5 Tips For Fly Anglers

Welcome back to another blog post presented by Marker23 Guide Service, my name is Captain Ozzy and I am a full time fishing guide on topsail island. In the years I’ve spent polling anglers around the flats, in pursuit of these NC game fish, I have come up with 5 things that I tell each angler that can really bring your angling abilities to the next level. As simple as it may seem the first tip I always start out with, is be quick. In the world of salt water fly fishing, time is of the essence. From the moment you see that fish, recognize direction and speed, decide where the fly needs to be, make a cast, and begin your presentation, only 3-5 seconds have gone by. With that being said, being a quick draw type angler can be very beneficial, how ever, as quick as you may be it is equally as important to stay quiet, which brings me to my second tip: stealth. Stealth on the flats paired with fast reaction times could quite possibly be some the biggest pieces of advice I could give, but that can be difficult because (at least for me) the faster you go typically the louder you will be. What I mean by that is, the harder I try to get line out quickly, i.e. double hauls and quick rod movement, the more likely I am to rock the boat, or pick one of my feet up set it back down not so quietly. If you can remember to stay stealthy on the flats you are sure to see an increase in your fishing. Tip number three line management, every salt water fly angler knows that your fly line will get stuck on everything and anything, and there is nothing worse than finally getting the shot you have been dreaming of and you come up five feet shy because your fly line was stuck on something or knotted up. A good habit to prevent some of this is looking down at your fly line every so often, whether your the angler or poling because two eyes are better than one, which brings me to tip number four: communication. Now if you are a solo fly angler than this may not apply to you, but I truly believe that fly fishing is a sport best enjoyed in the company of loved ones. With that being said its imperative that who ever is on the poling platform communicate clearly what he or she sees because the height advantage, it can be difficult to communicate something in only a few seconds and even more so when the situation is ever changing, but short and clear instructions to the angler will definitely result in more fish. Like wise the angler has to listen and follow those instructions, this requires a little bit of trust on the anglers side, but if you listen to what the instructions are and know that he or she has the sight advantage then things typically go much smoother. The fifth and final tip applies to all four of the other ones, and that is to practice. If you practice making quick and accurate cast, while managing your line, and not making any noise, then you will be unstoppable on the flats. A few things I like to practice are casting at moving targets like mullet or blue crabs as we are poling onto the flat, I also practice in my head what I would say if a fish popped up and did “xyz” eventually the way you call a shot will be second nature. I really hope this article helps put a few more fish over the rails for you, like always I appreciate you tuning in and we will catch you next time