Practice Makes Permit
TODAY WE HEAR FROM ANOTHER NEW G&G CONTRIBUTOR.
Bruce Chard likely needs no introduction. You’ve seen and heard him many times on G&G, but now its official. We are proud to have Bruce a regular contributor on all things saltwater.
Photo by Louis Cahill
Photo by Louis Cahill
NO SPECIES CHALLENGES THE FLY ANGLER LIKE PERMIT.
They’re smart, spooky and have great eyesight, if not ESP. Fooling one with a fly is one of the most challenging and rewarding things you can achieve in fly fishing. An accurate presentation increases your odds exponentially!
You should practice casting as much as you can before any flats fishing trip but especially before a permit trip. Accuracy is definitely more important than distance in permit fishing, so challenge yourself for accuracy during practice sessions.
You’ve heard the saying “Practice Makes Perfect”. Well I think when we are talking about saltwater fly fishing/casting “Practice Makes Permanent!”
Practice casting develops muscle memory and muscle memory lets you deliver under pressure. The more practice time you put in, the more you will get out of it. Repetition is the key. Three one hour sessions are better than one three hour marathon.
Flats fishing is a serious challenge. Mother Nature will leave you head down and humbled and usually the angler’s casting ability more than anything else is to blame. This is easy to fix. Just practice! A lot! The more the better!
Here are some things you can do to practice accuracy.
Read More »9 Tips for Netting Big Fish on Your Own
ELATION, PANIC AND EPIPHANY. THAT’S THE USUAL ORDER OF EMOTIONS WHEN AN ANGLER LANDS THEIR FIRST BIG TROUT.
I had the pleasure of seeing a dear friend land his first trophy trout recently and I think that’s a pretty fair description. I think it’s pretty common for anglers landing their first plus-size fish to think, “Oh shit! What do I do now?” To the guy who is used to dangling a fish by the tippet, scooping an angry, hook-jawed behemoth with a trout net is daunting. Once you’ve done it a few times it becomes second nature but for those who are struggling (or yet to struggle) with it, here are a few tips.
Timing is everything
Netting a green fish, a fish who isn’t ready, is a losing proposition. On the other hand, playing a fish too long can kill them. Not to mention give them ample opportunity to unbutton. As long as a fish is holding himself upright in the water and keeping his head down, he is not ready for the net. Once he rolls on his side and comes to the surface, it’s time to net him. The first time this happens he may right himself again and make another run. The second time you should be ready to seal the deal.
Net the fish at the surface
As long as a fish has his head submerged he is in control. If you try to scoop a fish below the surface your odds are very poor. He can turn quickly to make his escape and there’s a good chance that you will catch the line with the net and break him off. Lift your rod tip high as you reach for the fish and keep his nose out of the water. As long as his nose is dry he can’t make a break for it.
Net the head
Don’t try to scoop a big fish from behind. You might
3 Tips for Fishing High and Dirty Water for Trout
Have you ever pulled up to a stream after a heavy rain, ready to fish, but canceled your fishing plans because the water looked too high and dirty?
I’ll be the first to admit there are times when this is the case, but very often anglers scratch their fishing plans when they should instead, have Fished-ON. The fact is, trout can see a whole lot better than we think, and if you fish the right kinds of fly patterns, and target the right water, in many cases you can do pretty darn good fishing in these water conditions. Even better, your odds at catching a trophy fish are increased, because the dingy water will both mask your approach and keep big educated trout from being able to scrutinize your fly patterns. So go ahead, call those anglers you despise and tell them the waters blown out, and you’ll have a good chance of having the water to yourself and wailing on fish all day long.
Tip 1. Target the Right Kinds of Water
So you’ve decided to take my advice and fish on, good for you. The first thing you need to do when fishing high and dirty water is target high percentage water. I search out the slower moving seams close to the banks, long stretches of fast shallow water that are followed by buckets or deep water where the fish will stack up, and eddies behind boulders or lay downs. These are all safe havens that trout search out refuge in during high water. They all allow trout to save energy by staying out of the excessive current, while capitalizing on the large influx of food sources drifting. Increased flows and rising water increases the amount of food available for trout. Many aquatic insects get flushed off the bottom of the stream, while others emerge from the freshly submerged stream banks. Examples of this are big stoneflies that are normally found hiding away in clumps of debris and under rocks, and cranefly larva that get washed in from the high water flowing along the banks.
Tip 2. Choose Larger and Brighter Fly Patterns
The second thing an angler needs to do to increase their success rate while fishing high and dirty water is choose the right kinds of fly patterns to fish. This is the one time when I feel I don’t have to carry my entire arsenal of gear. I’ll gladly leave my fly boxes with all my tiny fly patterns and light tippet spools at the vehicle. I’ll rig up a 9′-12′ 3x-4x fluorocarbon leader and carry only my fly boxes with
New Treatment for Casters Elbow
Ok, it tennis elbow but it might as easily be casters elbow.
If you’ve spent much time on the cork end of a fly rod you’ve felt that burning in the elbow. Probably while you were fighting a big fish. That’s when it usually gets me. This came up while fishing with a friend who like me plays guitar pretty regularly. When combined with a couple of days a week fishing it’s a recipe for pain and suffering.
I did some research and came across a new gadget for the treatment of tennis elbow that’s pretty effective. It’s called Flex Bar. It would be tedious to explain how to use it but this video, although goofy as hell, gets it across. It’s pretty simple. You can buy one of these online for $15 or so but I made my own by cutting off a piece of a foam pool noodle from Wal-Mart. You have enough foam
Read More »Getting the Hero Shot When You’re fishing Solo
“HOW DO PHOTOGRAPH MY FISH WHEN I’M BY MYSELF?”
I get this question all the time and I wince every time because I know there are many guys doing great harm to fish in an effort to capture the moment. I know because I was once one of them. Before I took photos of fish for a living, I took them for the same reason everyone else does. To have a memento of the experience. There’s not a thing wrong with that, but there was plenty wrong with the way I went about it.
With that in mind, and from a place of total humility and a little bit of shame, I’ve decided to try and help by laying out some strategies for getting a good solo photo of a fish without doing it any harm. It may require a little more work or some compromise but in the end you and the fish will both feel better.
Let’s start with what not to do. The mortal sin is to beach the fish. Never, ever take a fish out of the water and lay it on the bank for a photo. This kills fish three ways. It removes their protective slime and exposes them to harmful bacteria. It deprives them of oxygen for too long when they are already stressed and it puts them at risk for head trauma if they panic and start to flop around. What’s worse is to lay the fish on the snow in the winter. The risk are the same with the added chance that the cold will damage the delicate gill tissue. (Read more on that here) don’t try to juggle the fish and the camera for a reach-out-shot. You’ll most likely drop both.
Now let’s look at some options that can make for a good photo with out anyone getting hurt.
Read More »Peacock Bass In The Amazon, Part 2
Packing for Success in the Amazon
If you haven’t read part 1, you can find it here.
Preparing and packing the right gear prior to your departure to the Amazon is crucial for your overall trip enjoyment and fishing success. Following these gear recommendations, fishing tips, and general amazon facts, will ensure that you’ll be ready to tackle the monster peacock bass you’ll encounter as well as the hot tropical climate.
One important factor that rookie amazon anglers often fail to realize is water levels on the rivers and tributaries of the Amazon River can make or break your trip. Sometimes conditions will be perfect a week or two before your departure, and a couple days before your scheduled to leave, you’ll receive an updated water level report informing you that conditions have deteriorated. It’s just part of the game. It comes with fishing a river that provides us with 1/5 the worlds freshwater supply.
Talk to any veteran peacock bass angler and they’ll quickly tell you how big a role water levels play in the fishing and how helpless you are at controlling them. Despite there being both wet and dry fishing seasons in the Amazon, sometimes the seasons end up being the opposite of what they should be for the time of the year. Your best bet for coping with this uncertainty is booking your trip with the right Amazon outfitter or lodge. The, fly fishing only, Agua Boa Lodge, located in Brazil, is best suited for coping with both high and low water levels because of its specialized equipment, exclusive location, and the diversified fishing operations.
Water Levels are Important in the Amazon
If water levels are too high, peacock bass often will move back into the flooded jungle shorelines making them difficult to coax out or present a fly to. On the flip side of the coin, if water levels are too low, your guides might not be able to access certain watersheds, or even worse,
A Tight Line Presentation is Key in Saltwater Fly Fishing
SLACK IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.
When fly fishing in saltwater, keeping the slack out of the system is job one. Slack can cause missed fish, long distance release and even refusals. A tight line is key at every stage of the process, but many anglers overlook the initial presentation.
Triggering a fish’s instinct to strike relies on the fly having a lifelike action when the fish first catches sight of it. That means that the fly should move in the manner of the prey it represents from the instant it hits the water. In most cases that cannot be accomplished with slack in the system. Even, or maybe especially, when fishing crab patterns where the natural action is the fall to the bottom, slack kills. These flies are often eaten as soon as they hit the water and if the line has slack, you will never know it.
There is nothing more important to success in saltwater fly fishing than a tight line presentation, but it’s not an easy thing to pull off. Here are some tips and a video to help you get the slack out.
Read More »Tying Extra-Long Fly Leaders That Actually Turn Over
There are some big advantages to fly-fishing with a long leader, if you can turn it over.
Long leaders, up to eighteen feet in some cases, can be a huge help when targeting spooky trout or species like carp and bonefish. There’s a definite advantage to having some extra stealth, but only if you can turn that leader over. If you can’t, you loose the ability to deliver the fly accurately and with a clean presentation.
Most anglers struggle to turn over long leaders. Sometimes that’s a casting problem, but often it’s just an issue with the leader. Understanding how a leader works, and how to build one properly can really take your fly fishing to the next level, letting you catch fish you may have considered above your pay-grade.
Generally anglers will start off with a fairly standard nine foot leader, and lengthen it when they feel they need to. There’s nothing wrong with that, if you do it right. But if you know you are going to be using a long leader all day, I recommend you start from scratch and build a leader that’s right for the conditions. I change my leaders like I change my socks and I’ll take things like wind and light into consideration when I build them. I like having every advantage.
If you want to learn more about building custom leaders, read my article about Understanding Leaders.
Today, I’m going to talk about how to make an effective long leader starting with a standard leader, whether it’s one you tied or bought at the shop. I will suggest that you tie your own leaders. If you do it right, they will always perform better.
Most anglers will lengthen their leader by adding a long section of tippet. Unless you are doing some kind of technical nymphing, where you want thin tippet that cuts quickly through the water column and gets your flies deep in a hurry, lengthening your tippet is the worst possible way to add to your leader. It is the easiest method, and like most shortcuts, yields the worst results.
Read More »A Truck Vault Can Make Your Truck The Bat-Mobile of Fly Fishing
IT’S HUMAN NATURE, I SUPPOSE, TO ADMIRE IN OTHERS WHAT YOU LACK YOURSELF.
As I look at the chaotic pile of fly rods, reels and fly boxes in the corner of my office, I am not at all surprised that one of the things I admire most in others is organization.
Organization is a skill my good friend Michael White takes to a new level. Whitie is a sales rep for Simms which means he pretty much lives in his truck. What’s more, wherever that truck is headed, there is usually some great fishing. That was the case the other day when work, and fate, brought Whitie and me both to the Jackson Hole area. Fortunately, we both had the same day off and were able to get out on the water together.
Whitie’s truck is nothing short of the Bat-mobile of fly fishing. In addition to upgraded off road suspension and the best car audio system I’ve ever heard there is an intense gear organization system. In the back under a huge pile of Simms samples that any angler would kill for there is a weatherproof, fireproof, combination locked Truck Vault.
Pull out the two bed length drawers of the Truck Vault and there, perfectly organized, is every piece of fly fishing gear you could ever need. Rods organized by single and double hand. Reels by line weight. Flies by hatch. Waders, boots, packs, everything you need to fish anywhere there’s a road to get you there. It’s a thing of majestic beauty.
The gear never needs to go in the house. It lives there in the truck, ready for action 24/7. There’s even enough room
Read More »Keep Your Rod Tip Off the Water for Longer Drag-Free Drifts
Are you finding yourself struggling to get long drag-free drifts on the water?
If the answer is yes, you may be holding your rod tip too close to the water during your drifts. When your rod tip is positioned too low, you’re putting unnecessary fly line on the water that you in turn have to manage in order to maintain a drag-free drift. As soon as this unwanted fly line hits the waters surface, it’s immediately subjected to the surrounding currents. Depending on how fast the current is at your feet, the less time it will take for it to be pulled downstream and begin effecting your drift. Eventually all the slack will be pulled out in your fly line and your drag-free drift will be compromised. There’s of course a happy medium though, on rod tip position. Too high, and anglers will find it difficult to effectively mend and set the hook. I generally tell my clients to keep their rod tip at least three feet off the water’s surface.
Here’s a simple drill to help you understand and visualize how improper rod tip position on the water can negatively effect and decrease the length of your drag-free drift. Lay out a nice 30+ foot cast on the water. Make sure you stop your rod tip high above the water (a good 4 feet). Watch your drift for a few seconds, and then
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