Davie McPhail ties a sea trout fly

Kinda Weird - No fly fishing here, just well.....kinda weird

Wild Trick Casting

Marlin fishing - The hard way

Don't be a fly - by

One great thing about fly fishing nowadays is the accessibility. Even the most modest of budgets can get a workable set up. There are $39 packages out there. Are they any good? Sure. Are they really good? No. At least not compared to a set up up that is several hundred dollars, but it is enough for someone to get on the water, catch fish, learn the fly fishing game a bit.

You'll buy more and better equipment over time. You don't have to work at it. It just happens.

I have $20 Cahill rod from Cabela's. It is an 8wt I bought as a holdover/beater rod I could abuse while saving and searching for a better one. Turns out it does pretty dang good. Casts surprisingly nice. Can it hold a candle to $500 or more rod? Of course not. If you are beginning though you can be sure it will meet your needs as you develop.

Where should you spend and where should you save?
-Inexpensive rods are getting surprisingly good.
-Avoid the bottom of the price range for reels. The cheap ones have poor drags, are noisy, fall apart jam and tangle. For $50 and above you can a decent reel. Look for a sealed drag and a smoother action. You can feel the quality here. If you have to go cheap, it won't last, but it will get you going.
-BUY GOOD LINE! You might think that all lines are basically equal. They are not. Good line makes everything else work better. Cheap line makes everything else worse. Spend $10 or $20 more. Think of it - it has an effect on every cast. Over hundreds of thousands of casts it is a small investment against a big return. Your casts will be further. Your presentations better.
-Tippet schmipet. A tapered leader is an advantage. A looped tapered leader is even better unless you like nail knots.

I firmly believe that mono is a serviceable if not best practices option for larger flies where less technical presentations are okay. Inshore predator fish are drawn by a splash. Note the success of popping cork rigs and large splashy plugs, buzz baits and other contraptions that ....... work.

Try different stuff. Break the rules. Those folks who turn up their noses at using mono for a leader and tie a five stage taper by hand - well good for them. Heck, throw a fly reel on your spinning rod if you want. It won't be ideal, but I bet you'll have fun and if the fish are biting you you will catch them right along with the guy next to you fully rigged out in Sage, Orvis, Lamson, and all the top of the line stuff. That's all great too. It's luxury more than necessity though.

Point is - budget is no longer a reason for anyone to be a fly-by.

My flies

Soon as I get set up in some new digs I will begin posting photos of flies I have tied. I'll probably start giving some to anglers I come across as well to get their feedback on how they work and can be improved. Guess I am coming to terms with the fact that fly tying is becoming something even more enjoyable that fishing. Never thought it would come to that. I just thought I was going to save a bit over these expensive salt water flies.

Well, whatever. Tie, fish, it is all good.

Currently I am on a bit of quest to find cheap or free alternatives to expensive fly materials. Not that I don't continue to haunt fly shops. Certainly spending more than I should too. It's just fun to do things like turn glass bead from a craft shop into an excellent top notch fly and catch fish on it.

Lowdown on wading

Waders were the best thing I ever bought for fishing steams. Bushwhacking to distant streams with aggressive undereducated fish is the best. I would rather work to get in a secondary area of smaller fish and lower fishing pressure than deal with combat fishing.

I have not used the waders down here though. The water is so warn you don't need them. I have been thinking about it though. The ability to tromp through high grass, the bug protection. Best wearing the boots should protect one from oysters. I wouldn't wade through oysters, but it is good to know brushing up against one won't slice you.

Report to come.