The line should always land straight to create a direct contact to the fly. It’s unlikely to find sea trout on pure sand. Sea trout and foam flies Fishing Baltic sea trout in the surface with waking foam flies can be a lot of fun. Consequently, the fisherman – and not the weather – should decide when it’s time to call it a day. In shallow water a bushy fly will sink more slowly and avoid catching the bottom. Any floating fly will do. Where do we find the fish? Finding the fish should always have highest priority. In bright sunny weather your best chance is to fish where there is plenty of tree cover. In the winter months and the main season (March-May) sunshine warms up the water during the day, which makes fishing in daytime most productive. The leader should taper to not less than 3,5kg (8 lbs) breaking strain, and once your casting is up to the challenge you might want to tie on at least one dropper which can accommodate a second fly. Warmer water fills the coastal zone with life and requires a „match the hatch coastal style”. We make our own surface lures using white Ethafoam cut into small triangles and whipped to a hook just behind the eye. Suitable for grilse, sea trout… A good compromise would be a 9 to 9.5ft #6 or #7 fly rod. Fly Fishing for Sea Trout – a Compact Guide for Beginners, Guideline Coastal RTG Single-handed Shooting Head Slow Intermediate, Guideline Coastal RTG Single-handed Shooting Head Floating, Meerforellen – Küstenangeln mit Profi-Taktiken, Guideline Coastal Fly Line Slow Intermediate, Rio Coastal QuickShooter Coldwater Intermediate Fly Line, Zpey Scandic Zaltwater Single-handed Shooting Head Clear Intermediate, McLean Angling Short Handle Seatrout Net R422, Hardy Wraith AWS Sintrix Single-Handed Fly Rod, Patagonia Stormsurge Roll Top Pack 45L Backpack DFTG, Hardy Demon SWS Sintrix Single Handed Fly Rod. Fishing in the right places at the right times - sea trout are not spread about the river like currants in a bun. It’s the equipment that protects us from harsh conditions and shapes the magical connection between fisherman and fish. Freshwater fly fishermen, just giving it ‘a go’ might be shocked at the speed and … Large sea trout should, in our opinion, always be released, as their genes are so important to the survival of the strain of sea trout that have a tendency to be long lived and/or fast growing. The sight of a large sea trout leaping well clear of the water is awesome, and if the hook is not set before the fish leaves the water the chances are it will be shaken free before the splash down. 1.7K likes. It’s of higher importance what you tie to the end of this material. Use a fly of similar size and shape as the natural insect. If the river is well up but clear, even a heavy fly and a sink tip (or even a fast sinking line) may not be enough to get the fly down as deep as you need it before the current sweeps it away from the target area. Small sea trout (whitling, herling, peal... they have many local names) certainly will feed at times, taking nymphs and larvae from the riverbed and even rising to take flies floating on the surface. A fly put in front of a sea trout's nose and then moved enticingly will often provoke a take, either violent or gentle. It is all about fishing the ideal spot for the current conditions, which can change every single hour. 1 THE IMITATIVE APPROACH (See our Safety Guide...). Once it is unhooked, simply turn the sea trout upright and hold it with the head facing the current until it swims away; you can be confident that the probability of your fish surviving to spawn is not going to be significantly affected by its being caught and returned in this way. Here (pictured on the right) is one that Sue made earlier. Needles to say, high waders are advisable. On the darkest of nights you may need a very large tube fly and the slowest retrieve that avoids getting hooked on riverbed debris or rocks. Large sea trout are difficult to catch. Flies like the Tobisen 2, worm imitations, natural shrimp patterns and the unremarkable, but very successful Kopperbassen match the sea trout’s natural supply of food. (A small proportion of sea trout die from accidents, predation or disease in river before they can spawn, and typically this is no more that 15 per cent; with careful handling and speedy release your sea trout is very likely indeed to go on to add to future stocks of sea trout in the river. There are numerous types of torches available through tackle shops, but a head-mounted light leaves both hands free to change leaders or flies. At dusk and well into the night they move out and stretch their fins, sometimes leaping and splashing so that you know where they are, but more often staying deep down on the riverbed. It's simply a sparkly tinsel-winged fly with or without a brass bead head. Simple, but very effective and durable, these are surface lures that will never sink. Especially when the fish are the most active. Early in the evening a small fly and a fast retrieve often works very well, but as the light fades and even a sea trout has more difficulty seeing the fly we recommend a change in tactics. Sea trout abhor light and will very quickly retreat to a place where you cannot possibly catch them. Very good and popular lines are the Guideline Coastal Slow Intermediate, the Vision Kust or shooting heads such as the Guideline Coastal RTG Single-handed Shooting Head Slow Intermediate. Teal, Blue and Silver in sizes 12, 10, 8 and 6. From the new RS JC sea-trout range. But, we need to be realistic: most of us don’t life next to the coast and can go fishing whenever the conditions are ideal. (Aber auch nicht mehr!) Sea trout hunters, just as surfers, belong to the few species that prefer “miserable” weather. The emphasis in this online guide is on the essential knowledge required to fish for sea trout in rivers, mainly at dusk or in darkness because when rivers run clear the sea trout hide during daylight, seeking the cover of tree roots and undercuts. You don’t want to miss a … Instead, place one hand on top of the sea trout and turn it upside down; it will not thrash about when held this way, and so if you intend returning it to the river you can simply unhook it while keeping the fish submerged. Striking at these nips is pointless: Streamer flies are poor for sea trout fishing, because so few takes result in fish being hooked. It is called the Sparker, and was devised by Sue Parker. For fishing at night you will need a good torch to help you to get to and from the river and to help when making changes to tackle setup - although you should never shine the torch on the water where you plan to fish. £1.89. The estuary of a small creek or even the tiniest trickle can make a huge difference. Accessories, such as fingerless gloves – for example the Simms Half Finger Glove – can make hours of fishing much more enjoyable and will provide you with more endurance. In England and Wales there are strict statutory bag klimits and restrictions on taking both undersized and large sea trout. Fishing with two flies – a dropper and a point fly – became very popular in the last few years. Big sea trout do not feed while in rivers. There are many more techniques and tactics that, selected to suit the location and conditions, can take a lot of the luck out of sea trout fishing. The experience and skills necessary for competence in sea trout fishing really do have to be acquired at the waterside, but they can only come if you have a good basic understanding of sea trout behaviour and the basic techniques necessary to catch them. We manage very well with just seven patterns in a range of sizes, so our fly boxes are not confusing jungles of long-forgotten patterns. On Thursday the 11:th of March 19:00 it is time for the comeback of FLY TV! “Fish of a thousand casts” – the reputation of the sea trout isn’t really helpful when it comes to convincing novices to start fishing for them. Fishing with a team of two, or even three flies, greatly increases your chances of catching sea trout. How, where and when can we catch sea trout? Lefty Kreh says in Fly Fishing in Salt Water, “One of my favorite methods of fishing for spotted sea trout is to locate a shallow bay with a grassy bottom and drift across it. Here’s how to do it – and a pattern that works. It’s about creating a guide for beginners and to encourage novices to get in touch with the “fascination sea trout”. A small fly will be visible in shallow water on all but the darkest of nights. Who ever invented it, the saying “old wave equals good fishing” will help you to achieve your dream of a Baltic bar of silver! Consequently, if you are fishing in springtime and you don’t want to fish from dawn till dusk a midday break is a good idea! You might be surprised to see that we do not have on display a vast selection of sea trout flies in a bewildering array of colours. All publisher profits and author royalties are being donated to support the Wild Trout Trust, helping communities to restore and protect wild trout and their habitats. The different species of sea trout have their own special quirks, looks, and features that make them distinct. Each sea trout fly selection is presented in a superb waterproof plastic fly box. If you can afford to buy only one set of tackle it is possible to choose a rod which will work perfectly well for both trout fishing and sea trout fishing provided you make the necessary changes in leader set up and the flies that you use. No matter which time of year: the change of light – whether in the morning or the evening – is always worth fishing. Preferably small imitations of sticklebacks (Polar Magnus Variants made of CDC). It is unusual to catch a sea trout bigger than 1.5kg (3.5lb) using dry flies, although occasionally a big sea trout will take a smallish nymph. Note that I say 'when' rather than 'if'. Cast your surface lure across the belly of a deep pool and retrieve slowly but steadily; if a fish leaps at the fly, tighten only when it dives down. Mostly we go sea trout fishing for a few days, hoping that the conditions are good. GET IT HERE. Ideally, the chosen costal line is stored on a salt water resistant reel with a very reliable drag system and a proper amount of backing. Tight loops are the last thing you want at night when fly fishing for sea trout, as tangles will follow. If you intend to take a sea trout out of the river, the safest way to do so is to net it, taking the fish while still in the net out onto the bank for a quick photograph and straight back into the water. Fly fishing for sea trout is not just physically challenging. Let’s focus on the less complex component first: the equipment. If even your largest fly provokes no response it may be that the sea trout simply can't see the fly; then it is time to switch to a surface lure or wake fly. In many rivers, sea trout stocks are so depleted that there is not a harvestable surplus, and only by catch-and-release can we maintain stock levels. Yet again, the Vision Kust in the suitable sinking rate can be recommended. Estuary fishing for sea trout is also popular but either spinners or bait are commonly... Sea Trout conservation. If the water of the open coast has not yet reached the magical 4-degree mark it is a good idea to look for spots with a lower salt content. In spring - and indeed at any time in the season when the river rises and becomes coloured, sea trout can be caught by day as they run up river. It’s actually an anadromous fish meaning it’s a brown trout that has access to the ocean. Freshwater anglers catch sea trout by fly fishing, whereas the majority caught in the sea are taken on spinners and other lures, although they will also take live baits, and have been known to occasionally be caught on mackerel strip and herring baits fished on the seabed. Look for any subtle lift or fall of the line as it arcs down from your rod tip to the water's surface. Hence, first casts should always be done from the beach. From late spring until late summer and often into autumn, sea trout in low clear rivers lie close to their daytime resting places, and for the most part those places are on the deep-water side of bends in the river. In case you get a false take you should imitate the prey’s flight instinct. At each bend in the river, the main channel switches from one bank to the other, always cutting more deeply into the material of the riverbed where the bend is sharpest, and at such points the channel is deepest and closest to the outside of the bend, where the bank is eroding and may well be undercut. We have caught plenty of small sea trout - up to about 4lbs (1.8kg) - on nymphs and dry flies. Therefore, light high-quality reels such as the Waterworks-Lamson Litespeed Micra 5 or a Hatch Finatic Gen 2 won’t let you down. For upwinged flies a Greenwell's Glory or similar dry fly is ideal, and sizes 12 to 16 will match most of the natural insects you are likely to encounter in Britain and Ireland. But, it offers compact and essential tips, which will make your sea trout start much easier and will help you to enjoy this meditative discipline right away. Water about a metre (3ft) deep is always worth a try, as it's not too difficult to present a fly quite close to the riverbank and at the same time close to the riverbed. Stand still and avoid sudden movements if you choose to fish from a high bank. Seatrout Fly Fishing. There is a misconception that all fly fishing for trout is done on the surface of the water with "dry flies." It also has a huge impact on the productivity of the different daytimes. In most situations when sea trout fishing you are not trying to imitate any particular insect or other creature that the sea trout might recognise as food, an so matching the size, shape, colour or even behaviour of a food creature is not an issue. Basically I always fish with the same two or three patterns. But, that’s the charm of costal sea trout fly fishing.We have to admit that this article isn’t able to cover the whole complexity of the topic – honestly, this isn’t what it’s aiming for. £34.99 with free UK shipping. This is the moment in which 30m of fly line can seem like a joke, especially compared to creek fishing, when reaching the fish isn’t an issue. For inst… Let the fly sink in a 'dead drift' until it reaches the target area, and then retrieve line to bring your fly to life, drawing it slowly away from the bank and towards mid stream. The fly line is followed by a tapered 9’ fluorocarbon leader with a 0,22-0,28mm tippet. Partly it's because they very rarely feed, so trout-fishing tactics are ineffective and you have to lure them some other way; and they so rarely take a fly by day unless the river is high and coloured. On a bend, unless hard rock determines the shape of the riverbed and banks, the main channel will be near to the outside of the bend, which will also be the deeper side of the river. In the picture on the left, the river is flowing from left to right, and the red line denotes the main channel - the run line in all but a major flood. Just as in many other disciplines, following question divides the scene: Fly line or shooting head? To catch sea trout with a fly rod we need to find places where they are feeding close to the bank. I retrieve the fly very slowly as the boat drifts. Then you would really enjoy Pat O'Reilly's latest river-based thriller Dead Drift. Now it’s time for floating lines such as the Guideline Bullet Evolve or the Guideline Coastal RTG Single-handed Shooting Head Floating. They can be caught on areas of open coast but more often than not the hot spots usually relate to estuaries were the sea trout spend a lot of time feeding. Of the countries mentioned, Denmark has the longest tradition for fly fishing for salt water trout, and many of the ideas and tactics … Of course, learning to cast these big flies safely is crucial - to learn how to do so, see our online Casting Instruction... Also known as Wake Flies, surface lures are simply flies that float. Niklaus Bauer goes to the Island of Gotland to fish for cold water sea trout together with Robert Hansson from Fish Your Dream. Maximum net opening 24”. Hours of wading in the cold water of the Baltic Sea without a take doesn’t really seem appealing to everyone. Sea trout feed on sandeels when at sea, and in estuaries an imitation sandeel 'fly' is well worth a try. Tie these super sea trout flies in sizes 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2, and if you want to achieve maximum depth then include a brass or tungsten bead head of a size to suit the hook. Durability is a consideration, too: sea trout have very sharp teeth and can shred a fly that is tied using soft materials such as peacock herl. It has to be said that this article can’t cover every detail of the entire topic. Cast your fly from such a position that you can bring it slowly across the run line and as deep as possible without snagging on the riverbed. If a fish can see your fly, then light must be penetrating deep down, and a fish can equally see movements on the riverbank. Our solution to this problem is very simple: instead of casting down and across river we cast upstream, landing the fly (or flies if you use a team of two or three) several metres upstream of the target area. Perhaps the more aggressive nature of young males leaves the young hen fish with a choice of starvation rations or a trip to the seaside. What do I need? Why use white foam if sea trout see only a silhouette? Please see our guidelines on best practice catch and release and our online length-to-weight converter. Mallard and Claret in sizes 12, 10, 8 and 6, Plastic tube flies, for surface or near-surface fishing, Aluminium tube flies for moderately deep water, Waddington lures to get down deep in very fast-flowing gorges, Fishing for (nearly always small) sea trout that are feeding, Fishing for sea trout when rivers are high and the fish are running upstream, Fishing for large sea trout that have taken up residence for the summer months. That's because more than forty years of sea trout fishing experience has taught us that fly pattern and colour are two of the least important factors when fishing for sea trout at night - and night time fishing is by far the most productive when rivers are running clear in spring and summer. Regardless, catch-and-release fishing still rules the day. The idea is very simple: When the night is so dark that even a large fly fished near the riverbed (which is where sea trout lie nearly all of the time - they don't hover in mid water) is unlikely to be seen by a sea trout unless it comes right up against the fish's nose, a wake across the surface is much more visible. For example, a Muddler Minnow is a very effective surface lure, although it has the minor disadvantage of tending to lose its buoyancy after a few sea trout have seized it and swamped it. (Like old chickens, old sea trout are not the best to eat!). As it is, the takes to surface lures can be very exciting indeed, as the fish surge upwards breaking the surface like missiles launched from submarines. A #6 or #7 rod and a line – that’s it. Flies for sea trout fishing on the lochs were, for the most part, large versions of trout flies, usually in sizes ten and eight, and very effective they were. Keep artificial light to a minimum In the end, endurance pays off! The hens have deeper bellies, more rounded snouts, and no sign of a hook, or kype, on the lower jaw. The imagination to stand in front of the almost endless vastness of the ocean, equipped with nothing but a fly rod can be pretty intimidating. As such they can be caught on any of these baits. Our aim in preparing this section of our online flyfishing guide was to take the mystery (but certainly not the magic) out of this challenging branch of flyfishing and to provide some straightforward guidelines that will help you to tackle up and get started in this fascinating branch of flyfishing. Buy a reel that has a spare spool so that you can load it with either an intermediate (slow sinking) line or a fast sinker; this will be very useful when you encounter fast and high water conditions. Stripping Guards reduce friction caused by intensive stripping – even after days of fishing. Imitative flyfishing for trout does not require very many flies, and the same applies when sea trout are feeding on insects. By further using adh-fishing.com, you consent to our use of cookies for this purpose. During winter fishing a so-called winter quarter can be a real bonanza. When river mouth fishing you can catch salmon, trout and kahawai on the same lure fishing gear with the same flies. See more ideas about trout, fly tying, fly fishing. Fishing in ways that induce a take rather than spooking your quarry - scaring sea trout is very easy to do! Most sea trout fly boxes include a mixture of brightly coloured patterns and natural imitations. Tackle Guide for Sea Trout Flyfishers. If you see what look to be large trout sipping flies from the surface then the best advice we can give is this: Match the Hatch. With this upstream and across technique, you can use a floating line or a sink tip and a weighted fly to get down deep very quickly: this is crucial when sea trout are not showing (by leaping and splashing on the surface). In particular there are two factors that make all the difference: In many rivers the future of sea trout stocks (and especially large fish) is seriously threatened. SAGE Trout Reel . It alsom covers Poland, the Eastern Baltic countries and Finland although sea trout fishing in the salt is rarely heard of in these countries. We use scissor-pliers or forceps for this purpose, and hooks and fingers in close proximity in the dark are not a good idea. It is the dead of night, you are casting your flies in near darkness, and you will have but a split second to react if a sea trout seizes your fly: you have to believe it is really going to happen, or your concentration will wander. The winging material is Lureflash, and Sue ties them in various colours - red, blue, pearl, copper and yellow - just to add variety to her fly box; the sea trout don't seem to mind at all what colour you use, probably because once it is dark they, like us, can't distinguish colours. In other words: leopard areas, kelp or seaweed within casting range. You walk along the bank until you spy a rising fish, cast 3-6ft in front of the fish, making sure that you don’t spook it by landing the fly line too close, then wait with your heart in … It’s just a case of personal preference. Hooks should be size 10 singles or size 12 doubles regardless of lure length. Popular winged wet fly for sea-trout night fishing. Time of the yearNot only the current weather conditions should be part of the decision-making process – the time of the year is just as important! This is because sea trout so often come at a fly from behind, following it across the river - sometimes right into the shallows on the bank from which you are fishing, periodically nipping at the 'tail end'. Salmon and trout can still be caught even when the water is milky. It is perfectly possible to use your ordinary trout fishing rod for sea trout fishing - or even, particularly in high water conditions, to use a small double-handed rod of the kind commonly used for salmon fishing; however, whichever rod you use, a good tackle setup can mean the difference between success and failure. In coloured water the fly needs to be larger than would be necessary to be visible to fish in clear water. But, summer night fishing is an exception. Many of the techniques and presentations of fly fishing were first developed in fishing for trout. Also the extensive book Meerforellen – Küstenangeln mit Profi-Taktiken by Jens Bursell is definitely worth reading. Sea trout fishing requires dedication and 100 per cent concentration. Welcome to our online guide to selection and tying of flies and surface lures for various weather and water conditions on rivers, streams and estuary waters. There are exceptional circumstances, when sea trout may be feeding by day or at dusk, but that is far from the norm. This also applies to my selection of bait. This is because they rarely become preoccupied with one particular insect at one particular stage in its lifecycle - for example nymph, emerger, dun, spinner, or spent spinner.