What would a purpose-built BTB fly rod look like? Click HERE to read more about Sea Level Fly Fishing's Bluewater Extreme fly rods.

This is a multi-page review of Sea Level Fly Fishing's Bluewater Extreme fly rods . Click HERE to read the full story.

Fly rods are typically around 9 feet long. In this article, we discuss why "big is not always best". Click HERE to read the full story...

Fly rods are typically around 9 feet long. In this article, we discuss why "big is not always best". Click HERE to read the full story...

Part II of what every fly-fisherman needs to know about offshore trolling.

In Part II, we cover how to use all the stuff you got after reading Part I.




Part II of what every fly-fisherman needs to know about offshore trolling.

In Part II, we cover how to use all the stuff you got after reading Part I.

What every fly-fisherman needs to know about the fine art of offshore trolling. Part I covers basic gear for you and the boat. Part II covers how to use all the stuff. Click HERE to read Part I...




What every fly-fisherman needs to know about the fine art of offshore trolling. Part I covers basic gear for you and the boat. Part II covers how to use all the stuff. Click HERE to read Part I...

Sinking lines are a fact of life when fishing BTB. But for many people, casting a sinking line is an exercise in frustration. Click HERE to read an article by Dr. Nick on the art of casting a sinking line...





Sinking lines are a fact of life when fishing BTB. But for many people, casting a sinking line is an exercise in frustration. Click HERE to read an article by Dr. Nick on the art of casting a sinking line...

Part V of our no-nonsense series on getting started in BTBFF reviews some fly-fishing accessories or tools you should have with you when fishing BTB. If you haven't fished our coastal waters much, or are new to fly-fishing, you need to check this out. Click HERE to read the full story.



Part V of our no-nonsense series on getting started in BTBFF reviews some fly-fishing accessories or tools you should have with you when fishing BTB. If you haven't fished our coastal waters much, or are new to fly-fishing, you need to check this out. Click HERE to read the full story.

Part IV of our no-nonsense series on getting started in BTBFF has some suggestions for apparel. If you haven't fished our coastal waters much, or are new to fly-fishing, you need to check this out. Click HERE to read the full story.



Part IV of our no-nonsense series on getting started in BTBFF has some suggestions for apparel. If you haven't fished our coastal waters much, or are new to fly-fishing, you need to check this out. Click HERE to read the full story.

Nick Curcione offers some thoughts on fighting big fish on fly. Click HERE to read more.

by Nick Curcione

If you keep abreast of the fly-fishing literature, you know that comparatively little is ever written on the subject of fish fighting techniques. Articles on casting, tackle selection, flies, knots, leaders and presentation strategies are legion. However, when the moment of truth arrives and the fish takes our offering, we’re sort of left in the dark as far as what needs to be done to land our prize.

Somewhat along the same lines, another dimension of our sport that is seldom mentioned is the physical demands that certain facets of fly-fishing make on the angler. Fishing the surf is one example. The mere fact that you may have to traverse hundreds of yards of soft sand in a pair of waders can make you feel like you’re competing in a marathon. But of more interest to those who venture offshore is the exhaustion and strain involved when you seek to do battle with some of nature’s most powerful predators on hook and line.

In my fifty plus years of blue water fishing with all kinds of gear (commercial, conventional, spinning and fly-fishing tackle) I’ve been fortunate to wet a line in places with abundant big fish populations that afforded plenty of opportunity to hone one’s craft. My primary learning experiences in this respect were the long-range trips out of San Diego.

At the risk one runs of claiming pioneer status in just about any endeavor I think I can safely say that I was the first to use fly gear on these trips. Years later this started to gain in popularity and long-range trips tailored exclusively for fly-fishing were being offered. I was on the second such trip back in 1990 where I had the pleasure of partnering with one of the all time greats in this sport, Stu Apte.

When it comes to effectively subduing big, powerful fish on fly gear, the late Harry Kime and Stu are two of the best. What makes the long-range experience such a demanding test is the fact that you have to fight the fish standing up from a dead boat. And in the early days there were no chase boats available that you could jump in and go follow the fish. That’s where the small boat angler is offered a significant advantage.

But following a hooked fish is not always a simple matter of merely chasing after it. Boat handling is such an important part of blue water fishing that in many encounters it is the captain manning the helm who deserves as least as much credit as the angler if the fish is successfully landed. One tactic I learned from experienced small boat skippers on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast is the practice of moving the boat away from a fish that has sounded in the depths.

Of course, moving away from the fish means that even more line is going to be peeled off the reel, but the increased distance and resulting line angle will help coax the fish back toward the surface. Ideally, the skipper should try to maintain approximately a 30-degree angle to the fish. By doing so, if the fish starts running toward the boat, the captain can quickly maneuver away from it. This will also help prevent the leader from falling back over the fish’s dorsal area where it can become frayed or fouled.

In my second book on long-range fishing (“Doing It Standup Style”) I described the typical offshore fish fighting struggle as basically consisting of three phases:

• 
  Bill Johnson clearing line
  Phase 1 is where the fish (typically tuna and billfish) make a long determined run toward the horizon. This is the most exhilarating stage. Line is being ripped from the reel at an alarming rate and there is little you can do except savor the sensation, hang on and hope you don’t get spooled before it eventually stops (most fish oblige in this respect).
  
  The reel’s drag is critical during this period. The setting should be no more than 2 to 3-pounds. Regardless of how smooth and efficient the drag, on my fly reels I apply most of the additional resistance with my hands (fingers and palm). Your hands are far better suited for this than any mechanical drag system because you can instantly apply or release resistance as needed. Relying primarily on my hands, I actually have the drag set very light - slightly beyond the point necessary to prevent a backlash because the spool was turning too rapidly. Also bear in mind that resistance increases as greater lengths of line are being dragged through the water. When a fish is making a long run away from you, the drag resistance should be decreased, not increased.
  
  
• Phase 2 is where the fish dives into the depths. At times with tuna it’s difficult to distinguish between these two phases because the fish often runs down and out. This is particularly the case with albacore. Bluefin on the other hand typically run a considerable distance out before they sound. However, it’s Phase 3 that’s the real back breaker.
  
  
• Phase 3 is where the fish dogs you in the depths and it’s where the fly fisher suffers a disadvantage due to the length of most fly rods. Basic physics tells us that the rod is a lever whose function is to help lift the fish from the depths. It’s sort of like a seesaw effect in that the fish pulls from the tip of the rod. So the longer the rod, the greater the mechanical advantage for the fish. Conventional rods for this type of fishing are generally 5 to 5 ½ feet in length. By comparison, the majority of fly rods are traditionally 9-feet. But in the last few years fly rods intended for blue water fishing are being manufactured in 8½ and 8-foot lengths to help give big game fly fishers more lifting power.
  
  Even with a proper length rod you still have to know how and when to pull. West Coast long-range anglers pioneered the technique known as “short stroking” or "short pumping". This is a series of short, fairly rapid pumps during which only a few inches of line are reeled in during the down stroke. The object is to avoid lifting the rod too high above the horizontal plane.
  
  If you make a long pull upwards you’ll have to drop the rod downwards a considerable distance. Doing so gives the fish a chance to get its head down, and where the head goes the tail is sure to follow. Now the fish is going where it wants to and you are losing the battle. What you want to do is try to prevent the fish from gaining any momentum by keeping its head up with short rapid strokes.
  
  
  
  Long Range Fly Fishing
  This can be physically taxing, but when the fish stops taking line you have to go to work on it. When you rest, it rests. This prolongs the struggle and especially on the offshore grounds, the longer this continues the greater the odds against a successful outcome. Too many bad things can happen from incidents like sharks or seals taking your catch, to a leader becoming frayed and finally giving way.
  
  If you’ve been fortunate enough to get the fish out of the depths to a point where you can see color, start pulling on it low and sideways. What you want to do is try to put pressure on the fish from its underside where it can’t use its pectoral fins to resist you. Tuna characteristically circle at this stage, and knowing when to pull is critical. This may seem obvious, but it is surprising how many anglers fail to realize that they should pull when the fish is making the turn toward the boat, not when it’s turning away from it. I can’t count the number of quality fish I’ve seen lost at this point because of this mistake.

One last point I want to make on the physical side of the equation. As I have said so many times in the past when addressing this subject, “there is no such thing as an out of shape tuna.” You need to be in shape as well. While you will not be using heavy lines and drag settings, fly gear has its own set of demands. Rapidly winding a single-action fly reel for extended periods of time is one such example. Make sure you take some time to condition those fishing muscles.

Part III of our series on getting started in BTBFF talks about putting together that starter fly box. Click HERE to read the full story.



Part III of our series on getting started in BTBFF talks about putting together that starter fly box. Click HERE to read the full story.

Shooting heads are an essential part of West Coast saltwater fly-fishing. Click HERE to read Nick Curcione's article.




by Nick Curcione

An age-old truism advises that to get ahead, you should use your head. Whoever first offered this sage piece of advice probably couldn’t even image a pastime like saltwater fly- fishing, but if you have spent any time on the water in pursuit of this sport you are no doubt well aware of the statement’s relevance.

In our sport a certain degree of luck is always part of the equation, but in the long run it is the knowledgeable angler who ends up being the most successful. Similar to a pitcher trying to size up a batter, or a golfer deciding on what club to use for a given shot, successful outcomes in the fishing world are the result of learning how to make the right choices for the particular set of conditions that present themselves.

Somewhat akin to a currently popular TV commercial, in a perfect angling world, conditions would remain constant and you could plan your presentation strategies well in advance with complete confidence. In reality of course, that is seldom the case - particularly in a saltwater environment where conditions in one locale can change within the hour just due to the effects of tide and current. With constant change as a given, it’s a well-established fact that the key to consistently taking fish is the ability to adapt to the conditions at hand.

For the fly-fisher, two of the most important adjustments in presentation strategies are fly selection and the fly line you use to cast them. The issue of what fly to use for a given locale and species will probably never have any definite answers, but when it comes to choosing a fly line, I believe we can proceed with a lot more assurance.

Without question, the most versatile fly line set up is the shooting head system. This is my go-to line anytime I venture offshore. I was first schooled in the use of this system by the late, great, Myron Gregory sometime back in the early 1970’s. Myron was a champion tournament caster who hailed from Northern California, and is credited as one of the leading pioneers in the development of this type of line.

Basically, a shooting head system consists of two separate lines: the shooting head and the shooting line that trails behind it (shooting line is sometimes referred to as "running line"). The line was developed to achieve greater casting distance, a requirement recognized by early west coast salmon and steelhead devotees who had to present their flies across wide river expanses with minimal effort.

The head portion is traditionally 30 feet long. In terms of casting ease, for single-handed fly rods you generally would not want a longer head. In fact, you will find heads that are 27 and 26 foot long the most practical to use. This is simply due to the fact that the final forward cast should not be made until the entire length of the head and a portion of the running line (as general rule of thumb, 3 to 6-feet of running line) is completely outside the rod tip. For single-handed rods at least, there is simply no need to have a head in excess of 30-feet. You may see casters put on impressive demonstrations with longer heads but in real, on-the-water applications these longer heads can be unwieldy, particularly if you have limited room for a back cast.

Many years ago the late Bill Barnes (a world class fly-fisher who owned and operated Casa Mar Lodge in Costa Rica) used 15-foot lead -core shooting heads as his standard line for billfish. I used the same basic setup for sailfish and marlin for over 20-years. Today, instead of lead core I use one of the commercially available sinking lines.

Why make the billfish heads so short? First off, we’re casting very large flies often a foot or more in length. The shortened length of these heads compensates for the large flies and enables you to make casts as long as 60 or 70-feet. Secondly the room for back casts is usually restricted. You don’t want to snag an outrigger or a mate. Third, the abbreviated head enables you to spool a great deal of backing on the reel. However, with the exception of these limited billfish applications, my standard heads are 26 to 27-feet.

In addition to the casting distance advantage, and the fact that you can spool on more backing, the traditional shooting head configuration (where the head is inter-looped to the running line) enables you to change heads in a matter of minutes. All you do is coil the head in your hand, slip it through the 6 to 8-inch loop in the running line, and replace it with another head (maybe a floater or an intermediate, or one with a different sink rate) by interlocking it with the running line.

Many fly fishers would argue that the ability to quickly interchange heads is not really an issue, at least on the offshore grounds, because one should always have multiple outfits on hand ready to go at a moment’s notice. Instead, many of these anglers prefer to fish the relatively new integrated heads that are one continuous full- length line. In addition, some do not like the sound or the feel of the loops going through the rod guides. They prefer the smoothness afforded by an integrated head, full-length line. This latter point is a subjective issue, so let me address some of the other advantages of a loop-to-loop shooting head setup:

First off, even offshore, where multiple outfits may be readily on hand, there are situations where using interchangeable heads is more practical. I recall a trip to Midway Island years ago. The fishing was fantastic, but the landing almost impossible. The hundred pound plus amberjack and giant trevally constantly ran across the coral heads, and out of a party of five anglers, I think only two of these fish were boated in four full days fishing. In one afternoon I went through six shooting heads. They looked like they came through a shredder. It was a relatively easy matter to put on a new shooting head. Even with multiple outfits I would still have had to re–spool, and with full length lines that would have been a chore.

A second big plus with the loop-to-loop system is that it can facilitate one’s casting. Because you can see, hear and feel the loops going through the guides, you always know where the head is. Therefore you always know precisely at what point to execute the final forward cast. Especially at night with a full-length line, it can sometimes be difficult to determine how much line is outside the rod tip. Particularly with novice casters, this can create problems.

This is not meant to imply that full length integrated heads are inferior choices. I’m just trying to highlight the advantages of each type.

If you do opt for a traditional loop-to-loop system, you not only have to choose the shooting head, you also have to choose the running line. In terms of casting and line management issues, most of the problems involve the running line. Like any fly line, none of them are perfect and all of them will tangle at one time or another.

Regardless of the type of running line, I highly recommend some type of stripping basket. The more line you shoot, the greater the probability of tangles and baskets will help minimize this considerably.

A running line that is one of my favorites (this is not intended as a commercial) is Rio’s mono SlickShooter in 50-pound test. A very promising line I cast at the Fly Tackle Dealer Show in Denver last September is Scientific Anglers Shark Skin fly line. When this becomes available in a shooting line configuration it is something I will definitely want to try.

If you haven’t done so already, try using a shooting head setup, and you’ll find that you can fish any waterfront with confidence.

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Got any questions for Nick about this article? Ask away in our Article Discussion and Q&A Forum.

Other resources you'll find useful:

• The Mix & Match Tip Shooting Head System by Dan Blanton
• The Shooting Head - Casting by Dan Blanton

We asked some SoCal BTBFF guides: "What's the most common thing your clients should work on before they go out BTB?" The answer might surprise you...Click HERE to learn more...

We asked some SoCal BTBFF guides: "What's the most common thing clients need to work on before they go out Beyond The Breakwater?" We were surprised by the most common answer:

The Need for Patience. While there are lots of times when fishing is absolutely wide-open, those windows of opportunity may be highly dependent on tidal or current conditions, and they may not last that long. Fishing might be dead for some period of time during the day, then suddenly break open when the current, tide or other conditions come together. You need to be patient, stay alert, and be ready to fish when the fish go off. Captain Bowman notes: "A lot of clients who have not fished much in salt water see TV shows where there's non-stop action for what seems like hours. They forget those shows are heavily edited, so they come to the docks with unrealistic expectations. If the best bite occurs in the late afternoon, they get discouraged when things are slow in the morning, and they're not ready when the big bite comes."

The second most common issue was (no surprise): casting skills. Captain Webb notes: "People should practice casting before their trips, especially if they are not used to throwing sinking shooting heads. We do a lot of blind casting, so the ability to cast smoothly and with minimal effort makes for easier fishing." Captain Cooper agreed, noting "The double haul is an important part of being able to fish in wind, or when a little extra distance is needed".

Other things to think about:

• Learn how to fight fish effectively - how to use rod angles, reeling down to the fish, short stroke pumping, and keeping the pressure on all the time (this will be a future BTBFF article).
  
  
• Remember to strip strike rather than rod strike – a two handed strip helps
  
  
• Be sure to ask the captain about the techniques and tackle to be used.
  
  
• Go over with the captain or the mate what the game plan and procedures should be – know what is expected

OK...Now what do you need to work on?

Hawaii is beyond SoCal breakwaters...so that makes it BTBFF, right? OK, OK, it's a stretch... This compendium of information on fly fishing for Bonefish in the Aloha state is still in the works, but we hope to have it done in time for the Summer travel season. Stay tuned!