Anonymous - 12-10-2004 at 08:46 AM
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/12/10/business/news/15_...
By: PHILIP K. IRELAND
December 9, 2004
ESCONDIDO ---- Gary Graham fly-fishes in the ocean. He uses light fly tackle on ultra-big fish such as marlin and sailfish. He teases fish more than
they tease him.
For most fishermen, these ideas take some time to wrap your line around.
According to conventional wisdom, fly-fishing happens waist-deep in an icy freshwater stream. Think "A River Runs Through It," the Robert Redford
movie of a father and son who share a passion for fishing. The quarry is trout ---- a lunker weighing maybe 3 pounds.
But the picture is different for 64-year-old Graham, who, with true love Yvonne Graham, runs a guide service called Baja on the Fly that he started in
the mid-'80s after selling his janitorial business. For the Grahams and their clients ---- who travel to Baja, Mexico, and Guatemala in search of
catch ---- the lunkers tip the scales in the 20- to 200-pound range. As a plus, there is no standing in water, no need for waders, and the water is
warm, noted Yvonne, also 64, an accomplished angler and editor of "Women's No-Nonsense Guide to Fly-Fishing Favorite Waters."
"It's the fastest-growing segment of saltwater fishing ---- really of the industry," said Gary Graham, 64, of Escondido, also an accomplished writer.
"What's changed in the last 20 years is the construction of rods, reels, everything. That gear's now available."
The advent of graphite rods and integrated fly lines has launched the sport into the mainstream. For example, when Graham began saltwater fly-fishing
in the mid-1980s, he tied leaded line and backing together himself. Now, integrated line is manufactured and sold in the store.
Graham uses ultra-light gear ---- a saltwater fly rod and reel similar in size and design to freshwater fly gear. The 9-foot rods are designed to
fling feather dusterlike flies, and a direct drive reel retrieves line one turn at a time. Graham usually uses nothing larger than a 20-pound leader
when fishing for marlin. That is a 20-pound line to catch a 75- to 200-pound fish. Unlike bait-casting reels, which depend on gears and the line for
strength and leverage, the fly rod itself provides the strength necessary to tire the big fish.
Fly rods limit the distance a line can be cast. Unlike conventional reels that hold several hundred yards of line, the fly line is 50 feet. So a
different strategy is in order, Graham said. Here is where the tease comes in. With conventional trolling techniques, Graham said, he drags several
big-game lures a few hundred yards behind the boat. But unlike conventional trolling, these lines have no hooks. When the big fish come up behind the
boat after the lures, Graham reels in the lure slowly, teasing the fish closer and closer. Once within fly rod range, the fisherman casts the fly at
the fish as the teaser is quickly removed from the water. The hope is the fish will then take the fly, hook and all.
Graham and his guides lead expeditions for various species of fish, small and large ---- roosterfish, jack cravalle, dorado, yellowfin and pompano, to
name a few. All of Graham's guides speak English and are certified by the Federation of Fly Fishing. With almost 55 years of fishing experience,
Graham knows when and where individual species feed. Cabo San Lucas, East Cape, Magdalena Bay, Loreto and Zihuatanejo are just a few destinations
Graham knows well.
"I think of it as the endless season," he said. "There's always someplace to go fish."
Hey Grover...
flyfishinPam - 12-10-2004 at 01:58 PM
...ever notice my avatar? For explaination, look at this link. Says is all.
http://www.bajabigfish.com/info.html
That's a fly fishing outfit I'm using.
Da long rod...
flyfishinPam - 12-11-2004 at 12:42 PM
One of the reasons I put most of my focus on fly fishing is that conventional methods became less and less challenging to me. Another is the butt of
the conventional rods is too long for me, especially when hauling in a large and heavy fish. I find it much less straining to pull up fish with the
short butt section of the flyrod which by IGFA rules must not exceed 6 inches. This is why I was able to keep fishng for large offshore species up
through and even the day before I delivered my last baby.
bajalera - 12-14-2004 at 11:46 AM
Now that's a surprise! I thought she just needed to go on a diet.
Lera