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Hello, Merry Xmass & a Happy new year to you all from Sydney Australia.
I am just about to get into fly fishing & was wondering if you can answer a few small questions.
I just recieved one of the greatest gifts, a G Loomis F1088 GLX 2 piece 9ft 8wght, how do i go about balancing & fitting it out with a reel for fresh & saltwater?
Eg: what kind of reel, reel weight & size, backing, line weight, leader ??? And what other gear will i be needing ??
I have been learning to cast with a friends out fit in the local park & trying to get it into a bucket, but ill get in soon, not bad for a beginner.
Casting in a park takes me back to when I started out. How the wheel turns. An old man (70+) intervened while I was battling it out and he showed me the ropes. I spose now it's my turn to repay the favour. Park casting has gotta be the best way to learn, although I still maintain that when I'm fishing and there are no fish around I keep telling myself I am practising my casting. Personally lose the bucket and use the lid from a frying pan turned upside down, it's flatter and easier to hit when you get your cast right.
While doing this you should be using a piece of wool tied to the end of your leader, and not practising with a fly on the end, the fly just snags unnecessarily.
The adventure of gearing up can keep your family busy for years with Bday and Xmas ideas, or it could bankrout you overnight - depends how much you want and how quickly.
* Loomis - great rod
* 8wght - good for heavier fishing applications like large still waters, estuaries, and surf. Will tame jacks if they are allowed to run 9not that they give you much choice)
* Balancing and fitting - most reels indicate the weight they are designed for (best to speak to a reputable tackle dealer in your area) -
* Fresh and Saltwater use -
1a) If you are to use the reel for both applications try and get the best quality reel you can afford. The salt can be very unforgiving, and a reel that is easier to clean and maintain should be your first prize.
1b) Consider getting spare spools to allow you to change lines from sinking to intermediate and floating to allow you to get into the right feeding zone depending on the conditions
2)Line weight - to suit (8 or you can go one weight higher)
3) Backing - usually braided DACRON or other brand - weight (15-20lb)
4)Leader - varoius combinations - a rule of thumb I use is in fresh water to use one piece of mono - 3lb - 6 lb test, In Salt however I go the full monty and use my own tied up Leader, Class Tippet, Shock Tippet, all tied with allbrights - so far I've been OK. I use to use the bimini but found it overkill for shore based fishing. Any good knot book / flyfishing book will have a good diagram on this.
5) Other gear - Flies perhaps (for when you leave the Park), and for the salt I wouldn't go without my trusty line tray / stripping basket
6) Learning to cast - I spent some extra pocket money in my earlier days and got casting lessons from someone to teach me the "double haul" - money well spent.
I hope it's useful and that I've been able to in some way re-pay the kindness of an old man
[smiley=stunned.gif]
Hi Mike,
Firstly thanking you kindly for the reply & your kind words.
I have posted this Q in a few other forums & all i had was smart ass replies (no help at all)
Now i feel like you when the old man helped you.
Secondly, budget is not an issue as i only buy quality. I mainly fish Big Game offshore & have spent thousands, this is why i was given the heavier fly rod as they though right, I love big fish.
In the past 2 months i have been studying the art of fly fishing & growing keener by the day.
Ok, the bucket is gone & i have just stollen my wifes frying pan lid
I had a look at some reels today & tell me what you think?
Ross, Hardy, Tibor, Bauer, Abel : just to mention a few, expensive but buying right the first time is priority for me.
In 4 weeks time i will be going with a couple of friends to north Queensland to take on some Big barra, hope all this pays off.
If there is anything else that comes to mind please educate me
Life is amazing..sorry to everyone else out there but jimfisher can't PM yet, so read on if you like.
I on the other hand have just started out deap sea fishing and am all thumbs at the moment, just bought the boat, got the tackle, presently studying for my Skippers, and now I'm battling trying to read up on the difference between jigs, rigs, sabiki baits, live vs lures, drifting vs trolling - If you're into fishing I suppose one form will never be enough.
Your Q about reels:
I fish a Ross Cimmaron IV - exceptional reel, and good for my 8, 9 and 10 weight rods. I also have an Orvis Saltwater for my 12 wt.
I don't know the Bauer. The little I know of the Hardy is that you pay handsomely for their reputation and their success came from fresh water rods and reels - so I can't really offer good advice in that regard.
As for the Tibor and Abel - Both excellent reels - Just bear in mind the simplicity of cleaning the reels compared to the Ross.
Of course you should be checking the disc braking system, and drag - preferably cork
If you are going to be targeting sailies, and the like on fly you may want to start thinking already about gearing up to a 12 wt. Dorado up to 20 kg however will still be landed on 8 wt rod.
Then your next consideration should be your line set up.
Shooting head or Weight forward Taper (Good brand in SA is the Tarpon Taper)
The shooting head is my personal favourite choice.
Not quite sure of the dimensions but approx 2/3 of a full fly line is used as your head, attached to running line (level weight fly line - full length) - I have never understood the concept of a level weight myself, but in an emergency I used a 5 wt line as running line on a 10wt outfit and it was perfectly balanced.
The shooting head is aerialised during casting, and when the rod has loaded, the final "haul" is made, and all the running line is pulled from the line tray 'shooting' through the rod eyes.
The running line in turn is connected to backing.
The nice thing about a shooting head set up is you can get away with one spool when starting out. You can have heads made up in floating, sinking and intermediate combinations, and change your head using loop to loop joins (large loops are required so you can fit the loop over your reel , or the line holder).
One thing to be aware of is memory (coiling in the fly line) if a line is stored for too long or wound against it's natural coil it will develop memory and the colis will not twist out - this is also true of trolling a fly line behind a boat - BEWARE - it's an unnecessary cost. Deep Sea flyfishing is about casting into bait balls, feeding frenzies - Bloody good fun - over reefs, when fish have been spotted on the sounder, or casting to sighted fish that have been teased to the surface. DON't BE TEMPTED TO TROLL YOUR FLY (In the purist fashion its not sporting - if you can call saltwater flyfishing a purist form of the sport at all - but I do)
Barra on Fly - I get confused with fish names being in SA - I assume you mean Barracuda - The teethy Critters.
One can cast a flyline with piano wire - if it's for the fishing fun great, but if it's for the record books, no wire is allowed per IGFA - up tp you.
Either way, I'm sure you'll get there - it's in your blood.
On the wand waving issues. Made the jump myself about three years back. The slightly more expensive stuff is worth the money in the long run. A decision you will have to make is weather the life time guarentee is worth the extra money. I know of one rod manufacturer where there is a 40% difference in price between models with and without the life time guarentee. The technology used in the manufacturing of both models is exactly the same. While I was in their store, a guy walked in with a rod that was damaged by a tortoise in the Seychelles. They laughed about it, gave him a replacement there and then and he was out the door in less than 10 minutes.
Do you want that kind of service, or are you willing to run the gauntlet of car doors, ceiling fans and monster fish?
Is an 8 weight heavy enough? Mate, you can go and catch marlin with the thing if you feel like doing that. Just make sure that you are very fit when you go and try that and that you have plenty of backing on the reel. I know guys who catch bonefish on 4 weights using good quality trout reels. The fight is longer, and you have to know what you are doing. The reels need a bit more attention at the end of the day, but they do the job.
When choosing a reel, have a look at the size of the drag. Pick the one with the largest cork drag you can afford.
When chasing sailies and other big critters, you will need space to get a palm on the reel.
Stay away from any reel that sits loose in its mountings when you take it out of the box.
How easy is it to open the thing for service.
How easy is it to change spools?
Can you get spare spools for the reel?
Do you get a spare drag disk with it, if not, how easy is it to get a replacement?
How much backing does it take? If it is in the region of 200 meters, then spend the extra money and get gelspun backing. (Smaller diameter for same breaking strength = more line on spool)
Take your rod to the shop and check the balance when you put the reel on.
Lastly, make sure that the minister of war and finance knows what you are up to. Do not under any circumstances arrive at home with something new that you blew the kids' university fund on........ there is no amount of browny points that will get you out of that one mate.
Have fun and don't forget to post the pictures when you land a big one.
The stripy is a tad under 100lbs & taged by my father a stubban fit 69 year old Greek which took him 2hrs & 6 beers with the help of the boat ofcourse, off the coast of Kona Hawaii, & not once he let me take charge to give him a rest.
Typical Greek.
Now on Fly,
i dont wnt to chase Monster fish on fly as i do that anyway with big game gear now. Smaller saltwater palegics is fine
Im getting into fly because of the responce i have had from others, just being away in the bush on weekends alongside banks, rivers for trout bass etc;
This is why i was after info for both application even if i have to buy a few reels.
The stripy is a tad under 100lbs & taged by my father a stubban fit 69 year old Greek which took him 2hrs & 6 beers with the help of the boat ofcourse, off the coast of Kona Hawaii, & not once he let me take charge to give him a rest.
Typical Greek.
Just an addition for my father: "A good rule of angling philosophy is not to interfere with any fisherman’s ways of being happy, unless you want to be hated."
Now on Fly,
i dont wnt to chase Monster fish on fly as i do that anyway with big game gear now. Smaller saltwater palegics is fine
Im getting into fly because of the responce i have had from others, just being away in the bush on weekends alongside banks, rivers for trout bass etc;
This is why i was after info for both application even if i have to buy a few reels.
Stubborn parents, got to love them. Stubborn selfish parents who want to fight a fish by themselves, now that is unforgivable
The advice given by others who are more in the know basically says it all. I just reread Mikes posting, and he basically said it all.
Have fun with the shopping. How my wife can spend a day in a shopping mall goes beyond me. I on the other hand can spend a whole day in just one good tackle shop. It is not my fault they have all this stuff and gadgets in there
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