New cheap 8w--how difficult is this supposed to be?

[Wildfish]

I'm heading down to the Outer Banks of NC and figured I'd buy a cheap 8w to hit the back bays and fish for SM as I make my way down the coast (posted about this in the general forum). Ended up ordering a Hobbs Creek outfit from bass pro and while the finish is nice for a

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

Welcome to the world of heavy lines and heavy rods. I borrowed a 10 weight to fish for stripers on the bay. We caught a ton of fish in the 4-7 lb range. When finished, the guy said "What do ya think". I responded with "It would be easier and more fun with a spinning rod and plugs." My arm / shoulder was very sore. Unless you drop a few hundy, it is what it is. Saltwater and heavy rods are not my cup of tea. It's effective but 3-4 wt is more my cup of tea. Just bring icy hot for the shoulder.

 

[Fishidiot]

Wildfish,
I find that an 8WT covers pretty much all my heavy freshwater fishing (except muskies) and works well for shallow water salt (bonefish, stripers, reds, etc). I doubt that a much more expensive rod will improve your situation much. It should be recognized that large salt flies tied with dumbell weights or other added weight aren't likely to ever cast with the beautiful, arching leader turn-over typical of small, weightless trout flies. It's a different ball game. And yes, the rods are heavier. Trout guys often experience fatigue when they switch to bass or salt gear. One bit of advice I always suggest to new bass/salt guys is cut out the false casting. Practice casting in the back yard and learn to really shoot line. I think a lot of trout guys never really learn to double haul and shoot line and they wind up over false casting and wear themselves out on the water.
Don't give up on your 8WT.

 

[FiveWeight]

Yep, I am in full agreement with Fishidiot. Learn how to shoot line. Double haul and water haul. And still bring along the bourbon and Aleve. The bourbon for later the Aleve for always!

 

[Wildfish]

Thanks guys. Just wanted to be sure I'm on the right track. As it is I almost never false cast. For trout I'm usually in dense cover, so false casts are just a technique for decorating trees. But I'm glad to hear I'm not way off base here. I'll keep working on technique and hopefully my arm will be up for the challenge in a month...

 

[gfen]

Five hours with a 10wt. Couldnt move my arm or close my hand either...its a far cry from size 18s on a 4wt.

 

[Wildfish]

Nice. Hopefully it was worth the pain?

 

[gfen]

Salt water fish live in an amazingly harsh enviroment, and when you get even a little one on the end of your line you'll know this, too.

Yeah, it was worth it. Good luck on your trip.

 

[GreenWeenie]

The bad news is heavy line requires good casting technique/timing so more than likely your technique is off. And when technique is off and the casts start to fall apart the natural tendency is to compensate by adding power or trying to muscle the line out there, which causes fatigue.

Now the good news, once you start to get better casting heavier lines you will see a dramatic improvement in your casting abilities with the lighter lines. Just keep practicing because casting an 8 weight is not the same as casting a 4 or 5 weight.

 

[Pittflyguy]

A few thoughts. Throwing heavy flies (especially on sinking lines) is what salties refer to as chuck and duck! Not pretty casting but effective. A few tips I picked up along the way:

-really work on your double haul
-minimize your false casting
-Wear a stripping guard on your finger or even a thin glove

You can spend the dough for a Helios and you are still going to have the same issues, don't get caught up in the marketing! Good luck and tight lines.

 

[jayL]

It took a while, but the 9wt grew on me. I learned to handle it salmon fishing, which was a lot of roll casting and a few short traditional casts (mixed in with c&d of course). After a few trips like that, I was able to better manage the big guy. I'd consider learning to be comfortable with it before you start trying to cast it into the backing.

 

[wgmiller]

WF,

I was in the same boat as you last year. It was my first venture into the "world of salt" with an 8wt and I had a lot to learn. As mentioned, learn to double haul. Watch Youtube video after Youtube video until you get it down. Practice it in your back yard any chance you get.

But quite honestly, don't get caught up with being able to cast 100'. Many of the fish you'll come across may only be 10, 20 or 30 in front of you. Like has been mentioned, the salt environment is a harsh world and like so many other fish, they are opportunists. If you were fishing for spooky bonefish, then I'd say casting accuracy and distance would be important. But you're fishing the salt for predatory fish.

One other important thing to do is make sure you are wearing some kind of eye protection when you're slinging the flies. Having a Clouser or other weighted streamer come at you in the "chuck and duck" mode is no joke. We all get one set of eyes and a set of glasses is a cheap investment to help save them.

Good luck!

 

[Wildfish]

That's sound advice. I always wear sunglasses even fishing dries on an overcast day--too worried about a bad cast/snagged tree. But with these bigger bugs at higher speeds I'm worried I need a helmet.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Don't forget the sunscreen,30 spf.