Sunday Classic / 6 Tips For Catching Spooky Bonefish
BONEFISH CAN GET SPOOKY. CRAZY, UNREAL, MADDENINGLY SPOOKY.
I found myself dealing with just this situation the other day. Wading for super spooky bonefish in skinny water. Not the easiest day of fishing to be sure, but I did pretty well. I thought I’d share some of the tactics that I use to bring spooky bonefish to hand. Some are obvious and some, not so much.
Wade quiet, or not at all
Bonefish are very sensitive to sound. Especially the sound of your legs pushing water. On days when the wind is still and the water calm, you can barely move without alerting them. Take special care that your steps do not push water. Go super slow! Be aware of pot holes and soft mud that may throw you off balance and cause sudden movements. Find ambush spots like inlets and points and just hang out for a while. Let the fish come to you.
Use light flies
Bonefish are extra spooky in skinny water. You don’t need a heavy fly when the water is shallow so switch to a lighter fly that will land softer on the water. Use bead chain eyes instead of lead eyes, and for extra quiet presentations wrap some hackle at the eyes to cushion their landing.
Keep a low profile
When bonefish are close, crouch or kneel to minimize your visibility. Wear soft natural colors that blend with the surroundings. This is crucial when fish are following your fly and swimming straight for you.
Lead ’em farther
If fish are blowing up on good presentations, or even before the fly hits the water, it’s time to lengthen your lead. The other day I
Saturday Shoutout / Anchored With Oliver White
Oliver White is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met.
I was super excited to see that he has sat down with April Vokey to record an episode of her podcast, “Anchored.” I consider both Oliver and April friends, but I’ve never actually been in a room with them together. This conversation did not disappoint. Two remarkable folks having a remarkable conversation.
Oliver White’s story reads like the plot of a movie. A movie with a plot that isn’t at all realistic. A whirlwind ride from the mountains of North Carolina to the flats of the Bahamas and the jungle of Guyana, by way of Wall Street. Take a few minutes and get to know one of the most unique folks in fly fishing.
ANCHORED WITH OLIVER WHITE
Read More »New Gear From Fishpond
You can always count on Fishpond for fly-fishing gear on the cutting edge.
Fishpond leads the industry in fishing gear made from recycled materials. What’s awesome about that is, you don’t sacrifice function while you’re helping out the environment. Every piece of Fishpond gear I’ve ever owned is as rugged as they are innovative.
All of this applies to the new gear this year. There are tons of new products but in this video we focus on a chest pack, a duffle and the new reach and tippet keeper.
WATCH THE VIDEO TO SEE NEW PRODUCTS FROM FISHPOND.
Read More »3 Classic Flies For New Tyers
By Bob Reece
Three points of contact provide stability.
There are a plethora of patterns that new tiers could begin with. Yet three in particular lay out the fundamental techniques needed to create a stabile foundation for your fly tying future.
The Woolly Bugger, Pheasant Tail and Elk Hair Caddis have all proven their worth. The results that these patterns have produced for anglers around the world are undeniable. Yet equally as important, but often overlooked, is the value of these three bugs to beginning tiers.
Successful fly tying stems from mastering techniques. Once these techniques have been mastered they can be applied to additional practices and the subsequent patterns that are created through their use. While constructing the Woolly Bugger, tiers work with tailing materials, chenille and wrapping hackles. The Pheasant tail provides a practicing ground for proper nymph proportions, feather bodies and ribbing materials. Lastly, the Elk Hair Caddis introduces the tier to dubbing, more precise hackle use and hair wings.
By learning and mastering these three patterns, new tiers can anchor themselves to a successful starting point. The skill set created through the creation of these bugs reaches far and wide in its application throughout the fly tying world.
WATCH THESE VIDEOS AND LEARN TO TIE 3 CLASSIC FLIES FOR NEW TYERS.
Read More »Why ask why? Try dry flies for Steelhead
By Jeff Hickman
CATCHING A STEELHEAD BY SKATING A DRY FLY IS THE COOLEST WAY TO CATCH THEM.
I always have said that one fish on the dry is worth ten on wet flies…but why? It’s not like it’s impossible to catch them on dries. It can actually be quite productive at times but people are often just too afraid to try. If you only have one day to fish there’s a lot of pressure to catch fish, so why opt for the most challenging method? Well, there is, in fact, only one way to catch a steelhead on a dry fly and it start with tying it on your line!
Is a steelhead eating a fly off of the surface that much more unbelievable than a fish eating a fly swung just under the surface, or for that matter, a fly swung deep with a sink tip? It’s not. In fact, I think that there are times when a dry fly can work better. The disturbance and wake it cuts through the water’s surface can excite fish and elicit savage grabs.
The visual display you get when watching the fly skate across the surface is super fun and you can learn a lot by seeing where your fly actually is. Watching a fish come airborne for it, slap it, thrash at it, boil on it or just gently suck the fly down is one of, if not the single, most exciting experiences there is in fishing. Seeing them come for the fly is super exciting even if you don’t hook them. It is that extra element of playing with the fish that is the coolest for me!
photo2But what is even better
Read More »The G Loomis IMX Pro Short Spey: Review
By Louis Cahill
The IMX Pro Short Spey may be the best bargain in fly-fishing.
Every one of the IMX Pro fly rods I’ve cast has been a joy, but the 11-foot 11-inch two-handers really stand out. I cast the 3 weight on the pond at IFTD last year. I was immediately impressed but I’ve learned not to judge a rod solely on the casting pond. I got my hands on a 5 weight short spey and did some trout fishing with it. Last month I took the 5 weight to the Deschutes for steelhead and I’m blown away by the performance and versatility of this rod.
Before we go any further, let’s talk about the price. Too many times I find myself reviewing great fly rods that I know are out of reach of a lot of anglers. The truly amazing thing about the IMX Pro Short Spey is the price. At $575 it’s literally half the price of much of the competition and with no compromise that I can find. Speaking specifically about the 5 weight, a quality rod that covers the gambit from trout spey to summer steelhead, is astounding at that price.
The second thing you should know about the IMX Pro is that it is not a switch rod. Although it is just under 12 feet in length, which would classify it as a switch rod, it was never intended for overhead casting. It’s a classic, medium-fast spey action. It has a softer midsection than a typical switch rod which means it loads like a dream and casts effortlessly, as a spey rod should.
The rod is light and crisp in the hand. This means that it is not only a joy to cast but to swing. Holding line off the water and leading the fly into the swing is effortless. I have bad shoulders and this kills me with a 13-foot 7-weight. The light weight and easy casting of the IMX Pro Short Spey reduces fatigue and makes the whole fishing experience relaxed and enjoyable, as it should be.
When I carried the 5 weight out for steelhead, I expected to be under gunned. Typically, a 6 weight is my choice for summer steelhead. I was pleasantly surprised by the IMX Pro in both casting and fish fighting. Set up with an Airflo
Read More »Sunday Classic / Six Cutties in a Hot Tub
Are you fixing to head out west for an exciting trout fishing trip? If yes, and you plan to do some wade fishing, pay close attention to water levels before you decide on where to start your days fishing. Recently, Louis and I visited the Grey’s River in Wyoming for the opportunity to enjoy catching beautiful Snake River cutthroats on dries. Water levels were very high on the Grey’s and the lower sections of the river were too high to wade safely or fish effectively. We found out very quickly if we were going to get into some good fishing we’d have to focus our efforts on the upper sections of the watershed. That meant targeting the water above most of the tributaries dumping into the Grey’s, and driving 25 miles further up the forest service access road.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Don’t Loose That Fish
Some stunning video of tenkara fishing across Europe.
This video follows the guys from Tenkara Rod Company on a european fishing tour through Switzerland, Italy and Slovenia with the Tenkara rod. They visit some beautiful places and catch some amazing fish, including some larger than you might expect. Even if you don’t fish tenkara rods, you’ll love this video.
IF IT’S A MARBLE, DON’T LOOSE THAT FISH
Read More »New Orvis Pro Boots: Video
A new wading boot from Orvis offers performance features to athletic anglers.
“We are starting to look at some anglers as athletes,” Tom Rosenbauer tells me.
That’s reflected in design and materials in the new Orvis Pro Boot. The rubber sole, developed in cooperation with Michelin, have a self cleaning tread that’s 40% stickier than the competition, and the insole is borrowed from cross-fit technology. The upper is a bombproof, cast panel and proprietary hardware is designed to take a beating.
The new Pro Boot from Orvis is built to take some punishment, but also to give the angler a stable wading experience that doesn’t involve thinking about their feet. Comfort, durability and performance for the serious angler.
WATCH THE VIDEO TO LEARN ALL ABOUT THE ORVIS PRO WADING BOOT.
Read More »Trout Deformities
Some creepy trout for Halloween.
I spotted this little guy in a hatchery supported stream in North Carolina and fished to him until I caught him so I could get a photo. While not common exactly, deformities like this are not unusual in either hatcheries or in the wild but you seldom see a ‘special’ fish like this in a wild stream. Nature deals with this sort of thing in short order. In a hatchery, however, a fish like this will do fine and grow to maturity.
This brook trout would have been a solid 16 inches if he were normal. A buddy suggested I bank him. There was no need. This kind of deformity stems from injury to the fish’s spine early in life. There are no defective genes or disease to pass along so I released him. After all, he plays an important role in the ecosystem, at least from the otter’s perspective.
There can certainly be problems with hatchery raised fish. Disease and poor genetics can wreak havoc on wild populations. On the whole, I think North Carolina does a good job and it’s important to remember that this is a regional issue that is best evaluated by region. What’s right for a trout stream in North Carolina is not right for a steelhead river in Oregon. That’s another topic worth some considerable ink, but not just now.
It did get me thinking about some more troubling fish deformities. Specifically Idaho’s two-headed trout. There was a little bit of excitement about it when the New York Times published photos, in February of 2012, of the deformed fish which were spawned in a laboratory from fish caught wild in streams surrounding the Simplot Smokey Canyon mine.
The photos were from a report Simplot filed with the government for the purpose of asking the EPA to raise the allowed levels of selenium caused in local streams by phosphate mining. I’m going to repeat that for the sake of clarity.
Simplot raised two-headed trout spawned from wild fish poisoned with selenium run off from their mine, showed the results to the government and said, “see, nothing wrong here, I think we can safely say a dramatic increase in poisoning is in order.”
If this seems surreal to you, you are not alone. What is even more insane is that the EPA seems to be buying it. This made my head hurt so badly that I picked up the phone and started calling friends in Idaho. After talking to several folks who are active in TU and other groups in Idaho, I was referred to some folks with the local fisheries department. The answers I got were, again, surreal. They amounted to this:
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad…it’s getting worse…there’s not really anything we can do about it…Simplot owns Idaho.”
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