For most of us, the image of fly-fishing is one of an angler standing in a mountain stream, patiently casting for trout. That is surely its most common face, but is by no means the only one. An increasingly popular version of the sport is saltwater fly-fishing, in which fly rods are used to cast imitation baitfish and shrimp to a wide array of ocean quarry.
It’s nothing new. Fly fishermen have been pursuing bonefish and tarpon in the shallows off the Florida Keys since the late 1940s, when legendary fishing guide Jimmy Albright led such light-tackle luminaries as fishing editor Joe Brooks and baseball great Ted Williams across the flats of Florida Bay.
The pastime has long since moved beyond the Gulf Stream. Today, anglers are fly-fishing for salmon in the Pacific Northwest, bluefish in New England, striped bass in the mid-Atlantic and dorado in the waters off Southern California. Internationally, the sport has a following. Hardy Scandinavians wade into the chilly North Atlantic to cast flies for sea trout and garfish, while the warm waters of the Caribbean attract fly rodders from around the globe.
Two magazines devoted entirely to the sport — the similarly named Salt Water Fly Fishing and Fly Fishing in Salt Waters — have cropped up in the last five years, and R. Peter Van Geytenbeek, editor-in-chief of the latter, says the popularity of the sport has surged in the last decade.
So what’s the appeal?
“I can answer that question quite easily,” says Barry Thornton, author of “Fly Fishing for Pacific Salmon.” “When it all comes together and everything’s in place, and you hook a feeding salmon — well, it’s the strongest thing you can get on the end of a fly rod. That reel just never stops singing.”
The “all” and “everything” he refers to are a specific set of circumstances — having to do with such variables as tides, currents and feeding habits — that must be carefully considered if an angler is to be in the right place at the right time.
Randy Wayne White, author and former Sanibel Island, Fla., fishing guide, has traveled the world with a fly rod in his tenure as the Out There columnist for Outside magazine. He says saltwater fly-fishing is, in many ways, easier than its freshwater counterpart. “For one thing, ocean fish tend to be less finicky. They’ll eat almost anything.”
Dan Blanton, a fishing columnist in the San Francisco Bay Area, agrees. Freshwater anglers, he says, have to know a great deal about the insects they are trying to imitate and be very delicate in their casting presentations. Not so saltwater anglers.
Fish like tarpon and bonefish are extremely wary, he says, making the challenges markedly different from those involved with trout. The saltwater angler has to cast larger flies to a moving target up to 100 feet away.
“You’ve got to cover a lot of territory,” Blanton says, “that’s the name of the game.” For that reason, he says, novices should hire a guide who knows the area and knows where the fish are.
“Once you find them,” he says, “prepare for a good fight.”
IF YOU GO
– INFORMATION
Barry Thornton’s excellent primer: “Fly Fishing for Pacific Salmon” (Hancock House, $17.95, 800-938-1114). For a broader perspective, Lefty Kreh’s book, “Fly Fishing in Salt Water” (The Lyons Press, $35, 212-242-1109), is in its third printing.
On the newsstand, look for Fly Fishing in Salt Waters (Hook and Release Publishing, 2001 Western Ave., Suite 210, Seattle, Wash. 98121, 206-443-3273) or Saltwater Fly Fishing (Abenaki Publishers, 160 Benmont Ave., Bennington, Vt. 05201, 802-447-1518).
Also on the Internet, Reel-Time, The Internet Journal of Saltwater Fly Fishing (www.reel-time.com) provides informative articles and fishing reports from Cape Cod and around the country.
