Shore/Beach Fishing

[SurfnTurf]

Hi guys,


I'm pretty new to fly fishing, but I absolutely love it already. I spend 99% of my time on bass, which is awesome, but I'm going down to Margate soon and I want to do a bit of surf/beach fishing. I only have a 5wt, so I can't aim heavy, but that doesn't bug me at all.


With all this considered, does anyone have any suggestions regarding flies and presentation?


TIA

[Lenny]

I am not an expert .


But when I still fly fished .


Clousers , and foam poppers was my favorite . A 9 wt was the way to go , with a floating line .


Since when I last flyfished , things have developed in a major way , so take my advice with a pinch of salt ,


Tight lines

[travelmember]

Don't be limited by your rod size - it is extremely rare that a heavy fly fisher will connect with anything decent unless they are a very knowledgeable local and even then it is not every trip.


Small clousers and small crab patterns, both weighted - no more that a size 4 hook. Wade knee to waist deep and cast parallel to the shore.
You want to work in the foamy stuff. Concentrate upon edges, sandbanks, rocky areas, rips etc (please be careful!). Fish very early (before sun up) and very late. On a 5wt I would use a 9' leader (no need to be tapered as the fly is heavy and should turn it over) of about 20lb and a 12lb fluoro tippet. You can substitute with a short piece of wire if the shad are around.

[tkei]

Travelmember is correct. usually its small shad, wave garrick, small kingies, blacktail etc you get. The main disadvantage with a 5wt is if the wind is blowing, you battle to get the fly out. this is where the 9wt has the advantage.