The 2 weight got a workout

[Prof. Salt]

With winds laying all morning, I took the opportunity to get out the 2 weight fly rod and play with a few reds. I had to tie a very light fly crab, but it worked well. I found a cruising school along the shoreline and got set up for a shot. The fly landed just ahead of the school and within half a second the line came tight. After a couple of minutes of wrangling the fish with the very light rod, twenty six inches of redfish slid into the net- Nice! I ended up losing the crab so I switched to the 6 weight and caught one more 23" red and a 17" trout to round out the catch. Not a bad stroll in the flats this morning!

[Ron Mc]

nice report, really nice photos, and scads of fun - thanks for posting

[Kayak Kid]

Gentlemen, I, admittedly have fostered an increasingly conservative perspective concerning the preservation and well being of our fisheries. I retired 17 years ago from the business world to pursue my passion for fishing...,with fly rod whenever possible.

Somewhere along my venture into full time fun with the fish, I got the idea that bringing fish to the net as rapidly as possible, assured a much greater chance for the fish's survival. As I no longer had any interest in anything other than catch and release, this was of paramount importance to me.

For someone fishing for food, my theory is, of course inapplicable. But, for a catch and release situation, would not a lighter than 'adequate' fly rod be detrimental to the fish's survival chances?

[Prof. Salt]

I caught two slot redfish on the small rod and had a blast while not breaking any laws. Could a small rod be abused to leave a trail of exhausted and dying fish behind me strewn across the flats? It could, but I don’t.

[ben_beyer]

One word, WOW!

I never thought you'd be able to manage something like a 26" Redfish on a 2wt without the leader breaking.

Nice work!

[Prof. Salt]

I use a 12 lb leader and 20 lb tippet, similar to my 4 and 6 wt setups. The 2 weight rod is only six feet long so the leader/tippet is short too.

[Yak Dog]

Wow ! 2 wt. that’s a tough fight , I would be to scared I’d loose it to even try a 2 . I once had 6wt set up but lost my patience with the whole fly fishing experience. I’m regretting selling the rig and stuff because I would really like to try it again some day .

[Prof. Salt]

YakDog, if you only take fly rods for a few trips it gets you over that hesitation and forces you to make the approach that works with fly gear. When I used to bring conventional AND fly rods, I would just stop at 60 feet and cast the plastics. Then later at the truck I'd be frustrated with myself for not trying the fly rod. When I finally "bit the bullet" I realized that its not that hard as long as the fish are visible, and its more interesting (at least for me) with a fly rod. These days I'll stow a spinning rod in the hull just in case conditions won't allow me to see the fish, but often it just rides along and never gets picked up.

[Yak Dog]

Yeah your right I could have just kept it and waited for the right time to use it . Guess I’ll have to get another

[Kayak Kid]

Prof. Salt,
I hope you didn't think I was accusing you of harming any red fish. I'm very familiar with your unblemished record as a protecter of our fisheries. Let me add, that I don't think ill of anyone who keeps fish to eat. Catch and release is just what I prefer to do.

I thought it important to relay to the more inexperienced fly fishermen and women of a potential downside to using under weight equipment. Your post certainly clarified that.

[Ron Mc]

KK, I think you're cool.
People who know how to stealth fish, how to pace fish in confusion v. panic, and how to leverage a rod, can accomplish extremes on light-line tackle.

1915 3-wt (G-braid) cane and a really fat 20" rainbow hen
(compared to graphite, this rod feels more like a 0-wt)

Certainly Doc's hours leveraging kings at the boat on any tackle honed those same skills

then there are those guys we see running down the bank of the San Juan with their 2-wt

[Prof. Salt]

Prof. Salt,
I hope you didn't think I was accusing you of harming any red fish. I'm very familiar with your unblemished record as a protecter of our fisheries. Let me add, that I don't think ill of anyone who keeps fish to eat. Catch and release is just what I prefer to do.

I thought it important to relay to the more inexperienced fly fishermen and women of a potential downside to using under weight equipment. Your post certainly clarified that.

Roger that, and agreed.

[Prof. Salt]

KK, I think you're cool.
1915 3-wt (G-braid) cane and a really fat 20" rainbow hen
(compared to graphite, this rod feels more like a 0-wt)

Certainly Doc's hours leveraging kings at the boat on any tackle honed those same skills

then there are those guys we see running down the bank of the San Juan with their 2-wt

Wow Ron, that's impressive! Beautiful fish.

[Ron Mc]

thanks - my best rainbow ever, 27" and 8-lbs was on 1918 4/5-wt cane.

[ben_beyer]

YakDog, if you only take fly rods for a few trips it gets you over that hesitation and forces you to make the approach that works with fly gear. When I used to bring conventional AND fly rods, I would just stop at 60 feet and cast the plastics. Then later at the truck I'd be frustrated with myself for not trying the fly rod. When I finally "bit the bullet" I realized that its not that hard as long as the fish are visible, and its more interesting (at least for me) with a fly rod. These days I'll stow a spinning rod in the hull just in case conditions won't allow me to see the fish, but often it just rides along and never gets picked up.

The last time I went to Port Aransas, I took my TFO MiniMag and some flies but it never left the truck. I'm going on a guided trip to hopefully sightcast to Redfish with a fly rod this coming Monday. Hopefully the winds will cooperate and that MiniMag will be a part of my ventures into the marshes in the future.

I went out on a local lake on Sunday in my kayak and took my Cabelas CGR 7/8wt. After practicing with a faster fly rod, I had to slow down and focus better with the CGR but the cool thing was I was able to make the casts sitting down. I plan on getting a Bass specific line for the MiniMag and then get something for the saltwater too.

[Ron Mc]

The CGR 7/8 is definitely a rod for sitting down, getting short working line out of the boat in a hurry, and great control in close - with any line or just the leader.

I went through an exercise to work out the best line for getting off a 70' cast in 3 strokes with the CGR, starting with just a few feet of front taper, and it turned out to be the Cortland Salt Guide 7-wt line.
For shooting line, the CGR is very sensitive to grain weight, and you need a line with about 200-gr belly (+/- 20 gr).
Kind of interesting, the Rio Redfish taper doesn't shoot distance with the CGR, but is the hands-down best line with my longer wading rods (Sage RPLX and a Japanese S-glass para) - the Cortland Salt guide taper line doesn't work as well with those longer para-taper rods.

[2 Weight Willie]

How is saltwater fly compared to traditional fishing easyer harder affordable more expensive? I plan to try it but need some pointers

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[Ron Mc]

See Cabelas CGR 7/8
inexpensive, and a good learning tool - I began on glass rods, my daughters began on glass rods, my hill country fly fishing friends mostly began on glass rods.

[ben_beyer]

How is saltwater fly compared to traditional fishing easyer harder affordable more expensive? I plan to try it but need some pointers

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You don't need to spend a lot necessarily get a good fly rod. I bought the MiniMag combo used for $150. The seller was reasonable about it but there are people out there charging big money for those things now.

As Ron pointed out, there is the Cabelas CGR 7/8wt which is $70. You can get a cheaper reel for $50 and I'll let someone else give you options as I'm not sure about the longevity of the different reels. I hear a lot of guides using the Hatch reels but those are $650 and until I learn where to look for Redfish and start to go down to the coast on a consistent basis, I'm not going to be spending that kind of money for a while.

You can also get a good fly line for $50 but you may have to make sure you can tie a nail knot. There are plenty of videos on how to do it with an actual nail or a thin piece of wire. I have always bought higher end fly lines in the Scientific Anglers Mastery series and they are a worthwhile investment even for a beginner but there are less expensive options too.

[Ron Mc]

My favorite line from the Mastery series is their intermediate sinker (slime line), which I bought in the late 80s along with the Mastery bonefish and Sage RPLX7. The long belly on most of the mastery lines isn't the best on the shorter CGR, though it likes the slime line.


There's also a century of nice rods and reels out there if you know how to pick them - this is a 1960 Harnell 652 8' pocket rocket, and the reel is a Valentine planetary multiplier, c. 1980 and still made in an aerospace fab shop in Massachusetts.

[Prof. Salt]

As stated above, you don't need expensive equipment. My rods are TFO (I like the warranty) but the reels (except for the 4 weight) are Piscifun or other brands that hold line, work smoothly and have decent enough drags. Fly line with weight forward helps get flies on target in the ever present breeze, but even lines will vary from person to person depending on personal preference. All of mine are the standard weight forward floating lines. The hardest part of the whole fly fishing idea is finding fish to play with! For me it involves long paddles into areas where boats can't run and the fish don't get much pressure.

[2 Weight Willie]

See Cabelas CGR 7/8
inexpensive, and a good learning tool - I began on glass rods, my daughters began on glass rods, my hill country fly fishing friends mostly began on glass rods.

Hey thanks ron and thanks to all of yall! I will look in to this and take it into account want you said.

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[2 Weight Willie]

Could anyone maybe supply me with a pdf or pic. Guide explaining how to cast how to work etc. Sounds sad but I am completely new to for fishing

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[Neumie]

Could anyone maybe supply me with a pdf or pic. Guide explaining how to cast how to work etc. Sounds sad but I am completely new to for fishing

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Youtube has tons of tutorial videos.

[2 Weight Willie]

Ok. Thanks!

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