Well here we go, lifelong saltwater spin/baitcast thrower. Been paying too much attention to some of you feather chuckers. So just after Christmas I got a 8wt starter set, been working on a lot of lawn casting and can decently throw 50-60ft when not under pressure. Posted my flies on Jared D.'s thread on the “former site” before it went to hell. Skiff was meticulosity detailed today (sure I’ll feel it tomorrow) with about 14 various flies on board, loaded ready to roll out and tomorrow am it goes live! I heard if a hook a fish I’ll never be the same. Any wisdom?
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Quit now and save yourself 10s of thousands of $!!
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Just kidding, catchemup 
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Don’t carry any spinning gear, just fly gear, if you want to learn, that’s the quickest way to do it.
Tight strip set!
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Where will you be fishing?
Good luck and be sure to bring us a trip report!
Yeah, the spin rod is my safety blanket. I’ll take it off the boat 
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Somewhere between Doboy and Sapelo sound not sure yet, wind might be a factor. Hopefully I’ll have something to report!
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If you’re at the stage where fishing is about self-gratification over impressing the audience, you’ve just stepped up a level. You’ll get way more pleasure per fish with the long rod — especially throwing crickets you tied yourself — than with the conventional gear.
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Just commit to it 100%. As time goes by, you’ll become a better fisherman. You’ll learn to read the water/fish better. Blind casting spin/bait inherently makes you lazy in the end. Presenting a fly takes skill and talent.
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Oh boy… same happened to me. Godspeed 
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I almost never touch (or even have the desire to use) spin tackle now.
Fly gets in the core of your fishing being.
As others said- fully commit (no spin/ conventional gear on board).
Strip set to strike the fish (no rod lifting).
Dont forget to let them have line after the strip set. I have watched a lot of first time fly guys hang on after the strip only to break off the fish.
In a lot of ways, fly can be easier than spin… but it is far more difficult when it is difficult- so expect a wide range of experiences.
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Im with @VinnyL quit while you’re ahead..
.. But seriously..
There are days it can be extremely frustrating and you wonder why in FK Am I doing this to myself, and there are days you wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Much like raising kids....
First off Prepare for disappointment. One targeted saltwater fish on the fly is a great day, no fish is a good practice casting session.
Don’t be afraid to blind cast, it’s generally not as productive as the line tends to scare off fish, but blind casting to a oyster bar, or down a grass bank can still put fish in boat.
I tried the “leave the conventional gear at home” but honestly, not all days are good fly days. So having a backup plan on board is not a bad idea. I’ve also had stretches of multiple days where I wasn’t catching anything, and needed my casting rod for a mental reset.
These days, if my goal is to bring home a dinner fish, I start out on the fly. If it’s not being productive, I switch to the casting rod, put a fish in the bag, then go back to the fly for the remainder of the day. If I’m not looking for dinner, then it’s all fly all day.
Basically the dinner fish is for my wife, fly fishing is for myself. Otherwise I’d almost never keep a fish.
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Mike, the difference is you know how to cast and catch fish on the long rod. @stspartina does not, the whole idea behind leaving the spinning gear behind is to force a learning curve. Carrying the wubby gear will discourage that. I fish with guys that have fly gear for years, and they still can’t cast or understand the nuances of fly fishing. Skills that only come with commitment to the long rod. It makes a difference when you understand the mechanics of casting, it also makes you a better partner when you are poling for a fly guy. Hence my suggestion leave the wubby sticks behind…
In your case it makes sense.
Someone trying to learn, not so much.
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True.. And maybe I should’ve added that my transition to fly has been very gradual over several years, as opposed to a hard stop. I mean, heck I’m still learning..
But in the beginning I to was told, “leave the conventional gear home”, and I did a few times, but those days that the wind forecast was way off or floating grass was impenetrable or any host of issues that made the fly, especially for a beginner, next to impossible.
I found myself with no other options to fish, which didn’t exactly make for an enjoyable day.
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Well, unfortunately today’s not the day. Winds blowing 10-23 (like it has been all year), so not the best day to get out and work on the fly. Lots of good advice and encouragement, thank you all for that. I’ll let you all know when conditions are good and how I do.
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Spartina - dont let the wind scare you off too easily. I cant tell you how manydays like you describe ended up being way more fishable than I thought. Pay attention to wind direction, there is almost always a bank of flat that puts your back to the wind. Amazing how much a 20mph gust will increase your distance! Just watch your angle, that same wind from the wrong angle can also put a fly in the back of your head!
The thing about fly fishing is that it takes a little while to get past the compulsion to “catch fish”. You have to make a mental break and just enjoy the casting, then any catching that happens is a bonus. Completely different mindset from spin tackle.
And 100% leave the spinning tackle at home. It will drive you nuts if you have it on board.
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I’ve been fly fishing all my adult life. I’ve caught about 40 different species on fly, but when I go out fly fishing on lakes, pond or saltwater, I always make a crappy cast OR 2. I don’t think you ever get it down perfect. I bet Flip has made one bad cast
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StSpartina, one piece of advice I have is that you don’t need every fly pattern known to man to catch fish in the salt. If you saw my fly bag in Montana and the boxes in my man cave, you’d blush on my behalf. When I first started flyfishing the salt about 10 yers ago I was totally on my own and it took me a while to figure out that with half a dozen good fly patterns a fella could get a good start. Learn what bait the fish you’re targeting eat and buy a few patterns to imitate each. For example, a couple of Gurglers, Clousers, Shrimp/Kwans, Crab patterns and a Puglisi baitfish or two will do a lot of work for a particular area.
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never knew i was lazy ! lol
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I’ll also add I do sometimes leave the conventional stuff at home. Sometimes I’ll bring 1 spinning rod just in case. I do force myself to work on my casting. Honestly I enjoy casting as much as I enjoy fishing. There’s something about it. When you do finally hook up it’s that much sweeter. Hoping the day will come when I can be almost as productive on fly as I am on spin.
I will say in some situations fly is the clear winner. I do great at the local lake with peacocks on fly. Something about that action in the water drives them nuts. I catch way more on fly than I ever did on spin (unless using live bait but haven’t bait fished in the fresh since I was a kid).
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