Zen Fly Fishing: Gear

I'm shown on the beach geared up and ready to fish.



Recently (starting in 2006), I have been using finer equipment than I started with in 2002. It costs more but performs a lot better than my original gear. I did a quick update. I haven't checked on availability of every thing or whether there is new gear that makes more sense. There is a lot of fine gear available. This just reflect my sensibilities based on the harsh salty, sandy environment and need for high performance casting. If you have any feedback, please send email. The specifications for the gear are listed:

• Redington CPS 9064S, 9-foot saltwater 6-weight (Click to see a picture of my Redington gear. The other pictures show my old rod and reel.).
• Redington Special Value Fly Reel, SV II Fly Reel loaded with 30-lb Dacron backing, 120-ft of 35-lb test Berkley XDS Fireline used as a Shooting Line, and 22-feet of Cortland Leadcore, LC-13 (total length is 23-ft including braided momo loops) weighing 303.4 grains for the shooting head. I've also used 25# test Berkley Iron Silk, 25# test Yozuri Hybrid, and Sunset 20# test Chartreuse Amnesia. The Fireline has very low stretch and the XDS improvements provide eXtra Durability and Smoothness (XDS).
• Stripping Basket is a prototype of the Stripper developed by Stan PlesKunas. You can buy the latest version (called a Mangrove Hip Shooter Stripping Basket ) from Fly Fishing Specialties (formerly San Jose Fly Shop).
• Stripping Guard - a lycra sleeve to use on your rod-hand's middle finger (or other finger that you use to control stripping). It protects it from abrasion and cuts from line as you retrieve flies and play fish by hand lining in.
• Nippers to cut leader material.
• Diamond file to sharpen hooks.
• Safety Pin to help undo wind knots in leaders.
• Hat
• Polaroid glasses
• Olympus Stylus 3.2 Mega-pixel Weather-Proof Digital Camera on Gear Keeper Retractable Lanyard.
• Salter Little Samson Spring Scale - 4-lb capacity that is ideal for accurate weighing of surfperch (might not be available anymore).
• Needle-nose pliers and holster.
• Hodgeman Wadelite Breathable Waders (be sure to get a model with gravel flaps built in - this model has exterior and interior pockets)
• Hodgeman Rubber Booties.
• Hodgeman Lakestream® Neoprene Gravel Guards (vecroed or zippered neoprene ankle wraps to keep sand out - see Items T332 or T333).
• BW Sports Shell Rain Jacket, SJ-1000 (durable all-weather breathable jacket with plenty of pockets).
• Score Caddy (0 to 100 score keeper from golf accessory stores) to make it easier to keep an accurate count of the number of fish that you catch.

This can all be bought for less than $700 (not including the camera).

Redington CPS 9064S (9-foot saltwater 6-weight) is designed for saltwater usage with a mid-range price ($279). It is a very fast rod and casts leadcore shooting heads very well. The 6-weight is powerful enough for the biggest surf and is light and cast so effortlessly that you can cast like a machine continuously for hours. The gear is powerful enough to a striper if ever you hook one. My old rod was a Shakespeare Intrepid Titanium IM-7 Graphite 6-weight, SP 3086 2MH 8'6" Fly Rod (with Fighting Butt from Cabela's). It was much slower that the Redington CPS 9064S - I prefer a faster rod now. I've used Loomis GL3, 5-weight on the beach. I've used Sage VPS 8-weight for Stripers and I know it would be a good in 6 to 8-weight for the beach. Sage RPLXi or Xi2 would be wonderful if you wanted to go for broke.

The Redington Special Value Fly Reel, SV II is made for salt water use. I still keep it protected with CorrosionX and treated again after every trip. It has a really smooth cork drag that you can adjust quickly and the reel can be palmed for more momentary drag. It has big enough clearances that splashed up sand does not jam the mechanisms. Expensive close-tolerance reels do not work well on the beach because sand splashes up as waves break.

I usually use a 2-fly leader using Berkeley Big Game Supreme: 4-ft of 20# test on the butt section to 2-ft of 14# test for the point fly using a Uni-to-Uni knot. For the dropper, I use 3-inches of 14# test using Uni Knots on both ends. The dropper loop is slid above the 20-to-14-lb test Uni-to-Uni knot and tightened and slid down with the Uni-to-Uni serving as a block. The overall length is 6-feet. I use a loop made with a double Surgeon's Loop to connect the leader to my leadcore shooting head.

My LC-13 leadcore shooting head is hand-made using loops constructed from Gudebrod 35-lb test braided monofilament. See Dan Blanton's excellent article Getting Looped for instructions on how to make loops. Leader to Leadcore is connected loop to loop. The shooting line has a double Surgeon's Loop and is connected to the Leadcore loop-to-loop. All knots (including leader knots) are coated with Softex Flexible Cement to ease movement through guides and to protect them. I use a few coats and recoat every several trips to renew the coating. After every fishing trip, I clean, stretch and treat the shooting head and shooting line with Russell Peak's Line Dressing. It makes 100-ft casts on the water possible and minimizes tangles.

The Olympus Stylus 300 (3.2 megapixel) Digital Camera can be found for less than $200. It is excellent for taking self-portraits with wet hands. I've even dropped it into salty waters briefly without damage. I just rinse it with fresh water and dry after every trip. It is put in a plastic bag with an absorbent pad into a zippered zipper-line pocket. It is preset for close-up and flash. I merely rest my rod on my stripping basket, get the camera out, open the lens cap, point/click and check the image that flashes momentarily to verify that I am framed and exposed properly. It is fast and efficient. The Pentax Optio-WP 5 megapixel camera would be great too. It is waterproof but is much more expensive.

The stripping basket makes slack line control easy and is essential for the Zen focus on presentation and bite detection. See the close-up below. The basket was given to me by Stan PlesKunas to test and I have been using it for more than two years now. I have made some changes to it. I added a rod holder (cut a notch and added a bungee strap). The foam material on newer versions may be too thin to add a rod holder. I also replaced coil separators with weed-whacker monofilament. Don't use the monofilaments that are coiled. Echo Inc. has a String Trimmer Line, 0.095-inch mono, (Item # 102222952) that is sold packaged straight in 8-inch lengths. See view showing coiled shooting line. The long separators keep tangles to a minimum - even with enough shooting line to cast 100-ft. The foam material is light and strong and very repairable with Softex Clear Flexible Cement. I use Softex to strengthen wear points (belt slots, rod hold notches and seams).



The BW Sports jacket keeps me comfortable under any Monterey Bay condition (rain or shine). It is belted at my waist using my plier holster and basket belts. It has large pockets for gear that are high enough to keep dry. My wrists are sealed from water flow in using the jacket's velcro-straps. I have been knocked down and rolled around in the surf and gotten up just a little wet but comfortable enough to keep fishing for the rest of the day. The waistline belt over your parka keeps the occasional streaming breaker from fire hosing up your parka.

Persist and you will find a lot of action in the surf! It takes a lot of time on the water to learn surfperching well but for me it provides a wonderful activity that is close to home and really enjoyable. It seems like there is no end to learning so the challenge continues.



Questions or Comments Contact:
Glenn Yoshimoto
glenn@zenflyfishing.com
Los Gatos, California

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