Jake....
You amaze me ! 50 good sensible answers.
The differences between a few of your answers and mine, are a matter of preference.
For example, my own way of solving the toothy critter problem is to tie up plenty of simple flies and/use long shank hooks..
You have far more experience with those sails than I, so I'll defer to you on the drag setting. I really MEANT to ask the setting for STRIKE drag........not the overall setting. I have landed many with lighter drag settings than you prefer....but you may land them quicker, which can be a plus , especially in a tournament.
I didn't think anyone would get the answer right on the permit coming up on the fly stuck in the grass, or the cobia following the ray ! You get your Phd.
CONGRATULATIONS TO AN OLD PRO !!!!!!!!!!!
Gordy
From: KEYSJAKE@xxxxxxx
To: hillshead@xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: 50 questions on salt water flyfishing
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 14:54:18 EDT
Hey Gordy:I am in Anchorage after spending more than 2 months wandering around Alaska in search of large fish. This E-mail seemed to highten my interest so I took a shot at answering your questions. I will be home next week!Regards:JakeIn a message dated 9/29/2005 11:45:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time, hillshead@xxxxxxx writes:Hi, Group......
Bruce Chard and I have been discussing the fact that there still remains a primary interest in fresh water fly fishing throughout the FFF. This is one of the reasons we haven't had more of the rapidly growing band of salt water fishermen join us. At the same time, there are more questions on the MCI oral exams asked about salt water fly fishing as time progresses.
I am throwing out some questions on salt water fly fishing, here. Let's see how many of these you can answer:-
1.) What is an Albie ?
Little Tunny, (False Albacore)2.) How does a Peanut bunker differ from a bunker
Peanut Bunker = small, Juvenile bunker3.) Can you come up with a good leader formula for average bonefishing
9' to 12' with 60 percent butt tapered to at least 18 inches of fluro carbon tippet4.) What is a TARPON BALL ?
Round butt cap on Tarpon fly rod5.) What does ALF stand for ?
Anchovie looking fly6.) Who is Kate Howe ?Kate and Bill Howe designed F.P.F. (Flashy Profile Fly) for Billfish7.) Who is Bob Viverka ?
8.) Can you describe Cam Zigler's billfish fly ?
9.) What is a Barnegat Bay Cast ?
10.) How did it get its name ?
11.) What is a Sayanora Sling ?
12) You are fly casting to fish busting 80' out beyond the first line of breakers. There are sand dunes about 20' behind you. You have already ticked off 3 flies, when you decide to change to a different cast. What do you do ?
13.) The surf has a distinct set and undertow. Seaweed is floating all over the place, and keeps getting stuck on your line at your feet and spoiling your cast. What simple piece of equipment do you need to prevent this from happening ?
14.) You are looking for a fly line for salt water fly fishing. What fly line cores would you prefer ?
15.) You have 2 fly lines. One is a WF10F fresh water line, and the other is a WF10F salt water taper, according to the package label. Which one is likely to be of lower density ?
16.) Your student asks you what the difference is between a good salt water fly line for him to use for catching striped bass in Maine as opposed to a line of exactly the same WF9I package designation line for use on the reef in Belize, Central America. What do you tell him ?
17.) Where would you use a Hufnagle Knot ?
18.) What is a SPYDER HITCH ?
19.) When might you chose to avoid attaching your tippet to the eye of a fly hook altogether in favor of snelling the tippet to the hook ?
20.) You are fishing a skiff off Cape Cod. You wish to catch a striped bass, but there are many bluefish which frequently bite off your fly, right through the monofilament tippet. What do you do ?
21) There is a blitz on the beach at Montauk. Blues and stripers, mixed. You keep casting and retrieving, but get a blue every time......not a striper. What do you do in order to get the striper you want out of the blitz mayhem?
22.) The Spanish mackerel are crashing ballyhoo off shore at Key West. Their razor sharp teach often cut your monofilament leader, and you lose your fly. You tie on a wire tippet to prevent these cut-offs........and get no strikes. What do you do ?
23.) Would you prefer a direct drive fly reel or an anti-reverse reel for landing a 125 lb. tarpon? Why?
24.) At what pound test would you set you drag when fly fishing for sailfish in Costa Rica ? (Presume you have a 20 lb. test class tippet, and the fish are running about 9o# to 110#. You are using a 13 wt. fly rod with a butt lift capacity of 18lbs.)
25.) Baby tarpon (10 lb. up to 15 lb.fish) are feeding near a mangrove shore at dawn in a shrimp hatch. You have made many casts to them with good presentations, but no strike. What bite tippet do you choose. (Assume a 6wt fly rod)
26.) You are fishing for large tarpon. Which of these would you prefer ? a. Fish going away from you. b. Fish coming directly at you. c. Fish in range traveling at right angle to you.
27.) What is a HAIL MARY cast ?
28.) Your student says he's about to fish for large tarpon using a 12 wt. rod. He says that there are big rafts of sargassum floating in the current. He wants to know what type of backing he should get for his reel. What do you tell him?
29.) What is the best way to strike a large bonefish as you see him take your fly ?
30) What is meant by, "triangulating the hook" ?
31.) Bruce Chard is your guide. He has taught you to make a really good salt water, "quick cast". You need this, because the tarpon are showing up all of a sudden at very close range (say 25' to 30' out from the skiff), so you don't have time to get ready or make a lot of back casts. For best results you underline your 11 wt. rod with a WF9F line. Did you make the right choice ?
32.) A large permit is approaching your crab fly.....but it is stuck in the grass on the flat!! What do you do ?
33.) You approach your favorite flat. As your skiff gets closer, you see another fly angler poling his skiff in an Easterly direction. This is a large enough flat that you deem there is enough room for 2 skiffs to fish it. What do you do, now ?
34.) This time, you are in unfamiliar territory in the Florida Keys. You see several skiffs with fly fishermen. They are all lined up at the edge of a bank, about 80' to 100' apart. What is the preferred way to join them for tarpon fishing ?
35.) A large cobia comes up on the flat following a huge sting ray. You make several casts to the cobia, but he ignores your crab fly, despite the fact that other cobia have taken your crab fly that morning. What do you do to get a strike ?
36.) You are fishing for small tarpon on the flat, early in the morning. There is scattered weed all over the place, so your fly gets snagged on some weed a few seconds after starting each retrieve. You change lines from a floating to an intermediate one.....but now it keeps getting stuck on the bottom, as it's only 18" deep. You use a technique which works fine, and catch one in a few minutes. What is that technique ?
37.) There are pods of bonefish coming within range of your staked out skiff in a regular pattern. It's a high sky, "severe clear" day and the bones are so spooky that they spook as your fly line is in the air every time. You finally figure out what to do and land a nice 8 lb. fish. What sneaky technique did you use ?
38.) Fishing striped bass from a boat in 25' deep water of Montauk, you are using a 1/0 Clouser, a 12' tapered leader, and a high density sink tip 400 grain Teeny Nymph "T-4" line. You have caught one small fish. Your buddy in the bow has caught 6 really nice fish. He's using a different line and leader. What do you think he's using ?
39.) What is the difference between a PUPPY DRUM, a REDFISH, and a RED
DRUM ?
40.) Which fish is more likely to take flies readily, a BLACK DRUM or a RED DRUM ?
41.) You have learned (correctly) that snook have no teeth, so you rigged with 10lb. tippet right to the hook....but have had 3 fish cut you off in succession. How can this happen ?
42.) The grouper you just hooked dove into the rocks and won't come out despite the fact that you are using a stiff 11 wt. rod and a 20 lb. tippet. You finally figure out how to get him to come out and land him. What did you do ?
43.) Bonefish and Muttons are tailing on a flat in the remote Balhamas. Which of these two fish are likely to be more spooky ?
44.) Roosterfish off Baha, Mexico are feeding almost within your casting range. You cast to them, but get no strikes. Do you know of one technique which may solve this problem ?
45.) Your sailfish popper fly has attracted the sailfish's attention. He charges it.....but in trying to eat it, he keeps pushing it out of his own way with his shock wave. What do you do to prevent this ?
46.) The sails off Guatamala are really "hungary", today. You have gotten 5 "pile-on" strikes in succession, but the fish keep taking the fly down deep, so your class tippet breaks on the rough mouth every time. You are taught a different presentation cast which works fine, by your captain. What did he teach you ?
47.) The bonefish are showing up on your rod hand side, and are gone so fast that your guide can't turn the skiff for you to make a good presentation. What do you do ?
48.) For most salt water fly fishing, would you prefer a soft action rod, a medium action rod, or a fast action rod ?
49) You found that by adding a cork grip 12" above the standard cork handle, that it made it a lot easier to pump up a large fish from the depths. You broke 2 rods by doing this. What was the problem ?
50.) Can you tell me a casting technique for placing a fly directly into a 25 knot wind to a distance of 50' while using a 9 wt. fast action rod and a WF9I salt water taper line ?
If you can answer all 50 of these questions correctly, you are getting close to getting your pHD in salt water fly fishing.
Gordy