Hand-me Down Saltwater FLyrod Setup

[WOOD YAK]

My dad passed along a fly rod and reel setup that he no longer uses. I'm and experienced kayak troller but figured it would be an excellent time to try for some stripers on it this fall. It is a AVID St. Croix 9' 10 weight (seems pretty large I believe he used it for bone fishing). Its got a reel with sinking line and an alternate spool with weight forward floating line. My question is what leader do I need? What type of flies and sizes? Where can I buy a few flies to get started? Any advise appreciated! PS. I have fished for trout with a much smaller fly rod...

[Mark]

Congratulations on your gift.

A 10 wt. is pretty hefty for local fishing. I assume that's what you want to do. It will easily throw larger flies for largemouth bass and stripers. My biggest rod is a 9 wt. and I find it too much rod for my liking for local bass and striper fishing. Mostly I use 6 to 8 wt. rods. However, it's better to have spare power than too little for bass and stripers. It will certainly make your casting easier.

For the floating line you'll want a tapered leader stout enough to turn over a popper or heavy Clouser Minnow. You can buy one piece tapered leaders designed specifically for stripers or bass at Bass Pro or other fly fishing suppliers. Usually they are 7.5 to 9 feet. I prefer 9 foot leaders.

You can also tie your own as follows: 3 feet of 30 to 35 pound mono for the butt section; 3 feet of 20 pound for the mid section; 3 feet of 10 to 12 pound for the tippet. The fish you'll chasing with that big rod are not leader shy like the trout you mentioned. No need to go light.

For sinking line, you can use straight 10 or 12 pound mono 4 or 5 feet long.

Your rod will certainly handle Clouser Minnows and foam poppers in hook sizes 2 through 2/0. Those fly partterns are mainly what I use for largemouth and stripers. You need nothing more exotic than them to catch fish. Again, Bass Pro is a good source for flies and advice, especially when Harry (On the fly) is on his post in the fly shop.

Good luck,

[WOOD YAK]

Thanks for the info Mark. I tend to agree on size, but it may get me started. I will let you know how it goes this fall. Leo

[Memory Maker]

The 10 wt will handle anything in the bay and would be good for surf casting the ocean and bays. It will also handle the largest and heaviest flys. It would be good for those late fall bruisers that come in from the ocean