Fluorocarbon

With fishing magazines and TV shows touting fluorocarbon over monofilament leaders, I have found that there are a lot of myths out there surrounding Fluorocarbon and the use of it for leaders.

First, fluorocarbon is not invisible in the water. Fact is that fluoro has the same refractive capability as water, so rather than a line attached to a hook which may shine and reflect light under water, which monofilament does, fluoro underwater is a dull line. The fish can still see it, but not as well which can prevent spooking skiddish fish. A helpful thing to remember is once flouro is nicked or has some abrasion to the surface the leader is much more visible to the fish. After casting a lot or fighting a fish, I check the line for damage. If there is no wear, no problem, otherwise I will cut the leader above the damage and retie.

Next, because flouro is denser than water, it actually sinks. This can be good, bad or indifferent depending on how you are fishing but something which should be considered as well when you are working a lure. Lures and flies like poppers, gurglers and suspending baits can be effected in a way where they do not work as well or as a benefit because rather than skidding across the top of the water or staying in a specific water column the line, when pulled, pulls the lure down then the buoyancy of the lure pulls it back up (this is especially effective on fishing a floating sand eel fly pattern at night).

Lastly, due to the density of flouro, the ability for the line to knot is compromised. Where monofilament is slightly softer, mono knots typically dig into the material and hold much better than flouro (where a knot is much more likely to slide). While an improved surgeons knot and blood knot will work fine for most applications, once you begin using flouro over 30lbs, you will need to begin attaching this to your main line with slim beauties and huffnagel knots. For the leader to the hook or barrel swivel, improved surgeons knots will work, but if you are looking for a strong and easy to tie loop knot, I prefer the Homer Rhodes for line over 30 and the non-slip mono loop for thinner diameter lines. I have attached some links below to help with the knots outlined above.

Slim Beauty (my preferred tarpon leader knot)

http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/knots/slim_beauty.aspx

Bimini Twist to Huffnagel Knot (common offshore knot)

http://www.midcurrent.com/video/clips/anderson_bimini.aspx

Homer Rhodes / Non Slip Mono Loop Knot

http://floridasportfishing.com/magazine/the-rigging-station/the-tightest-knot-isn-t-always-the-best.html

Early Season Striped Bass

At the beginning of the year in New Jersey there are primarily 2 types of food sources for the fish before the bunker schools show up.

Clams

Without spending too much time on this food source, I have not been able to find a lure, bait, etc. that can beat the real thing when it comes to clams. When using clams real early in the season I prefer to use 12-15 lb (lighter line allows further casts, but should be changed out annually) Berkley Big Game on my reels due to its abrasion resistance and low level of stretch and then place a slide weight above a barrel swivel to make a fish finder rig. After connecting the barrel swivel, I like to use about 3 feet of Seaguar 20# fluorocarbon and a 5/0 J Hook with bait holder barbs as striped bass will tap and pick at a clam early in the season making circle hooks less effective. Also, keeping the clam chunks on your hook small this time of year can really help. Remember anytime when you are fishing clams, the bass is really looking for the sack in the clam and not the tough foot. If they take the part they like, time to bait up again.

Sand Eels

The next food source which is an important part of a Striped Bass’ diet is the sand eel a.k.a. the American sand lance (it is really not an eel). The sand eel is about 3” – 5” long and has a silvery side and swims similar to an eel in the water in a snake like fashion. Because the sand eel can not be used effectively as bait, the only option is to try to replicate this food source by flies, tins and lures. For this article, I will focus on the spin/conventional fishing.

AVA Tins with tails are an effective means of fishing for bass when sand eels are present, especially if worked in a jigging manner, because sand eels burrow as a defense mechanism when they see a bass. This small puff of sand that an AVA tin replicates when jigged off the bottom and can make for some really fun bites. As well, you can switch to a Deadly Dick and fish it in a steady retrieve or troll the lure to mimic the same flash and motion of a sand eel making this lure both effective from shore or from a boat. AVA tins can really be found anywhere you walk into, usually hanging from racks by the dozen. While Deadly Dick’s can be found almost anywhere, finding the right weight can be tough. I have included a link below for reference.

http://www.edgeangling.com/DD03-2L.html

The next effective way to fish for bass is with plastic lures. The lure I have found that best mimics the movement of a sand eel, casts great without fouling, and can take a bluefish beating is the Bomber Lure Company’s 17A. This lure is great when casting in conditions that have current. Whether on a rip line or fishing a current, this lure looks just like the real thing struggling to get across the water. I fish these in yellow and white, all black, and purple and black with great results. In fact, the biggest striped bass I ever caught was in a blitz on one of these lures. What I have also found over the years is that even if bigger baits are around, these lures still produce making it a must have in my surf bag year round. In my opinion, in fishing for striped bass from the beach, this lure is the best. You can find these lures at almost any tackle shop although I am including the below link for reference:

http://www.edgeangling.com/Fishing-Lures2.html?brand.value=Bomber&v=table&n=24

Another great way to fish with sand eels is with plastics. Hogy and Vision lures make great replications of sand eels. These lures rigged in weedless fashion on a Carolina rig can produce fish too especially when erratically worked between swimming the bait and jigged off the bottom. I have found these are good on beaches with low levels of current and sand without much structure. Island Beach ocean side is really a great place to work these with the clearer water and sandy base. Here are links to their websites:

http://www.hogylures.net/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=80000143-1252964729

http://visionhooksandtackle.com/products/soft-baits/sand-eel/

Guide Flies

One of the things I can not have enough of before the season starts is flies. In the course of a year I will lose them in every way imaginable. From broken hooks to bluefish and everything in between.

Typically, in my saltwater fly box there are a few flies which I can not run out of. These flies are my go to patterns and I rarely deviate when I know the bait they imitate is around. They are white and chartreuse deceivers tied on Gamakatsu SC15 2/0 hooks, Cowen’s sand eels and a fly I have been tying for the past couple years which striped bass and bluefish love, this is my go to guiding fly.

While in the process of designing this fly over the years, I kept taking attributes from various other flies and lures for striped bass to come up with this one. First, I kept it simple with the colors. There is a saying a lot of old time striped bass fisherman have and it goes “If it aint chartreuse, it aint no use.” With this, I decided to make the day version all chartreuse and the night version all black… it was kept simple.

Next, I wanted a lot of motion with the profile of a baitfish, so I made the fly big with “married” or splayed in feathers and used bucktail to build out the profile to look like a baitfish from any angle.

Last, I wanted the fly to push water so the fish would be able to feel the fly with their lateral lines. This is an important part of how a striped bass hunts and I feel should be incorporated into flies when water clarity may not be optimal.

Now, to tie the fly:

First, you need:

- Deer hair belly

- Saddle hackle

- Gamakatsu SC15 3/0 hooks

- White bucktail (or chartreuse)

- EP sparkle fibers or any other kind of sparkle

First, I tie in the bucktail and then place the sparkle fibers on top.

Next, I tie on 2 saddle hackle feathers after taking out the webby bottom feathers and face them in (not splayed out) on both sides of the hook.

Next, I take a saddle hackle feather tie on and palmer around the hook only using the webby part of the feather for the collar of the fly.

Last, I spin a deer hair head and then whip finish.

Once the fly is finished I then take out of the vise and trim the head to form a cone shape and then it is ready to fish...

Fly fishing Saltwater Leaders

Purchasing leaders can get expensive and they have probably not been tested to handle the conditions you run into when fighting a big striped bass. A leader should be able to turnover big flies, land the fly on the water softly and have a high abrasion resistance. Here is what I have been using from the surf and boat at a cost which is a fraction of the price and performance that exceeds store leaders.

Hint: Before trying up a bunch of leaders grab some chapstick to put on the line as you moisten the knots with spit to tighten down (this will lower the friction coefficient). Also grab a pair of work gloves and put them on when tightening the knots, this will help prevent line damage to your hands.

Striped Bass

(Perfection Loop)

4’ of 30# Mason Hard Mono

(blood knot, 3 turns each)

2’ of 25# Mason Hard Mono

(blood knot, 4 turns each)

3’6” feet of 20 # Seaguar fluorocarbon

(Homer Rhodes Loop Knot to Fly)

Bluefish:

Same as above, then (usually after being bit off)

Cut back from 3’6” to 2’ of 20# Seaguar

(Alrbright knot)

10” of Masons 38# single strand wire

(Haywire Twist to Fly)

2011 Fly Rods - 8 weight

The 8 weight fly rod is the most popular fly rod made for light saltwater applications. This rod can be used to catch snook, redfish, bluefish, striped bass, bonefish, baby tarpon, and small permit. Not to mention, they make great freshwater rods for bass, pike, big river streamers and hybrid bass. This rod is the workhorse and a lot of time and consideration should be used when buying one.

Over the past months I have been test casting every 8 weight I can get my hands on, which is not every rod made today, but enough samples for me to make a well informed decision. Here is what I found, with the disclaimer that no matter what magazines say, rod companies promote and anyone interested in selling a fly rod can say; the best way to find the right rod for you is by getting out and casting every one you can get your hands on.


G-Loomis NRX - USD 760.00



I have to admit, I was really excited to test this rod out. All of the hype about the new compound from 3M, 17 years in the making, made by Steve Rajeff (world's best caster, possibly ever) the list goes on and on...

So, I had my chance a few weeks ago and was, unfortunately, disappointed. While the rod was softer than the Crosscurrent GLX predecessor, the tip was made too soft for the butt section. This made the rod nice for close up shots within 30 feet and quick loading, but forced me to open up my loop for longer casts. This did two things to damage performance when exceeding 50 feet.

First, the wider loop decreased line speed and made the line subject to being influenced by the wind, in turn, decreasing accuracy. Second, the decrease in line speed takes away distance. This hurt the rod's ability to really put the fly on the target.

While I feel as though this rod is aesthetically excellent with the matte finish, blue and teal wraps and the carbon fiber reel seat, the performance, in my opinion did not match.


Hardy Proaxis - USD 695.00



Unbreakable, developed by 5 time gold cup winner Andy Mill, nano-technology... This was another highly touted rod that did not meet its advertiser's promise, in my opinion. This rod has all the problems the NRX has, and more. Line speed was even harder to create and due to a softer tip and tailing loops were more prevalent unless the loop was opened up even more.

Not knowing the new nano-compound properties, I have to think that while it creates unbreakable rods, performance is hindered by making the rods too soft in the tip section.


Scott S4S - USD 725.00



When I first picked up this rod I thought to myself, "This rod blank looks like my old Cortland 444". In addition to the rods' appearance (which I really like), there are some new features which are nice. While some may prefer the beautiful finishes, rod wraps and reel seats offered by Thomas and Thomas or Winston, the S4S is different looking while still offering premium components, only with a little more grit. First, Scott has introduced a Type 3 anodized reel seat. While it makes the reel seat salt-proof, it also adds a flash reduced surface which matches the dark gray rod very well. A very cool looking rod that would look awesome with a matte finished black Abel Super 7/8N.

As far as performance goes... this rod has it all. The rod casts beautifully with a flex profile that keeps the rod fun to cast. While the accuracy due to this bit of flex is inhibited at very long range distances, this rod is capable of delivering a fly with the utmost accuracy and tight loops for most saltwater fishing applications (30'-70'). This rod matched with a Cortland floating 8# line is just pure.


Sage Xi3 - USD 725.00

While I really likes the Xi2, I was a bit skeptical that any changes had been made when first picking up the new Xi3. Changing the black wraps to a dark blue seemed to be the only change at face value. Having cast this rod now, I admit I was wrong.

While the rod is aesthetically nice to look at with the sapphire blue blank with dark blue wraps in a shop, when the rod is placed in the sun, the coats of epoxy and finishes really make this rod shine. Match this rod with a black or gold Tibor Everglades and you have one nice looking setup.

Taking this rod out and casting it, it was clear that, while it seemed a little too stiff, the rod was deadly accurate. Probably the most accurate 8# rod made today. I think this is due to the new generation 5 graphite. Taking a page from golf club manufacturer's, Sage has incorporate torsion resistant materials in their rods. This keeps the line tracking straighter and loops tighter with better range and accuracy. The downside to this rod is on the short shots. With the stiff flex, the rod does not load great inside of 30', making the rod timing very difficult to feel. In order to fix this, two things can be done. First, you can go up a line size, but long distance performance will be inhibited. Next, you can fish a line weighted a half size heavier like the Rio Tarpon line for the flats which would be a nice setup. Last, you can fish sinking lines where on the flats you use a sink tip line, which hurts pickup and recasting to fish, and then use a full intermediate or type 4 in the Northeast. With those lines this rod can perform flawless in many different situations making a great everyday rod that you can travel with.


Greys Carnivore - USD 349.00



This rod is my pick for best buy. While it is not flashy cosmetically with nice epoxy coats and flashy hardware, this performs like a top rod.

Casting this rod with a floating line, the rod loads and unloads in a way that does not let the wind influence where the fly lands. Generating good line speed and delivering on accuracy, this rod is an excellent pick for the price point. With a tropical floater or a Rio Striped Bass full intermediate line this rod can perform in the northeast or on the flats.


G Loomis Crosscurrent Pro - USD 425.00



If you don't want to spend $700 on a rod and don't plan on traveling by plane to get to your fishing destination, this is your rod.

I have been fishing the 12# for tarpon for a few years and these rods are great. While probably too soft to cast a full sinking line well, they can present a floating line beautifully. The same is true for the 8#. While this rod performs excellent at all distances, the biggest draw back is the 1 piece, making it difficult to transport. This in addition to the grip that G-Loomis uses are my biggest complaints.

This rod matched with a Cortland floating line is awesome, in my opinion. To soften it up a bit you can use the Rio Tarpon line which will make this perform better up close while still getting the fly out to 70' with accuracy. This rod fights fish great and looks good too with an olive finish with gold trim. Match that with a moss colored Tibor or an Abel reel in green Camo and you have one cool looking setup.