For me it is nothing else other than the challenge it brings. I started fishing as a kid with my dad with an 80lb handline wrapped around a janola bottle, next I was trying to catch my ole ladies goldfish with cotton and a bent pin with bread, and so it goes on, moved to the Bay of Plenty specifically to catch trout, as Craig touched on there were few opportunities up North to do this, so it sure made sense to me, graduated to the fly after catching them first on spinning gear, and then sitting on the shores of lake Rotoma watching some older guy absolutely creaming the rainbows one morning and releasing every single one of them and then having had his fill of pleasure packed up and left. I now live in Ohope and seldom fresh-water fish, but get my juice from catching Snapper and Kings mixed with what ever else becomes seasonally available, for me it,s also about whats available. Through fishing conventionally lots of other opportunities will present themselves, so having the equipment and or the desire to exploit that opportunity is key for me and why I will continue to SWF it's a natural extention to what I'm doing now, sure it involves a few new skills and a bit of $$$ but in some situations the fly will be the most effective way to score a bite hands down. As will baits , livies ,jiggs, SP's or whatever, having a broad range of skills to cover options is what it's about for me

Interesting thread. Perhaps its also linked in part to the why flyfish at all thread?

I managed a few Kahawai in earlier days on the fly and then spent the next 20 yrs or so chasing trout. For me SWOFFing is not a replacement as it happened for a good friend but an extension of what I am passionate about. Flyfishing.

I believe its rekindled my enthusiasm for exploring new territory and certainly what I can do with the Flyrod and with flytying.
Several points Herring made seemed very right and the talk that John must have made to guys at his local club struck a chord also. I too spoke at the local club and there was a mixture of amusement and amongst some, a desire to try but not sure how. More than I would have guessed, however, had already tried at least once and generally had travelled in pursuit of SW species.

We are less blessed with the humble Kahawai down here but the more I've scratched, the further I have found others have also pursued SWOFFing. IMO its a lack of exposure which is slowing any great proliferation of SWOFFers from the trout ranks. A too hard basket and suprisingly, down here anyway, access to the fish.

The idea FF is also not a pot method, I think, also precludes its extensive use amongst those who fish in the salt less often than they like. Especially if there is pressure to show a result?


I am going to the top end to SWOFF and my fishing mate has his flyrods too. Last year he did the same trip as John C and loved it.
BUT he feels the fly puts him at a handicap and wants to take his soft plastics, poppers and t-glass rod . This is how he sees SWOFFing and maybe this reflects a general view?

I want to catch a saratoga on our last day and have tried to prime him we may blank, this to him seems silly as we can chase other species and be bent all day. When you flyfish how many fish would you need?

For me its a passion and that may be reflected in the days on the water fishing and my expectation of catch numbers. I am fortunate to fish a number of days of the year.

Maybe its about catch numbers before its about flyfishing?

I think this is an interesting topic as has been said and the reasons for a preference one way or another as individual as all of us.

For me I tried both SWF and Freshwater at the same time - but that was mostly a result of the guy who was showing me the ropes. And I think my first "fly caught fish" was a Kahawai.

Yes I know what you mean Ian about the lack of interest in anything other than Fly.
Is it elitist? Only if I think you should be doing it, which I don't...except if we are sharing a boat and I don't have as many opportunities .......
I know I might miss out on catching more or bigger but I think the fly is just how I want to do it. In saying that what is flyfishing? (Been here havn't we?) On the weekend I fished with a guy who "tied" a fly using a soft plastic. These can also be bought commercially now in US "flyshops".
Using a double hander he was still casting with a flyrod and line.
I think SWFFing will get more exposure because of forums such as these but only if we have more people log on. Really how many users are there? How many have come over from the trouty side?
For me I came to this link before I went to have a look at the freshwater site.

Both aspects require time and dedication. I guess this could be the same for any sport one wants to excel in.

 

However, there is light years of difference between salt and freshwater fly, and generally speaking, the freshies expecting to get by on mediocre knots, short casts and not being able to throw flies bigger than a 4/0 seem to be the blokes that fall along the wayside. There is an upgrade of skills needed for sure.

 

Without being too regimented there is something that needs to be pointed out here though.

Saltwater fly has many facets - more than trout fly IMHO

*Offshore

*Inshore

*Flats wading

*Rock and surf

*Estuary

*Brackish back waters

 

and there is a certain subset of skills required for each area of expertise.

Herring makes a statement that... "The reason is a love my trout fishing is the challange it presents - stalking the fish matching the hatch etc. I havnt seen the same challange in SWF"

Some of the toughest fishing (challenging) in the world is stalking skinny flats casting to cruising fish. To be brutally honest, this is not one of my areas of expertise, although I wish it was. This fishing is far more difficult than stalking trout along the shore line along their beat, as trout tend to have a set pattern whereas the saltfish, you never know where they are going to come up next. This rings true for even big bust ups.....think tuna. Bloody difficult things to predict where they will come up....and surprisingly not as easy to hook as one would think....especially YFT with that brilliant eyesight. Even skippies will drive you mad at times!

 

Coming back to Craig's original question who we see picking up the flyrod for SWF - It is a tough one to answer for sure, as there are so many variables.

 

Trouties are versed in some of the skills for salt (but a little knowledge can be dangerous ) and a lot of the hardened core of conventional salt water anglers I knock around with want a new challenge. There are the bunch that quite simply trash SWF as being stunt fishing, waste of time, expletive....expletive.... On the other hand, there a few of the (offshore) blokes that are really great fisherman in their own right and have chased behemoths on 4kg tackle all the way through to 60kg. They are looking for new milestones in their own ways, which was one of the primary reasons for me to start. Catching a 25kg YFT on 10kg standup is great, but doing that same fish on fly is not everyone�s cuppa tea. It's masochistic, but it will be one of the most memorable things you will have for those quiet moments.

 

Sure, the SP's are a new craze and relatively easy to use, compared to salt fly, but don't make the mistake of assuming there is no skill involved there either. I have been fortunate to watch gun SP blokes brain fish while no others have caught a thing even using SP's themselves and fishing within 10 meters of them. Go figure?

 

In NZ there is still a very good fishery, both salt and fresh water, so you have the numbers of fish to experiment on. And with SWF, numbers make up a vital component for success.

 

OTB sums it up very well with his statement.... "the desire to exploit that opportunity is key for me and why I will continue to SWF it's a natural extention to what I'm doing now, sure it involves a few new skills and a bit of $$$ but in some situations the fly will be the most effective way to score a bite hands down. As will baits , livies ,jiggs, SP's or whatever, having a broad range of skills to cover options is what it's about for me."

Good one mate!

 

A lot of what I have written here reflects some of the thinking already posted.....

 

To be honest Craig, I'm not really sure why blokes pick up the SWF rod, but one thing is for sure, they won't regret it the blokes that have persevered.

 

I'm a troutie and have tried some SWF but never caught a thing. I suspect because I don't have the correct gear and casting ability. I am very interested though, hence why I am reading this forum.

Hi Upstream,