CA saltwater fly line recommendation please

pjstevko · March 09, 2018, 11:42:43 PM

I'm thinking of trying my hand at surf fishing with my 8wt fly rod in the central coast area and need a recommendation of which fly line I should use......

I'm targeting surf perch, stripers, halibut (etc) and am thinking that shrimp or crab pattern flies should work...If you have fly patterns recommendations as well I'd greatly appreciate it....

PJ

theswimmer · March 10, 2018, 03:36:13 AM

PJ you will need 2 maybe 3 different fly lines .
The surf perch and striper can be fished on a double taper f/s while the halibut will need to be a full sinker ,single taper or maybe even rocket. In any case the halibut rig will need to be something that gets down quick and that can be a handfull to cast even for someone much better at it than myself.
I have a bunch of different set ups , different rods, different reels and lines ,maybe we could pick just one species for trying on the opening day weekend.....
I think that will give you a good starting point.
Best,
JT

theswimmer · March 10, 2018, 03:44:00 AM

The big minnow patterns and crab between a half and silver dollar in size work great for striper and small jigs with a little bucktail in white seem to always do well for perch. Plus whatever else you feel like throwing 😂

pjstevko · March 10, 2018, 03:51:19 AM

JT knowing that the setup will only get used in the central coast area I'd say the primary target would be surf perch.....

I already have a rod and reel so a new line is all I would need... I know floating line is a pain in the @ss in the surf so I was thinking sinking line would be best....

Pj

jurelometer · March 10, 2018, 07:14:13 AM

For the west coast surf, you need a line that you can cast in a strong breeze, and also stay in touch with the fly while you are retreiving. I know of two camps: The first like an intermediate line, believing more of the line will ride higher in the water, get swept around less, therefore easier to keep in touch with the fly. The intermediate might be a tad easier to fish neutral weighted flies higher in the water column for targeting stripers. The second camp prefers a sinking shooting head setup. Nothing casts better into and across a strong breeze than a sinking head. And the thinner diameter head and running line actually works better for keeping in touch with the fly. Plus the fly stays down in the zone longer, before the wave action pulls the fly up. Sinking lines don't land with much stealth, but this is not an issue until you get south far enough to be targeting Corbina in calm waters.

In general the farther south you fish, the more folks you will find using intermediates. Not coincidently the surf tends to be less rough farther south. The guys that target big stripers are more likely to be in the intermediate camp as well. Halibut guys prefer a sinker. I am in the sinking head camp personally. I don't surf fish south of monterrey bay. Either line will work for all of the species.

Either way you will want a shooting head type of line, with a shorter head and a thin running/shooting line. The most popular style nowadays is an integrated head/ shooting line, vs. the older style of seperate running line and shooting heads that are looped together. For a integrated sinking line look for a straight taper cut to length tungsten impregnated head attached to an intermediate running line. For an eight weight, I would get a T-14 (14 grams per foot, these lines are listed by density, not by line size). You practice casting and cut the head down to the right length for you, probably right around 28 feet for an eight weight, never below 26.

For an intermediate, everybody loves the super short head integrated lines with a lot of the weight in the front part of the head. The RIO Outbound short is by far the most popular. I am in a very small minority of folks that are not fans of the Outbound short, but have to admit that a line like this that is easy to use for short to middle distance casts and will load the rod quickly without a lot of line out has its place in the surf.

With either of these style of lines, you need to strip the line in to the start of the head, and roll cast the line up to the surface before starting your cast. From this point on, casting an intermediate is similar to casting a floater. A sinking head almost mandates a sidearm back cast and a more open loop. The guys that stick with the classic 10-2 o'clock overhead cast end up hooking themselves as the line drops on the forward cast, hence the term "chuck and duck". I think that casting a sinker is not that tricky, but it is something different to learn.

You will also need a stripping basket that will keep the stripped line out of the wash, and will allow you to roam up and down the beaches to find the perch. The key to catching surf perch on the fly is to keep moving until you find fish.

Don't know if you get up to the San Jose area much, but if you do there is a real fly casting pond in Campbell, and I have a bunch of lines that you can play with.

theswimmer · March 10, 2018, 09:07:54 AM

P J , here you go.
Pretty much the surf perch god with a fly rod.....
Mark Won.
surf-perch.net

Although the site will head you further down the dark side as far as gear goes.
Enjoy!

pjstevko · March 10, 2018, 04:16:20 PM

Quote from: jurelometer on March 10, 2018, 07:14:13 AM
For the west coast surf, you need a line that you can cast in a strong breeze, and also stay in touch with the fly while you are retreiving. I know of two camps: The first like an intermediate line, believing more of the line will ride higher in the water, get swept around less, therefore easier to keep in touch with the fly. The intermediate might be a tad easier to fish neutral weighted flies higher in the water column for targeting stripers. The second camp prefers a sinking shooting head setup. Nothing casts better into and across a strong breeze than a sinking head. And the thinner diameter head and running line actually works better for keeping in touch with the fly. Plus the fly stays down in the zone longer, before the wave action pulls the fly up. Sinking lines don't land with much stealth, but this is not an issue until you get south far enough to be targeting Corbina in calm waters.

In general the farther south you fish, the more folks you will find using intermediates. Not coincidently the surf tends to be less rough farther south. The guys that target big stripers are more likely to be in the intermediate camp as well. Halibut guys prefer a sinker. I am in the sinking head camp personally. I don't surf fish south of monterrey bay. Either line will work for all of the species.

Either way you will want a shooting head type of line, with a shorter head and a thin running/shooting line. The most popular style nowadays is an integrated head/ shooting line, vs. the older style of seperate running line and shooting heads that are looped together. For a integrated sinking line look for a straight taper cut to length tungsten impregnated head attached to an intermediate running line. For an eight weight, I would get a T-14 (14 grams per foot, these lines are listed by density, not by line size). You practice casting and cut the head down to the right length for you, probably right around 28 feet for an eight weight, never below 26.

For an intermediate, everybody loves the super short head integrated lines with a lot of the weight in the front part of the head. The RIO Outbound short is by far the most popular. I am in a very small minority of folks that are not fans of the Outbound short, but have to admit that a line like this that is easy to use for short to middle distance casts and will load the rod quickly without a lot of line out has its place in the surf.

With either of these style of lines, you need to strip the line in to the start of the head, and roll cast the line up to the surface before starting your cast. From this point on, casting an intermediate is similar to casting a floater. A sinking head almost mandates a sidearm back cast and a more open loop. The guys that stick with the classic 10-2 o'clock overhead cast end up hooking themselves as the line drops on the forward cast, hence the term "chuck and duck". I think that casting a sinker is not that tricky, but it is something different to learn.

You will also need a stripping basket that will keep the stripped line out of the wash, and will allow you to roam up and down the beaches to find the perch. The key to catching surf perch on the fly is to keep moving until you find fish.

Don't know if you get up to the San Jose area much, but if you do there is a real fly casting pond in Campbell, and I have a bunch of lines that you can play with.

Thank you for all the info!

swill88 · March 10, 2018, 04:38:14 PM

Great thread PJ, thanks.

My goal is to get out to the surf in 2019.

What wading gear is recommended?

Steve

pjstevko · March 10, 2018, 05:15:03 PM

Steve if wading to fly fish the number one piece of gear besides rod, reel and flies is a striping basket. Depending on time of year you can get away with just wading boots but in winter you'll probably want waders and waterproof jacket....

I'm just starting to get my fly fishing surf gear together so I'm still learning too but the above statement is just a guess...