Fly Fishing Tips for Stocked Trout
My first memory of bringing a trout to hand with a fly rod took place back in the spring of 1990, on a seasonal trout stream, located 45 minutes north of Atlanta, GA. It was a far cry from a trophy trout at 10-inches, but that freshly stocked rainbow trout, touched my eleven year old fishing soul to the core. I’ll never forget the excitement I felt watching that stocker chase down and eat my olive woolly bugger at my feet. It felt really good for a change, not relying on that plastic blue can of worms to get the job done. From that day forward, I never looked back, and I’ve moved on to become a respectable trout guide in my area and I’ve fly fished for trout all over the world.
Read More »Book Review — How to Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea
Reviewed by Captain John Byron, U.S. Navy (Retired)
We fishing folk are looking at water constantly.
From the bow of a flats boat. Deep in the river carefully shuffling over rocks. From the beach in the surf searching for stripers or snook or searuns.
But do we really know what we’re seeing? Are we getting all the facts that water can tell us? Do we experienced fisherfolk really understand the fish’s medium? The answers lie in this marvelous, easy-read, fun book. Not focused on fishing but highly informative for those of us addicted to fishing.
The author is the real deal. Example: wanting to verify the navigation skills claimed for the Vikings, with a companion he set out from the Orkney Islands to Iceland sailing a 32-footer, determined to get there using only the tools and techniques of those ancient mariners.
Nearly 600 nautical miles. He got there reading water.
Library Journal says this: “With the help of this book, and with careful attention and observation, anyone can learn how to interpret the messages water offers to aid in everything from navigation to weather forecasting. A riveting and highly accessible book that will appeal to water enthusiasts and nature lovers of all kinds.”
Wall Street Journal describes the book this way: “Mr. Gooley misses little in his paean to Earth’s most abundant resource. He starts small, at a mud puddle watching ripples fan out from a pebble drop, and ends big, in the frigid reaches of the Arctic Sea. Along the way he asks and answers many questions. If you like water, as I do, you will learn a lot.”
Read More »Sunday Classic / 6 Proven Winter Dry Fly Patterns
Nothing allows me to forget about the cold temperatures of winter quicker, than spotting the surface rings from trout feeding on Midges or Blue Winged Olives. It’s not an everyday occurrence by any means, but when it happens, it feels like someone turns the heat up a few notches, and I’m instantly warmed head to toe. When we think about hitting trout water during the winter months, most of us don’t typically think about fishing dry flies. It’s true that day in and day out, most anglers will find their nymphs and streamers to be much more productive, but every once in a while, when luck is on our side, we can find ourselves smack dab in the middle of a winter hatch, with trout rising all around us. It’s during these special two hour windows of trout fishing, that the winter can provide us some of the most rewarding catches of the year. That is, of course, if we decided to bet against the odds, and pack our dry fly box.
I’ll gladly give up catching numbers of fish during the winter, in exchange for taking a handful of fish on the surface with tiny dry flies. The trout don’t even have to be all that big either. They just need to give me a pretty rise and tug my line a few good times. I guess a lot of it has to do with the fact that I believe hatches in the dead of winter, are like rare gifts handed down from above. Gifts that should always be full appreciated by the fly angler, otherwise they may decide to not show up again until spring. Late morning through the afternoon is the time of the day when I find midge and blue winged olive hatches to appear the most, and it’s often the bitter cold days with drizzling rain or snow flurries when the hatch decides to show up. Below are six proven winter dry flies and emergers that have served me well over the years. All you need to do is downsize your tippet and rig them up, with a standard dry fly/dropper rig.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Stranger Things
This new streamer pattern from Andrew Grillos gets the job done.
I’ve known Andrew for about a decade and I learned pretty quickly to pay attention to what comes out of his fly box. Patterns like the Hippy Stomper, Party Animal and Bob Gnarly are epic producers and when I heard he had a new streamer pattern, I was all ears.
The Stranger Thing is a wiggley, fishy looking creation, newly available from Umpqua. Although I haven’t pined Andrew down on it, I assume the name comes from the TV show. When Grillos shaves his beard, he bares a striking resemblance to Gaten Matarazzo, on of the stars.
Our buddy and contributor Brian Kozminski has done a great writeup and step-by-stem on tying the Stranger Thing over at True North Trout. Check it out and put a few Stranger Things in your box. There’s no telling what scary creatures will come out after it.
Andrew Grillos will be Teaching a tying class at Trout’s Fly Fishing in Denver on March 16th 2019. If you are in the area, you should check it out. Andrew’s skills are crazy and he’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. More info here.
TIE THE STRANGER THING STREAMER
Read More »Cataract Surgery Update And Smith Optics Giveaway
By Louis Cahill
I’m half way through the process of replacing my eye’s natural lenses and doing well. Here’s an update and a fun way for you to win a pair of Smith Optics fishing glasses.
First, let me say thanks for all of the well wishes I’v received from friends and readers. It’s been awfully nice hearing from all of you and knowing you’re pulling for me. Thanks you!
If you are not into the update, just scroll down to the contest.
My hope in writing about my experience with cataract surgery is to help inform those of you who might be considering it. Hopefully it will help you know what to expect and maybe make a more informed decision about your eye care. I’m not a doctor or an expert, just a guy going through a pretty common procedure thats a little frightening and mysterious.
I talked to a lot of people who have had interocular lens replacement before I decided to have it done. Having made my living as a photographer my whole life, I was extremely nervous about it. The procedure is not without risk and it’s not a decision to take lightly. I was pretty unhappy about how my vision was effecting my fly fishing and my photography, but after a couple of close calls driving, I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. Thank God it is a problem with a solution.
Once I decided to have the surgery, the first step was choosing a doctor. I talked to a lot of folks who’d had the surgery and a couple of names kept coming up. I googled each doctor and read reviews, then talked to a couple. It was important to me to find a doctor I felt I connected with. I was very impressed with Dr Trevor Woodham. I met with him twice before moving forward and he was extremely patient. We talked in depth about how I use my eyes, including more than he probably wanted to know about bonefishing. He helped me choose lenses I’d be happy with.
I had never thought about having options for my new lenses.
I’m glad I took the time to understand the differences. I chose a very nice accommodating lens, designed to focus like natural lenses. They were expensive and not covered by insurance, and it was a short term sacrifice paying for them, but I wasn’t about to go cheap on my eyes.
The procedure is said to have a 98% success rate. I don’t like odds, not where surgery is involved, and I quickly thought about all of the times I’ve been in the 2% in my life. After doing some research, it seems that 98% figure might be misleading. I now think of it as a 2% chance that something might go wrong. Some of those somethings are worse than others and many are fixable. It seems that the chances of something catastrophic happening are more like one in several thousand. That made me feel better.
The procedure itself was a surreal experience.
Read More »Bonefish Beginner
By Bob Reece
After twenty five years of fly fishing for freshwater species, I recently threw my first casts into salt water.
As is always the case, hindsight is 20/20. While I had plenty of success, there are several things that I wish I would have done prior to my first saltwater trip.
I’ve always been a huge proponent of practicing your casting. Throughout my time guiding freshwater trips, it is consistently one of the most common elements that holds anglers back from having greater success. While I did practice a handful of times prior to my trip, I should have practiced more. I’m a confident caster with lighter weight rods, but never having cast an eight or nine weight left me lacking the muscle memory of working with a heavier rod. As part of this practice, it cannot be overstated how important it is to have the ability to effectively present the fly with a backhand cast.
In addition to the casting itself, I wish I would have practiced my footwork. In the vast majority of freshwater situations, we as anglers target slowly cruising or posted up feeding fish. The rapid directional change by the bonefish was a drastic difference from any other fly fishing experience that I’ve had. The need to change the path of my line and body position mid cast challenged me. Extra practice time with this factor would have helped take advantage of opportunities that I missed.
As a newby to salt water flies, I had no idea what I was doing in this category. I phoned a friend.
Read More »Sunday Classic / 3 Tips For Fly Fishing Kung Fu
WE ALL KNOW THE CHINESE PHRASE KUNG FU, BUT FEW OF US KNOW IT’S TRANSLATION. KUNG = ENERGY AND FU = TIME. TO PUT ENERGY INTO ANYTHING OVER TIME IS TO DEVELOP KUNG FU.
I love to teach fly fishing. I do it every chance I get and I see folks wrestle time and again with the same three issues. I can remember being there myself and it sucks! Three things that seem so simple to me now just about cost me my sanity. I’d like to spare you that. If you are new to fly fishing for trout following these three suggestions will not only put you on more fish, but it will accelerate your learning curve dramatically.
Here are the three things that come between every new angler and the fish they want to catch.
PRACTICE YOUR CASTING
The first, most basic skill an angler needs is the ability to put the fly in front of the fish. This means, not only distance but accuracy as well. There have been a truck load of books written about fly casting and there will be a truck load more but there is nothing in any of them that can replace time spent with the rod in hand. That really is the trick. Time plus energy. Set aside a time, just ten or fifteen minutes a day, for the next year and spend that time casting in the yard. Every day! In a year you will cast like a Grand Master.
Saturday Shoutout / Orvis On Demand
The Orvis Guide To Fly-Fishing is now streaming on demand on Amazon Prime.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more clear and thorough tutorial on fly fishing. Host Tom Rosenbauer strikes an amazing balance of covering both basic and advanced techniques in a way that absolute beginner can understand, while serving up details useful to advanced anglers. Tom does more than make it look easy. He gives you the tools to make it easy, and fun.
Each episode features casting instructor Pete Kutzer with a segment on casting skills specific to the topic of the episode. Even if you are an advanced caster, there’s plenty to learn from watching pete. He has some of the best technique I’ve ever seen.
Each episode is devoted to a specific topic and, of course, covers every modern technique for catching trout, but doesn’t stop there. Tom covers topics and species from bass to bonefish.
The thirteen part series is free to watch for Amazon Prime users.
CHECK OUT THE ORVIS GUIDE TO FLY FISHING AT HTTPS://WWW.AMAZON.COM
Read More »Redbands, 9X9
By Dan Frasier
“HE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU.” MIKE, THE OWNER OF ORVIS NORTHWEST OUTFITTERS, SAID FLATLY AS HE HANDED ME HIS CELL.
My guide. Colby, was on the phone and he had this idea. “Dude, I just had this thought that made me drop my toothbrush into the sink. We could go fish cutties on the CD, or… I’ve got this thing I’ve been trying to work out. We won’t see anyone and we may not catch anything, but if we do they’ll be big. Most I’ve ever gotten was 7. What do you think?”
A guide asking you for your opinion on fishing a certain waterbody isn’t what it appears. He knows the water best, you’re paying him to know the right answer to that question and you’re effectively guessing. Him asking you your opinion doesn’t make sense. Of course, that’s because both of you know he isn’t asking your opinion. He doesn’t think you have any special insight into where the right place to fish is, and he certainly isn’t at a loss for where there may be some trout. Instead, a subtle communication is taking place. A dance, usually understood by both guide and sport. There is a risk to be taken here and a choice to be made. The guide is telegraphing to you that you have two choices, the sure thing that will be good and an uncertain thing that may be great. He isn’t asking if you think that particular stretch of river will be any good to fish. Your opinion on that is worthless. He is asking you how much risk do you want to take. Are you willing to gamble a full day on the water for the possibility of something special?
The answer isn’t as easy as it may appear. If you spend 100 days a year on the water, or are on some kind of headhunting mission, then yeah, you take the risk. But if you only get out on family vacations the risk of a fishless day may be too much. Or perhaps you’re looking for a nice wade over cobble surrounded by mountains more than you’re want to hang a hog. We talk about flyfishing like it is a spiritual experience catalyzed by convening with nature in beautiful places. Believe it or not, some people actually feel that way about it to. Of course, despite the poetry flyfishing puts in your soul, I’d put dollars to donuts I could catch most of you fishing a golf course if it held 22 inch browns; passing up the 9 inchers in the babbling brook 3000 feet higher up in elevation.
I could tell by the tenor of Colby’s voice he was excited and I learned long ago that when a guide has something they’ve “been working on” you go.
Read More »Sunday Classic / 3 Fly Fishing Situations When I Will Stop My Streamer During the Retrieve
Warning: The fly fishing advice you’re about to read may go against your present beliefs. There’s a good chance you’ll feel inclined to tell me I’m nuts for recommending it. That’s totally cool, I just ask that you read what I’ve written, before you make the decision to set me straight.
IT HAS LONG BEEN DRILLED INTO OUR HEADS, THAT THE WORST THING A FLY FISHERMAN CAN DO WHEN A FISH IS TRACKING HIS/HER STREAMER, IS STOP THE RETRIEVE.
I agree with this advice 95% of the time because most prey when threatened by a predator, will swim as hard and fast as possible to escape being eaten. That being said, I’ve been on the water many times when the constant-strip retrieve, or even the speed-up retrieve with my streamer, has failed to get me the hook up from a following fish. It was only when I thought outside the box, and found the courage to go against the popular view that streamers should always be kept moving when a fish is tracking, that I found myself with a bent rod.
With most things in fly fishing, there’s always exceptions to the rule. No matter how rare the exception may come up, a fly fisherman should always be willing to experiment when traditional tactics aren’t producing. If I told you that you were going to be streamer fishing a river where there were lots of injured and dying baitfish, would you still believe that a constant retrieve with a streamer would be your best tactic? What about if you were fly fishing trout water that had huge populations of sculpins or I said you were going to be fly fishing on a lake for largemouth bass, with water temperatures in the high forties? These are just a few fly fishing situations when I’ve found that a stop-and-go retrieve with a streamer can produce better than a constant retrieve, when fish are tracking but not eating. Below are three situations when killing your streamer retrieve, could prove to be your golden ticket.
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