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I must be a bit slow!! Only now is it starting to sink in: twenty-five years of fishing rivers and occasional stillwaters is precious little preparation for the vast expanse before me. No midlands reservoir could be as daunting: the Irish Sea is rolling in on a flooding tide; cold, grey and to my inexperienced eyes, seemingly featureless.

I'm sure many of you will have read the evermore-frequent articles about saltwater flyfishing around the British coast; considering it briefly, only to dismiss the whole idea once the first runs of Seatrout or Grilse turn up. For me however, this year was to be different! ...for me however, this year was to be very different! A plague of almost biblical proportions ravaged vast tracts of rural England; laying seige to the countryside and effectively placing any hopes of early season river fishing squarely on the back burner. These are the circumstances which have brought me, somebody who lives in an area surrounded by the cream of England's freshwater game fishing, to be stood on the sands of Morecambe Bay, clutching a new set of flyfishing tackle.

After the realisation that I was going to lose the prime early season game fishing and, quite possibly all of it; a message was posted on the Fish and Fly message board asking for advice on the saltwater flyfishing opportunities available around the Cumbrian coastline. First I had to work out which quarry species were available and decide which to concentrate on. This wasn't difficult; tales of the fighting - and eating - qualities of Sea Bass are ten-a-penny, and, I'm sure the Seatrout needs no introduction from me. A word of warning: if Seatrout are your intended quarry, an Environment Agency migratory fish licence is needed, even when fishing in the sea.

Next came the question of tackle. This was a bit of a stumbling block for me. The problem is, I need a SAGE but can only afford a DAIWA; you've guessed it, I'm a fully paid-up member of Tackle Junkies Anonymous. After posting yet more messages on internet bulletin boards, consulting websites and asking people with more experience than myself, a decision was reached on a suitable outfit for general use on the shore. Fishing tackle in general is a compromise, but for the saltwater it proved to be doubley so.

First came the rod. A nine foot, fast-action rod rated for a #9 weight-forward line. This sounds rather extreme until some thought is given to the demands it is expected to meet: double-figure Bass; the infamous crash dive of a large Pollack; casting into strong headwinds, and not least, the ability to turn over large flies - up to 4/0 in size with the added weight and bulk of dumbbell eyes etc. However optimistic a ten-pound Bass may sound, the fact remains that they do swim off our shores and should one be encountered the tackle chosen has to be able to subdue it. Initially I choose a two piece Redington 'Redstart' rated #8/9, which I found to be a nice handling rod; however, I've since replaced it with a Grey's GRX040. This was the result of a good deal from Norris's, but was heavily influced by the fact that the Greys rod is a three piece, making it far more convenient to stow in the car. At around £90 apiece with a lifetime warrenty, I would recommend either rod.

Another matter worth giving some consideration is the number of sections the chosen rod breaks down into. If you intend to regularly take your tackle on holiday or on business trips abroad, a four-piece travel rod could be well worth the extra money.

The reel is an item that seems to cause some disagreement and is really a personal decision. The dedicated saltwater regulars seem to like the all-singing, all-dancing shiny saltwater specials, whereas the less committed go for a cheap and cheerful, throwaway composite model. I personally opted for the mid-ground. A cassette-based model produced by the American company STH, and distributed by Guide Flyfishing. The SMR30 comfortably holds a WF-9-I plus two hundred yards of 30lb braided Dacron backing. Coupled with it's disc-drag, this should comfortably handle anything I'm likely to encounter in the U.K.'s surf. The finish on this reel is saltwater proof, but good advice is to give this and all other items of tackle a wash in clean, fresh water after each trip.

Choosing a line was rather more of a headache, mainly due to funds being a bit tight. I decided to buy one good quality line rather than several discount or mill end lines. This meant that the chosen line would have to cope with as many different situations as possible. A floater was instantly scratched from the list, as was a Hi-D fast sinking line. A fastish intermediate seemed to be the most suitable all round compromise. Start to retrieve soon after casting and it will fish in the top of the water column, even managing a floating lure if it is buoyant enough: given enough time a reasonable depth can still be attained. Although no match for a TYPE III or faster sinking line for deep-water work, I felt that it would be adequate for the inshore and surf fishing I had in mind.

Another popular system with the saltwater regulars is to use a shooting head set-up. The basic idea is to use one reel loaded up with approx. 120ft of shooting line plus backing, but allowing enough room on the reel for the head itself. The head is a section of flyline which loads the rod and is attached to the running line via a loop-to-loop join. The running line is thinner than standard flyline and zips through the rings with less resistance, allowing far longer casts. A selection of heads, possibly a floater, TYPE III ,and TYPE VII sinkers can be carried in a walletThe beauty of this set-up is that it's light, economical, and a more versatile alternative to a collection of reels or spare spools containing full lines. There is of course, a downside: the running line is rather more prone to tangling than full lines.

One final, and I was assured, vital piece of equipment is a line tray, or stripping basket in the U.S. This is a rarity indeed, something universally agreed on by experienced saltwater flyfishermen. Many reasons were given for their necessity but here are the main ones: to stop the angler standing on and damaging the line, especially when fishing from rocks; to prevent the line getting tangled among your legs, either by the tide or the ever-present wind, and to ease and speed up the casting process. The tray made by Orvis is considered the definitivemodel but I made my own out of a washing-up bowl and bungee strap. The Americans recommend the Rubbermaid brand of bowl if you can find it; there is even an insert made to fit in the bottom. This is basically a plastic egg tray with taller peaks to keep the coils of line apart, allowing far better line shooting and fewer tangles. Consider one an absolute must when using shooting heads.

All the usual flyfishing accessories can be added, but a pair of sunglasses and a set of tide tables are two more essential items. Sunglasses really are a necessity when saltwater flyfishing; especially when the flies are size 4 or larger, weighted and have to be regularly double-hauled into the wind. A spring tide can rise and fall surprisingly quickly in a shallow bay or estuary. Getting trapped by a fast flooding tide is not difficult, especially for the unwary. Prior knowledge of the tide's movements should prevent you from being caught out. Getting stranded, or worst still, drowning isn't a lot of fun.