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Outside magazine, January 2001 Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Buying Right
Living in Reel Time.    Saltwater gear for fly-fishing the big blue
TRYING TO EXTRACT a 100-pound tarpon from the briny deep with freshwater fly-fishing gear would be akin to returning a Pete Sampras serve with a warped '74 Wilson Jack Kramer. Don't try it. Powerful ocean fish can melt the components in a simple click-drag trout reel and turn a salmon rod into kindling. Saltwater fly-fishing demands more than simply a bigger version of your freshwater tackle: anodized reels that withstand corrosion; cork disc drags to wear down running fish; large-diameter spool barrels (or arbors) to retrieve more line with each crank; and rods that are thick, fast-action, and designed with extended butt sections to give you fighting leverage. Crucial traits all, when your reel is screeching and a 20-pound snook is towing your skiff into deep water. From bones to billfish, the following setups are ideal for handling the monsters lurking beyond the break. We've also included three perfectly lethal flies that no respectable tackle box—or fly shop—should be lacking. All you have to do is set the hook.
1 Bonefish, Stripers, and False Albacore
THE ROD: Whether surf-casting or site-casting, the five-piece Sage RPLXi ($640; 800-533-3004; www.sageflyfish.com) is ideal for the traveling angler because it breaks down and fits into a two-foot tube. Don't write it off as a flimsy travel pole, however: The nine-weight rod's fast-action flex is confined to the top third of the shaft, enabling accurate casting with minimal arm movement (bonefish); oversize guides allow you to shoot line over long distances (stripers); and the entire rod is reinforced with graphite to aid in aggressive leveraging (false albacore).
THE REEL: The Sage 3400D ($500; 800-533-3004; www.sage flyfish.com) boasts a stacked-washer drag system that's sealed in the reel's center housing, making it impervious to sand or salt. You can also fine-tune the drag, which has unique gearing: Flick a switch and it will essentially downshift, helping to prevent a furious run from stripping all 200 yards of reserve line from your reel.
THE FLY: Able to mimic any species of tasty baitfish, the Clouser's Minnow ($2.50, left) is a desert-island fly you shouldn't be without.

2 Tarpon
THE ROD: A 12-weight shaft with a sturdy, anodized-aluminum reel seat and a durable one-inch cork-and-rubber fighting butt, the Orvis Trident TL mid-flex ($580; 800-548-9548; www.orvis.com) is one of the few rods worthy of landing the fish nicknamed "the chrome-plated bomb." But don't be fooled by the rugged trimmings. Fashioned from lightweight graphite and titanium guides, this six-ounce rod is a breeze to maneuver. On forward casts, a sleeve of damping material reduces rod vibration by isolating the cork grip from the graphite shaft. The result—a smoother casting loop for better accuracy —can mean the difference between spooking and enticing a silver king.
THE REEL: Made with a well-ventilated giant cork disc drag and aerospace-grade aluminum, and, at two and a half inches, the largest-diameter arbor on the market for Hoovering up line, the Orvis Vortex reel ($995; 800-548-9548; www.orvis.com) could probably slow an errant Grand Banks trawler.
THE FLY: Cast an Orange Butt Borski ($4, top) in front of a cruising tarpon, strip it along like a fleeing minnow, and hang on!

3 Marlin, Sailfish, and Tuna
THE ROD: When you hit blue water, fish don't just run, they run deep. To give you more lift, most manufacturers simply make stiffer rods, an approach that makes for awkward casting. Scott's 15-weight Heliply ($595; 800-728-7208; www. scottflyrod.com), though, has a flexible fiberglass tip. It's a smooth, fast-action caster, but hook into a giant marlin and the tip transfers the load to the butt. Rough seas? Scott jackets the entire shaft in impact-resistant fiberglass so it won't splinter when a rogue wave has you smacking it against the gunwale.
THE REEL: At 11 ounces, the Tibor Gulfstream ($665; 561-272-0770; www.tiborreel.com) balances well with the Heliply for efficient casting. And a dual-pawled cork disc drag (the pawl, or clutchdog, stops the gear from spinning and activates the drag) has a broad range of adjustments. Keep it low for bantamweight bluefish, or crank it up to 11 to fatigue a record-setting mako.
THE FLY: Forget dainty. The Billfish Popper ($15; see page 9) is more parakeet than fly, but those feathers are irresistible to feeding marlin and tuna.

—Chris Keye    

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