TBH Flyfisherman. Input needed please.

[txoutdoorsman24]

Finally pulled the trigger and bought a good starter set up. 8wt. Has everything to began throwing today. I'll mainly chase reds at the coast Down by our house.

Any input on what to watch, ways to do certain things, things to look for while castin is greatly appreciated. Anything will help me at this point.

To answer everyone first question. I have NOT fly fished before. Complete novice

[docmay]

Take a lesson before you learn too many bad habits. Learn to double haul. Try to get 30-40 ft of line out when you practice. Rod will load better and you will feel it. Good luck!

[txoutdoorsman24]

Thanks Doc. I will def look into a class. Btw you're part of the reason I've been thinking about buyin a set up. Your red fish trip came to mind last week when at the coast. I got into red fish like never before. They were in about 10"-2" of water but they wouldnt bite my plastics. Wished I would've had a fly rod to entice one that morning. Saw at least 60 keepers in about an hour. Hopefully goin back next week.

[AtTheWall]

Learn to side arm cast with the wind quartering over your shoulder and try to work the flats with the sun and wind at your back. Learn the "FLATS CAST!"

Casting from a boat, you will learn to work casts over on one side, casting side arm style, where your backhaul doesn't shoot back over the boat's cockpit. It also cheats the wind a bit, keeping your line lower and cutting wind a bit easier.

Get some of these....keep them handy - Candy at the coast!

You can tweak the spoons with trailers - example on the bottom. They work in the surf as well as bays. Shop for a base line fly tying setup, it will be extremely handy to add streamers to spoons and fly tie projects to match what you eventually learn fishing with flies.

[AtTheWall]

Shop for a WEIGHT FORWARD fly line. This will help you shoot casts with limited backhauls.

Learn to double haul and pop casts around 60ft with only 3 false casts or less. This is the sweet zone for shallow flats and the least amount of false casts made = faster and stealthier delivery.


I'm currently using a RIO Outbound Tropical Short fly line. It's super weight forward in design and you can pop 40 - 60 ft with 2 or 3 false casts easily using a double haul approach.

Weight forward puts the bulk of the overall line weight, in the first 27ft of fly line, making quickly loaded casts, quick sight cast situations, easier!

Fluorocarbon leaders - I'm using 9 - 12ft with the weight forward line = works for me!

[txoutdoorsman24]

ATW. Thanks for all the info. I did purchase a few flys today. One was a spoon. Man I can't wait to get started. I'll post a pic in a few

[txoutdoorsman24]

[docmay]

Thanks Doc. I will def look into a class. Btw you're part of the reason I've been thinking about buyin a set up. Your red fish trip came to mind last week when at the coast. I got into red fish like never before. They were in about 10"-2" of water but they wouldnt bite my plastics. Wished I would've had a fly rod to entice one that morning. Saw at least 60 keepers in about an hour. Hopefully goin back next week.

Once you get dialed with a fly rod it is deadly. You can land things right in front of fish with no noise and if you mess up you can pick it up and fire again. For reds I would get a few crab patterns with very little weight. Throw it in front of a red and let him get close to it. A couple 8-10 inch slow strips and he will eat it. They are money.

[bowfishin fool]

im in San Antonio as well and got into fly fishing while I was in college in corpus.

Give me a holler ill show you some of the casting tips ATW is talking about.

its a huge deal to fight the wind on the coast!!

text me at 210 724 181six

Reed

[txoutdoorsman24]

Once you get dialed with a fly rod it is deadly. You can land things right in front of fish with no noise and if you mess up you can pick it up and fire again. For reds I would get a few crab patterns with very little weight. Throw it in front of a red and let him get close to it. A couple 8-10 inch slow strips and he will eat it. They are money.

Noise was my killer couple weeks ago. Couldn't throw any bait withing 2-3 foot of any fish. They would spook out right away. I did see a few crab set ups. Just didn't get them. Will do though

[Aggiehunter08]

Get some weedless flies, and learn to double haul.

[SLICE & DICE]

What are you guys using for saltwater leaders?
Are you tying tapered leaders yourself or buying them already made?

[bowfishin fool]

Depends on what I'm fishing, for reds and trout I just used 14 lb Pline fluorocarbon. Tied a nail knot to my fly line and an Albright on my flies. Heavy things like jack crevelle and things I would use a 40lb mono leader line. Or a good sinking tippet if I'm trying to get down.

[quarterback]

AtTheWall probably meant to say WEIGHT FORWARD FLOATING for fly line. They make a sinking line as well but that's for getting your lure down in the water column. Since I've never fly fished the salt I don't know much but I do know the magic of working a fly rod. It's a thing of beauty when you finally get it down and when you hook up every fish feels like a monster on the fly rod. Best of luck to you and be sure to get lessons like doc says.

[txoutdoorsman24]

Been practicing basic casting and have been able to get out to about 30-35 foot. Then I had a my lil fishing buddy come out for a few casts.