Improving Saltwater Results Part I: Gear

Saltwater angling depends on a combination of decent gear, modest skills, and a knowledge of the factors that particularly influence results. If possible, start a guided day if you're new to saltwater, and you can pick up gear requirements and some rigging and casting basics. Even with over 50 years experience in saltwater, I book a guide for the first day's fishing in new areas, and I've all the gear in the world! However, I no longer try to bring everything!

Incidentally, one of the problems I've found for years with saltwater gear is portability. While it's been decades since my VW Bug buzzed up and down San Francisco's Great Highway with a one-piece surf stick on top, portability in moderately heavy rods lags. My last trip I took along a new travel model St. Croix Tidemaster casting rod (www.stcroixrods.com) that came in three pieces so it packed in luggage with my four three piece fly rods.

Why a casting rod? I've had better luck with revolving spool reels in saltwater from bank, beach or boat, and with today's quality casting reels you can avoid backlashes most of the time. Since the line's on top of the rod it seems to hang up less on pier or boat rails than with spinning gear.

A setup of 250 yards of 15 pound test handles most needs in the US and overseas. Some jigs, spoons, sinkers, leaders, hooks and the like fit into a shaving kit-sized bag. Such an outfit should be in every flycaster's gear for times when flyfishing is blown off the water.

On the fly flinging side I run five, eight, and 12 weight fly rods and reels to match for heavy freshwater as well as saltwater needs. I don't opt for the most expensive graphite rods. Mine get lost in Borneo, mashed in Costa Rica or crunched in Hawaii. Same holds with reels that I carry in my camera bag rather than trust them to the dubious mitts of baggage handlers.

Three and four piece fly rods work as hand luggage too. That's handy for times like my last Costa Rica trip when the national airlines lost my clothing for my week's stay. With a couple of sets of undies, a spare pair of shorts and my shaving gear I survived. Too bad the river looked like cocoa and we ended up sitting on the veranda and betting on which dead cow in the river the sharks would attack next.

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