A beginner gets advice on fly fishing

At a recent noon meeting of the Mama Baldacci Yachting, Polo and Pasta Club, incumbent president Bob Baldacci veered from the usual line of discussion – the ills and pains attendant to Butch Hobson’s Red Sox – and suggested an open discussion on fly fishing.

Mr. Joe Bartek of 301 14th Street, this town, raised his hand and put a statement before the house: “I am going to take up fly fishing and my question, what should I buy for an outfit?”

That one is like a flower bed of perennial posies; comes up season after season.

Mr. Bartek, who is on a strict diet, having lost 15 pounds with 50 to go if he is to reach the jolly old heft of 250 live weight, drew a response from here, since he was staring longingly at my meatballs and pasta.

The beginning flyfisher, I said, should purchase a fly rod about 8 1/2 or 9 feet long to balance with a 6, 7 or 8 line. Most rods have the appropriate line weight written on them. This is an excellent all-around size for freshwater fishing in most areas, including Maine’s fishery, though any rod size suiting one’s particular interest will also work well as a practice rod. It was stated that fly rods made of fiberglass and bamboo can and will perform well, but I believe the modern rods of lightweight graphite are superior casting tools.

The flyfisher should have a single action reel large enough to hold approximately 100 yards of 20-pound test backing in addition to a full-floating line. The 100 yards of backing has the effect of enlarging the diameter of the spool, resulting in faster line retrieve and preventing the fly line from being stored in small kinky loops. And when the Joe Barteks of America hook Moby Trout, the backing will come handy for long runs.

The fly line purchase is most important.

Start with a good quality weight forward floating line. I prefer a light colored line because it’s easier to see. The starter’s outfit must include a half-dozen tapered leaders, 6 to 9 feet long with a tip strength of about 6 or 8 pounds. The leader is a necessary part of the fly line. Do not practice cast without a leader, as the fly line will not roll out correctly and you will damage the fly line.

Another thing to remember when buying is that fly lines are numbered according to the weight of their first 30 feet and balanced with rods of corresponding stiffness.

Sir Joe was further informed that the most significant help – other than encouragement and inspiration – that instruction can offer to a developing flycaster may well be good casting form.

Almost everyone who persists in slinging a fly line back and forth learns to cast fairly well. Better form at the outset makes learning easier and results in a more natural and comfortable casting stroke.

Good casting form begins with a correct grip. The most natural grip is the extended finger grip. It is the strongest possible hand position for flycasting. A large percentage of today’s flycasters use some form of this grip, which strongly resembles the right hand in a correct golf grip and the handshake grip in tennis.

The basic extended grip is nothing more than the thumb directly on top of the rod handle. This grip offers excellent control and accuracy, especially for short casts.

Mr. Bartek is really no newcomer to fishing. In his youth, Joseph claims capturing more than a few beauties in such faroff locales as Pennsylvania and in the upper reaches of New York. He told club members that in his salad days, “hearing” fish was one of his attributes. I’ve fished and known anglers who claimed an inner ability to “smell” taking fish, though until the recent club conclave, never of an angler stating he could hear fish eager for a free lunch.

Tom Mutch of Danforth, one of the ablest streamer-fly anglers in this or any generation, would swear on the scriptures that he was over taking salmon or trout. Bridey Lee, another East Grand Lake guide, vows that he can scent a fishy population. Still another, Lou Graves of Danforth would, in the summertime, I know from personal observation, sniff the air like a dog coming on point when his boat nears feeding fish.

I’ve been in the company of that threesome, Mutch, Lee and Graves, and know from personal observation that they strongly stick to a claim they can whiff action when atop a pod of takers.

But Joe Bartek’s artistry, a knack for hearing fish, comes as a new wrinkle in this angling game. You can bet I never doubted Joe’s claim, though two members nearly swallowed their forks when he put this one on the table. Besides, Joe’s business credentials are impeccable. His business?

For the hearing impaired, Joe’s been a longtime minister, fitting consumers with hearing aids.