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Basic fly fishing equipment consists of three items, fishing rod, reel and fly line. The most important piece of your fly fishing equipment to select is the fly rod. There are many different fish species to target and many different types of water to fish, each having their own set of criteria to meet. This can range in species such as trout, bass, tarpon, salmon large sea fish and even marlin.
Fishing conditions range from small streams, ponds and dams, lakes, large rivers, back-country trout to the open sea. Many serious fly fishermen or women will have up to six or more rods in their collection. However as complicated as it may seem you can narrow down your choice of rod to one or two depending on what type of fishing you intend doing.
Fly fishing can be a precise sport that usually requires the fly to be presented to a fish with accurate casting, for this reason the fly rod requires qualities that can preform the way the fisher intends. The rod needs to not only present a fly in a way that imitates its prey but also handle the impending battle, especially large fish in heavy flowing waters.
Choosing Your Fly Rod.
Long gone are the days of bamboo rods and to a certain extent fiber-glass rods. Technology advances now gives us access to an abundance of choices with the main type of rod construction being graphite. These rods offer power, accuracy and the strength to land big fish in all fishing situations.
Determine Your Fish Type.
Most people know what fish species they need their fly fishing equipment for, most popular are bass and trout, a large mouth bass behaves differently in its pursuit of its prey than does a rainbow trout. They also fight differently and are found in different environments.
Determine Your Waterways.
As a general rule the type of water you fish will dictate the type of rod you choose. Fly fishing equipment comes in different "weights" from 1 through to 12. Where low weight numbers such as a 4 are for light delicate casts that you would use in a small stream or pond, and heavy weights such as a 9 or 10 would be used in large fast moving rivers. The lighter weights require more skill as you are aiming for precise, gentle, shorter casts, usually to fish that are visible and feeding, and using very light lines, tippets and flies. The heavy weight rods are also used to target visible feeding fish but also fishing blind in lakes and rivers. The larger weight fly fishing gear gives long casts and allows the use of large fishing flies.
Another consideration in choosing fly fishing rods is the action of the rod or flex, full flex rods are sensitive and gives a better feel for the fish, but are short on casting distance, a stiffer rod will allow longer distance casts but will sacrifice the sensitivity. In situations of heavy wind, fast flowing rivers and sea fishing a fast action stiff fly rod is your best bet.
Although these two extremes of 4 weight and 9 weight require two complete sets of fly fishing equipment, there is a middle ground that can cover most fly fishing situations. Using a weight 7 rod, reel and line will enable you to fish smaller streams, lakes and medium size rivers, this is a very versatile weight and in a medium action ideal for beginners and experienced fishermen alike. small four to six piece rods in a 6-7 weight is an ideal setup for the traveling fisherman.
We have not stayed still for more than a short nights sleep since we got off the plane here in 
By 10 AM, I’d sat still long enough. It was time to go snorkeling. Granny and I drug our gear all the way. I like snorkeling because I often find some fish to throw flies at later. I was just about to head for the room and gather our stuff when out came one of the room cleaning gals with a scorpion that she found while sweeping our room. It’s just another daily hazard you run into in this neck of the woods. I’m sure glad Granny or I didn’t step on that thing! 
could have hired a boat to head to the better reefs, but Granny and I wanted no part of being on a schedule today. We simply wanted to be on our own which meant snorkeling right in front of camp. We saw some neat fish. There were lots of 
When the sun got low I retrieved Granny and took her on a short hike. We were hoping to find one of the famous Madagascar 
with dinner and its time for a nap. We will relax most of the day here but tomorrow night we leave and fly to 
I literally lit up my computer here to type away at today’s blog and an obnoxious cockroach that was obviously attracted to the light blocked out the screen! Yikes! It would have been worth it if only he hissed as I swatted him away. Shucks! 
contest to that because in 1996 I landed a 90lber on Paris Flats in 
PM. Our original plan was to go till noon then bottom fish like we did yesterday but time slipped away. We then began the slow trip home hunting for birds and tuna. We found a school of feasting 
assortment of foods from tropical fish to baby squids. Well, at least we didn’t get skunked and have 
Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website
We fished with George again today and will for the next couple days. George filled us in on pirates to start the morning. Everyone knows about the Somali pirates tormenting parts of the Indian Ocean these days and they do come as far south as Madagascar. Luckily George assured us there’s nothing to worry about with a boat of dirt bag anglers. 
afternoon we didn’t get a strike. Once we got to yesterdays fishing grounds the wind started to calm some and it was quite nice. We drifted a favorite reef several times. I chucked my 12-weight with the 700 grain 
ones we saw were doing the same as us, searching for the odd bait crashing tuna. At last we stumbled into one cooperative school and lucked into skipjack tuna and frigate tuna. One, George called the blue is one I have never caught before. He was more elongated like a bonito and colored with an unusual blue, however I think this one also was the frigate. Just incase you’ve never caught a tuna before, even though these tuna are small, they gave us plenty of fight on the 8-weight. Pound for pound the power of any tuna is amazing. 
If you hook one at the surface while in 200 feet deep water, he’ll get to bottom and break you on the rocks in seconds. If you hook one at the surface in 400 feet of water, he’ll get to the bottom and break you in the rocks in seconds. From what I have heard, and with further confirmation from George, dogtooth tuna are the strongest fish on Earth. They also reach an amazing 300lbs and swim to speeds of at least 40 mph! Then you throw in the teeth they have that are four times the length of a barracudas, and you have little chance. In fact I’d start being concerned about a hooked dogtooth eating the boat! 
But nothing is impossible, and tonight we chased a school of 
motor while attending other odd jobs as well. He also had along four worn out big game trolling rigs. This is never a good sign as often it’s an indication that the guide really doesn’t have a clue about fly fishing or that the guide has no confidence in the method. 
It took over an hour before the next cast. We were well out to sea and we could see the distant silhouette of the mountains of northern Madagascar. Our fishing area consisted of a jagged rock island with a ton of submerged reefs. Although the wind was light, large ocean swells tossed us around which is the norm for saltwater fly fishing. George simply said prepare for big fish, and looking like a kid on Christmas, I fumbled through my rods for my 12-weight. This would be a blind casting situation. My line on this rod was a SA 700 grain Bluewater Express – talk about heavy-sink.
hold the reel to the reel seat were gone. I’ve used this set up a bunch in Baja the last year so I was dumbfounded! The airlines I thought! Then the stress took over my body as here I was 10,000 miles from home at a place I may never have a chance to cast too again having equipment failure! I was losing time! Then without saying a word I stripped the 700 grain line off the reel carefully laying it in my handy stripping basket. Then I took the floating line off my 10-weight set up and reeled the 700 grain on it. Then as not to wreck the floater I reeled it back on the busted reel. And within ten minutes I’m proud to say I was casting again. A bit disgruntled, but casting again. 
To make a long story short, I pounded the water for the next five hours without anything. George put me on many more gorgeous reef areas. We chased busting tuna and mackerel and dredged strong current lines where he frequently catches sailfish and marlin. But I got nothing. This was not appearing to be my day. By now it was about 95° and I can tell you such heat didn’t help much. Granny was bored and I was losing confidence. Miraculously however, George was still full of energy and seemed fully behind the fly fishing. When I stopped casting, he’d say change flies or say no resting with a smile. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to break me so I’d troll or if he really knew something. 
For those of you that know me, breaking me wasn’t an option, so although I was in some ways going through the motions, I kept on going. Sure enough, we got close enough to a school of skipjack tuna and I got one. Then another. And another and before I knew it I landed eight skipjack tuna. Soon Granny realized fishing was worth it so I handed her the rod and she caught a few while I took my first rest of the day.
a small light colored Puglisi type baitfish pattern I had in my box. You didn’t even have time to strip the fly if you could reach the busting fish. They just destroyed the bait pattern when it hit the water. 
I thought I was done fly fishing for the day when I saw what I thought was a barracuda explode from a distant tuna school. George saw it too and the boat sped up towards that direction. Again a long narrow bodied fish scattered all kinds of baitfish. It was still too far to identify the species but then it sky rocketed (I’m not kidding) 12 feet in the air! It was the unique specie of king mackerel only found in the Indian Ocean and the very western part of the Pacific Ocean. 
cut I launched my first cast. We were coasting so fast that my cast was quickly dragged and never had time to sink. I stripped the heavy sink line back and made another cast. This time my angle and sink was perfect, however, the feeding frenzy was already over. As I stood in the bow I gazed the horizon looking for the action to reappear. Then I stripped fast from the depths. That’s when I got jolted. 
concerned that I was over pressuring the fish. But the truth is, you can let a blue water fish like a tuna fight you or you can fight them. I fight them. I practically point my rod to the fish and pull the second their first run is done. I bend down with my legs, reeling my rod tip into the water as I bend, and then I stand up and pull. I repeat it over and over until I win. Only when the fish really pulls or feels like he is going crazy do I let him go far. The fish rarely breaks off because there is so much stretch in your backing, fly line and even your leader if made with Bimi twists. 
Now we were at a time of debate. Granny and I had made it very clear to George that we wanted to release all fish except a few for dinner. We already had a few skipjack tuna. George reluctantly asked if we had to let it go. I know how delicious a wahoo tastes and this fish looked every bit like a wahoo. “George, we will eat him too”, I shouted. George was relieved and on the next pass George sunk the gaff. I’d landed what will probably be the fish of the trip, and perhaps 2011, a gorgeous narrow-barred king mackerel! 
As you can imagine, tonight Granny and I as well as our Sakatia Tower staff ate big. We had tuna Carpaccio for appetizers and mackerel steaks for dinner. This should be a great trip! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.