Outside of Lefty Regan and Dr. Webster Robinson — the duo that devised the original method for taking billfish on regulation fly tackle — no angler or captain has done more to advance the art of fly-fishing for billfish than Ron Hamlin.

In 1974 he and the late angler Pete Peacock took the first IGFA world-record Atlantic sailfish on 15-pound tippet off Cancun. Since then Hamlin has led anglers to every species of billfish, except swordfish and spearfish.

For the past 14 years Hamlin has been plying the waters off Guatemala's Pacific coast, racking up some pretty impressive numbers. He fly-fishes more than 70 days a year — with beginner and expert alike — and in 1999 tallied 434 billfish on fly (including three marlin) in a single year. Over a career spanning 33 years and more than 23,000-plus billfish (including 2,809 in 2006), he still has a soft spot for fly-fishing.

Recently we had the chance to spend time with him in Guatemala aboard his new 40-foot Cabo, Captain Hook, talking fly-fishing. Suffice it to say, no one is more qualified to lead the discussion.

Follow the Rules
Over the years, one of the things I've learned about Hamlin is that he's a stickler for the ethical boundaries laid down for our sport by the International Game Fish Association.

"Fly-fishing is an aristocratic sport with its own rules and guidelines," he says. "If you want to be a part of that circle, then you need to adhere to those rules with regard to tippet lengths and breaking strength, and also to casting to and hooking fish. There are a couple of outfits here [in Guatemala] that troll flies, and that's very deceiving. When you do it right — by the rules — there is nothing more exciting. It's a team effort, where everybody on board — from the skipper to the mate to the angler — is involved, and it is so visual. If you don't do it by the rules, you really haven't accomplished anything."

 He recommends that anglers learn how to do it right, fishing and learning with crews in Guatemala or Costa Rica where they have plenty of shots and know — and follow — the rules.
 
"Many people that have never caught a billfish on fly-tackle go someplace where the crews don't necessarily know what they're doing or how to do it," says Hamlin. "There is no other bite like it in the world of fishing, when you cast to a sailfish or marlin and watch it take the fly 30 feet behind the boat. And if you learn it right from the start, then you have the chance to export that knowledge and skills to other places in the world."

Although most anglers might think sailfish are the only really doable billfish on fly, Hamlin says that's not necessarily so. And he's right. During our trip, several boats, including Nick Smith's Old Reliable caught blue marlin on fly.

"I've been targeting marlin since 1975. Jim Lopez and I tried to catch the first Atlantic blue ever taken on a fly rod off St. Thomas," he says. "The way we were interpreting the IGFA rules, we thought the boat had to be dead in the water," says Hamlin. "It took five days to get a bite, then we hooked three fish in nine days but kept breaking the 15-pound tippet. Finally, we figured out that the boat only had to be out of gear — not completely stopped. You could use the momentum to make the fly imitate the teaser, essentially matching the hatch. That changed things dramatically. Plus the tackle has come a long way. Today, we've got better rods, reels and shooting heads and thinner-diameter backing — all those things are making it better. But not easier."

Talking Tackle
Fishing more than 200 days a year, charter captains generally develop an idea of what type of equipment they want their clients to use. Hamlin is no different.

"For rods, anything heavier than a 12-weight is what I prefer," he says. "You can tire the fish out quickly, which is better for the angler and better for the fish, plus you'll have a chance at landing a marlin if one shows up in the spread."

For the beginner, Hamlin prefers anti-reverse reels like the Pate Marlin, Bluefin or Henschel V because they allow the angler more latitude when fighting fish. After you gain some experience, though, he recommends retiring the AR reels and upgrading to direct-drive because of the added control and the ability to pull more drag.

"With a direct-drive reel, there's no doubt. You turn the handle, and line comes in."

Rigging Right
Once you've settled on a reel, Hamlin has some specific thoughts about rigging. He prefers thin-diameter backing such as PowerPro or similar superbraids for the high strength-to-diameter ratio which translates into more capacity and less drag when fighting fish. He'll then use a 30- or 40-foot section of running line attached to a 30-foot sinking shooting head, ranging from 500 to 800 grains. His personal favorites are those made by Scientific Anglers. Shooting heads are the line of choice because of the decreased drag in the water.

"I avoid weight-forward, floating fly lines," he says. "They don't let you pull right down the body of the fish. There is always a belly that prevents you from really putting the heat directly on fish."

Eschewing nail knots because of the way they travel through the guides, Hamlin's crew prefers loop-to-loop connections borrowed from wind-on leaders used in big-game fishing. They splice a 3-foot wind-on loop of brightly-colored Dacron on the end of the shooting head. The same splice is made on the end of a 15-foot butt section of 60- or 80-pound monofilament.

"No one really makes a bright-colored shooting head, so it's difficult for the angler, captain and crew to really tell where they're at," says Hamlin. "We use the bright wind-on loops so we know exactly where the leader is. I can understand the darker shooting heads for dredging for tuna or wahoo, but I really wish somebody would make an orange one for this type of fishing."

They finish the butt section off with a surgeon's knot or a Perfection Loop in the terminal end.

Flies, Hooks and Leaders
While some anglers prefer traditional double-hook flies for sailfish and marlin, Hamlin exclusively uses tube flies. He prefers either the Cam Sigler Billfish Tube or the Fish Fly, a nylon pattern devised by one of his clients.

"In the past we used a lot of popping heads, like the removable foam ones that come with the Sigler tubes," he says. "But today, I don't ever use the popper heads. The fish can sense the fly back there, and the popper head either interferes with the bite or gives the fish a chance to leverage the hooks out of its mouth."

Hamlin has also downsized the fly over the years.

"Way back, we used to believe that you needed a giant fly," he says. "But now we use just a single tube section that gives you an overall fly length of about 6 inches, rather than rigging them in tandem for a giant, foot-long fly. You don't really need the bulk. The fly doesn't look like much out of the water, but when it hits, the hackles and marabou blossom. A billfish can sense it without any trouble."

The hook rig preferred by Hamlin was actually developed by South Florida light tackle guide, Rick Murphy. It features only one permanently fixed hook so that if the fish breaks off during the fight, it will be able to open its mouth to breathe and feed until the hooks rust out.

The hookset (see diagram) employees a standard j-hook (generally a 6/0, depending on the brand) snelled to a 3-foot length of 80-pound monofilament. The rig is then measured against the fly, and a crimp is placed in front of the trailing hook so that the bend is just inside the end of the hackles. Once the crimp is in place, an octopus-style hook with an upturned eye (usually a 6/0 or 8/0) is slipped down the shock tippet and pinned in place against the crimp via a wire bread tie or small rubber band.

Once the hook is pinned in place, the remaining shock tippet is measured out to 12 inches and cut, meeting IGFA's bite-tippet requirements. To finish off the leader, Hamlin ties Biminis in both ends of a 4-foot section of 20-pound Mason's. One end is attached to the shock using a Huffnagle, and the other is doubled with a surgeon's knot, forming the terminal loop, and attached to the butt section.