What weight for light salt water use

[Ko7Ad]

Nick your suggestions are probably ideal for your home waters. Take into account Craig stays in Kzn and is most likely going to end up fishing the surf here. I fished a 8wt whilst on high school and there after a 10wt for a few years. The thing that I found was the 10wt being way to much power for the smaller species we get here but casted like a mamba (though tired me quickly) and the 8wt a little to light in the pants for casting bigger baitfish in windy conditions. Thus I believe a 9wt to be the best compromise of the two.

I know some guys that do like to fish 6/7wts and lighter in the surf for Wave Garrick and such and is great fun for those species. But I would not suggest that as your first setup, you would rather have a good all-rounder as your first saltwater setup and there after get something more specialized and limited in some scenarios.

But before we go on and on about all the possibilities, where do you intend fishing? I just assumed the surf will be it?

[Scythe]

It's all about the size of the flies you intend to chuck.

Up to say 1/0 with 4mm dumbell Clousers or Tungsten bead Saltybuggers you can lob easily enough on a 7WT, providing ofcourse it's a solid, fast action 7WT.

You don't even need a particularly good reel for most of the estuarine and surf work you can do off our coast.

I recently got myself a new 8WT for Tigerfish and the only motivation behind it was that when chucking bigger/heavier flies (2/0 - 5.5mm Clousers, which is what I've been doing lately) you simply work too hard with a 7WT compared to what you do with an 8WT, especially when the conditions are trying, such as when the wind blows or you're being knocked around by the waves (which coincidentally will be most of the time)

If you take a look at the lines typically intended for SW use, mostly they start in 8WT and up, that's also something to consider.

[Craigis]

Intended areas to fish would be of Vetches on a kayak, Vidal and Tugela mouth.

[Andre]

Accuracy is very important when you are targeting tailing grunter, and also mullet. In Seychelles, etc, permit, Gt's bones..in fact just about all forms of sight fishing in the salt require accuracy. If you are blind chucking into the surf zone, perhaps accuracy might not be too important, but fishing the salt, is as important to be able to read the water, as is any other kind of fishing. Got to get the fly to the drop off, into a gully, about a meter in front of a moving bone, ahead of the tailing grunter... don't underestimate the importance of technical ability when it comes to fishing the salt. This is why I'm not very good in the salt...its too difficult for me. Try getting a fly within a square meter of where it is supposed to be, on a full line cast... not easy boet. Oh, and ditch the Explorer reel. Once the sand gets in, and the salt hardens...its going to be useless. You cant clean inside it. I wouldnt reccommend any sealed beiring reel for the salt, get yourself a good cork drag reel, or at worst a good metal disc drag.QUOTE=Ko7Ad;241587]@Craig, Can you open up the drag on that Guide 3? Just for intrest sake. I know the Guide 2 couldn't and once you have sand in the drag its a mission to get it out if ever. I cant add anything about the Stealth. But be warned about Xplorer rods (slipping and breaking ferrules), lifetime warranties help nothing if you are forced back home from the water because of equipment failure.

@Andre, I see your point. thanks for the clarification. I have unfortunatly not been in a salt senario where accuracy was of importance, but fighting fish by hand only a lot of times! But I have also been into big fish with crappy reels where if I had just listened to all the advice (buy the best reel you can afford) available at the time I may have landed a few fish of a lifetime.[/QUOTE]