Stream Etiquette, Two Stories About How To Share The Water
TWO EXPERIENCES IN TWO DAYS LEFT ME WITH TWO VERY DIFFERENT FEELINGS.
I spent a couple of days fishing in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago. A dear friend came in from Colorado and gave me the chance to share some of our eastern rivers. We had two close encounters with other anglers which proved to be lessons in stream etiquette. One a great example of how to share the water, the other not so much.
Stream etiquette is often complained about but seldom taught. What’s expected on the river changes from place to place but there are some simple ideas of respect and tolerance that are universal. If you’re not sure what’s cool and what’s not, I hope these two examples are helpful.
ENCOUNTER #1
My buddy and I arrive at a favorite piece of water with about an hour and a half of light left. The run is down in a gorge and we inspect it from above before hiking down. There’s no guarantee that it hasn’t been recently fished but no one is there now, so we head to the water. We are both fishing tenkara rods and my buddy is ready to fish but I want to make a fly change before fishing this new spot. I line up across from the first pool and start rigging while my buddy heads to the next pool upstream. Just then another angler rounds the corner and calls out. He has hiked up from down stream and was out of sight when we inspected the water.
To my mind, this is his water. As I see it,
Read More »Martin’s Boat – A Film By Pete McBride
How about a virtual dory trip in the Grand Canyon?
Take a few minutes to sit in the rowers seat with Grand Canyon legend Martin Litton. While this is not a fishing trip this beautiful film is full of heart pounding excitement and natural beauty, on one of the world’s greatest rivers.
MARTIN’S BOAT – A FILM BY PETE MCBRIDE
Read More »The 3 C’s of Trout Fishing – Current, Cover, and Cuisine
Here’s the Million Dollar Trout Fishing Question….
Are you putting enough emphasis on the 3 C’s in your trout fishing? The availability of Current, Cover and Cuisine most often dictate where trout decide to set up shop. Being able to consistently pick them out will ultimately determine how much success you have on the water. Furthermore, if you can find a spot that has all three C’s, you’re probably staring at a honey hole that holds the trophy of your dreams.
As a ignorant rookie fly fisher, I recall early on in my career, how I’d start out my day selecting a section of water, and go about mindlessly fishing its entirety from point A to point B. I had no understanding of trout’s survival instincts and how it influenced their whereabouts. All the water looked good to my untrained eyes, and I’d spend equal time fishing the entire stretch of water, regardless of the depth, where the current and food were located, or if the spot had any elements of cover. Back then I was completely clueless there was a reason 20% of the water held 80% of the fish, and in turn, I spent way too much time fishing in all the wrong places. It was amazing how long it took me to figure out why I wasn’t catching very many trout.
Don’t make this common rookie mistake, you’re better than that. Instead spend your time eliminating unproductive water, and locating and fishing productive water that has all three C’s. Doing so, you’ll find your catch numbers and size increase dramatically. Below are basic descriptions of current, cover, and cuisine, and why all three are equally important.
Current
Trout have a love hate relationship with current. They love the fact that current
Hook Selection for Nymphs
By Bob Reece
While fly pattern aesthetics can be pleasing to the eye, solid foundations are equally important.
In the process of fly tying, hooks provide that footing. The desired imitation and application should both be taken into account when selecting hooks for any nymph pattern.
When tying a pattern that has been created by a professional tier, follow the hook choice shown in the original recipe. That tier researched, tested and chose that hook because it accurately allowed for the imitation that they intended. By supplementing a different hook you may alter the posture or profile of the pattern. This can subsequently alter its effectiveness. If you’re in the process of creating your own pattern you should take into consideration the behavior that you are imitating. For example, a swimming scud takes on a straightened posture as it moves through the water. Conversely, a dead scud drifting in the current displays a hunched position. Due to this fact, a straight shanked hook more accurately imitates the swimmer while a curved shank properly mimics the deceased drifter.
In addition to behavior, insect proportions should be analyzed when choosing hook models. For my time spent on Wyoming tail waters I tie midge patterns on size 18 to 24 1x long nymph hooks. In a drastic contrast, I tie large chironomid patterns in sizes 12 to 16 on 2x long nymph hooks for the lakes that I guide on. This difference is not due to a personal preference. It is strictly based on knowing the proportions of the food resource that I am imitating.
Application of the nymph pattern you’re constructing should also impact the model of hook that you choose. While using the
Read More »Tarpon on the Fly: 10 Rookie Mistakes
I’ll never forget heading down to the Florida Keys for my first fishing trip for tarpon on the fly.
Cruise control set and adrenaline pumping through my veins, that fifteen hour drive south only felt like it took four hours. My rookie confidence was overflowing, leaving me zero doubt that I had the necessary fishing skills to step up to the challenge of landing a tarpon on the fly. After my first trip was completed and I played it all back in my head, I realized I could have been a whole lot more prepared. My guide Capt. Joel Dickey did his job. He put me on plenty of fish, I hooked up with a couple nice tarpon, but I never landed one because I made too many rookie mistakes on the bow. Below are 10 common mistakes I wished I would have taken the time to read over before I made my first tarpon outing.
Read More »Bruce Chard’s Key Lime Pie Tarpon Fly
SPOOKY TARPON? NO PROBLEM.
Feeding tarpon a fly on bluebird days when the sun is high and the water is clear can be quite a challenge. It’s always a little mind blowing to see a six foot long monster run from a three inch fly bit it happens more times than not when conditions are tough.
When it comes to fooling tarpon, I don’t know anyone with a better track record than Bruce Chard. Today Bruce is going to share with us a simple fly that turns those tough days into hero shots. He calls it the Key Lime Pie, because it’s just that hard to resist.
Watch the video and learn to tie Chard’s Key Lime Pie.
Read More »Glass or Graphite, What’s Right For You?
When choosing between graphite and fiberglass fly rods, it’s smart to consider where and how you fish.
I got an email the other day from a reader. Here’s an excerpt:
“I am looking at a 7wt predominantly for trout and smallmouth here in Tennessee. I currently have a mid action 6wt that is really nice, but since I don’t have a boat, it’s hard to make long casts with weighted streamers to trout on the opposite bank. I recently found the blue halo 7wt glass rods, and I guess my question is how do you feel about fiberglass streamer rods? Do they have the muscle to turn over the same weighted streamers a graphite 7wt would have?”
It’s a great question. There’s a lot of enthusiasm right now for heavyweight fiberglass fly rods. I have one myself and I enjoy fishing it very much. Does that mean it’s the best tool for the job? Not necessarily. If, like the fellow who emailed me, I was mainly concerned with casting a heavy fly to the far bank, it’s probably not the rod I’d choose.
I like fiberglass rods a lot. I have glass single-handers in weights from 2-8, and a one spey. There are some things they are very good at, and some things they are not. You can make a long cast with a heavy fly using a glass rod but you’ll have to be a great caster.
When you are deciding between glass and graphite, consider the strengths of each.
Strengths of fiberglass fly rods
Feel: Fiberglass rods have great feel, which means that it’s easier to feel the rod load. The feedback which the caster receives from the rod makes casting very pleasant for anglers who enjoy feel.
Tempo: Glass rods are slow. That’s both an asset and a liability but the slower casting tempo which comes with a slower rod is easier in many ways. If you were trying to play a complicated piece of music, wouldn’t it be easier to play it slowly?
Presentation: Because they do not generate the line speed graphite rods do, glass rods lend themselves to delicate presentations. Remember, however, that presentation is about casting skill and material alone is not the answer.
Strength: Not strength as in casting power, but
Read More »Scent attractor in fly fishing?
I RECENTLY DID A PHOTO-SHOOT FOR ATTRAXX, A COMPANY WHOSE NAME MAY BE FAMILIAR TO SOME OF YOU.
Attraxx makes soft plastic baits for gear fishing in both fresh and saltwater. These aren’t your grandfather’s rubber worms. The plastics are infused with five patented attractors that stimulate fish into striking. It’s apparently far more complex than just scent or taste and frankly I don’t totally understand all of the details. These guys have a handful of PhDs to my none, but I spent a few days watching these high tech baits in action and I can tell you they work insanely well.
I’m not a gear fisherman. I don’t say that because I feel like I’m above it. Gear fishing takes a lot of skill and knowledge, it’s just not my thing. I don’t do it so I’m not good at it and I don’t understand it. Doug Long, the man behind Attraxx, does understand it. I’ve known Doug for years as a skilled fly fisherman and we’ve wetted our boots together on plenty of occasions so I was surprised to hear that he was now running a plastic bait company.
I was even more surprised to hear that Attraxx is considering new products for fly fishermen. Imagine that, flies tied with materials that release neural stimulators into the water, whipping fish into a feeding frenzy. A couple of years ago I’d have said, “no way! Nobody will buy it,” but these days, I’m not so sure. Let’s look at the trend.
People raised a fuss when
Read More »DIY Emergency Boat Anchor: Video
Have you ever lost your boat anchor during a day on the river?
If you haven’t, you probably will. Or at least you’ll forget to bring it one day. It can make for a pretty frustrating day of fishing but it doesn’t have to be. There’s and easy and inexpensive way to make an emergency boat anchor.
Keep a basketball net in the boat. It cost $6 and takes up no space. In a pinch it makes a great boat anchor. It could be the best $6 you ever spent.
WATCH THIS VIDEO AND LEARN TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY BOAT ANCHOR FORM A BASKETBALL NET!
Read More »Tandem Tactics for Trout Part Two: Below The Surface
DRY DROPPER SET UPS ARE ONLY THE BEGINNING. SOME OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE TEAMS RUN DEEP.
Tandem nymph rigs are hands down the most effective way to catch trout. Let’s leave behind the aesthetic arguments about dry fly fishing for the minute, there’s a reason that all competitive trout fishing is done with teams of nymphs. It works and it will increase your numbers.
There are a host of ways you can choose to fish nymphs. I’m not going into the details of Czech Nymphing vs. French nymphing or Merican nymphing, but I will include some links at the end of this article. For now I’m going to focus on choosing and rigging nymphs that work effectively as teams.
Rigging
There are two common ways to rig tandem nymphs. The simplest and most commonly used for indicator set ups is to tie the dropper off the bend of your lead fly’s hook. Sixteen inches of tippet between the flies is a good average length. You might assume that the dropper would fish sixteen inches deeper than the lead, but that’s not the case. It all depends on the distribution of weight.
It is pretty common to fish a weighted lead fly with an unweighted dropper. This team will fish at about the same depth. This tactic offers the fish two choices at the same depth. If your goal is to fish different levels of the water column, you must use a weighted dropper or a split shot four inches or so above the dropper. An unweighted dropper with a split shot will have better action but is a little more maintenance and can compromise your tippet strength. The difference in depth between the two flies will only be about half the length of the tippet which separates them so you may want to go longer than sixteen inches, depending on conditions.
This is the setup I use most commonly
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