The whole deal about saltwater fly fishing is pretty daunting to a newbie. Everything about it is writ large - the fish, the tackle, the boats, the expense, and, especially, the water. It's fly fishing in the ocean after all, not sneaking around on some intimate little spring creek. One thing you get to understand from the get-go is that, presuming you manage to actually get stuck into one, staying hooked up to one of these big fish means you have to learn a lot about lines and knots, and knot strength. There's a huge lore just on knots, and, between slugfests with back-wrenching fish, our salty brethren spend a lot of time arguing over them.

What a newbie needs is a way to cut through all the opinion and bullshit and get started somehow - go saltwater fly fishing in the confidence that his backing is going to stay attached to his seventy dollar fly line. What Peter Morse (our Morsie on the Sexyloops Saltwater Forum) has done here is put together something like a modular system of knots, line and leaders that will stay together no matter what you hook up with. Morsie is one of those guys who fishes all over the place, especially in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, where the fish are all big, tough and toothy. He knows all the knots and the lines they are tied in. He's busted off fish and wrestled more to the boat and beach. He knows about casting and coral reefs and just how hard a Giant Trevally or Yellowfin Tuna pulls on a fly rod, so what he says has no small amount of amount of experience behind it.

I especially liked, for instance, his solution for joining GSP (gelspun) backing to a fly line. This is a very neat, convenient, and incredibly strong link up. He carries his "100%" principle right through his fly line system, as the title says, from reel arbor to the eye of the fly. The best thing for me though, is his effort to keep the knots and rig simple and tidy. Even his Bimini Twist is made to appear simple, a knot I've been skirting around for years, looking for alternatives just because I thought it was too much bother to tie.

I have a criticism, but it's only concerned with why the cameraman keeps the lens on Morsie's face for so much of the time, instead of where the action is, his hands. I know he's cute, and it must be a temptation, but you want to shout at him, "Hey! Pan back. Put the camera on the knot!" I mean, even Morsie is looking at the knot. We on the other hand are left staring at his at his hairline (ample and distinguished though it is) for a moment too long on several sequences. It's a small niggle though, not really worth mentioning, but this is a review, not an ad, so I felt I should maybe say something critical. I should also say that the camera always gets onto the Morsie's hands and the rig soon enough. This is aided immensely by some very nice animations that illustrate exactly how the knots are tied. The great thing about having some commercial sponsorship, in this case Rio and Sage, is that production values like that can be afforded (you listening Paul?).

Peter is a pro, and delivers the tutorial like one - clearly, with precision and conviction. As a teacher myself, I know this takes practice and, most importantly, real understanding of the subject. You get the feeling that you are getting the real dope from this guy, not reheated clichés from another posturing wannabe expert. When Morsie says you can rely on a particular link in the system, you believe him. I've watched the video a couple of times and am practicing my Bimini Twists, and working words like "fiping" into as many conversations as I can.

Bob Wyatt
Oct '06