saltwater fly angling.

Seaswimmer wrote: »

I am looking for some advice on salt water fly fishing. i come from a sea fishing background (spinning, ground fishing with lugworm ect) but would be interested in starting salt wate fly fishing. i have tried a very small bit of trout fishing with a fly rod and can just about cast. i have a number of questions.

1. can one use an ordinary trout rod.
You can but most trout rods would be undergunned for saltwater fish. You would need at least an 8 wt, good and stiff - preferably tip action. I use a rod that is rated 8/9 and still find that throwing some really big flies is tough so you could easily move up to a 10wt.
2. is the line different for saltwater.
You can get specialist saltwater lines. In most cases you are concerned more with distance and the ability to buck the wind than presentation so shooting heads are a good option. I use a 9wt WF floating line that has a 15ft clear intermediate tip so I can count the flies down until I find what depth the fish are
3. what type of flies do you use. are they bigger and heavier. In a word, yes. Generally unless you are fishing for mullet or bonefish you will be throwing big flies. Sandeel patterns are a good all-around fly.
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4. do you use a standard fly reel.
Usually not - you want a reel that is anodized to resist corrosion and has sufficient backing capacity for the species you're after. For most Irish/UK fish you could use one of the larger trout reels. Whatever you use make sure you rinse it well in fresh water after every use - saltwater really eats reels!
5. What types of fish should i be looking at trying to catch
Bass, Mullet, Pollack/Coalfish, occasionally flatfish. I've had some luck with wrasse on crab flies.
6. What kinds of areas (beach, rock, estuaries ect) would be best.
Anywhere you can safely wet a line - I prefer to fish off the rocks with steep gullies and deep water relatively close. You can get bass amazingly close to shore - often while wading less than knee-deep.

sorry if this has been covered before but i could not easily find a topic...