Fly Fishing (part 2) - Matching Fly Tackle

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Ok this is part 2, since I have time (darn it missed a fishing trip today!). This thread is a run down on fishes in our waters. This is a list of some of the popular and abundant fish that will strike flies (to the best of my knowledge). There are a lot of freshwater & saltwater fishes that are targeted by fly fishers. I believe fly fishing is still very ‘raw’ in our country. I guess its because of the number of shops selling fly equipment (gear, flies, etc) vs the places we can go fly fishing. All these internal & external forces discourages us to pick up this sport.

Some people who love to fish and would like to try this new sport is often discouraged by the lack of knowledge and skills when they want to enter fly fishing. Also, I think fly fishing is a good way to conserve our natural resources because we do not use live bait in fly fishing. Furthermore, the intention of fly fishing is to eventually release the fish. I feel that the next generation of fly tackle shop owners should encourage and influence potential fly anglers to fish for sport not for food. The other major role (our government) should play a part in this effort as well. Are they listening? I can only hope…

The match up is based upon my personal opinion and some may not agree with the potential match up because I love to fight big fish on light tackle. All comments are welcome, okay here goes:

Freshwater match-up

  1. Lampan, belida, ‘ikan bulan’, ‘pak so kong’ (light on small streams)
    ROD: 7 - 8 ft, 3-5 wt, mid-fast action
    REEL: Light weight single-click action. Capacity: Up to DT 5F & 50 yds of backing
    BACKING: 50 yds - 20lbs Dacron line
    FLY LINE: Matched with rod (3,4 or 5), DT floating
    LEADER: 7 1/2 or 9 ft all purpose knotless taper with 3X or 4X tip
    TIPPETS: 3X, 4X, 5X, 6X, 7X
    FLIES: sizes 18 - 16

  2. Toman, Haruan, Tengas, Sebarau (medium on small to mid size streams, ponds , and small lakes)
    ROD: 8 1/2 - 9 ft, 4-6 wt, mid-mid fast action
    REEL: Single action, with click or disc drag. Capacity: Up to WF 6F & 100 yds of backing
    BACKING: 100 yds - 20lbs Dacron line
    FLY LINE: Matched with rod (4,5 or 6), WT floating (or) WT sinking tip
    LEADER: Floating line 9-12 ft all purpose knotless taper (or)
    Sinking line 6ft knotless sinking line taper wtih 2X tip
    TIPPETS: 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 6X
    FLIES: sizes 18 - 4 (could be up to size 2, depending on fish)

  3. Big head carp, Grass carp, Malaysian mahseer, Pla Buk (Heavy, for medium and larger rivers, large ponds, and lakes)
    ROD: 9 - 9 1/2 ft, 7-9 wt, mid-fast action with short extension butt on handle (this is individual preference)
    REEL: single action with disc drag. Capacity: Up to WF 9F & 150 yds of backing. Extra spools.
    BACKING: 100- 150 yds - 20lbs Dacron line
    FLY LINE: Matched with rod (7,8 or 9)

  4. WF floating

  5. WF sinking tip

  6. WF full sinking
    LEADERS: Floating line: 9ft knotless taper with 0X tip
    Sinking line: 6ft knotless sinking tip taper 0X to 2X tip
    TIPPETS: 0X, 1X, 2X, 3X
    FLIES: sizes 6 - 2/0

Saltwater match-up

  1. General saltwater fishes includes: Todak, Mangrove jacks, Siakap (fun on pond fishing), ladyfish. (Mangrove, River mouth, piers, jetties)
    ROD: 9-10 ft, 9-10 wt, fast action with powerful butt section (if you can find saltwater rod with extension butt, will be great)
    REEL: Large single action saltwater resistant with disc drag. Capacity: Up to WF 10F & 200 yds of backing
    BACKING: 50 yds - 20lbs Dacron line
    FLY LINE: Matched with rod (9 or 10)

  2. WF floating saltwater taper

  3. WF sinking tip

  4. Sinking shooting head system, sink rates of (1 - 5 line densities)
    LEADER: Floating line 9ft knotless saltwater taper with 0/4X to 0X tip
    Sinking line 6ft knotless sinking line taper with 0/4X to 0X tip.
    TIPPETS: Fluorocarbon tippet, 12 -20 lbs test (although some may say that using a fluorocarbon is not needed here, I would say individual preference)
    FLIES: sizes 6 - 3/0

  5. Mid to heavy, (Queenfish, small GT, Tripletail, mahi-mahi, cobia, ‘tenggiri’, barracudda) at open ocean
    ROD: 9-10 ft, 9-10 wt, fast action with powerful butt section (same here if you can find saltwater rod with extension butt, will be great)
    REEL: Large single action saltwater resistant with disc drag. Capacity: Up to WF 10F & 200 yds of backing
    BACKING: 50 yds - 20lbs Dacron line
    FLY LINE: Matched with rod (9 or 10)

  6. WF floating saltwater taper

  7. WF sinking tip

  8. Sinking shooting head system, sink rates of (1 - 5 line densities)
    LEADER: Floating line 9ft knotless saltwater taper with 0/4X to 0X tip
    Sinking line 6ft knotless sinking line taper with 0/4X to 0X tip.
    TIPPETS: Fluorocarbon tippet, 12 -20 lbs test (Individual preference)
    BITE TIPPETS: 12" of 15 -30lbs Wire attached to tip
    FLIES: sizes 6 - 4/0

Finally here is the monster setup, I havent caught anything bigger than 20lbs on fly.

  1. Monster size (Tukun perak GT, dog tooth tuna, etc) :slight_smile: … 30 to 100lbs , at open ocean.
    ROD: 9-9 1/2 ft, 10- 13 wt, extra fast action with extra stiff butt and extension on butt handle (must have, otherwise, you tummy is going to hurt!)
    REEL: Large single action saltwater resistant with strong smooth disc drag. Capacity: Up to WF 12F & 250 yds of backing
    BACKING: 200-250 yds - 30lbs Dacron line
    FLY LINE: Matched with rod (10-13)
  2. WF floating saltwater (or if you can get a tarpon taper)
  3. WF sinking intermediate
  4. WF intermediate monocore tarpon taper
  5. WF sinking tip
    LEADER: 9-12 foot saltwater taper with special 100% knot tip section design: 20-40 lbs test class tippet
    BITE TIPPETS: 12 inches of 20-40lbs wire attached to tip
    FLIES 1/0 - 5/0 (for larger GT you may want to find a 7/0 top water flies, I dont know where to find this though)

Remember this is my suggested setup, you can mix and match accordingly to the fish you are targeting and the place you are fishing. Good luck, hope all new fly fishers will benefit from this :slight_smile:

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wahhh… fly 4 all… all 4 fly…


mail me : mus6003@yahoo.com
call me : 019 - 578 0727

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Again, thanks for the writeup. Very useful indeed. Only one point, the rod wts that you have indicated my work well for experts like you because you have the expertese but for beginners like me, slightly heavier rods may be easy to hanle. Say for Toman etc, 7 wt rod instead of 6 wt. I am not sure but I have felt that in the beginning, one comes across certain basic problems like how to hold the extra line in the left hand while casting and hooking the fish etc [:I] (and specially those who have been doing spinning for years and have gone used to a certain style of fishing). May be its a peculiar problem with me and others have never faced such problems. [:)]
Thanks a lot buddy, you have always been a great help.
Regards
Sualeh

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Hmm… interesting, I have heard many fly anglers who would prefer lighter rods because when you cast for a long time heavier rods will actually make you tired.

I can say that when a fish is hooked, there is one or two things you can do (with extra line on ground & fish is hooked), assuming you are right handed:

  1. Extra line have to be pulled by the fish until there are no extra line and then you can fight the fish right from the reel. This is done when you dont have a lot of lines on the ground, or you are fighting a pelagic fish (like queenfish, GT, etc). You must use your left hand to control the line going out to avoid tangle. Although when a big fish hits, you really dont have enough time to control. You have to practice.
  2. Maintain tension by using your right hand and finger to control the line and later use your left hand to reel the left over lines into the reel. Then fight the fish from there

But remember when a fish is hooked always set the hook then do steps 1 or 2. I do understand that fly fishing is very different, in fly fishing we use the line to cast, but not the fly. In spinning we do it the opposite. Practice really help, perhaps you can practice on a field using a yarn tied to the line. If a stream or lake is near to you, perhaps you can practice there.

Remember fly casting (the 10 & 12 o’clock rule). Cast at 10 o’clock and retrieve at 12 o’clock. Although there are a few casting technique, I find this is one of the easiest way to cast a fly line. Or you can practice using just fly line with your bare hand without the rod. Try to do a cowboy spin to help you get the motion right.

Anytime! I am always happy to share information :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the tips buddy, my problem is a beginner’s problem [:I] In fact not a beginners problem [:)]Its an angler’s problem, the one who thinks that after having fished for so many years, fly fishing should be no difficult. I am now realising that it may not be difficult per se but certainly very different. [:D]

And how can I forget the pleasure of hooking a big one with a light tackle. [8)] I vividly remember hooking a 15 kg rohu on a light rod with 12 lb line. Had to play the damn thing for over half an hour but it was a real pleasure. Wild rohus are quite powerful you know.
Hopefully, by the time I come back from Malaysia, my new gear will be in Pakistan and than I can practice all these techniques.
regards
Sualeh

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quote:
Originally posted by Sualeh
Thanks for the tips buddy, my problem is a beginner's problem [:I] In fact not a beginners problem [:)]Its an angler's problem, the one who thinks that after having fished for so many years, fly fishing should be no difficult. I am now realising that it may not be difficult per se but certainly very different. [:D]

And how can I forget the pleasure of hooking a big one with a light tackle. [8)] I vividly remember hooking a 15 kg rohu on a light rod with 12 lb line. Had to play the damn thing for over half an hour but it was a real pleasure. Wild rohus are quite powerful you know.
Hopefully, by the time I come back from Malaysia, my new gear will be in Pakistan and than I can practice all these techniques.
regards
Sualeh

Good luck to you, you will enjoy fly fishing very much if had experiences fighting a big fish using light tackle :slight_smile:

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I hope so. Thanks for the tips buddy.
regards
Sualeh

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Anytime ! :slight_smile:

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bagus benar sharingnya…,saya masih awal belajar soal fly .kadang2 masih sulit untuk pilih spek yang cocok…thank again sharing

salam,
ricky
http://flyfishingindonesia.multiply.com/