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Hi, Jeff.....
A 10 wt. system would have made that into-the-wind with a heavy fly cast a
bit easier, to be sure. However, by using the techniques described in my
answers, we were able to get that fly out just fine with the 9 wt. outfit on the
1st day. On the second day the wind and rain were even worse. I
switched to an 8 wt. outfit to enjoy catching some of the snappers (juvenile
bluefish). These fish weighed only about 1 lb. or less.....so the 10 wt.
would have been ok for the conditions, but overkill for the smaller fish.
Using these techniques including the heavy fly (in case of a striper
hookup) we could still make those casts just fine with the 8 wt. outfit.
The density compensated sinker......even a class III line is MUCH more
difficult to handle under these circumstances.....and a class IV, almost
impossible, even though the latter would have allowed the use of a lighter
fly.
For better than 90% of these salt water conditions, we DO use intermediate
lines as a really workable compromise. This line even allows for the
sudden switch to a surface popper or slider without changing lines, for when the
fish start crashing on top.
Even when I set out to fish primarily with a popper, I elect to use an
intermediate....not a floating line. The floater will often pop the fly
right out of the water as you work it....it, also, will not be as good for
popping a train of attractive bubbles just under the surface film.....in all, I
get fewer hookups with the floater. Also, the intermediate line has less
diameter and bulk because it's more dense than a floater of the same wt.
This also helps shoot your loop out into the wind. I wouldn't use a full
sink line, because it quickly takes your fly down to kingdom come.....so it just
doesn't pop after the first couple of strips.
I'll often use the intermediate line for small tarpon in water only 12" to
18" deep on the flats. Then I'm also ready to fish more deeply at the edge
of channels without changing lines or outfits. The trick, here, is to make
your cast and stop it before the fly lands using a triple haul (check
haul).......and literally start your retrieve AS your fly hits the water.
That way, your intermediate line "becomes a floater".
Another advantage of the Intermediate line, is that you can allow it to
sink JUST enough to get it below scattered floating weeds before
retrieving.
Lastly, you can buy intermediate lines with clear coating, or clear
tip. I've never run across density compensated sinkers which are
clear.
One more reason for avoiding that density compensated sinker, was that
there were fierce back currents near the sand bar. To avoid a belly in the
retrieved line due to this current, it was easy to make repeated on-the-water
mends. I doubt I could have done that with the heavier line. Minimizing
that current belly, made the strip-strike more effective.
Though I tried, I couldn't make decent in-the-air mends when using that
thrust cast into the wind. There is so much loop speed that it straightens
out the mend every time.
As Tom White teaches so well, there are many factors which go into your
choice of line in fresh water or the salt:-
1. The casting conditions, including distance and wind.
2. Depth of water to be fished.
3. Depth that the fish are feeding.
4. Surface weeds or deep kelp weeds.
5. Size of the quarry.
6. Size of the prey upon which the fish are feeding.
7. Size and weight of the fly.
8, Length and design of the leader needed.
9. Strength and casting ability of the angler. (A 13 wt. outfit might
be fine for the fish and the casting conditions.......but impossible for some
anglers to handle.)
10. The fighting attributes of the fish.
11. The temperature of the water (and the air)
12. The ferocity of the sun's rays. (Tropic lines have sun screens
added to the coating, and are stiffer.)
13. The need to change lines or heads frequently. (As in fishing for Salmon
and Steelhead in Alaskan rivers with different river depths and current
velocities, etc.)
14. Weather you wish to GET the fly down deep, or KEEP it down deep
for your fly to have a long sojourn in the strike zone. (For the
former, a sink tip.....for the latter, a full sink density compensated, with
class designation appropriate to the depth and current velocity.)
14. I guess we should add, ANGLER PREFERENCE.....the, " Je ne sais
quoi". (One angler finding his choice more suited to his fishing style
than that of another.)
Good stuff to keep us thinking !!!!!!!!
Gordy
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