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GuideLines - The Reel-Time way to have your fishing questions answered by the experts.  As you can see from past issues, FishWire correspondents and GuideLines editors Bob and Sandy Rodgers will pick questions from Reel-Time readers and post the answers every two weeks.  Answers will be gathered from full-time guides, whose livelihood depends on their expertise.  While not intended to solve the riddle of what specific fishing spots to try on a future outing, you will gain the benefit of years of knowledge from professionals in the saltwater fly fishing field.  This can help you overcome obstacles encountered on such subjects as Boats and how to rig them, Tackle, Flies, or Terminal gear.  So come on, send us your questions.

November 19th, 1999

In this edition of GuideLines, we find:

1. decent saltwater gear for an angler in St. Croix (and we hope he fared well through Hurricane Lenny),
2. easy fly fishing opportunities in Baja California, and
3. a discussion on catching sharks from shore in Massachusetts.

Question: WHERE AND HOW TO BUY A DECENT QUALITY SALTWATER ROD AND REEL
"I'd like to buy a decent used fly rod and reel to try saltwater fly fishing here in St. Croix and maybe in the British Virgin Islands. I've lived here in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands for the past 6 years after growing up in Montana, and miss the fly fishing. I don't need to spend a fortune now, only if I like it - Ha! Can you help me locate a good deal on decent equipment? Thanks in advance," Dan G.

Answer: 
Capt. Bob Rodgers replied: "Hi Dan, I recommend that you put the bulk of your money into a good rod. Any of the brand-name rods should serve you well; I'm particularly partial to Loomis and Sage. An 8- or 9-weight should be up to the job for most of the species you are likely to encounter. Decent reel choices include Ross, Scientific Anglers, and the venerable Pflueger Medalist. While most people look down their nose at the old style Medalist reels, Del Brown, who has caught more permit than anyone in the world, just set a new 6-pound world record using a Pflueger. They are definitely up to the job, but need to be cleaned thoroughly after use. You'll want to make sure the reel you choose will hold a weight-forward floating fly line to fit your rod, and between 150 to 200 yards of 20-pound backing. Used rods can sometimes be found in classified ads, in fly shops as trade-ins, or you may try listing your wants on the internet in one of the bulletin boards offered by websites such as Reel-Time. There is also a used tackle dealer here in the Keys, Bob Berger; his shop's name is Bonefish Bob's and his phone number is 305-664-9420. If I were you, I'd try the Internet first. You may well find yourself overwhelmed with the amount of tackle you can turn up. Please keep us posted on the fishing in your area. We've heard tales of permit in the surf."

Question: FLY FISHING IN MEXICO
"I am planning a sailing and fishing tour for me and my wife in the Cabo San Lucas area in Baja California, Mexico. I have the sailing part of it more or less sorted out, but I would need some advice on the fishing. I have experience in sweet water fly fishing, and some experience in saltwater fly fishing (for bonefish in Islamorada, Florida Keys), but my wife has no experience at all in any of them. After 10 years of marriage (which is the excuse for our vacation) she has decided to learn about the fly fishing. Thus, I would appreciate it if you could direct me to anyone in the area who could act as guide for saltwater fishing which does not require a great deal of expertise. I would not want her to get frustrated on her first attempt, and the more she likes fly fishing, I guess the more time I will be able to spend fishing! Best Regards," John C.

Answer: 
Jeff Klassen (info@jeffklassenfishing.com), of Jeff Klassen Sport Fishing, based in Olympia, Washington and Los Cabos, Baja California, replied: "Hi John C.! First of all congratulations on the decade long marriage. That's a long time for this day and age, and now that your wife wants to get into fly fishing with you that'll just give you one more thing in common. Anyway, saltwater fly fishing along the Baja is easy, as there are hundreds of inshore fishes, almost all of which will hit flies. It looks to me like you are planning to sail down the Baja. You didn't mention if you were stopping and casting, or trolling flies. Either will work. Any of the tuna family fishes you come across i.e. bonitos, skipjack, and yellowfin, will readily strike flies. Try 3 to 4-inch streamers with Mylar or perhaps a Clouser for any of the smaller schooling fish. These will also work for sierra mackerel closer to shore. Larger streamers in a mackerel pattern, along with poppers like Edgewaters or something similar, work best for dorado around debris, or trolled behind your boat.

While anchored in calm bays, cast smaller poppers along the rocky shorelines for any of a number of small grouper and snapper fishes. Once in the Cabo San Lucas area you may come across roosterfish and jacks along the shoreline. Poppers definitely work best for those. Please check our website for information on seasons as well as Cabo flyfishing package options we offer, if you are looking for a charter-type situation. Definitely do try anything you have first along the way down. I have caught all kinds of fish on old bass poppers. Good Luck and Best Fishes!" Editor's Note: Anglers who plan to fish in Mexico should be sure to check about licensing requirements and regulations beforehand. Most, but not all, charter operations provide licenses as part of their fees. Information on licenses and how to get them can be found at http://new.bajaquest.com/fishing/rules.htm, or you can read an excerpt from "Cabo Handbook" by Joe Cummings at www.moon.com - search for Cabo, and then click on number 16. These are just a couple sites that might help provide an overview of the situation.

Question: SHARKS
Editor's note: Sharks have charisma, and whether interest is based on their ancient origins or simply the thrill of catching something big, strong, and with fearsome teeth, they seem to fascinate. This next question comes from a reader who apparently doesn't plan to use fly gear, however, sharks can be great fun on a fly rod. Therefore we have included it here because it provides some information about sharks in the Massachusetts area.

"Is it possible to catch sharks while fishing from shore? Ok, maybe a better question would be, is it worth my time? What kind of tackle should I use? I have a Penn Slammer Surf caster and the largest Penn spinning reel with 50-pound test line. I can get chum oil. What kinds of sharks are edible? I know blues are not and I don't plan to keep anything small cause I know the fishery is on the comeback. What kind of shark can I expect? I live on the coast near Scituate, Massachusetts. Thanks for anything you can suggest!" Mike E.

Answer:  Capt. Tom King (capt.tom@mediaone.net), of Old Salt Outfitters in Hingham, Massachusetts, wrote: "In answer to Mike E's question, the best place to catch sharks from shore are the south facing beaches of Cape Cod, like South beach and Popponesset. The sharks will be Sandbar sharks, also called Brown sharks, Carcharhinus plumbeus. Mike can visit my web page on sharks - on one of the pages I have a picture of a beach fisherman who just caught a sandbar shark at Popponesset. It also shows the spinning gear he used. It is always difficult to catch any species from shore compared to boat fishing, but it is done regularly from those beaches mentioned.

Answer: Gregory Skomal (domf@capecod.net), biologist with the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, Division of Marine Fisheries, at Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts offered this information: "There are several species of sharks that visit the waters of Massachusetts each year. Some of these sharks do not typically move north of Cape Cod because this land mass represents the northern limit of their range. Depending on the species, these sharks are generally coastal or oceanic by nature. The coastal species include the sand tiger shark, the white shark, the sandbar shark and the smooth and spiny dogfish. These species will approach land masses, entering coastal waters, bays, and estuaries during the summer months. However, the white is extremely rare and the sandbar and smooth dogfish are typically limited to waters south of the Cape and Islands. Therefore, the only species available to the shore based angler would be the sand tiger shark and the spiny dogfish. The latter is more commonly taken by surf fishermen; it is edible but it is often considered more of a nuisance than a gamefish.

In the 12 years that I have been working with sharks in Massachusetts, I have received reports of only one or two small juvenile sand tigers being taken on an annual basis from the coastal waters of Massachusetts. These are generally caught by striped bass anglers using surf rods and chunk bait. I don't think that it would be easy to go out and target these critters given their low relative abundance. Offshore species like the blue shark, the mako shark, the porbeagle shark, and the thresher shark are found in waters several miles from shore. While I occasionally receive a report of one of these fish coming close to shore, it is a very rare event. Also note that current federal shark regulations prohibit the landing of sand tigers and white sharks. So even if these fish were encountered, they would need to be released. In 1995, I wrote an article for Massachusetts Wildlife magazine about the ecology and abundance of sharks in New England. Let me know if you would like a copy and I will send it along. It goes into much greater detail about each species, where they occur, their biology and exploitation. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance."

Although we will make every effort to answer all your incoming questions, we have a gentle reminder to those who submit questions: while our discussions may range from boat care to bonefish, and may cover areas as widely diverse as Thailand and Cape Cod, we try to keep our primary focus in this column on issues of interest to saltwater fly fishermen. That said, many thanks to the guides and experts from every corner of the world who provide such helpful information on so many places and subjects, and thanks to all of you who keep coming up with topics that send us far and wide to find the answers.  Keep'em coming!

Bob and Sandy Rodgers

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