Guest Post By Andy Miller
What is it about fly fishing and saltwater fly fishing, that is so addictive such that it almost becomes an obsession? I have fly fished for trout on local still waters for many years and have recently been lucky enough to enjoy a few sessions on my local chalk streams, but there is something about fly fishing in the salt that I just love.
It all started about 8 years ago when I booked a guided day out with Paul Haldenwang on his boat Salty Dog and spent a day fly fishing for bass in Chichester harbour. I can’t remember my first fly caught bass, but it was certainly on Salty Dog and it was the first of many. I do remember that my casting was really pretty bad and I was constantly having to apologise to the skipper for repeatedly hitting his new outboard engine with my heavy clouser.
Anyway, fast forward to 2020 and Orvis were organising their very first Saltwater Fly Fishing Festival in Chichester Harbour in the September. Having by then caught a few bass on the fly I decided to enter and duly bought my ticket. At this point I should say that I had never tried fly fishing from the shore, never mind hook and land a fish. I also didn’t own a suitable rod and reel, nor waders and for that matter no suitable flies either. But as I live locally, I did know Chichester Harbour pretty well and the days spent afloat on Salty Dog also gave me a good idea of some possible shore marks so I felt reasonably confident that I would do ok.
The week before the festival I had booked a day out in the harbour with Paul and we caught some very nice bass just off Thorney Island as we were drifting along the shoreline. I diligently made a note of various landmarks where we were catching fish and made a plan to go back there during the festival. That was my first mistake as I didn’t realise that the landmarks were in fact mobile radar vehicles (Thorney Island is a military base) and they move!
On the day of the festival, I got up early and walked the 4 miles or so to the southern point of Thorney Island ready for the 7am start only to realise that I had made another basic error as I had forgotten to check the tides. There was no water that I could reach safely, and I had to wait a further 3 hours before I could start fishing. However, it did give me an opportunity to check out the shoreline for gulleys and other features that might potentially hold fish when the water returned. I did manage to catch 4 nice bass that day, the biggest at 47cm, which meant I finished as runner-up over the weekend. The winning bass was 49cm and caught on a mullet fly which just goes to show you that you don’t need big flies to catch bass.
I fished the Orvis Saltwater Fly Fishing Festival for a further couple of years but never quite managed the same dizzy heights of that first year. Particularly embarrassing as the following year Andy Ford came and spent several hours trying to get a video clip of me catching a bass on the fly only for me to fail dismally. I did eventually catch a decent bass but by that time Andy was long gone.
Then a couple of years ago in 2023, I was pleasantly surprised to get a call out of the blue from Claire Zambuni asking me if I would consider being a guide at the Orvis Beginners Saltwater Weekend at the beginning of July and following that the main festival in September. I’d never previously considered guiding, but I was honoured to be asked and I actually found it a really rewarding experience. To see the look on someone’s face when they catch their very first bass or any fish for that matter on the fly, is absolutely brilliant. So much so that I decided to improve my own coaching skills and last year I received my Angling Trust Level 2 coaching license. Also, as I mentioned previously my own fly casting was pretty terrible (some would say it still is!) but I am now an associate member of GAIA (Game Angling Instructors Association) working towards my GAIA Guide certificate for Saltwater Fly Fishing, which I hope to complete later this year.
I have caught many bass over the past 10 years but the ones that I caught that first year of the Orvis Saltwater Festival are some of the ones that I remember the best. The competitive side of saltwater fly fishing is still with me though and I fished The Salt in St Mawes, Cornwall in October last year which I really enjoyed and I plan to do the same again this year.
For those of you fishing the Orvis Saltwater Festival for the first time or if you’re wanting to catch your first bass on the fly, there are a few things that I have learnt over the years that might help you get started and avoid some of the more basic mistakes that I made:
-
Always check the tides before you leave, at low water there are only a few places where you can continue to fish safely in Chichester harbour as an example.
-
Check the weather forecast beforehand particularly the wind direction and strength. You may want to choose marks that provide some shelter if you are not confident casting into the wind.
-
Get some casting tuition if you do struggle to cast into the wind or you are struggling in getting any distance in your casts.
-
Be prepared to try different marks and move if you’re not seeing any signs of fish. Keep a look-out for birds diving or baitfish jumping as they are usually good indicators that there are bass around.
-
Don’t assume you need to fish with large flies, I have caught many bass on small patterns like Fulling Mills Blue Bass Streamer and as I mentioned previously mullet flies can also work.
-
If you have the time, explore the marks you intend to fish at low water so you get a better understanding of the topography, any particular features and potential fish holding areas.
Tight lines and hopefully I will see you at one of the Orvis Festivals later this year.
Note: Chichester Harbour along with Langstone and Portsmouth Harbours are all designated as bass nursery areas and fishing for bass from a boat in these harbours is prohibited, I didn’t appreciate this when I started out.