I'd like to get specific with these questions. I'm going to concentrate on estuaries for now and would welcome some advice here. There are kahawai and seatrout in the estuaries.
- "when should I be fishing these places in relation to time of day and time of tide? Does it matter?"
- "how do you cope with waves? and...
- any mugwai flyfishing tips?"
Tom Rowland
I am not sure that I am going to be a lot of help on this one. I am not exactly sure what the fish species are that you are talking about so I am going to refrain from giving advice on something I do not know about.
As far as the waves: if they are so big that you cannot fish there, don't wade so deep. Try a longer rod or even a Spey or 2 handed rod to get the distance you need without having to wade so deeply.
Sorry that I do not know any more about the species that you are fishing for,
but as of now, I have not fished for them.
Thanks!
FISH EVERYWHERE!
Well the streak continues in spite of all the expert advice. Has it ocurred to you that it might just be you? I haven't fished where you are so any advice will have to be generic.
1. Typically low light at morning and evening is best, but tide is often more imporant. Usually dead high and low tides are rather dead, moving water moves food and fish like that. Some places are better on a rising tide, some better when it falls.
2. Assume you are in a boat, hold on tight! Brace yourself against a gunnel, don't move around. Try to find protected areas where it isn't as rough. Protected spots may not be where the fishing is best, but if you can't make decent casts and are getting bruised up how much fun is that?
3. Sorry, unfamiliar with the term mugwai. A search revealed a Japanese site devoted to teaching use of chopsticks and Tokyo info for tourists, and a Scottish band, don't think either relates to your question.
Glad to help, but I am going to need to know more about it. What flies did you use? How did you fish them? What does the area look like? Is the water clear? Did you see any fish?..birds? What is the water temp? What are the weather conditions? How big are the waves? Were there other guys fishing there?
I used a Clouser Minnow in chartreuse and white (as directed by The Panel :-)) stripped like hell at first (and then slower and slower as the realisation dawned upon me that flyfishing in the sea just doesn't work). The area was very beautiful and the water crystal clear. I didn't see any fish, nor birds. I have no idea what the water temp was, but I wouldn't swim it without a wetsuit. The sky was clear and the waves were about 5 feet high. Jim was fishing there as was some other dude with a net. Brad also writes...
Well thanks again chaps :-) I still don't know why I didn't catch anything of course, but I'm hoping to put this to rights as soon as possible. I have some new questions...
- Are there waves you just can't flyfish? It seems to me that surf beaches are almost unfishable...
- If there is no surface activity would I be better off fishing an clear intermediate line (we call them slime lines in the UK) and
- I have a question from the
discussion board:
Having been bombarded with an array of fishing catalogues over the last few days (all of which pale in comparison to this site :-)) it seems that all the rods designed for saltwater fishing are tip-action rather than progressive. Do the manufacturers all believe that this type of rod is more suitable for saltwater -and if so, why? - and that therefore all saltwater fisherman are pushers rather than pullers? Or is it just another case of confusion over terminology?
Any thoughts from the sultans of salt? - Charles