November and December are challenging months to catch a black bass on the fly rod. All along Korea’s west coast you will find fresh water reservoirs located along the ocean. Many of them flow directly into the ocean. After a particularly slow morning of fishing mid November this year, I hopped the embankment and made a couple of casts into the ocean with my bass streamer set up. After a few casts I hooked into a 20 inch pacific sea bass that hit about fifteen feet off the rock wall I was casting from. The surf was crashing and my fly line kept getting tangled in the rocks. I failed to land the fish, because I was fumbling with my action camera while trying to get my fly line back on the spool. Regardless, I got a taste.
My next trip out to the salt was in a shallow bay experiences 20-3- foot tides, which are common on Korea’s west coast. Again, I piggy backed a morning of slow bass fishing and spent the afternoon on the salt. This time I put in with my Outcast Stealth Pro frameless pontoon inflatable. I wasn’t so much after fish, but instead wanted to test how the boat did in the salt water and experience the current. I was able to position well and could keep myself safely away from the rocks. Also my oars didn’t have a problem powering the boat through the current.
The next two trips produced fish. For one trip I fished a deep indicator rig with two streamers. I let the drift in the current; trying to cover water. I caught two sea bass and called it a day. I needed to get down deep and wanted a little more action on the retrieve so I cut a 35 foot section out of a type 6 full sink and connected that via loop to loop to my outbound short floating line. If I wanted to get a little more technical I could have connected it to a running line, but for the sake of convenience I took the short cut. The flies I tied were HEAVY with four 4mm tungsten beads tied in “belly scratcher” style. They ride hook point up as to not snag the bottom so often. I caught a nice flounder and rock fish on this rig.
You definitely can fish the salt in Korea, but it is hard. If you decide to put you kayak or tube in the salt, make sure you understand your capabilities and equipment. Fishing with a companion is highly recommended. My next goal is to catch a good size mackerel on the fly, and after that a yellowtail. Wish me luck.
