June 23, 2009 

Welcome to my Fly Fishing World wherever you are in this lovely world of ours.

The aim of my blog is to introduce you and to share with you all the knowledge and experiences that I have in the wonderful world of fly fishing.  I would also like to invite  other fellow fly fishers to  visit and share their own secrets and tips so that others may benefit from them.

The pleasures of fly fishing is not just about fishing, its also about meeting lots of wonderful  people and visiting the many beautiful places in the world where various challenging and enjoyable fishing opportunities awaits you.

I would  also like to use this platform to introduce you to and help you learn fly fishing, gain more information, short cuts and helpful tips that will help you get started  faster and make the learning process easier – and increase your catch rate and pleasure.

Please check back soon …and if you like to leave a comment on what you would like to know about fly fishing – both freshwater and saltwater skills..including tactics, and even destinations informations..and I will do my very best to include them here.

Looking forward to ‘opening a new world of experiences’ to you…

here’s to ‘explosive takes and screeching reels’

cheers

Saltybones

After the long dreadful cold winter it seems that the days are now getting longer and brighter. Most of the days are also getting milder. I recent took a walk by a river nearby and saw that life was just about to start along the banks and the sluggish fishes that were there seems to be more active too.

So, whats on your diary for the Fishing Year 2010? What will you be doing thats a new challenge to add some more demension to your fishing escapade?

Will you be trying out more waters to fish near and far? Will you have different approaches and new flies to experiment with to catch that big wiry Mr Trout or that shy Mr Permit?

Whatever your intentions it is essential that you have plans to first check all your fly gears that had been hanging there in that cold corner. Remember the last day of your trip last late autumn? when you said that you will clean the reels or wash out the bag…etc? Well, the time is now here if you haven’t already done so and it will be time well spent so that when you do get up and go for the first morning’s fishng you will be glad that everything is in order..

So, do spend some time on your gears now before its too late to do so. In my next entry I will list the things that will be on my ‘Things to Do’ and maybe it can help you too.

For now, get all those fishing stuffs out and have a good look at whats there and what needs to be cleaned, oiled, washed, replaced and even discarded(safely).

OK, catch ya later!

OK, so, we are now at the end of 2009,..and what have you done so far to date? Have your fishing days been good or has it been ones that you may want to forget. Do write and share your stories with us.

So, 2009 for me have been quite a pleasant one, where I have been able to get some good fishing , especially in saltwater trips chasing my favourite quarry; the bonefish! I had also a few days of flyfishing for autumn pike and some exciting fishing for exotic fishes in exotic places.

And what will 2010 bring for me? Well, I hope to be able to visit my fishing friends in Sweden and check out his new Pike Fishing Lodge and get some char and grayling fishing in at the same time. Then there’s the opportunities of visiting ‘down under’ Australia and get some burrimundi or GT fishing and who knows even bonefish.

Perhaps I will do some exploratory trips back into asia just for some added new challenges and see whats on offer with a fly rod. And, of course, I will be walking the shores of my favourite secret beaches in the west indies keeping in touch with my big bones!..and not forgetting the tarpons , too!

So, dear friends, Have a good one for 2010 and may you find many wonderful trips to expand your life and take your fly fishing to a greater heights and pleasures.

Tight lines, and long screeching fly reels to you all for 2010…

Wow! its been quite a few months since I started this blog..and I just want to WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS…wherever you are.. and I hope that you and your family will have a great warm time together sharing all the best of loving times…

and for those who just got to get a wet line..and to ??? wish and give ‘thanks’ to the riveers and lakes or seas that had given your some happy times..Enjoy! and maybe toss a xmas pud out to the fish..or sprinkle bits to all those beautiful colourful fishes in gartitude for all the pleasures and the many more to come…

and, for the really lucky ones who manages to get out to sunnier places..and are now walking barefeet on the warm and relaxing sands of any beach..with fly rod in hand and searching the waters for fish..hopefully a giant bonefish…share your joy with us all…and write and tell us about it all…

Best Wishes …until the next time…

Recently, I had the pleasure of fly fishing in Malayasia. Its not a place that I would ideally consider to travel just to fly fish. However, as it was a friend’s family visit, after all the meeting and greetings we were out into the streets in the evening to enjoy the many local food stalls that Malaysia local cuisine was famous for.

The next day, however, we were walking past a local tackle shop and I just could not resist going in just to see whats on for sale. After some exchanges of conversation and I told the dealer about my desire only to fly fish..and any fish I will give a try, he then went on to tell me of the many fishing ponds that were stocked with large Cobias. Needless to say, I eagerly collected all information and we decided to go there the next day to see whats on offer.

The ‘ponds’ were quite large , more like holes that were left behind by sand extraction gravel pits which either became water filled by rain. Here, its different, the site was excavated and then they have pumps that is placed in different places to pump air into the water to keep the water moving and also stopped it becoming too hot or lower the oxygen levels that would be detrimental to the fish held there for the fishermen to catch and release.

I must admit that ‘stock’ ponds is not my kind of fishing anymore, but, Cobia on the fly ; well, I decided to give it a try . After some minutes of trying different colored flies ands sizes I manage to hooked onto a Cobia of about 10 pounds -ish in weight( so I was told by the workers there). It made many runs and pulling power and I must say I did enjoy the treat.

Later after the day’s fishing came to an end, I have to say I had a pleasant day and would returned again another day for more of this ‘fun’ fishing to work the belly after a good feasting at the local street hawkers stalls.

So, isn’t it nice how such a chance visit could bring on an exploratory fly fishing adventure that I wuld had never even thought of. So, now, its back to some plans to return again and investigate more on these fishing ponds, but, this time to also visit some of the rivers there for some ‘real fishing’.

As we now move into november, and the weather is drastically changing- one wonders, ‘So What Now?’.

All those warm and long sunny days are now a thing of the past. The changing autumn with its great fishing seems to be now levelling out. So, What shall we do now? Wading in cold waters may now be not as exciting as some weeks ago where the sky was still bright and the days were mostly dry.

With the clouds and rain now becoming more the norm and frosty bone-chilling early mornings more a common thing maybe the mind starts to wander ‘perhaps there’s better places to fish’! I do enjoy fishing but when the cold starts to penetrate even my neoprenes and cold hits you everytime you release a fishback to water, my mind do ‘challenge me’ to re-consider whats available.

As you sit back into your soft comfy armchair with your eyes on the t.v. set, you may be watching a fishing show and see some great action in the warmer waters of the South. Perhaps, some time ago you had wandered down south for some rainbow trout or even further into mexico for some warmer species in saltwater..roosters, snooks and even the mighty tarpon in-shore or maybe off-shore for larger ones like the wahoo or sailfish.

It is at time like these that my mind start to wanders as I snuggle up in bed between thick duvet, I would cherish the thoughts or ‘running south with the geese’ as my bones starts to chill.

My mind would be working ‘overtime’ with ‘bubbles’ of thoughts that would ‘pop-ups’ all over the place. Bonefish in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, or in the many places in Mexico west-coast or even the east side like Baja and the shores running all along the Pacific coast.

And how about planning a long distance trip to Christmas Island or New Zealand(hey, its summer there!) or what have you?

Or will it be just settling back and getting all the gear out to clean the rods and reels and whatever ‘trash’ that had accumulate over all those fishing trips. Not a bad idea too as it might just as well be the best thing to do just in case some sudden ‘trip’ happens to come up in conversation someday.

So, I wonder whats on your mind as you read this post. Do leave any commnets as its always welcome. Pray tell! whats on your mind, or if you have some idea of a trip into warmer climes what un-answered questions do you have that I may be able to perhaps expand upon.

Unitl then, enjoy your hot cuppa by the fireside and who knows maybe even with a dash of brandy too!

Having looked at fly rods and what to consider for whatever type of fishing you may want to do, we now move to the next item which is the fly reel.

Basically a fly reel’s job is to hold the flyline and its backing. The most common form is a single action fly reel. What that means is that one single turn of the handle of the reel will be a complete turn of the spool, hence a ratio of 1:1. Its simplicity means also that there’s less parts to care for or less could go wrong while you are fishing.

Of course the lighter it weigh the better and you can get a feel for that by attaching the reel to the rod you have chosen. You want to make sure that it holds comfortably in your hands and balance well. Too heavy a reel on a light rod can be very tiring after a long day’s fishing.

It is important that the fly reel has the capacity to hold the complete flyline plus a good 100 yards of 25 lbs decron backing and still have some space left so that the spool is not filled to its brim. If you intend to do some saltwater fly fishing then you will need to get one that has saltwater resistent treatment or stainless steel and has a capacity to hold at least 250 yards of 25lbs decron backing.

Other more complex fly reels can have a retrieve ratio of greater than ratio of 1:1; meaning one turn of the handle will be greater than two to 3 times a complete turn of the spool drum. and there’s also some automatic fly reel available – whereby a lift of a lever will retrieve the line back into the spool. But for now it would be sufficient just to get a single action reel either for fresh or saltwater applications. To be honest, a good single action fly reel is the best choice couple with a good braking system.

A good braking system is simply a dial to apply pressure that could either increase or decrease the amount of resistence to the line being pull away from the reel. This is useful when playing large or strong running fish. This is called a ‘drag system’ and can be either made of ‘spring and paw’ mechanism and the now common ‘disc drag’ using a pad that can be adjusted to lighten or tighten the running spool somewhat similar to that of a car braking system.

In looking at any braking system be sure to try it out to look for a smooth transition and not a jerky one. You do this by increasing the drag and pulling the line away from the reel checking to see how smooth it pays out. Any good tackle shop will be most willing and helpful to show you a selection and help you match your rod to the reel.

It is also good to choose a reel with outer spool rim so that you can ‘palm’ it for better control while palying a hooked fish.

Some other factors to consider in a fly reel would be whether it can be change from left to right handed used easily and whether spare spools can be inexpensively bought and readily available.

So, there you are, a fly rod and reel loaded to go do some casting and get out there a catch some fish. Next we will look at some knots tthat you can use to put it all together. So, remember to check back soon.

You may have heard or seen flyfishers using long leaders 4 plus meters with 3 flies space throughout its length. While this may be very effective especially if you are fishing ‘loch style’ behind a drifting boat and using a rod of 10 foot or so, it may not be too easy a set up if you are using a 9 foot rod and casting out from the bankside – especially if you are a beginner.

A simpler way is to use a leader length that you find more comfortable casting with; which could be 3 meters and using a weighted fly to fish vary the depths to find the ‘zone’ where the fish are feeding or hanging about.

You could do this with a floating fly line or better still with a slow sinking fly line. Simply cast out a allow the fly to take the line down into its depth and watch for any slight movement of the line thats different to its slow downward trend. The line could either ‘pause’ or ‘a stab sideways’ and it may be worth just lifting the rod gently to see if its a fish taking the fly; and you will know when the fish has taken the hook as it will then progressively pulls away in the opposite direction. You simply tighten the line to set the hook in. At times this may just be obstacles like weeds or undergrowth, but, you will be surprise how often its a fish at the other end.

Its september, and the time is here for some exciting trout fishing in the reservour and lakes. All through the hot summer weather temperatures during the day have driven fish down into the deeper colder levels. Most productive fishing were between the early mornings and late evenings.

Now that the cooler mornings and nights are approaching its time to get ready for some fun. So, here I will give you some tips that may help you get some exciting sport.

At this time the trout should be in the peak of conditons having gorged themselves crazy with the multitude of food available – insects in all stages of their life cycle, small fishes, snails and freshwater shrimps and microscopic creatures. It is also a time whereby most older wiser fish may have been hooked and lost, thus, becoming more ‘wary’ and difficulty to ‘lured’ to your fly.

However, this time also bring some exciting fishing. You could simply tie a single fly like an imitation of a small fish and cast this out to moving fish and stripped the fly through the shoals of baitfish and may just enticed a larger torut to take your fly. Or, you can just take things a lot easier and cast out a dry fly; to imitate an insect blown onto the waters like the adult ‘daddylonglegs’ or cranefly and just leave it out there and wait for the fish to come up to investigate and mouth the artificial. Whichever way its just a couple of things that you can do to get some good sport at this time of the year.

Very little equiptment is actually needed to fish with a fly. However, all too often you will see anglers struggling about with more essentials that they would actually use for any giving situation.

All you will need is a rod, reel, fly-line, a few spools of monofilament for making leaders, a few flies and some floatant(if you choose to fish dry fly style), clipper or small scissor, a suitable size landing net, a priest-if you choose to keep a fish for a meal later, and, suitable clothings which includes waterproof jackets, trouser(optional) and a good pair of walking shoes/boots.

Today, I will just begin with selection of a Fly Rod.

The rod that you choose will depends upon the waters that you will do most of your fishing. A small stream with over-hanging branches and a large open lake or reserviour or fishing for saltwater species will make very different demands. Therefore, you will need to decide what and where you will be doing most of your fishing.

Basically, a rod serves two primary functions: it cast the fly and it allows you to land the fish. The action or stiffness of the rod will also need to be considered and its length. A shorter rod will be needed for small stream with limited space to cast the fly. A softer action rod will be needed if you are using small flies that needs a smaller diameter of monofilament. A longer rod will allow you to cast a longer line(although a shorter rod will do the same) with less effort and allows you to have better control of the line when a fish is hooked. A stiffer rod action will allow you to cast better into the wind and also makes larger and bulkier flies turn over much easier, too.

For a rod to work properly it have to be matched with the appropriate weight of the line (measured in grains).Both rods and line must correspond to the AFTM standards- a universally accepted standards for rod and line identification. Therefore, a #8 AFTM-rated rod should be matched to a #8 AFTM-rated line. It is best to go to your local tackle shop and try out a variety of rod size and actions and manufacturers to see whats good for you.

Fly rods may bear the same AFTM and actions but in my experience I have found that different quality rods made by different manufacturing componies varies a great deal. Its a matter of choice and as you get better at it, get more interested and more experience you will come to find the fly rod action and maker that best suited for your individual needs.

I would like to share with you my experience during the early days of my beginning to fly fish. In my history of fly fishing I started with a heavy and over-weight glass fiber rod that was ‘badly’ recommended to me and it was ‘hell’ to learn to cast and even fished with. After a full day at a lake I came home totally exhausted(this was supposed to be a pleasureable experienced) and the next day I was aching all over.

I then started trying other angler’s fly rods and slowly began to learn to ‘feel’ how each different rod actions and brand felt to my needs. I even bought a nice glass-fibre rod blanks and made my own medium action fly rod because I could not afford a better quality rod then. It wasn’t nice to look at as I was a novice ‘rod-builder’ but it opened up a whole new experience of fishing pleasure. It made my fishing day a great outing.

I tried other rods actions and different brands until fishing enjoyment dictated my preference in the end…and stayed with those actions and rod builder ever since. Please don’t get me wrong, I am sure newer rods will be made and I will be only to pleased to change to a different brand if its meets up to my needs.

Mine you, my fishing needs varies. I still have a very nice 6 foot cane Sharpe rod thats perfect for the little stream or brook which also share its company with a 3 weight/AFTM 8 foot Sage graphite rod where the room allows casting. I also have a couple of old 10 foot cane rods that I occasionally use for sea-trout. I must admit that as I get older these cane rods are too heavy to carry about for a days’ fishing

Most of my fishing are done in larger open waters like reserviours and large man-made lakes and I eventually come to love my 9 foot AFTM 8(or 8 weight) Sage RPL graphite rod which is the only rod I normally take with me even on holidays, and, it has served me well even for large steelheads waters in the northern rivers of british columbia.

This 9 foot graphite rod also doubles as my saltwater rod for the last possibly 20 years and have faced many exciting battles with bonefishs and tarpons, barracudas and travalleys and many other colourful species small and large. It even caught me some tigerfish and nile perch in eygpt, barramudis in australia and many different asians species which I cannot even remember their chinese or malaysian names.

The last few years, I have added a few other rods in the AFTM 10, 12 weights mainly for the larger saltwater fishes that I so fondly enjoy fishing for. The rods are either medium to fast actions depending on their needs to cast larger more wind-resistent bulkier flies and to greater distance. For these I have Sage RPLXi and the Xi2 as my preference but thats just my own preference. In time you will find the rod action and manufacturer that will suit your own individual needs. Just like food or music its a mater of taste.

There are many good quality rod manufacturers about; Sage, Loomis, Scott, Winston, Orvis, Hardys, and many less names but just as good rod makers; just to name a few. These manufacturers also have bduget priced rods too which come in handy. There is no need to go out and buy an expensive rod if you cannot cast with it. You can just as easily manage to learn to cast and catch fish with more reasonably priced brands. In further articles I will give you a wide selections of rods to choose from. However, it is important to consider that a badly built rod will be harder to cast with than a better constructed one. So, you will need to strike a good balance.

Thats just a brief ideas of what you will encounter to decided what rod will be suitable for you initially. However, you don’t need to buy a couple of different lengths and AFTM (weighted). To begin with you need to consider:

Where am I fishing – mostly?. If its a small stream , the length would be better perhaps a 6 – 7 foot rod. If its larger open space than a 8 – 9 foot rod would be more appropriate choice. The 9 foot rod is the most versatile length in my opinion as it allows you to cover many different kinds of fishing; both fresh and salt waters, rivers, lakes, and the open seas.

It is also worth noting here that fishing a small stream would not require too heavy a fly line; hence, something like a 6 AFTM and lower would be sufficient. Fishing anything larger would require a heavier line and 8 AFTM seems the most versatile. I have used 6 AFTM even for larger lakes but to be able to present a fly easier at a greater distance; and also a larger fly properly, the 8 AFTM/weight is most appropriate to achieve that need in varying weather conditions. (more about fly lines in further articles)

Its a matter of taste as I ‘d mentioned before. I have seen anglers in the US and Canada using 6 foot cane rods or 9 foot graphite rods fishing next to anglers spey-casting with double-handed 12-15 foot rods. There is a need for each rod and its a matter of preferences. Any rod will catch fish. However, its far better to carrying just one rod that can suit many situations than ‘lugging’ too many rods.

For most freshwater used, I generally have just one rod with a floating line and a change of sinking lines just in case(more about that later articles). As a choice, I enjoy fishing with a floating line and only in specific conditions; which very unlikely happened – if you watch the weather correctly and pick the time to fish, would I need to have a sinking line with me.

In a typical saltwater scenario I would be using an #8 weight rod and only in extreme conditions I would have a #10 if I know that where I am fishing or wading( which I do a lot of), there’s a possibility of larger preys that would required something ‘stronger’ to cast larger bulkier flies and to be able to get the fight in quickly without unnecessary stress on the fish to be able to survive the release – and to avoid it being preyed upon as food by larger species.

Fly Rods come in 3 differnet actions.

Fast-action/Tip-Action: This rod is suitable for accuracy and distance, from delicately turning over small dry flies to using shooting heads(more about fly line construction later) for casting long distance.

Medium-to-Tip-Action: An all-rounder action rod that allows you to fished a variey of styles and useful when using lighter(smaller diameter) leader tippets(more about that later too, please just bear with me for the moment) but, is also capable of accurate and distance of up to 30 meters in capable hands. The softer action of the rod also allow a ‘buffer’ shock absorber. This is my favorite action rod and covers 99% of my fishing both fresh and salt waters’ needs.

Middle-to-Butt-Action: This rod bends all through the centre and give a long flexing area and creating wide loops in your cast. It is good for short-line or loch style tactics and for delicate presentation of flies. It is more like fishing with a cane rod in the old days. At one time in my fishing years I enjoy fishing with such an action rod. I like the ability to make nice roll-cast and also allows me to go finer in my leader tippet to ‘fool’ the more ‘wary’ and larger Trout that had seen it all!. I still have this rod, ABU Carbolite(a blend of glass-fibre and graphite) 9 foot 8 weight/AFTM rod which is now part of my ‘angling history rod collections’.

Fly rods comes in 2 pieces commonly, but if you intend to take it on holidays – as I do, 4 pieces is the best choice. I do have a couple of 5 pieces but I must admit the best all-rounder for quality and performance and of course portability a 4 pieces achieves that balance.

Fly rods also have differnet shapes handle and thickness in sizes, and, you will need to find the ones that feels comfortable for you. They have their individual uses, but, in my own experience I have not found it to be any different to shout home about. In future posings I will put some pictures to further explain it.

Most Fly rods comes with ‘snake’ rings and are commonly used in almost all rods brands. There are the exceptions with single and double legs fujis and others but, snake rings are used by most anglers.

OK, I hope that I have given you some ideas to think about and maybe give you more information on what to look for in you selection of your first fly rod. Do visit a few good fishing tackle stores and look at different fly rods, length and Brands. Have a feel for the weight; how it holds in your hands; whether its comfortable. Find a size and style of grip thats comfortable too for you. It is just like you going to a sport store to try out a badminton racket to buy.

Until next time, I hope it was time well spent reading what I have written. Please do send any comments which is welcome and I will see how I can enrich your Fly Fishing journey.

I just want to say that I have added the previous article because I thought it may give you some ideas about fishing on holidays.

I will continue from where I left off from the fly casting videos and move further into more on fly fishing..

I will next look at some fly rods, fly lines, and reels that you will need to consider and maybe help you select the essential gears that you will need to get fly fishing..

Unitl then..cheers