Advice

[RobG]

Howzit!

Been fly fishing on and off for years...well more off than on really, got stuck into rock and surf and bait fishing for the past few years. A 50% discount (clear out sale) on all fly fishing gear mid to end last year gave me a bit of a kick in the RIGHT direction again and now I am itching to go.

I usually nip to Groot Brak or Klein Brak for a quick thrash on my own without much success.

The lack of fellow fly fishing friends has led me to this forum to hopefully get a few questions answered.

I have 2 9wt elbe rods and 1x DIAWA Lochmore (spelling not necessarily correct) reel with full length sinking line and 1x Okuma Saltwater reel with full length floating line.

You seasoned fly fishers will have to excuse my ignorance but here goes:

Without starting a preverbial pissing contest what is considered an average (effective) casting distance with a full fly line?

Do most people use shooting heads when saltwater fly fishing? What increase in casting distance can be expected from a shooting head line? What line is rigged underneath the shorter floating head lines?

With the lack of decent shops here for gear, where can I buy flies on the net?


Thanks,

Rob G

[damage]

howdy Robg welcome to the fourum

klein brak is a good place to start
9wt is a good starting weight

You will get fish at the drop off if you cant cast that far you need to wade closer

my average 9wt cast is probably 15-20 m but you can get away with a 10m cast you are just going to miss out on the spooky fish and will not cover lots of water

your casting will improve as you fish

you can use both your floating and sinking lines for the estuary

I would go for Three basic flies

1. flipper fly and floating line

2 clouser and sinking line

3. synthetic baitfish and sinking or floating



lastly contact dewwy thats his part of the world

/d

[FlyFanatic]

hi! Welcome to the forum!

Using a shooting head is not going to improve ur casting distance if you are not a proficient caster. My suggestion would be to get a good casting instructor to help you untill you can cast a full fly line (about 30yards), on a normal non windy day. When youve managed that, THEN opt for the shooting head.

Hope this helps!

Cheers

[Ryan]

howdy Robg welcome to the fourum

klein brak is a good place to start
9wt is a good starting weight

You will get fish at the drop off if you cant cast that far you need to wade closer

my average 9wt cast is probably 15-20 m but you can get away with a 10m cast you are just going to miss out on the spooky fish and will not cover lots of water

your casting will improve as you fish

you can use both your floating and sinking lines for the estuary

I would go for Three basic flies

1. flipper fly and floating line

2 clouser and sinking line

3. synthetic baitfish and sinking or floating



lastly contact dewwy thats his part of the world

/d

Welcome RobG,

I this above has covered what you need as well as what you need to do.. No need to get more technical... 9wt is hundreds and the suggested flies should definitely work!!

Good luck..

[RobG]

Thanks for the advise gents. I will keep thrashing it out.

Is there a seperate record/assocaiton for Fly Fishing specifically?

I bought myself a few books on casting. The best I found, for my own limited knowledge, was 'Learn to Cast in a Weekend' written by a South African bloke. I found his exercise very easy to understand and grasp. It improved my casting radically after a few days of practise.


Bitten by the bug!


Rob

[Sean Mills]

Tm Rolsten's book is very good. He lives in Marina Da Gama and guides locally on the small streams around here. For me the flipper in white, clouser minnow in white and chartreuse or white and pink are winners. I also like the wool head mullet for bigger, fussier fish. Size deppends on the size of the fish expected. For smaller leervis and elf then I use size 4 to 1 hooks.

If you can cast 15 meters in the salt, you will catch well in an estuary. Fishing off the surf is a little different unless you can fish off the rocks or wade a bit deeper. It is often better to cast 15 meters well than cast 20 meters badly. In other words you could reach 20 meters but then waist 5 meters pulling the leader and fly line strait before it effects the fly. I can cast a full fly line or more but very rarely do it in the salt. The number one thing with salt water fly fishing is finding the fish. Find the game fish in a feeding mood and you will catch them on fly.

Another trick is to use two flies at the same time, like a flipper on top with a clouser underneath about 40cm behind. The flipper attracts the game fish and they often take the clouser behind. Works like a bomb.

Good luck

[Sean Mills]

O yes, almost forgot, as to retrieves, you can either bring the flies in fast or sometimes just bang it out there and leave it, giving it the odd pull, you will be surprised how well this works with a current flowing. As a rule, the colder the water the slower the retrieve and the warmer the water, the faster the retrieve. For cob, fish deep and slow. Also be careful of the tax man when standing too near the drop off, that is why good casting helps.

[Herman Jooste]

Thanks for the advise gents. I will keep thrashing it out.

Is there a seperate record/assocaiton for Fly Fishing specifically?

I bought myself a few books on casting. The best I found, for my own limited knowledge, was 'Learn to Cast in a Weekend' written by a South African bloke. I found his exercise very easy to understand and grasp. It improved my casting radically after a few days of practise.


Bitten by the bug!


Rob

Rob, Casting books are fine, however they can not see what you are doing. I have walked the road you are walking and spent many $ on books, e.g. "Casting" by Lefty Kreh, ( a brilliant book ).
My advice is to find a casting instructor, reccommended by people who you trust.
Golf pro's have coaches/instructors.
From my own experience I can assure you that the money spent on a casting lesson or lessons is very well spent.
Pity that my my "Personal Trainer " has gapped it overseas, "cos I need more tuition.