Distance for Coho

[finnfisher]

I have been fishing the beaches for SRC in hopes and preparation for Coho. My distance casting is spotty to say the least. What distance should I be working towards to be able to reach the Silvers? I realize that it depends on the beach, I'm just wondering what I should shoot for. On a good cast (1 in 10 :hmmm: ) I probably reach 50-60 feet.

[Stonefish]

The further you can cast the better. That being said, you can easily catch fish with a 50-60 ft cast. Sometimes the fish will follow nearly to your rod tip before taking the fly.
If a rip is really moving the water close to shore, you'll be in the game. Sometimes folks wade out to far and are standing were they should be catching fish. I've seen silver chase baitfish right to the shoreline many times.
Keep hitting the beach and it will happen for you. We are just now getting into prime time for fishing silvers from the beach. If you aren't using one now, get a stripping basket. It will help with line management and should increase your casting distance.
Good luck,
Brian

[finnfisher]

Thanks! Any favorite flys for Coho? It seems from the board that chartreuse and white Clowsers are a favorite. Any others that aren't quite such a bitch to cast? I'm sure I'll knock myself out with one of those!!

[Stonefish]

Hard to beat clousers in chartreuse or pink. Lots of folks like fishing Lelands Beach Popper and Shock and Awes.
Here is a link to a website with lots of good patterns for fishing Puget Sound.
http://www.pugetsoundflyfishing.com/FlyPatternArchive.htm
Good luck,
Brian

[miyawaki]

Chartreuse and white clousers, Shock and Awes, and Deceivers all work well on both intermediate sinking and floating lines. I've been fishing poppers for almost 14 years because I like fishing on top with surface flies. One thing that is a constant with beach fishing for coho is distance. The farther you cast the better, not because they are always way out but because the longer your fly is in the water, the better the chances of it being seen.

Leland.

[05tacoma]

Learning to double-haul will help. Take a casting class... it's worth the money and should help you with your distance. Also consider a line like Rio's Outbound with a clear shooting head. It will cut down on the false casts and it should help with distance/cutting through the wind.

[Smalma]

While most of us would like to be able to cast a longer line on ocassion I feel it is more important to be able to consistently cast a comfortable distance. I would strongly recommend that you start with say 50 feet and work at consistently making that cast with minimal work - the fishing will be less work and by making consistently "good" cast your fly will actually be in the water more.

You didn't say which line you are using but if it is not a weight forward line consider getting one. Learning to do a double haul is a good suggestion but I would practice that for short periods and keep it from my fishing until you become comfortable with it.

While clousers and many of the other flies suggested are great flies and catch a lot of fish most are more difficult to cast then some simpler but equally effective patterns, especially for one just getting into the game. I would stay away from weighted flies, bulky flies or ones tied with materials that absorb lots of water - those heavier flies will make your casting more challenging. Instead I recommend that you use simple baitfish streamers tied with bucktail and synethics such as angel and yak hair. Knudsen spider variants have also been good coho/cutthroat flies for me.

Early morning fishing will be an easier time to fish - the coho are likely to be closer to the beach but equally important the winds are likely to be less which will be an aid to your casting.

Tight lines
Curt

[Curtis]

Not sure where you are located, but give puget sound fly co a call. They are in kent. They will be more than helpful. They are also great teachers for casting.

[Philster]

While most of us would like to be able to cast a longer line on ocassion I feel it is more important to be able to consistently cast a comfortable distance. Tight lines
Curt

This is more true than lots of folks would like to believe. I grew up casting heads for Stripers. Distance was everything! Everytime you don't cast all the line you have stripped out, you introduce twist into the line. Those twists lead to tangles, so pretty soon even casts in your range fall short as clumps of line catch in your guides!

If I my line doesn't snap tight on pretty much every cast, I reel some in. I then focus on my technique until it does snap tight EVERY cast, then I pull out three more feet, and repeat until I find that spot where I cast ALL the line pretty much every cast. That distance is different EVERY TRIP and usually shortens as the day wears on!

Don't worry, cast what you can, and don't make it a competition. You'll catch fish.

[finnfisher]

This is so cool. I really appreciate the input and the ability to learn from others experiance. Is there a good local (north-end) source for Reverse Spiders? I don't tie so I have to rely on the fly shops supply.

[Raven]

They are at the Orvis store in Bellevue in red, black, yellow and orange.

Leland.

[Richard]

A note about distance and beach fishing . . .

The folks that know me here know that I'm a huge proponent on a person learning to be the big caster they can be, and to take classes occasionally to make sure they will be practicing properly, and to practice, practice, practice! Distance casting and accuracy casting should be both practiced, for at various times, being proficient at one of them will help you catch more fish, and being proficient at both is optimum.

HOWEVER, with that said, one of the challenges with beach fishing is . . . the beach! The beach slopes down to the waterline, which will limit and/or affect how much of a distance cast you can crank off. To get a good distance cast, using regular lines and not shooting heads, a person needs to lay out a long back cast. Laying out big back casts on the beach typically means the fly fisher will be knocking their fly on the beach and the rocks. So, sometimes a 50-60' cast will be your distance cast on beach with a steep shoreline!

That's some of the allure of the new(er) lines like the SA Streamer Express and Rio Outbound (both very similar lines). These lines are integrated heads with little running lines, so a person doesn't have to carry a line in the air (hence reducing the chance of the fly ticking the beach on the backcast) before shooting the head on the cast. These lines are pretty cool; typically shooting heads are designed for . . . shooting, and full lines are made for casting. These hybrid-design lines incorprate both characteristics; with the little section of 'handling' line added behind the head, these lines can be cast, but they are made to shoot, as well.

If you beach fish, a high backcast is going to help you immensely with getting the most of your distance casts. Some folks can get away with a low backcast in many circumstances, but in most instances a high backcast will be beneficial to the cast, whether it accuracy or distance or a combination thereof.

The moral of the story: become the best caster you can be, buy a good line designed for your fishing conditions, and practice, practice, practice! (you can get inexpensive lines, or use old lines, to practice, on grass).

[salt dog]

Finnfisher, lots of solid advice above, including to get professional coaching and practice. If you’re gong to fly fish regularly, why settle for middle-of-the-road casting proficiency when if you focus on it now and then, you can take it out to as far as you’re willing to commit the time to learn. Distance casting should be fun, and not work. It's about timing and form, and not about strength and how hard you throw.

I have to say that the majority of my breakthroughs have come during the winter, when I may decline hitting the beach, and instead go to the local playground to practice casting.

When I have worked on the things I do know that I need work on, I am usually at the point that I can clearly identify a problem but not the cure, and I will then buy a lesson or two as I can make the most of what the pro has to say. Usually a pro gives me the diagnosis and cure in the first couple of minutes of watching my cast. It takes you way up the learning curve in a hurry.

If you regularly throw 45 feet of fly line (excluding leader) on an average distance cast, mark off 55 ft on your fly line with a marker, and set that as your goal for the year to be able to hit as your average distance cast. How quickly you reach that goal will be directly related to how often you practice doing the right things.

[Bob Young]

Is there a good local (north-end) source for Reverse Spiders? I don't tie so I have to rely on the fly shops supply.


Patrick's Fly Shop has Reverse Spiders.