The most important part of our fly fishing gear is our fly line. However I will discuss the second most important item, the fly rod, first.

Since there is no standard used by manufacturers, using the stated line weight given to a rod is more a guide than a true designation -- it "gets you in the ball park" but for you it may be right on the button. For example, Loomis rods are designed by Steve Rajeff, the world's greatest long distance caster. He designs a rod and it casts as he wants it to for, as an example, a 6 weight -- it suits his style and ability perfectly. Sage designs a 6 weight to their designers specs and their rod casts as their designers capabilities dictate -- again, their style of casting. If your style matches either of their styles, that rod might just be on the button for you. However the average caster, you and me, do not have the perfect stroke, strength of back and forward cast and consistency that Rajeff or other designers have, so our style is quite different . That being the case, we may find that overlining or underlining may be in order to "tune" that 6 weight to satisfy our style.

No matter what weight your rod may be it can take a line several weights above the stated weight as it does this all of the time. Since the first 30 feet of line on that rod is the "standard" for that rod then realize that any more line added to your 30 foot cast is the equivalent of a much heavier line. .So a 6 weight may be casting the equivalent of a 9 weight depending on how much line is out, so the rod can take it. Tuning a rod is not a new idea. Cortland actually makes half weight lines for that purpose. You can buy a 6 1/2 weight for example. However you can accomplish the same effect by cutting small sections of line off the tip (2 to 3 inches at a time) . What you are doing is bringing the line tip closer to the weighted part of the line and you will find that you changed the stated weight of the line. In some cases a lighter line can bring desired results -- so a 5 weight on that same rod might feel better to you and it to can be trimmed to make it a bit heavier if needed to accomplish the feel you like.

Today's rods are miracles of the Space Age. The materials used to build these modern rods were developed for NASA and are totally different from all the previous materials used in the past. These hollow rods have spectacular barrel strength and can handle severe bending without collapsing.

There are few, if any, really bad rods made today as the same technology and similar materials are being used by manufacturers of less expensive rods. Most all manufacturers have entry level rods which are made in China, Japan or Korea and are quite good.

Next time we will cover fly lines and leaders. Until then keep your fly dry and your line tight.
--Ed "Soggybottom " Rapisardi

When it comes to fly lines, you have a bewildering number of lines to choose from. Oddly enough, for the most part, just three or four manufacturers in the United States manufacture these hundreds and hundreds of different lines. Most private label lines of rod manufacturers are made by Scientific Anglers and Cortland .

The question is, “Why do we need so many kinds of fly lines?” Quite frankly, we don't, but the manufacturers do because they need to keep selling fly lines to stay in business. In order to accomplish this, special tapers are developed, many of which are slight variations of standard tapers, but given special names with all kinds of hype to try and convince you that you need them. Some are actually useful and do a certain job a bit better than standard, especially if the user is not quite as good a caster as he should be. A bonefish line, for example, is designed to land gently even at a long distance, but a good caster can get a gentle lay-down with a standard taper lines. So, in my opinion, species-specific lines are not really necessary for fly fishing. Both a sea trout and a bluegill can be both caught effectively on a standard taper.

(A bass taper line is quite useful in salt water as it was always used for salt water when salt water fishing with fly rods first started. It worked well as it has a shorter taper with more mass to load the rod quickly for casting when windy.)

Sinking lines are rather newcomers of sorts to fly fishing as they have replaced the split shot on the leader which made casting a bit more difficult.

In short, certain gimmicks should be taken lightly. Use what you have and you think is right and gets the job done. If, however, it does not do what you want that line to do, even after practice sessions, then seek advice by speaking to someone who is knowledgeable in line selection.

Now for leaders – ready made knotless leaders in varying lengths are superb. Knotted leaders are traditional and sold, but you can learn to tie leaders for maximum turnover depending on you casting style. For trout, the water you are fishing will dictate the length, the most popular being nine and twelve feet and many times, fifteen feet. For bass and the sunfish family, delicate turnover is not critical; a four or five foot 12-pound single piece of monofilament and, sometimes, with an added short section of a lighter monofilament of about two to three feet works.

In salt water, however, we often use a similar leader, but in the 15-pound class and about a foot or two longer for the smaller inshore species. When fishing the flats, use a more robust leader material as you will encounter oyster beds and toothy fish which will wear through your leader.

Check your leaders often for wind knots as they considerably reduce the breaking strength of monofilament.

Until next time, keep you fly dry. -- Ed "Soggybottom " Rapisardi

While we touched lightly on leaders in our last article, we can explain in more detail how to choose a proper size tippet for trout fishing. We simply apply the Rule of 4. If we were to use a fly tied on a size 28 hook we simply divide that by 4 and since 4 goes into 28, 7 times the best size tippet will be a 7X.

For uneven numbers one size over or under could be used. For example if your fly is an 18 a size 4X will do but a 5X would work as well. I prefer the heavier size in this case and would use the 4X, but that is my choice for the slightly extra strength. Remember, the higher the X-number the lower the tippet strength. Like many things in this fishing style many things do not follow a pattern. In hook sizes the higher the number the smaller the hook where as in leaders the larger the tippet size the finer the diameter .

Speaking of diameters there is the rule of 11 which says you deduct the X-number, in thousandths, from 0.011, for the approximate diameter of the tippet. For example, for a 5X, 0.011-0.005=0.006 or six thousandths of an inch diameter.

For the approximate breaking strength of the tippet the Rule of 9 applies. Subtract the X-size from 9 to get approximate pound breaking strength.

These are not hard and fast rules as technology today has enabled manufacturers to make finer and stronger mono but they get you into the ballpark.

Once again, ready-made knotless leaders are great but for those of us who prefer to tie our own leaders, please use the same manufacturer's material to keep the sections uniform . A good working trout leader formula is 50% butt section, 25% mid-section and 25% tip section...each section tied with a good Blood Knot so a 12 foot leader would have 6 foot butt, a 3 foot mid-section and a 3 foot tip section. Some prefer a 60%-20%-20% formula...try both and choose what is best for you.

Our next session will cover fly reels, so until then, tight lines and keep your fly dry. -- Ed "Soggybottom " Rapisardi

Fly Reels were originally designed as a simple way to store fly line while fishing for trout. Over the years impressive changes have taken place mainly due to those who brought fly rods to fish salt water. Lee Wulff, in an early film, is seen fishing from a john boat with a solid white glass Garcia rod and a simple single action reel with nothing more than finger pressure to apply drag while landing a rather large tarpon.

Our reels rarely had backing since long distance casts were not the norm for trout fishing. At best we generally added backing to increase the size of the arbor to bring line in faster. Then came the Medallist a single action reel with a simple drag not much better than the usual “click” drags on simple reels but they were an advance. We never really fought our trout off the reel.

Saltwater fly reels are powerful and are indeed used to fight fish off the reel and have become quite expensive. Some fresh water reels have added some design elements of their saltwater cousins and are great for bass fishing and those designs have been added to trout reels as well. So times have changed and our tackle right along with it.

Trout fishing traditionalists, however, will have no part of it. They will only use their cane rods and simple but well made reels and some even go as far as to only use pure silk fly lines.

In other words the type of equipment you choose to use is simply a matter of choice. Use what you feel is appropriate for the job at hand. There are those among us who prefer ultra lights as light as triple ought rods and lines. So far my lightest is an older Orvis one weight, fun to cast for panfish and, hopefully, this year for trout.

Until next time, tight lines and keep your fly dry. -- Ed "Soggybottom " Rapisardi

How many times have you heard “such and such is the perfect all around fly rod"? There is no rod that can do everything well. A real trout rod for example is designed to be slow, soft action which protects tippets. Sure you can take it out to the flats for lady fish or other salt water species, but even if you caught a fish, could you get it in quickly ? Or if you caught a largemouth bass could you pull him out of the weeds without a lot of effort. The action is too soft. Now if you used a stiffer rod , fast action, and tried to make a short cast with it on a trout stream you would have difficulty loading it for the often times short casts of as little as fifteen feet. If you had a twelve foot tapered trout leader on you would be using only a couple of feet of fly line out the tip -- not enough to load the rod, you would be essentially casting the leader, not an efficient cast. And so it goes. You should match the rod to the job at hand to make this sport worthwhile and enjoyable, so choose the middle size of that category.

If your wallet does not allow you to have a number of rods then choose a rod within a particular category which is the best compromise in that category. In a trout rod, a 6 weight is considered by most to be efficient for small brookies, larger bows and browns, so one rod is all you need for economy. That rod can double for small sun fish as well. Not the perfect solution, but workable.

Fast rods are sometimes too fast for anything less than large reds and any number of large salt species, so designers designed medium fast rods, and these can sometimes do double duty depending on the weight designation. The lighter ones can be used for trout but require finesse. It then goes without saying that practice with those rods to get them to do what you want is a serious consideration.

There are some who have chosen to use one rod for almost all fish no matter what size. One is a friend Bill Byrd ,an excellent fly fisherman and writer who loves the challenge of fishing for all fish with a 1 weight down to a triple-ought weight rod. Check him out at http://www.byrdultrafly.com/ . Amazing.

Until next time, tight lines and keep your fly dry. -- Ed "Soggybottom " Rapisardi

Today we will discuss in greater detail the subject of fly fishing leaders. As we have said in the past, fly fishing started as a method of catching trout with artificial bait imitating virtually weightless insects, both floating and sub-surface.

It was clear that trout are extremely wary and spook easily by anything that is not “normal”. Splashing down of the line had to be eliminated and was accomplished over the years by adding tapered leaders to tapered fly lines. A nearly weightless floating fly had to land gently on the water first to maintain its floatability and to land so gently that it's landing would be unnoticed by a trout. We cast not to the fish but to an area above the fish and allow the fly to be brought to the fish by the flow of water as the natural insects do.

The idea for a tapered leader is to have a smooth transition from the large diameter fly line to the tippet. A fly fishing pioneer, Charles Ritz, created a leader formula used to this day, although small variations have been introduced, but in my opinion his original formula is the simplest and best. His formula suggests a 50%-25%-25% application. This means that a substantial butt section of mono close to, but less than, the diameter of the tip section of the fly line should be half the length of the entire leader, and the next two sections of decreasing diameter should each be one-quarter of the entire length.

Here is the recipe for a 12 foot leader: six foot butt section, three foot midsection and a three foot tip section and finally the tippet of appropriate size and length for the fly is then tied on the end of the leader. An example of the diameter monofilament used would be 20 pound test, 15 pound test and 8 pound test for, say, a 5wt line.

One very important factor is to use only leader materials by the same manufacturer and, of course, the use of blood knots to join the leader sections. A surgeons knot is appropriate for attaching the tippet portion.

Any variations of this formula will bring satisfactory results so experiment if you tie your own leaders, but if you prefer the convenience of commercial knotless leaders, then by all means use them as they have become more dependable and consistent than were the early versions. The point is to get the best roll over presentation possible for trout fishing.

These delicate leaders are really not required for fishing salt water or other species of fresh water fish. A two piece leader of say 12 lb. and 6 lb. monofilament would suffice for fresh water and even a single piece for salt unless a really gentle presentation is required (like when targeting tailing redfish or bonefish), but if you want to use a trout leader and they work for you go right ahead. Never give up experimentation and enjoy your day.

By the way, should you have a question about fly fishing and gear feel free to contact the Website, contacttcff@aol.com. We will include it a future question and answer Lessons Learned.

Until next time, tight lines and keep your fly dry. -- Ed "Soggybottom " Rapisardi

I have been questioned about Kayak preference and casting problems associated with kayaks so we will devote this column to address these questions.

With kayaks, I, for one, prefer sit-in style versus the sit-on-top. I fish all seasons and do not like being wet all the time. I prefer not to wear waders when kayaking, so I shun sit-on-tops. It's probably OK to be wet in the hot summers we have, but our winters do get quite frigid, at least for me, and would force me to wear waders to keep dry and warm ... but that is my preference. I also like the storage space a sit-in provides for my cooler, tackle box and wet wade shoes if I decide to get out and wade. A lot of people find sit-on-top kayaks are perfectly fine for fishing.

When sitting in a kayak, the fisherman's casting form becomes important as your body movement is restricted along with being low to the surface of the water. Good casting form while standing allows complete body movement which helps to make a beautiful graceful cast as we sway from the legs, hips, upper torso, shoulder and forearm, but sitting limits some of those additional movements. Practice casting while seated on the lawn -- it requires proper technique to make the movements smooth rather than jerky and to keep the backcast loops small.

I heard someone say he prefers a sit-on-top because his elbow hits the cockpit edge when he casts from a sit in. I can only say your casting stroke is incorrect to begin with unless you have arms like an orangutan. He also suggested that when anchored and the wind coming from the right, it blows the line (he is right handed) into his head. In teaching basic casting, we explain that all is needed to cast over the opposite shoulder is a simple twist of the wrist to the left to get the upright rod tip to angle over the left shoulder and cast. The line will be on the left side of your head and the wind will blow it away from you.

I have been kayaking here in Florida since 1994 and am quite comfortable and secure in a kayak and have added a stabilizer system to both of my kayaks. Not only to prevent a spill, but more for allowing me to stand so I can pole and cast -- a plus in sight fishing.

Lastly, the question also is strictly a matter of individual preference. What length rod is best in a kayak? There is no best rod. Use what you have and keep practicing different strokes for whatever problem you can think of. I love short fly rods from six feet to eight feet and, yes, I have nine footers as well but learned to make short rods do anything a longer rod can do. I use a 7-1/2 to 8-1/2 foot long rod more often than not for all my casting and for demonstrations at shows for the fly line company I represent. I still practice almost daily despite the fact that I have been fly fishing for 58 years and teaching casting for over 35 years. I make up challenging scenarios and try to devise ways of meeting those challenges -- I enjoy casting for the sake of casting.

If you have any questions, contact me at (352) 787-6791 and perhaps I will be able to answer your question or research it to get you the right answer. If the question is a good one we can do a column on the topic as well.

Until next time, tight lines and keep your fly dry. -- Ed "Soggybottom " Rapisardi

Lessons Learned by Ed Rapisardi (October, 2011)

In a previous column, we covered basic leaders but, by choice, did not cover specialty leaders. In days gone by and before the “Modern Era” in fly fishing gear , fly lines were made of very different materials. One such was long hair from horse tails. It was twisted and braided with progressively shorter strands along its length to create a taper. It worked fairly well but had to be dressed heavily to keep it from sinking deeply since hair absorbs water. Today however we have tried braided mono which worked fairly well but had two great faults, they retained water in the braid which caused them to sink and again had to be dressed, but worse, they released water onto the stream heavily during the cast and the splash actually spooked fish.

Finally, furled leaders solved the problem of the splashing. Furled leaders of monofilament or sometimes braided fishing lines or thread were twisted rather than braided much like the twisted horse hair of the old days. What are the advantages you might ask? Today we have floating monofilament which will produce a floating furled leader. In addition a furled leader will turn over perfectly even when held by the butt end and casting it forward by hand and, lastly, they last a long time as tippets are attached with a loop-to-loop as needed.

Furled leaders made commercially are expensive, about $12 on average but are relatively easy to make if one wants to make them with tools you probably have at home. You may or not be aware of it but Club Member George Hintz has been making furled leaders for quite some time now. (Check out Furled Leaders on the Lines, Leaders & Knots section of the Links & Library Page for instructions on how to make these leaders.)

So there you have it, your choice, hand tied leaders, knotless leaders and furled leaders. I have seen a slight variation used on still water trout fishing where great stealth is needed and long leaders. A short furled leader of 4 to 5 feet used as a leader butt section with a long knotted or knotless leader attached -- great turnover and gentle presentation of a dry fly. Try one you might like it. Shorter ones of 6 feet can be used as you use any salt water or fresh water leaders now. Experiment with your gear, that's what keeps this game we love interesting.

Until next time, tight lines and keep your fly dry. -- Ed "Soggybottom " Rapisardi

Lessons Learned by Ed Rapisardi (January, 2012)

I sometimes think back to simpler times -- my youth, for example, and the conventional fishing I did with my Dad. Dad loved to fish and in the 30's economic times were tough but as a life insurance salesman with the largest book of customers in Prudential history, he made a decent living for the times. He would rent a rowboat out of Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and we fished the bay which is the entrance to the NY Harbor .We caught fish and I do not remember ever going home with no fish. What I now find curious, my Dad was not a “scientific” angler. By that I mean our bait would be any one of three things, cut up squid, cut up clam strips from huge chowder clams or blood worms -- whichever was cheapest that day. We did not check tides or moon phases. When the mood to fish came up and I was not in school, mostly weekends, we would jump into his car and go out to fish the Bay. He taught me to row those heavy wood rowboats to any place on the bay where we were in no ship's way. We left in broad daylight at no specific time and always returned home before dinner hour. The time was not important. We used proper hooks however for special species, like flounder hooks for large “door mat” flounders on the bottom. Come to think of it, it was all bottom fishing with braided line and lead sinkers, casting only a short distance from the boat. We always caught something, sheepsheads, porgies, mackerel and our favorite blow fish (puffers). He taught me how to clean them....delicious. Sometimes we carried wire crab traps and caught large blue claw crabs which were plentiful.

The point of this story is while I have become a “scientific” fly fisher I have decided that I will be old fashioned and go fishing whenever the mood strikes me. To hell with the tides or moon and getting up at three AM to catch the tide right. Fishing is fun and not a job and so what if I go home skunked.

I think fly fishing taught me that one could have a fantastic day of trout fishing even if you caught no fish, for in fly fishing, a perfect day is a day in which you read the water correctly, your casts were accurate and consistent, and your presentation and drift free floats were perfect. What a great day! No hatch on, so what!!! Look around and enjoy the tranquility and beauty of nature, spook that duck as you round that turn in the river and look there's a nice buck drinking at the water's edge. That attitude has returned, possibly due to my age but more for the longing for simpler times.

Until next time, tight lines and keep your Fly dry. Ed , Soggybottom, Rapisardi