ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 26, 1996 TAG: 9608270007
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
For most of us, fishing with a fly rod conjures images of a pristine stream flowing past snow-capped peaks. A rainbow trout rises to the surface only to refuse an artificial lure designed to imitate an insect hatch.
The angler, dressed in chest-high waders, works the rushing water with a 9-foot rod, almost as limber as a buggy whip. Gently, he casts and retrieves the floating line and tiny fly. He repeats and repeats, hoping his 2-pound adversary will change its mind and take the fly.
Now, take that fly rod, double its strength and move to the next frame, showing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel during the peak of the striped bass season, when rockfish of 25 pounds are commonplace.
Several anglers in small, open boats use their beefy fly rods to work 4-inch streamer flies around the crossing's artificial islands and countless thousands of concrete pilings.
This is the picture of the latest adventure in fishing with a fly rod. It's called saltwater fly rodding and, while it isn't exactly sweeping the country, it certainly is making inroads.
More and more tackle shops in Virginia and on the Outer Banks of North Carolina are offering saltwater fly tackle. Fishing guides are increasingly specializing in saltwater fly-fishing. And boat dealers are offering more craft expressly designed for the sport.
Many Virginians have saltwater fly rods as part of their arsenal. They are pursuing everything from white marlin and yellowfin tuna to speckled trout and spadefish.
When Tom Savage, a druggist from Cape Charles, obtained his first saltwater fly rod last year, he had a purpose.
``With fishing so restricted by all the recent rules and regulations, you just can't catch as many fish as you could a few years ago,'' Savage said. ``So I figured a fly rod was a way to get more enjoyment out of coming home with less. And I was right. I don't catch a lot of fish with it, but I sure am having a lot of fun.''
Charlie Johnson of Suffolk has a different explanation for his new-found interest in saltwater fly rodding.
``I was looking for a challenge, something to add a little more excitement to my fishing,'' said the retired Lipton Tea Co. executive.
``I've caught a little of everything, from bream to blue marlin. But I still have one challenge. I want a tarpon on a fly rod. In fact, I'd love to be the first person to land a Virginia tarpon on one.''
Nick Durney of Virginia Beach, who is just getting into saltwater fly-fishing, takes yet another approach.
``What intrigues me most is the presentation,'' he said. ``It's so delicate, not at all the kind of fishing I've always done.
``I've always been a hard charger. I fish for [red] drum with six or eight rods. Same with cobia and tarpon. I really put a lot of effort into my fishing.
``Maybe it's because I'm not a kid anymore. I guess I'm trying to slow down a bit. I think a fly rod is a way to do that, to be satisfied with catching less because you make a different presentation.''
Having been a saltwater fly fisherman for almost 30 years, I rarely leave the dock without at least one fly rod in the boat.
I've used it to catch tarpon, bonefish, dolphin, spadefish, speckled trout, gray trout, cobia, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle, ladyfish and even saltwater catfish.
Only the tarpon was impressive in size. Caught and released in the Florida Keys, it probably weighed more than 150 pounds. It's the one catch I don't mind bragging about.
Now, I am not the world's greatest fly caster. I still make mistakes, still wrap the line around my feet. I still get excited when getting ready to throw to a tailing bonefish.
Once you've learned to cast, several tricks can lure fish within range.
With dolphin, bluefish, cobia and other species, nothing will get them close faster than chum, such as ground fish. Then the problem is reduced to selecting a fly resembling a piece of chum.
When going for amberjack, the fish can be ``teased'' away from a tower or wreck with a live bait, pulled away just as the excited jack is ready to dine.
This same approach works with billfish, wahoo and other larger offshore species. The boat trolls with hookless baits until a fish is ``raised'' and excited. Then, a streamer or popper quickly is substituted for the bait.
This means devoting the entire effort to catching a fish on a fly. You can't use a fly rod when everyone else on the boat is trying to get a billfish on a ballyhoo. Nor can you fly-fish for an amberjack when others are trying to hook one on a live bait.
The bottom line is that saltwater fly-fishing on a bouncing boat at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a long way from standing in the icy waters of a mountain stream.
But the two do have something in common. Freshwater fly-fishermen attempt to offer a fly that matches the insect or small fish that the trout are consuming.
In selecting saltwater lures, you always should try to present a popper or streamer that resembles what the fish are eating. Like in fresh water, it is known as ``matching the hatch.''
Where are the top spots for saltwater fly-fishing?
Striped bass can be caught on flies along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The best action is after dark and the best season is October through December. Spanish mackerel and small bluefish can be targeted in tide rips around the two tunnels.
Amberjack love coastal buoys, towers, wrecks where they can be taken on streamer flies and surface poppers from early summer through early autumn.
Flounder can be taken on sinking lines worked around the mouth of Lynn-haven Inlet in Virginia Beach from spring through late fall.
The grass flats of Eastern Shore bayside, Pamlico Sound and Lynn-haven Inlet are spots to find speckled trout.
The surf along the beaches of the Outer Banks of North Carolina offers numerous fly fishing opportunities. It has been excellent at times for big bluefish in the fall and early winter. Now striped bass in the surf are providing a new target.
LENGTH: Long : 115 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE. 1. Saltwater has become the newby CNBfrontier for many fly anglers, including these who have hooked up
with a fish in the Chesapeake Bay. 2. Now you know why fly rods have
cork handles. Charlie Johnson of Suffolk landed this spadefish on a
fly in the Chesapeake. color.