Fly Fishing Equipment- Starting Off and Beyond by Johnny Butler - Fly South
Learner’s Corner - Wading Stuff by Johnny Butler of Fly South (JohnBButlerIII-FlySouth@yahoo.com)
I. Waders
A. Bootfoot vs. stocking foot. Bootfoot are easier to get off and on but they are clunkier and not as agile.
B. Neoprene vs. breathable. Neoprene are more durable and more form fitting so as to limit filling up with water but are they hot! Breathable are more comfortable and more versatile
C. Hip or waist high vs. chest waders. Most chest waders now have straps that can be used as a belt for waist high use. When ever you wear waist high or hip waders it always seems that where ever you want to fish is about 6 inches above your wader tops.
D. Warranties are somewhat limited so you need to consider cost and length of use. A sharp stick or a barb wire fence does not know the difference between a $100 pair of waders and a $300 pair of waders, each will rip with equal impunity.
Here is what Orvis says: "What is the warranty on waders? Answer: Orvis fly fishing waders are guaranteed to be free from defects in materials and workmanship or we will repair or replace your waders free of charge. The guarantee does not cover abuse, improper care, accidents, or the normal breakdown of materials over time. No one expects fly fishing waders to last forever, any more than you should expect a pair of pants or shoes to last forever. Waders will wear out over time, and how long depends on how often and how hard you use them. In other words, if a seam on your waders gives out after a year we will repair or replace them. If you tear your waders on barbed wire after two years, or if your waders leak after five years, we can repair most waders for a $30 repair charge."
II. Wading boots
A. Felt vs. regular rubber. Regular rubber boots are for duck hunting. Do not wear them in a trout stream as they do not provide sufficient traction on wet rocky surfaces.
B. Felt vs. Studded felt. I prefer studded felt soles on any stream where algae, moss or other vegetation is on the rocks. I think the studs cut through the vegetation and give a better grip than regular felt. The studded felt are a little more slippery than regular felt on bare rock. The studded felts also make more noise than regular felts. Furthermore, many guides do not want you to wear studded felts in their drift boats.
C. Felt vs. new rubber. Alaska, Vermont, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Yellowstone have banned regular felt soles due to concerns about whirling disease and other aquatic born invasive species. Many boot manufacturers have now come up with rubber soles which they say replace felt and work just as well. Clingon, Vibram StreamTread Rubber soles. Color, etc. me skeptical; I do not believe the new rubber soles offer the same traction and footing as felt soles so I would not recommend you buy boots which only have the new rubber option.
D. A word of caution. In my opinion apart from your rod, your leader and your fly, the most important piece of equipment is your wading boots. The wrong pair of boots are detrimental to your day on the river, your comfort and even your health. Do not buy boots without trying them on with your waders!! Wading boots do not come in widths or half sizes and do not have arch support. All wading boots are not the same width i.e. the width varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. A word of caution, if you like your feet the way they are, do not buy your boots too small in length.
III. Miscellaneous
A. Wading staffs. If you are wading the Saluda, Snake, Chatooga, Tuck or just about any tailwater then make one, borrow one or buy one but don’t leave home without one.
B. Wading belt. See A above. Any type of belt is better than nothing. Just do not buy a stretchable belt as it can stretch and let more and more water in your waders.
C. Floatation. You can buy inflatable suspenders or belts or an aquatic aerobics belt or use an old ski belt.
D. Try filling your waders in a safe environment so you can see what it feels like before it happens on the river.-
Unless you are one of the fortunate few who have yachts, boats, kayaks or other water craft suitable for the Congaree and Saluda, then you will be forced to wade for it. Wading for stripers is a whole new ball game. I call it a contact sport, because if you do it long enough you are going to have some resulting health consequences. Why you ask? Well prime time for striper fishing is in the dark. Sure there are some times you can catch stripers in the daylight, but that is not the norm. Stripers are apex predators, and like many apex predators they hunt in the dark. Humans are also apex predators, but we are not nearly as suited for night fishing as stripers. Let me share some tips for night fishing learned while chasing stripers at night for more than 34 years.
First, wet wade whenever possible. Wet wading is safer at least with respect to buoyancy and the ability to get yourself out of the water if you take a swim. If you are going to wet wade buy neoprene wading socks or gravel cuffs to keep the small rocks and the grit (at least some of it) out of your boots.
Whether you wet wade or not, your wading boots should be good. Do not wear tennis shoes or other non-wading boots or rafting sandals. The rocks are slick enough even when you can clearly see. When it is dark, the risk increases exponentially. Felt soles or name brand rubber wading soles are best. Some rubber wading soles are better than others, so check then out before you buy rubber soled wading boots. I prefer felt soles. If the rocks I will be traversing at night are covered with slime or moss, I prefer studs in the felt to cut through the layers of whatever it is that grows on rocks. If the rocks you are wading are bare, then I prefer non-studded felt soles, as the studs will slide on bare rock. If you have to compromise, then put 7 or 8 studs in each boot. It is better if the studs are specialized ones for wading as they generally are larger and stick in the soles better than machine screws, but if you want to skimp on traction while walking on slick surfaces - be my guest - I know some great orthopaedic doctors. I take the studs out or put more in depending on the type of rocks I am clambering over. I also do not use the lightest weight wading boots I can find. Bump your ankle against a rock at 10 p.m. and you will remember for quite a while. A sturdy wading boot with good padding is a great idea anytime, but especially when you cannot see the ankle biters lying in wait.
If you choose not to wet wade during the chillier weather that we have during the start of striper season, I don‘t blame you, standing in 60 degree water for hours is a good way to get cold in or out of waders. Even in the dog days of summer, it will not take you long to get cold if you wet wade. Whether you wet wade or wear waders WEAR A BELT. If you are wearing waders always wear a belt. Once you get in over your waders, the water is going to run into your waders. If you do not have a wading belt, then it is going to pour in faster, and at best fill up the legs quickly, and at worst start stretching your waders as more water comes in. A belt will not stop all of it, but it certainly helps. If you are wet wading, wear a belt if for no other reason than to have a place to strap on your wading staff which we will discuss below. If you have never filled up your waders in the water, then you should find a safe place preferably a pool where you can stand and fill your waders up and see what it is like. You do not want to experience this for the first time by accident, it is better to know what it is like in a controlled environment. You will find your waders fill up until you look like the Michelin Man. You will also find your boots start pointing to the bottom, and it is hard to swim. I found the best way to swim is to turn sideways and frog kick with your feet while paddling with both hands on one side of your body. It’s up to you to determine when the situation is so bad that it is time to drop your rod. If you drop your rod, one possible compromise is to hold on the fly line and then drop the rod as you paddle sideways to safety. Just remember you probably do not have to swim very far to reach a point where you can stand up. You can then pull on your fly line and hope that you can reel in your rod. As an aside note, there is a very good chance your lifetime rod warranty will not cover your rod if you cannot produce some portion of your rod to the manufacturer. One more thing on involuntary swimming, when you go in the second or tenth time, I guarantee you that one thing will happen first - you will panic. The quicker you quit panicking, the better off you will be.
Now as you have been waiting or wading patiently, on to wading belts. You can use a leather belt, a nylon belt, Orion’s belt or any belt. I prefer to wear a flotation belt or what older people call a ski belt. Nowadays it is used for water aerobics and is large and made of foam. People laugh at me, because I wear a nice blue flotation belt. One snarky friend asked me if I wore it in the shower and I quickly replied, “no but I wear in the tub.” Seriously, you can get it right 9,999 times out of 10,000 and still be dead on the 10,000th time.
Now on to wading staffs. You have on your wading belt right? Of course you do or you would not have read this far down. Your wading belt is the perfect place to hang your wading staff. If you do not have a wading staff, make one, borrow one, or buy one. I prefer you buy it from me, but that is beside the point. Remember above when we talked about wading in the dark. Remember all those times in the daylight when you thought the water was one depth and you stepped down and it wasn’t, and you stumbled. Remember the time you thought the water wasn’t really that fast, but it was. Remember that time you tripped over a rock you did not see. Now think what it would be like in the dark. Still with me, THAT IS WHAT A WADING STAFF IS FOR. It keeps you from falling as you feel your way along with or without your headlamp, because even with your 5,000 lumen headlamp you cannot see to the bottom all the time. A shock corded collapsible wading staff folds up into about 18 inch sections, fits in the holster and can be put on the side of your waist where it is not too uncomfortable.
Headlamp, let’s throw some light on that subject. To fish after dark you need a headlamp. You don’t use it all the time you are fishing. You cut it off when you get there, you cut it on when you land a fish to get the hook out or to make sure it is what you thought before you put your thumb in its mouth. You may cut it on as you move from one place to the other to fish. You cut it on when you rig up or change flies or tie on more 20 pound tippet (get the hint 20 pounds, not 12 not 15). You cut it on when you walk out even if you are on a paved river walk, because it would be embarrassing to have successfully waded in the river and caught fish to then twist your ankle walking out. And guess what it should be - headlampS as more than one. Headlamps get cut on accidentally, the batteries get old, and the bulbs run out. Worst of all you drop your headlamp in 5 feet of water and it lies on the bottom and shines at you maliciously; you would not believe how long they can shine underwater. Get 2 and make sure they are at least 500 lumens preferably more.
Do not be afraid of the dark, just be ready for it. Btw the stripers will not thank you for it.
JB
Getting Started in Fly Fishing for Striped Bass
Why should you listen to me? I have been fly fishing for striped bass since 1992 and have been keeping meticulous records since March 2013. Including 1 missed season since 2013 (ankle replacement surgery in 2025 - only 2 that year) my records reflect to date I have caught 980 stripers on a fly rod, of which 425 were on a spey rod. Before you get upset and say that is impossible, do the math 980 stripers divided by 12 years equals 81.6666 per year or 980 divided by 366 fishing days equals 2.67759 per fishing trip which is feasible right. When you consider that with stripers you can get into a school or feeding frenzy and catch over 20 fish in 1 night, its doable. Just go to the fishing reports section of my website and read back a few years and you will see what my records are like and you will see I also report when I get skunked. Plus it does not hurt to live 100 yards from the Saluda. Enough of that. Another reason to listen to me is that I have made almost every dumb mistake possible, so no need to be shy about asking a question.
The first question is how did striped bass get in the Congaree and Saluda Rivers? When the Pinopolis Dam was built in 1941 to create Lakes Marion and Moultrie, thousands of anadromous (hatched in freshwater, go to the ocean, come back to spawn) striped bass that had migrated up the Cooper and Santee Rivers to spawn were trapped and could not return to the ocean. They adapted and multiplied, and in the spring, these landlocked fish migrate up rivers like the Congaree(March/April) and Saluda (April/May) from the Santee-Cooper reservoirs to spawn and most of them go back and start all over again. Thus endeth the history lesson.
Stripers are apex predators, and like many apex predators they hunt in the dark. The best time to fish is between dusk and dawn or dawn and dusk if you are a morning person. Sometimes they are caught in the daytime or on overcast days or just because they got fooled, but most activity is at night. Many times when the stripers are in large numbers and are feeding there will be about a 30 minute period when the activity is greatest, and at times frantic. When is that time, who knows. If I could predict that I would not be writing this.
Fishing at night means wading at night unless you have a boat. Wading at night and fishing at night are tough. A lot of the time the fishing is by feel alone. If you want to more about wading and wading at night specifically, then read my posts on Facebook or go to my website.
What equipment do you need? Thought you would never ask. Do not use your trout rod. Open up your wallet and buy at least an 8 weight rod, you can go up to a 12 weight but that is a specialized type of fishing for people with young shoulders.
Keep your wallet open and buy a good reel. Trout reels very rarely need a good drag, but then again stripers eat trout, so you need a reel with a good drag. If you read my article on reels on my website you know there are 2 basic types of reels: cast and machined. Machined are more expensive and more durable, but a cast one will do fine for stripers if it has a good drag. It should be large enough to hold your fly line and leader and 100 yards of backing preferably 30 pound backing. Since striper flies are heavier and larger, it is helpful to have a fly line that is heavier up front even to the point of getting one that is a half to full line weight heavier than the rod weight. Don’t cheap out on the fly line.
Your leader should be 6-8 feet and be at least 0x (15 pound test) or even 20 pound test. You also need tippet material to match the end of your leader, I prefer fluorocarbon as it is more abrasion resistant and I can get it at cost, but mono is fine. Just don’t keep using the same tippet spool year after year; a big striper will remind you quickly of the folly of that parsimony.
Flies - well that is a topic of debate. Large articulated flies are all the rage, and they work great, but so do smaller flies. I would not use a fly smaller than size 6 and if it is between size 6 and 1, I recommend it be on a saltwater or stout big game hook. I had a large 20 pound striper start bending a size 1 big game hook and was fortunate to land it before the hook bent enough to let the fish get off and break my heart. Lots of people want to sell you large articulated flies that cost a lot (think payday loan) and are great to look at. The problem is can you cast it? For many people I would say - no they cannot. I have seen lots or people cast and taught a good many to cast, and casting a large heavy fly is hard, especially if you are using an 8 weight rod and especially if you are not the best caster and you are casting and handling the line and fly at night. If you cannot cast the fly you bought easily, then you wasted your money. Not only did you waste your money, but you exponentially increase the chance that you are going to put that big beautiful, double hook articulated rainbow pattern solidly into the back of your head. If you enjoy pain, it is much safer to get dental work done without novocaine. If you cannot cast the fly and if you are not having fun casting the fly, then you need to move to something smaller. I make sure I have lots of smaller flies that catch stripers to sell to my customers. I have caught plenty of nice stripers on size 6 and 4 flies, my shoulder and the back of my head had more fun doing it. Unfortunately striper flies are much more expensive than typical trout flies, but you don’t need the variety of flies for stripers, you only need minnow/baitfish patterns.
I am not going to discuss other equipment you need such as wading boots, wading staff, headlamps, all that is addressed in my wading in the dark post in the Learner's Corner
So much for history and equipment, now tactics. Striper is streamer fishing just on a larger scale and at night. Practice your casting and your double haul. I tell people cast the fly as far as you can and then let the fly line out and let the current do the work. I see a lot of people only fish as far as they can cast. Why limit yourself, when you can let current do the work. I will let out my whole fly line sometimes and have even spliced 30 feet of fly line to my normal 90 foot fly line and let all of that out. When I spey fish I will have a 7 foot leader, a 10 foot mow tip, a 24 foot skagit head and 110 feet of running line and have all of that out except for 3 feet. You fish 60 feet, and I
will fish 148 feet, and let’s see who catches more fish.
Learn to mend your line to keep it in the current stream longer. Simple physics dictates that when your line straightens out the fly is going to swing and not go any farther downstream. That is fine for the first 30 feet when you want to fish that water but not so great when you want to fish 80 feet downstream, that is where mending the line and keeping the fly in the current stream longer allows you to delay the swing for a longer period and fish more water. Easier to do than explain.
Keep the rod tip in the water in front of you when you start stripping the line back.
As to stripping, I say “strip tease, strip mall, strip fast or don’t strip at all, sometimes they all work and sometimes none of them work.” In other words you have to try different lengths, speeds and rhythms of stripping. Let the fish tell you what they want. I know I strip my line back in faster than most people, but I also experiment and try to find the right stripping technique for that night. Sometimes I let the line slip backward and little bit and then strip the fly forward and repeat, that is the strip tease, imitating a struggling bait fish. Sometimes I hold the fly still for 60 seconds and just let it swing in the current that is the don’t strip at all.
Setting the hook, I use a modified strip set. I pull the line with my left hand, and move the rod the opposite direction with my right hand, and if I have a lot line out, I may even lift the rod some but not like a Bass Tournament set. Stripers are not nearly as delicate as trout and have hard mouths and no teeth. I tell people to jam the hook into the top of their heads. Speaking of hooks, I do not bend down the barbs on my striper flies (sacrilegious). I found my landing rate goes up substantially with barbed hooks, I always carry a sturdy pair of needlenose pliers, not forceps, and I try to get the fish back into the water asap, and often will not take a picture of my fish unless it is was a short fight or an exceptional fish. Stripers are not whitefish (a western fishing joke) and deserve to be treated well, unless you are legally keeping them (never done that myself but as long as you obey the game laws its ok with me). The initial hook set is essential, because trying to set the hook after that first set has never worked for me.
After you set the hook, you have to clear the line i.e. you have to get all that line you let out on the reel. You cannot hand strip in big stripers, and you often cannot tell whether it is a big striper for a while so you have to get all that line you have out (see above) and put it on the more expensive reel (see above) with good drag that you already set before you started fishing. That entails getting all that line on the reel while the fish is running and you are reeling to take up all that line at your feet without getting a tangle in your line which is what the striper is trying to do during all your frantic activity. The first 60 seconds is the most crucial part of the fight especially with a big fish and many times during that time you are not sure if it is a big fish. You can often tell if it is a schoolie, but you cannot always tell quickly if it is a big fish, so be careful until you know for sure. Keep the line tight, the rod tip up and when the fish runs take your hand off the reel to keep it from breaking off or even busting your knuckles. When the fish stops running you can start reeling, when it starts running you stop reeling. To gain line back when you are reeling, move the rod down while you reel and pull it back up and repeat, unless the fish is running then it is hand off the reel again. You can also change the rod angle to put more pressure on the fish. Repeat until the fish is where you can lower the rod and grab the leader gently and hand line the fish in, ready to let go if it runs. Do not let your rod stay bent as you do this; it is easier to break your rod if all the pressure is on the tip of the rod. It is best to beach a beast by backing up carefully and getting it on a dry surface. I don’t use a net. Using a net on a big striper (unless you are in a boat or kayak and have a big net) is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Even if you use the net, you are going to have to take the beast out of the net to get the hook out. I cut out the middleman and grab it by the lip and hold on, because as soon as you touch its mouth, it will thrash around violently (wouldn’t you). Now reach in the mouth with your other hand and try to pull the barbed hook out by hand or by needlenose pliers (see above). If you do this often enough you will have an abraded thumb (striper thumb) a badge of honor and proof to your spouse you were actually fishing. Hold your fish in the current by the mouth and tail and hold it until it swims away and not before. Check your fly and your leader and repeat, especially if it is in the 30 minute magic window.
Congratulations if you read this far.
There is much more I can say, but who wants to read a novella online. Come by and buy some stuff (this ain’t no charity), and I will try to answer your questions.
Tight lines is so over used, so I will say sore thumbs.
Learner's Corner by Johnny Butler at Fly South LLC, johnbbutleriii-flysouth@yahoo.com
Fly Tying?
A lot of people ask me this question. It seems pretty daunting to get started with all the patterns, materials, tools, techniques, etc. Well the best way is to just get started.
First realize what fly tying will not do for you.
It will not save you money or room in your house
It will probably will not allow you to tie flies as pretty as the ones you see in the store
It will not raise your blood pressure (most of the time)
It will not make you spend more time with your family
It will not keep your kitchen table uncluttered
What will fly tying do for you?
It will make you a better problem solver
It will make you better with your hands
It will improve your patience
It will make you a better fisherman fisherperson(?)
It will help you tie flies you cannot buy
It will help you tie flies in the size, color shape, etc. you cannot otherwise find
It will help you look forward to the trips you take
It will let you forget about things while you are tying.
What do I do to get started?
Buy a fly tying kit, throw the vise away, and buy a decent vise
Get a fly tying friend to help you; you really cannot learn from a book; you can sort of learn from videos especially more advanced techniques, but the best way is in person with the instructor helping you every step of the way
Watch videos and practice the techniques
Set aside a dedicated area for tying. If you don’t, it is unlikely you will tie flies on a regular basis
If you stick with it, buy more and nicer tools and buy materials for specific flies you want to tie
Start off simple and work your way up to more difficult patterns
Tie several of the same fly at one time, repetition is your friend
Buy a recipe book (we call it a pattern book in fly tying). Put the materials on the hook in the order listed in the pattern.
Keep notes of what works on certain patterns
Realize there are a lot of ways to do something, so don’t be afraid to experiment. That is part of the fun.
First, learn to use a half hitch tool and then learn to whip finish as soon as possible.
Buy several bobbins, so you can keep several types and colors of thread ready
Realize even ugly flies can catch fish, so can simple flies, so can complex flies
Learn to improvise, otherwise the bit above about your blood pressure not going up will not be true.
Try to keep your fly tying area tidy. Come up with an organization system that works for you.
Tie regularly, at least at first. After you have been tying a while you can pick it back up easier if you take a break.
Download the hareline app at Apple App Store or Google Play, Fill up your cart and forward it to me for easy ordering. You cannot buy it direct you must go through a Hareline Dealer.
Remember if you are a beginner and buy a kit from me, I will give you a free 45 minute fly tying lesson (actually it will probably go longer than that)! If you have questions about buying a kit for yourself, getting a kit for a gift or giving a kit for a gift, call me at 803-466-8162 and save yourself a lot of stress and confusion.