Previous articles in California Fly Fisher have covered surf fishing, from corbina to stripers to surfperch. However, once you step onto an ocean- bound boat, a whole new world opens up, and kelp bass, sand bass, white seabass, barracuda, bonito, rockfish, yellowtail, dorado, and tuna become available to the saltwater fly fisher. The gear is heavier, and the flies are bigger (and easier to tie on than a size 22 midge), but many of the techniques involved in fly fishing the offshore Pacific are similar to those used in fly fishing lakes, just on a larger scale. That said, many fly anglers believe the transition from fresh water to salt is shrouded in mystery. I want to try and dispel some misconceptions as I lay out how to fly fish in our local “pond” to the west.
The Time of Year and Fish
While many saltwater species are homebodies and can be targeted all year, the pelagic species we are fishing for are more seasonal. My experience is with the sea off the Southern California coast. There, ocean temperatures and currents change every year, but on average, large numbers of yellowtail arrive starting around April and continue well into November. Yellowfin tuna and dorado typically show in July and also continue to appear in numbers into November. In years past, we used to count on seeing albacore tuna by June. With increasing sea temperatures, they have moved farther toward Oregon and Washington, but have been replaced by bluefin tuna. We do not typically target bluefin, because they are very finicky and shy away from boat noise. The two trips I run every year are scheduled at the end of July, when we usually catch loads of yellowtail from 4 to 20 pounds, and the end of September, when the water is warmer and we get a mix of yellowtail, yellowfin, and dorado.
Gear for Offshore
This type of fishing requires a very good fly reel — one with a drag that works really well, because these fish are strong. There are many choices and price points for such reels, and many good saltwater reels work well for large freshwater species such as steelhead and salmon, so explore a variety of reels at your local retailer and see what fits your budget.
Heavier rods are necessary, for two reasons: to fight larger and stronger fish and to cast bigger flies. My typical rod is a 9-weight on up to a 12-weight. We’re again matching the equipment to the quarry and the size of the flies. When you pick up one of these stronger rods, they will be a bit heavier, but you will not be casting as often as you do with a trout rod, so the weight will not be much of a factor.
For the majority of fishing conditions, full sinking lines are the choice. I am old school and use 30-foot shooting heads with a monofilament-type running line such as Amnesia or Slickshooter and at least 200 yards of gel-spun or Dacron backing. You can also buy an integrated line with the shooting head molded into the running line. Depending on rod weights and conditions (such as fish holding deeper or windier conditions), you will find me casting heads weighing from 300 to 600 grains. I also carry a rod/reel setup with a floating shooting head and keep that rigged with a popper, because some species, such as tuna, yellowtail, and bonito, will smash a popper. A favorite image that I carry in my head was watching a 15-pound yellowfin launch itself out of the water and land on my fly with its mouth wide open. An adequate leader is 6 feet of 20-pound-test material.
You will want to tie or buy a decent assortment of streamer flies. In the ocean, as in the stream, we are still matching the hatch, but the bait situation changes with the season and the year. We can get sardines that are six to eight inches long or anchovies that are two inches. Flies in green, blue, or purple over dirty white are a good start in terms of color choices, in a range of sizes. You will need both weighted and unweighted flies, because in actuality, this is not a hatch situation. You never know what to expect. We have had fish refuse any fly we’ve offered, and on other trips, they’ll eat licorice on a hook. Years ago, I had one yellowfin eat a Crazy Charlie bonefish fly. Crease flies are my choice if I am throwing poppers — again, in green, blue, or purple.
You will also need a stripping basket or line-management device (a five-gallon bucket is an inexpensive option). When you are casting 50 to 100 feet of line from a boat, the line cannot be tossed on the deck, because someone will surely step on it. When a fish grabs your fly and takes off for the horizon, the last thing you or anyone else needs is to be dancing and jumping around rapidly disappearing line. But there are some fishing conditions that do not require this, as I will explain below.
Options for Boats
Unless you can walk on water, you need a boat to make all of this happen, and there are several options.
Phone a friend: if you know people who fish the salt, see if you can go with them. The techniques I will describe can be used anywhere.
Guided boats: there are several licensed guides with boats in Southern California. These trips offer more personal attention, but are limited to two to three anglers and are not overnight trips, so it limits how far they can run for fish.
Open party boats: these are the fishing boats a lot of us fished on as kids and still do today. The techniques I will explain below can be used on these trips, but always ask the captain before laying down your money.
Charters: this is when you charter the boat and fill it with your friends and acquaintances. It is your charter, and you will get to do as you please, fishingwise, with respect for the captain and crew, of course. I have run charters for the past twenty-plus years, which has worked out quite well.
The Trip and Techniques
I call my charters “hybrid” trips, because I usually try to include half conventional-tackle anglers and half fly anglers. In a moment I will explain how we all get along, but I have found that having bait anglers fighting a fish keeps the other fish around, and this has been verified by several boat captains. Using a fly is a distinct disadvantage when there is bait in the water, but if the fish are excited about food and other fish are hooked, they are in a more heightened state and are more likely to eat the fly than to give it a drive-by.
On any offshore trip, we are looking for fish in one of two ways — trolling or near kelp patties. The idea of trolling is that the boat represents surface commotion, and the trolled feathers look like bait around that commotion. Kelp patties are floating wads of kelp that have been kicked loose by storms or tides, and they create floating structure. That structure gives baitfish shelter, and the game fish home in on these.
When trolling, we keep two conventional rods trailing feathers in our wake. In preparation for a strike on one of these feathers, the fly anglers are set up on the stern, with one on each corner of the stern and one in the middle. They have stripped out 50 feet of line and have placed it in their line management device. They have their fly hooked on the side and ready to go. When we get a strike, the boat is thrown in neutral, and the fly anglers roll cast their lines into the water. The momentum of the boat sends their line and fly away from the boat. Once it comes tight, they strip back the fly, hoping to entice a strike from other fish in the school. The boat’s momentum allows us to roll cast and strip back two or three times until the boat is still in the water. If we have not been bit, we wind in and move on to “deep soaking.”
In the deep soak, we get our flies farther down in the water column. Every sport boat drifts sideways, so all the fly anglers move to the windward side of the boat and roll cast their shooting head and fly into the wind. As the boat drifts, the motion takes out the rest of your running line until the fly is 100 to 150 feet away from the boat. Once it comes tight, the fly angler either puts the rod under the arm and two-hand strips or holds the rod and strips back as fast as possible, dropping the running line into the water. Now I know this sounds crazy, and you have to imagine six to eight fly anglers with running line in the water next to the boat. But we do not tangle with each other, and the line stays supple by staying wet.
When you get bit while stripping the fly, the fun really starts. You set the hook with the stripping hand and then guide the rushing line that is screaming off of the water next to the boat until all the line is out and you are tight on your reel. At this point, keep your hands away from the handle! Saltwater fish are fast, and if you are using the more common direct-drive type of reel, and most of us do, that handle is moving. (Antireverse reels eliminate this problem, but they have their own issues). You can palm the reel, if you like, but once you rap one of your knuckles, you will understand my admonition.
When the fish stops running, you start winding it back, being fully aware that if the fish takes off again, you must move your hand quickly away from the handle, which is about to start whirling like crazy. All fighting of the fish is done from the reel until the fish is next to the boat, where it can be netted for release or gaffed to keep for a tasty dinner when you get home.
This is one of the reasons why conventional-tackle anglers love this trip. On a kelp stop or trolling strike, no hooked bait is thrown for at least a minute to give the fish a better reason to eat the fly. But once we move to the side of the boat, they get the whole stern area, but with half the normal crowd of a conventional-tackle-only trip. If you have ever fished on a party boat, you know how valuable that room is.
By the way, when the boat is drifting, you can move to the bow and cast from there. It can be difficult, because the wind is going to be right in your face, but it does give you your casting fix.
Another casting opportunity can present itself, but it does require some patience. As the boat drifts sideways, the downwind corner of the stern can be a great location from which to cast. The chum is thrown in that direction, and good bait anglers throw their hooked bait slightly to windward of that. If you are a good caster, you can stay in the corner with your line-management device and toss the fly right to where the chum is being thrown. You need to angle your cast toward the centerline of the boat so your back cast is made slightly away from the boat. And if an angler is on that side fighting a fish, your casting is shut off until the angler moves.
Trip Essentials and Seasickness
At this point, you may be excited about the prospect of attempting this type of fishing, yet something may be stopping you (and a boatload of other people) from signing up immediately. That is the thought of seasickness. This is the number-one reason I hear why people will not venture onto the ocean, but there are many proven solutions. Both scopolamine (by prescription), and Bonine and Dramamine (over the counter) work quite well — if you follow the directions. All call for starting the medication three to six hours before the trip, and the people I see having problems don’t do that. If you are unsure of your susceptibility, I would also refrain from alcohol for the sake of your boatmates.
Some commercial offshore trips are at sea for two to three days. I have been fishing on the Apollo and the Fortune out of San Diego for many years, and their anglers get a bunk with plenty of room for a duffle. Bring a change of clothes (the weather can vary from shorts to a hoodie when it’s chilly), a towel if you wish to shower (an interesting experience in a rocking boat), toiletries, and sunblock. These boats know how to make you happy, so expect three great meals a day with snack services. All drinks can be bought on board, so the only thing you will miss is a chocolate on your pillow. The average cost for offshore fishing of this type runs around $400 per day. Fishing cleaning, if any, along with your drinks and crew tip, can add another hundred dollars per day.
Eat? Release?
I do eat the few fish I don’t release, and nothing beats fish fresh from the ocean. Whether on a charter or an open party boat, I always make sure that the captain is fine with releasing fish. I will kill two to three fish for myself and let the rest go. If you are going to keep your catch, yet be at sea for several days, it helps to have refrigerated salt water tanks on board that quickly cool your fish down and keep it as fresh as possible. When you return home, try this recipe. Mix the following and pour into a sealable bag or container: 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of white wine, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1 crushed bulb of garlic, and the juice of one lemon. Add fish steaks or filets and leave for one to two hours. Tuna is a stronger-flavored fish, so it gets two hours, while yellowtail or dorado gets one hour. Rinse off and grill or broil, using the rule of 10 minutes per inch of thickness.
For more info, contact Mike at msangler@earthlink.net.
