Locating Fish In New, Vast Areas: 4 Tips From Personal Experience
By Carter Lyles
ARE YOU OVERWHELMED BY THE FACT THAT YOU ARE CONSISTENTLY BEING SKUNKED IN AN AREA THAT YOU ARE NEW TO FISHING?
I know how it feels because this happened to me when I moved from Atlanta, Georgia down to St. Simons Island on Georgia’s coast. Honestly, I think St. Simons is one of the most challenging places in the country to locate and catch fish on the fly if you’re a newbie because: 1) We have nine foot tides, 2) There is a ton of water to cover, 3) Straight up nobody is willing to share any spots or tips, 4) The redfish act differently here than in most places, 5) Dark water.
I’m just going to be flat out honest with you– I got skunked probably close to fifteen times before I caught my first redfish in the Golden Isles. There are reasons for this, which I will share with you so that this struggle doesn’t happen to you:
1) Put Away the Fly Rod
I had this “fly or die” mentality, which is the absolute worst way to approach a fishing situation. God, forgive me. If you’re new to a lake or even huge areas like the Georgia coast, then put away your fly rod. We are trying to locate fishing spots, folks… I used live bait (no I’m not ashamed) and began to really figure out where these redfish were. I suggest you do the same, or at least use conventional tackle if you want the process to proceed at a much faster rate.
2) Put Away the Fly Rod
Nope. This is not the same tip. This time I actually mean keeping my fly rods in my room in a closet where I wouldn’t touch them. Go out a handful of times and don’t even bring a rod. Instead bring a nice pair of binoculars, a pen, and a notepad!
Sunday Classic / Not Just Anybody’s Saint Vrain
“IF YOU CLIMB INTO THE CAB OF THAT PICKUP WITH JOHN YOU’LL FIND THAT WHERE YOU WIND UP CAN, ONLY IN THE MOST EXISTENTIAL TERMS, BE CALLED A FISHING TRIP.”
It’s about seven-thirty on a Saturday morning. It’s mid-September and the chilly Colorado air has coaxed a fair number of lookie-lous, headed up from Denver and Boulder to catch some fall color, into the Stone Cup Cafe on highway thirty-six in Lyons for a cup of hot coffee. A dozen or so of these plains dwellers are queued up like good little office workers waiting their turns when a lanky man in his seventies comes through the door. He is not, at once, remarkable. He’s wearing blue jeans, faded with a hole or two, cinched up with a belt to fit his slim frame. A fleece vest and sun-bleached hat frame an angular face that’s lined like a gazetteer. There is a little white feather tucked into his hat band, like Peter Pan. His white beard seems to pretty much have the run of his face. It’s had just enough grooming to suggest that there’s a woman involved somehow, but she’s learned to pick her battles. His bright blue eyes seem too young for the rest of him. He doesn’t dally. He has the stride of an experienced hiker who sets a pace and covers his allotted miles without complaint, his eye fixed on a distant peak. That peak, at this moment, being the coffee pot.
This fellow may not have raised much attention from the morning crowd when he came through the door, but that quickly changes as he walks promptly past the line, around behind the counter and to the coffee machine where, seemingly unnoticed by the staff, he sets about pouring two cups of coffee. He tucks a couple of bucks in a basket that hangs on the wall by the coffee pot, picks up his two cups and with the same determined stride walks back by the line of dumbstruck tourists. He doesn’t acknowledge them, their galled stares or open mouths. He is completely stoic until he is past the line and makes it to the door. He reaches out his hand and offers me a cup and an impish smile creeps across his face as he says, “I love doing that.” And in that instant, there he is, the man I have come to know through his words long before I laid eyes on him. This is John Gierach.
I met John a year earlier at a fly fishing trade show in Denver. I was at the Whiting Farms booth pouring through a selection of high quality rooster capes when he took up a place next to me and within a few moments began telling me how to kill a chicken with a stick. This would, no doubt, have seemed odd to me had I not known exactly who I was talking to. How could I not recognize this man? I’ve read more of his books than any three authors combined. Of course I knew him and I knew that he had tried his hand at raising chickens at the little house across the street from the Saint Vrain River and that it had been a total disaster and that he had to move when the well became contaminated from the gas station next door and a hundred other personal details that had forced their way into his stories. Had I known all there was to know about raising chickens and been the fellow who had first thought of killing one with a stick and gone on to raise that killing to an art form and had the very act of killing a chicken named after me, I would have still hung on every word. We chatted for a bit and exchanged cards and I expected that to be the end of it.
I discovered John’s writing at the point of one of those great cosmic detours that life takes. I had lost my father to cancer and
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Fall Run
THIS FILM BY TODD MOEN IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE FLY FISHING FILMS EVER.
Anyone who has ever fished for steelhead will feel their heart pounding in the first few minutes of this film. The amazing shots of fish and water alone are enough to have you punching the replay button but just wait. The final scene is one of the craziest battles ever witnessed between man and fish!
G&G contributor and great friend Jeff Hickman shows some serious skills in bringing wild steelhead to hand. If you don’t have a steelhead trip planned for this season, you will soon.
CHECK OUT FALL RUN
Read More »Groovy Gear From Flood Tide Co
FLOOD TIDE IS AS MUCH A MOVEMENT AS A CLOTHING COMPANY.
It’s been so much fun over the last year to see my good friend, and G&G contributor, Paul Puckett become the fastest rising star in the world of fly fishing art. It’s well deserved. Paul’s rise to fame has been a real grass roots phenomenon. Fueled largely by his philosophy of bringing art to the people and it sparked the creation of The Flood Tide Company.
Paul’s large scale fine art paintings are remarkable, but it has been his funny and often sarcastic Lampoons of pop-culture icons that have launched him into to public eye. Once he and his co-conspirators Will Abbott and Anheuser-Busch came up with the idea of putting those sketches on T-shirts and technical clothing they were unstoppable.
This year Flood Tide is branching out with new designs, new artists and some non-wearable products. It’s all great stuff and all art for the people.
Check out this video where Will walks us through some of the new products from Flood Tide Company.
Read More »Fly Fishing Karma
The feeling of losing a big trout can be heart breaking, especially when it’s a fish of a life time, but it happens to all of us, some just more than others. Most of the time fish are lost because of angler error during the fight, but every once in a while, there’s really no clear identifiable explanation, and all we can do to move forward with a positive attitude, is believe some fish just aren’t meant to be caught. Recently, I had a day on the water where the fly fishing was absolutely epic but no matter how hard my client and I tried, we kept unbuttoning our best fish right before I could get a net on them. At the end of the day, when all the cards had been laid out, I had an epiphany. Below is a break down of the day and my new theory on why certain fish are lost and others are landed.
Read More »Fishing the Fall, What You Should Know About Sinking Fly Lines
By Garner Reid
A GOOD PORTION OF MY FLY FISHING INVOLVES THROWING SOME SORT OF A SINKING FLY LINE.
Realistically, half of my time on the water involves streamers and sinking lines at least for some part of the day. If I am not out on the water guiding for streamer-eating fish like stripers, I’m in the fly shop talking about them.
I have come to the realization that there is some mystery for most anglers when it comes to choosing which sinking fly line will suit their needs. The selection of sinking lines on the market today is as vast as the waters where we chase our quarry. Today fly anglers can effectively target fish at any level in the water column, given the right combination of rod, fly line, and fly pattern.
When chasing large predatory fish like bass, stripers and big brown trout in moving water you have to get down deeper than floating lines allow. With all of the options and versatility, it is easy to get confused. I have put together some thoughts to help you choose the right line configuration to effectively get into fish.
Fly Weight vs Sink Rate of line
After several seasons experimenting with different types of sinking lines and various streamers, I have found a number of variables which I can control to have a productive day on the water. A big factor in my success has been dialing in the correct weight for the fly with the sink rate of the line.
For most fishing conditions, my primary concern is
Read More »Is Carrying A Gun On The Water Ever The Right Thing To Do?
I HONESTLY HAD NO IDEA WHAT A HOT BUTTON ISSUE THIS WAS.
Until I posted a link on Facebook the other day to the new Fishpond sling pack and commented that it was designed to carry a pistol. Man, did that post ever light up. The discussion got pretty heated with anglers on both sides of the issue having very strong opinions. It made me think a little harder about my own views and I thought it was worth opening the topic here.
I’m not looking to start a gun control debate. Let’s save that conversation for another forum. I just want to address the idea of carrying a gun while fishing. In the interest of disclosure, I will say that I own a fair number of guns. Handguns, shotguns and rifles. I strongly believe in the right to own them and I believe that the vast majority of gun owners are quite responsible. I also do not carry a weapon, other than to and from shooting it.
The reason I don’t carry a gun is simple. I don’t want to shoot anyone. I don’t want it on my conscience and I don’t want to deal with the ramifications. I generally don’t believe in the unnecessary taking of life. By leaving my guns at home I greatly reduce the chances of having to make hard decisions under pressure. Come in my house uninvited while my wife and I are in bed and we’ll have a very different discussion.
I should also say that these are my personal decisions and I do not judge others who make different choices. I just ask, very politely, that they not shoot me or my loved ones and I try not to give them reason.
These choices are in no way academic or untested. I’ll not go into the stories here but I have found myself looking down the barrel of a gun on almost a half dozen occasions, knowing that the person on the other end had no problem, or every intention of pulling the trigger. So far I have a pretty good track record with crisis management.
I have, on two occasions however, carried a gun when fishing.
Once was for protection from animals. I am an animal attack magnet. I’ve been attacked by just about everything with fur and one day while fishing a favorite stream I was attacked by an
Read More »Sunday Classic / 10 Tips to Keep You Catching Fish During Your Fly Fishing Travels
It’s easy to get out of your game when you’re traveling and fly fishing a new piece of water. It has happened to me plenty of times, where I find myself fly fishing and going against all my fishing catching principles. Stick to what works for you on your home water and keep your confidence, and you’ll be landing beautiful fish in no time. Below are ten principles that I always make sure I live by when I’m fly fishing abroad on unfamiliar waters. 1. Spend your time fishing productive water, don’t waist your time fishing subpar water. 2. Look for the 3 C’s (Cover, Current, Cusine) to locate the hotspots. 3. Always position yourself where you can get your best presentation and drift. 4. Have your fly rig setup correctly for the water you’re fishing (nymph rig set correctly, long enough leader for spooky risers, correct tippet size, ect). 5. Take the time to figure out the food source the fish are keying in on. Take regular bug samplings throughout the day and keep an eye out for aquatic insects on the water. 6. Always fish with confidence and fish hard. Persistence usually pays off. 7. Don’t be afraid to move on if the water your fishing is slow. Even pack up and change watersheds if fishing conditions are bad enough. Its saved me on many fishing trips. 8. Do your research before you leave on your fishing trip. Don’t be afraid to hire a guide the first day so you can get dialed-in and understand how to fish the water correctly. 9. Pack your fly tying materials and vise with you. You never know when you’ll run out of the hot fly pattern or need to tie up a pattern you don’t have in your fly box. 10. … Continue reading
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Deeter on Competitive Fly Fishing
KIRK DEETER IS THE MAN!
I don’t know of anyone who gets more universal respect in the fly fishing world than Kirk Deeter. Not only is Kirk one of the smartest and most knowledgeable folks to ever hold a rod, his head and his heart are in the right place as well. When Kirk Deeter talks, everyone listens. Especially me.
That’s why I’m glad that Kirk has taken on the topic of competitive fly fishing. This piece he has written for Fly Talk is spot on. It’s not a condemnation of competitive fly fishing, nor is it some airy fairy ethical argument based on ascetics. It’s a very honest look at some real problems with the idea of competitive fly fishing for trout.
Kirks ideas are worth your time whether or not you ever intend to compete.
CHECK OUT
“WHY I’M NOT SURE COMPETITIVE (TROUT) FLY FISHING WILL EVER WORK”
Read More »New Technical Outerwear From Simms
A BOLD NEW LOOK BORROWED FROM THE MILITARY.
Simms really stepped up their outerwear line this year. The new G4 pro jacket begs the question, “How much farther can you go?” The features of this jacket are amazing. The fit is outstanding and the design is inspired. I’ve had a couple of Simms jackets and this one is my favorite by far. Simms worked with US military contractors on the design and it’s bad to the bone. The new black model has the look to back it up.
In addition the new Kinetic Jacket is a well thought out update of one of my favorite Simms insulating pieces. A great combination of PrimaLoft and Polartec Wind Pro fleece that’s both warm and durable. These two pieces together will keep you warm and dry no matter how bad the weather gets.
Check out this video and Rich Hohne will walk you through all the features of the new Simms outer ware.
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