish. At any time, I can easliy pick up the entire line up out of the water and reposition my fly if need be. These are all tried and true saltwater techniques that have been used since the 50's and their roots lie in the rich heritage of trout and salmon fishing, as these were the pioneers of saltwater fly fishing. Take the time to learn of its heritage and the older proven techniques. I guarantee you, you will catch more fish because you have become a more versitile fisherman. And isn't this what it's all about? Hunting and catching fish!