Saltwater Fly Fishing

Overview:
Saltwater fly fishing is the art and science of using a fly rod and reel with
very light, usually hand tied, flies (or lures), to catch a saltwater species of fish.
This usually occurs in coastal areas of the various oceans, gulfs, bays, sounds and
river estuaries. The saltwater fly fisherman generally fish to species that are
clearly visible before making a cast, a process called sight casting.
There are two main groups of fish to be fished to: 1) flats fish (fish that
move through and feed in very shallow sandy, coral or mud under terrain) which
includes bonefish, redfish, tarpon and stripers and 2) top water feeding fish, which
can include tuna, jack, bonito, and bluefish. There are also those fish which do not
normally feed on the surface, but which must be baited or "chummed" to the
surface before a fly rod can be used to toss a fly (lure) to the fish. These fish can
include sharks, snapper and grouper. Another saltwater fish susceptible to the fly
rod is the ling (orcobia or lemon fish). These fish are brought to the surface with
sound and are sometimes swim near the surface while not necessarily feeding.
History:
There is much debate surrounding the exact origin and development of
saltwaterfly fishing. Most sources locate the first mention of fly fishing in salt
water in the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans sometime around 200 A.D.
Some point to the Greek Oppian in A.D. 176 who discussed fly fishing for the fish
Scarus(unknown today) in salt water (Samson). Other sources credit the Roman
Aelianwith the first mention of fishing in the ocean using a fly (Herd). After being
absent from literature for hundreds of years saltwater fly fishing re-emerges in the
historical record around the 1800s, where fly fishing along the coast of England is
mentioned briefly in Blaine's 1840 Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports (Herd), as well
as of the coasts of Australia and in estuaries of South Africa (Samson).
While, as these accounts demonstrate, the sport has been practiced for many
centuries, saltwater fly fishing as it is known today truly developed in the United
States. Many of the earliest accounts of the sport in the U.S. come from the East
Coast, with mention being made of fishing for saltwater fish along the shoreline
with flies, including striped bass, as early as the 1875. In Florida, more often
credited as the birthplace of saltwater fly fishing, there are reports of fishing for
tarpon, redfish and bonefish with flies from around the turn of the 19thcentury. Yet,
it was not until after the mid 1900s that saltwater fly fishing really took off,
especially in New England and the Florida Keys (Samson).
Locations:
Saltwater fly fishing is practiced in anumber of varied locations worldwide.
Locations where the sport is practiced are generally costal in nature and can be in
either cold or warmwater. In the United States alone, saltwater fly fishing is
practiced in New England and along the East Coast, in Florida and the Gulf Coast
and in some locations along the West Coast of the country. Saltwater fly fishing is
also practiced in Mexico, Central and South America and in many locations in the
Caribbean and the Bahamas. Popular locations for saltwater fly fishing outside of
the Americas include Australia and areas of Africa.
Different species of fish are found at these various locations. To name only
a small few, species such as striped bass are fished from Nova Scotia through the
Mid-Atlantic states. Bonefish are fished in the Florida Keys and in most tropical
ocean and inland saltwaterflats throughout the world. These include the Bahamas,
the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean and a number of Pacific Islands.
Redfish or Red Drum range from the mid-Atlantic, often in coastal outflow,
through the Gulf of Mexico to Texas. This fish ranges from the depths of the Gulf
of Mexico to the saltwater marshes from Florida to Texas. In Louisiana, the
redfish is the predominant saltwater fish to be caught and some of the largest
redfish have been caught near the Mississippi River delta, including the majority of
the world record redfish caught on a fly.
Fly fishing for Tarpon, Jack and Bonito also occurs in the open ocean all
over the world, often of the coasts of the eastern and western United States,
Mexico, Jamaica, and other Caribbean Islands.

Species:
There are hundreds of saltwater species that can be fished using a fly. Some
of the most well known fish in saltwater fly fishing include tarpon, redfish,
bonefish, tuna and barracuda. Yet, lesser known specifies, often specific to certain
locations, are also frequently pursued by salt water fly fishermen. These include,
but are certainly not limited to, bonito, jack, roosterfish, bluefish, dolphin or mahi
mahi, groupers, shark, billfish, marlin, stripers, roosterfish, ling, trout, permit and
striped bass.
Tackle:
The essential gear required for saltwater fly fishing includes a fly rod, fly
reel, fly line, tippet and fly. Two major issues to be kept in mind that differentiate
salt from fresh water tackle include the often larger, more powerfulsalt water
species and the corrosive effects of saltwater on fishing gear (Samson).
These two issues are very important in the selection of the fly rod and reel.
In saltwater fly fishing, the strength of the rod and the reel, as well as the reel’s
resistance to corrosion and smoothness of operation or ‘drag’ are essential
characteristics of these pieces of tackle. It is also important that the rod and reel
are appropriate for the specific fish that will be pursued, which is reflected in the
wide range of these products that are available. For example, fishing for Tarpon
requires a 10 to 12 weight rod and a reel with a friction drag capable of stopping
fish which range from 20 to 200 pounds, while fishing for bonefish requires a 6 – 9
weightrod and a reel with friction drag for fish which range from 1 to 10 pounds.
Like bonefish, Redfish are fished with a 6 to 9 weight rods and they require a reel
with a friction drag for fishing ranging from 2 to 40 pounds (Uptown Angler).
As in all fly fishing, there are a great number and variety of flies used in
saltwater fly fishing, with many new types being created all the time. While many
flies are designed to mimic common food of the species being fished for, others do
not mimic specific fishand are instead designed to attract the fish using
characteristics like color and shape (Pfeiffer). Common flies include those that
imitate small crabs, shrimp and minnows and others, in the second category, called
wobblers and poppers (Uptown Angler).

Sources:
Herd, Andrew. A Fly Fishing History.
http://www.flyfishinghistory.com/salt_water_fly_fishing.htm
Pfeiffer, Boyd. Fly Fishing Saltwater Basics. Stackpole Books: Harrisburg PA (1999)
Rosenbauer, Tom (2007). The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide. Connecticut: The Lyons Press. ISBN
978-1-59228-818-2.
Samson, Jack. Saltwater Fly Fishing. Stackpole Books: Harrisburg PA (1991).
Uptown Angler. http://www.uptownangler.com.