Unhang My Fly You Villain Stump!
One of the unavoidable happenings in fly fishing is the oh-so-wonderful snag.
Overhead limbs, rocks, submerged timber, rhodo, your net man… you name it, it’s out there just waiting to snatch your fly from the air. A lot of the time it’s game over for your rig. You just have to break it off and move on after a short grieving period. There are, however, certain scenarios where one simple trick can save your flie(s) from being lost to the Water Nymphs. It’s by no means 100% effective, but it’s easy and worth a few tries before snapping your tippet.
First thing, if you’ve discerned that your fly is hung up on something solid on the bottom, or you’ve laid your flies across a log, or any other obstacle, sit tight for a second. Don’t set the hook into it any further! Before you going tugging on your rod like you’re Magnus Ver Magnusson, do this….
Strip in the majority of your line, leaving it just taught enough to lift your fly line above the water. Once the fly line is ABOVE the water, bring your fly rod tip to 12 o’clock like you would to make a roll cast. You may need to slip a little more line as you position your rod correctly. Once you’ve gotten everything situated, execute a firm roll cast straight at your fly. The loop created by the cast will transfer momentum past the fly, opposite of the direction that it was snagged, potentially releasing the hook from the snag. Didn’t work the first time? Try again, but this time
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Thrill that Comes From the Unknown
If you ask me, I think the surprise factor in fly fishing is underrated. Most of us choose to spend our time preparing and planning out every single detail of our fly fishing trips, so we can eliminate it. We spend hours tying recommended flies, we go threw our gear with a fine tooth comb checking for imperfections, and we research everything we can about the water and species we’ll be tackling. We do this because we want to feel in control. Furthermore, we do it because we want to catch fish. Problem is, fly fishing isn’t all about trying to squeeze out every bit of success we can muster out of a day on the water. A big part of fly fishing for me is letting go and
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / On Appeal
Mike Sepelak is a free man.
Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling in February, Mr Sepelak’s long running legal nightmare has come to an end and he is once again free to wade the rivers and streams of North Carolina. The lawsuit, filed by the RFA has been thrown out and the details will now surely come to light in coming weeks.
Congratulations Mike! We are happy to know you are out there, fighting the good fight for the rest of us. Stay strong brother. We have your back.
Click here to see the images for Mike’s incarceration in the state of Louisiana.
Read More »Choosing the Right Tippet Size
I’ve talked quite a bit about how important it is to correctly select the proper tippet size when your fly fishing for trout.
Most fly fisherman have no problem grasping this, after all, small fly patterns generally call for using smaller tippet and big fly patterns call for larger tippet, right? Well, that’s a general guideline most anglers fish by on the water, but it’s not the only factor fly fishermen should use when choosing what size tippet to fish with. Equally important in tippet choice by anglers is how clear or stained the water is that’s going to be fished, and also what level of fishing pressure the water sees (how educated the trout are).
Choosing the Right Tippet Size Guide
(This is your typical text book guide you would find for a beginner wanting to learn to match the appropriate tippet size with fly pattern size. For the most part it’s spot on, but I think it’s important to point out and understand you don’t always have to follow it exactly)
Sunday Classic / The Homemade Yeti Cooler
Don’t get me wrong, your Yeti is a great cooler and, yes, you can use it for a poling platform, sort of, and it does make you look very cool but if you’re like me and you travel a lot to fish it’s just not practical.
What I need is a cheap cooler that I can use for a week or two, then toss in the garbage on the way to the airport. I suffer a little guilt for landfilling a bunch of styrofoam, but the damage to my wallet is minimal.
I’ve used styrofoam coolers from grocery stores for years. On photo shoots I will sometimes have a half dozen of them. The problem is, they don’t hold up. You can buy cheap plastic ones but they are still twenty bucks or so and they’re not as good as the styrofoam at keeping ice. If you pitch six of them, you’re tossing $120. My frugal soul can’t stand that.
Five or six years ago I figured out this cool trick for making your styrofoam cooler bomber. A couple of layers of strategically placed duct tape on the sides, top and bottom make them surprisingly tough. Adding duct tape hinges and a lid helps to keep your ice longer by keeping the lid shut tight.
I’ve been doing this for years and I have
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Grillos Goodies
Andrew Grillos is a wealth of fly-fishing knowledge and one of the best tyers on the planet.
Andrew Grillos has been a great friend of mine for over a decade. Aside from being one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, he’s also one of the fishiest. Whether you find him on a Colorado tailwater, a Washington steelhead river, A small Montana stream or a bonefish flat in Hawaii, you can bet Grillos is running up the score. His iconic fly patterns, like the Hippie Stomper and Bob Gnarly, are staples in most fly boxes.
When I found out that Andrew has been writing for Montana Angler, I knew I had to share some of his work. I was a little shocked to find that some of his articles had been heavily edited when shared by other outlets as well as posted without a by line.
HERE ARE TWO GREAT GRILLOS ARTICLES ON FISHING IN MONTANA.
Read More »Boneyard
See the island of South Andros through fresh eyes.
In January Ray and Jenna Wolfram, of Wildrums media, joined me for the bonefish school at Bair’s Lodge on South Andros. Although this was their first bonefish trip, they took to it and wasted no time in putting together this great short film. “Boneyard” showcases the people, scenery and stellar bonefishing the island has to offer.
Even if you are not a saltwater angler you’re sure to love the beautiful images and joyful spirt of this film. Take a few minutes and join us on South Andros.
“BONEYARD”
Read More »Keep Your Hands on the Cork
By Kent Klewein
Like so many others out there, I’ve broken my fair share of fly rods over the years.
I’ve slammed them in tailgates, stuck them in ceiling fans and I’ve squashed quite a few trying to get in and out of my cataraft to quickly. It took me awhile to figure it out, but I finally realized I was the problem, and I’ve since learned to slow down and not worry about being the first angler on the river all the time. It’s kinda funny how just slowing down a few steps and taking a couple extra minutes to get organized, keeps those negligible acts of snapping fly rods to a minimum.
One overlooked fly rod handling mistake I see all the time by fly anglers, is taking their hands off the cork during the final stages of the fight, and moving one hand high up on the butt section of the rod in the effort to get extra leverage to land the fish. You never want to do this, because when you do, you change the fulcrum point of the fly rod and eliminate the fly rods ability to use the strongest part of the rod, its butt section. This puts extra pressure on
Read More »Sunday Classic / Fly Fishing with Stealth – 8 Common Mistakes
How often to you think anglers miss opportunities catching trout because of the lack of stealth? The more educated trout populations are in a stream, river or lake you’re fly fishing, the more important it is for fly anglers to mimic the way a hunter stalks game in the field. I estimate that I give away upwards of 50% of my trout catching opportunities due to my lack of stealth. Below are 8 common mistakes fly anglers make on the water that blow their cover and success.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Bob Larko
Andrea Larko is one of the most recognizable artists in fly-fishing.
Her unique vision is exciting and instantly identifiable. Her artwork has been licensed to the biggest brand names in fly fishing and has long been my personal favorite. If you are not familiar with Andrea’s work, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Recently she started a new series of whimsical cartoons based on a character she named Bob. These fun, good natured cartoons sum up the wonder, blunder and frustration anyone who has picked up a fly rod will identify with. They are simply wonderful.
You can see more Bob Cartoons, as well as some wonderful art, on Andrea’s Instagram feed.
Visit her Etsy page to find art, apparel and accessories any fly fisher will love.
THANKS ANDREA, FOR BEING YOU!
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