Fly Fishing

[codcatcher3000]

hi have just been giving a 9 weight forwrd rod. i am looking for a cheap reel to go with this. i have been made to understand any reel will do as long as i get a weight 9 line? so many choices on ebay. am looking to do some sal****er fly fishing for mackerel/bass/ pollack. what sorta of line would i need? floating? sinking? and how do i set up the spool...am clueless so any form of help wud be great...thanks in advance.

[ozzy37]

id tend go for a bit bigger diameter reel to suit the rod, helps with balancing i rekon and gives you a faster retrieve rate on fish trying to do one. but pretty much any will do.
you'l need to pop into a tackle shop and get some fly line backing. bagnal and kirkwood gave me free backing when i bought a fly line off them, and even put it on for me. then get a weight forward (WF lines make casting heavy flies easy) 9# fast sink line this would also work for makky in top layers if you start retrieving immediately as well as pollack if you let it sink.
hope this has helped mate

[man in the boat]

If you need any flylines pm me got loads of gear

[Kev1n]

All the bass and mackerel I’ve caught on the fly have been on lines floating lines. Both species come in to surprisingly shallow water so you only need a floater to start with. Try a clouser minnow in pink and white or green and white on a size four hook for schoolies and macs.
All the better Pollock I’ve had on a fly were caught on ultra fast sinking lines or more usually, lead core shooting heads. Casting lead core is a chuck-and-duck technique but the bigger Pollock like deep water so that’s what you need. 4/0 hooks or bigger will still take small fish and give confidence when the bigger ones crash dive. Try a four inch sandeel type fly or just lash some brown Crystal Flash to a hook to cheaply make your own.
If you're fishing steep rocks then a drop net or landing net is a must.

[bigtel]

If you need any flylines pm me got loads of gear

you havent got a nice vice tucked away by anychance or a wf8 intermediate


terry

[codcatcher3000]

thanks all so far for the post. my in law has said theres a reel for me so i will have a look and maybe u's lot can tell me if its gonna be ok. keep the informative advice coming and thanks again.

[Bushwhacker]

You will need some backing under the fly line on the reel,20lb hollow braid is sufficient.
To join the them,push the fly line into the backing about 1 inch then whip down the frayed end with some fine whipping or fly tying thread(about 1/8th of an inch) and varnish.
Then pull the backing tight put a tiny dot of superglue where the end of the fly line is,don,t overdo this as it will make the joint too stiff.This joint will pass through the rod rings easily if a fish takes all the fly line.Make sure you connect the right end of the fly line,if its a new line it should have a marker saying "To reel" for this.
This pic gives an idea of what i mean.



To measure the correct ammount of backing,tape the front end of the fly line to the spool and reel this and the backing on till it leaves an 1/8th inch gap between backing and the reel.
Then pull it all off in loose coils onto the floor to stop any tangles.
Now tie the end of the backing to the reel and put it all back on.
Its the easiest way of getting the correct ammount of backing.
Put a braided loop on the end and attach a leader and you are ready to fish.

Pm me if you need any other help.....Dave