Spin Fly Intro

It is very fun catching fish on spin fly with ultralight fishing gears. I would like to share with you my little knowledge on spin fly and some ultralight fishing basics.

Spin Fly Rigs

Most people prefer clipping a split-shot onto the leader, I am using the second spin fly rig (shown in the diagram) as it is able to achieve a better casting distance (with minimal entanglement with mainline). I use a small ball sinker (size #3 which weighs about 3.5g), a small swivel and 1 feet long of 10lbs mono leader for the rig. A size #3 ball sinker is just nice for me to cast a decent distance without affecting much on the fly's action when retrieved. You may want to use a smaller ball sinker to make the fly looks livelier for finicky eaters.

Working on Spin Fly

There are many ways of working on spin fly. The best method for me is using slow retrieve with upward twitches. After casting out my fly and let it sink, I reel in my line in a slow and steady speed with few upward twitches. It’s like lower the rod slightly let the fly sink a bit, reel in the line slowly and then lift the rod up slightly with one or two twitches. The fish usually strike when the fly is falling. So you need to be alert, reel in the line fast and make a full strike to set the hook as ultra-light rod are very soft. You may want to strike twice ensuring the hook is set into the fish's mouth.

Ultra-light Rod

Ultra-light rod has lighter action than light action rods. Having a rod strength of 2-6 lbs, it will quiver like a bamboo cane when shaken in the air (very different from medium, or heavy action spinning rods). Use a 4 ½ to 5 feet Ultra-light for tight areas, 6 to 7 feet ones for casting farther distance and providing more shock absorption for fighting big fish. You may want to get a trout rod which is usually very light and have a rod strength of 2-6 lbs with casting weight of 1-3.5 g.

Spinning Reel

The spinning reel’s line capacity usually does not exceed 6lbs for ultra-light application. A size 500-1000 spinning reel will easily match any ultra-light rods. I load my Tica Cetus 500 SB with 4 lbs mono. You may want to get 4 lbs braided for extra sensitivity and strength. Remember to set your drag to about 80% of the line’s strength.

Playing with the fish

We will need to play the fish carefully with much patience and wear them down before landing them with our ultra-light tackle. Try not to pull in the fish too fast as any sudden dash of the fish make will result in broken line. You may need a landing net for larger fish. Usually we don’t carry a net for luring, so has to hold on and wait for the big one to tire out before it is landed by hand. When fishing in confined area with snags around, the fish will head for cover. I hit a peacock bass at Punggol Park and the fish started to dash for the reeds, I had a hard time attempting to steer the fish away from the reeds. Fishing with ultra-light tackle is not so easy but it gives you full satisfaction when you are able to land a good fish.