The standard equipment is a 9-10 feet fly rod, grade 7-8. The line must be of the long-casting WF type, which can cut through the wind, which almost always blows on the coast. If you are fishing in low fjord areas, it may be an advantage to use a floating line. But for fishing on a more open coastline where there may be waves of a certain size, then an intermediate line is by far the best choice. With such a line it is possible to get under the waves and so keep contact with the fly.

Good advice

A line basket is extremely practical if you fish in waters with a lot of waves, powerful current or seaweed. The snood should be about 3 metres long if you are fishing with an intermediate line – 4 metres if there is a floating line on the reel. The snood must taper down to 0.25mm at the tip if you are using slightly big flies. 0.20mm is a good choice on quiet days where small flies are required for fishing. A saltwater-resistant reel – preferably with a reliable disc brake, which can control big fish securely – and at least 100 metres of 20lbs back line completes the equipment.

Coastal flies are a chapter in themselves. There are two basic types to choose between – pure imagination and more or less accurate imitations of the sea trout’s prey. Colourful imaginary flies – preferably fluorescent – are generally best during the wintertime when the water is cold and food is scarce. During the summer, when the low coastal water is often completely alive, more subdued flies that mimic the existing food may be required – small fry, crustaceans or bristle worms.

The provident coastal fisherman

For evening and night fishing, bushy flies of the Muddler and Zonker types are supreme as they can be fished striping in the surface, making it easier for the sea trout to see them. So the provident coastal fisherman will have more than one kind of fly in his box. He will have small, weighted shrimp flies in sizes 8-12 that can be fished deeply and slowly on a floating line with a long, thin snood, ones that often save the day when choosy fish are not at all interested in looking at colourful flies. This is often the case on quiet and clear days.

There may be a need for big streamers in sizes 2-6 on grey, windy days when the fish are hunting avidly. Then you will not get so much reaction to your small flies, but can instead enjoy the hard, determined rises that big flies always provide when they are fished quickly through the water.

If you have the following flies in your box, you cannot go wrong when fly-fishing from the coast:

- Mysis, sizes 8, 10
- Magnus, sizes 6, 8
- Mickey Finn, sizes 4, 6, 8
- Black Zonker, sizes 2, 4, 6
- Juletræet, sizes 2, 4, 6

Local tackle dealers will always be able to advise which fly is considered the best at present.

Unlike his colleague who fishes with a spinner, the fly-fisher will have to put some life into the fly. As opposed to the jig or wobbler, the fly does not have a built-in movement pattern. Generally speaking, small flies have to be fished slowly and in little jerks. This makes them behave more naturally in the water. In contrast, large flies can be fished more quickly through the water without it looking unnatural.

Water temperatures

Finally, the water temperature needs to be taken into consideration as fish are poikilothermic, and consequently their metabolism follows the water temperature. The same applies to their general level of activity and interest in hunting. The fly-fisherman allows for this by fishing his flies slowly in winter and quickly in the summertime. While the fly is being wound in, the tip of the rod should always point directly at the fly and the top ring be right above, under or on the water surface. In this way, the best contact with the fly is ensured, and you avoid having careful sea trout “nibbling” without being noticed!