Photo by Louis Cahill

Let’s review some basic skills you need to get started catching fish on the fly in saltwater.

Success in saltwater fly fishing is all about the fundamentals. If you understand and practice the fundamental skills you will catch fish. There is a lifetime of learning but once you have the basic skills it’s a blast learning the rest.

Saltwater fly fishing doesn’t have to be daunting. Any angler can learn and today we’re going to review the skills you need for some great days on the water. Skills simple enough for any angler to understand and put into practice.

7 Videos to help you catch fish on the fly in saltwater

Let’s start with the most basic and likely most important aspect of saltwater fly fishing, communicating with your guide. Understanding the Bow Clock system is simple but imperative.

Next, let’s take a look at the ready position. A good ready position will keep your casts coming off clean and on time.

Line maintenance is a subject we don’t talk about enough. Keeping your running line in order will help you make clean, on target presentations with no tangles.

Without fail, the strip set is the skill every angler struggles with. I have a fool proof method to get you strip setting every time.

Once you hook that fish you’ve got another job on your hands. Controlling your line during that first blistering run. Here’s how you do it without losing your fish.

When it comes to presenting the fly, slack kills. Here’s a quick video on making a good tight line presentation.

Everyone thinks you have to make a long cast in saltwater fly fishing. In fact, just as many fish are caught on short casts. That doesn’t mean that making a short shot is easy and many anglers don’t know how. Here’s some help.

Practice these simple skills and you’ll be catching fish in the salt in no time. If you want to seriously up your saltwater game, or just get started, consider one of my hands on Bonefish Schools. It’s the best way to shorten the learning curve and get you catching fish. Shoot me an email at hookups@ginkandgasoline.com for details or to reserve your spot.