How to Stop the Dreaded Fly Fishing Birds Nest
Does this look familiar?
Just about every angler has created this tangled artwork at some point, some more than others. I’m pretty good at untangling knots because I get more practice than the average angler from my guiding, but even this one required me to break out a fresh leader and completely re-rig. If you find yourself untangling knots more than you’re fishing, try fixing the problem by following these five helpful tips.
1. Watch your forward cast and backcast when false casting.
“In the film A River Runs Through It”, Jerry Siem (one of the casting stuntmen) never watched his backcast. It’s important to note that his fly casting skill level ranks among the best in the world, which allowed him to get away without doing this. It’s also pertinent to point out he was casting a single dry fly in the movie scene, not a tandem nymph rig with split-shot and a strike indicator. Could he have made the same casts in the movie with a tandem nymph rig without tangles, of course he could, but that doesn’t mean every other angler out there should try to mimic him. The majority of the best casters in the world watch their backcast, especially when they’re fly fishing in areas where casting room is limited. Your first step to limiting the number of tangles you create on the river is to watch your forward and backcast diligently. Your timing will be better, you’ll find you won’t need to make as many false casts, and you’ll keep your flies out of the trees and bushes.
2. Cast with grace, not with power and muscle.
Many fly anglers out there cast their fly rod much harder than they need to. So hard in many cases, that they end up overloading the rod and also get a out of control sling shot effect with their flies. Let your fly rod do the work by executing a
Passing the Torch
There is nothing more rewarding, for an angler, than teaching their kids to fish.
Well, perhaps watching your son become an accomplished and personable young man and, if you happen to be one of the top flats guides on the planet, seeing that young man follow in your footsteps and take his place on the platform. Yeah, I imagine that’s pretty cool too.
When I first met B.J. Chard he was about half the size of the fish I had just photographed with his dad, Bruce. Just tall enough to lean on, B.J. was groovy little hockey kid with long hair and a stocking cap. He looked me right in the eye, shook my hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you.” I was immediately struck by what a well behaved and engaging kid he was.
Bruce and I were headed to South Andros on a charter flight out of Fort Lauderdale, when a freak winter storm hit south Florida. It snowed in Homestead that night and our flight was grounded. We took B.J. to see Avatar in the theater. The temperature dropped to 21 degrees that night and there were fish-kills all across south Florida and the Keys. I remember seeing photos of skiffs full of dead bonefish scooped from the surface of some of my favorite flats. It was January of 2010, and the fishery has only now recovered from that night.
Those images seem light years away as I cast to schools of hungry bones from the bow of a Dolphin Superskiff. Everything seems back to normal, except now
Read More »Sunday Classic / Gold Nugget
I’m a big fan of that Gold Rush TV show filmed up in Alaska. I don’t know what it is about that show but I’m hooked. Go ahead, call me dumb for wasting my time watching it, I’m just dying to see one of those crews dig up a fortune of gold that will give all of their families peace, security and well being. If there’s one thing I’ve learned after watching Gold Rush for almost three seasons now, it’s that gold mining does not come easy. It requires every ounce of energy and stubborn persistence to find enough gold for you to come out ahead, and then, even the biggest of crews can get outperformed by one lucky schmuck with a metal detector. Just ask that Australian amateur gold prospector with a metal detector who recently found a 12-pound nugget worth well over $300,000. Sometimes, no matter how diligent you are, it all boils down to timing and luck. The entire deal felt eerily similar to a giant 26″+ wild brown trout a client of mine landed last week.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Argentina Calling
Excited doesn’t come close to expressing how I feel about my upcoming trip to Argentina.
In February of 2018 I’ll be taking one of the most exciting fly fishing trips of my life. The Argentina double header. Four days floating the famed Rio Limay in Patagonia, then of to the jungle of the north for four days of golden dorado on the epic Rio Parana. I’ve done each of these trips individually but combining them is just an unbelievable opportunity.
I booked my flight today and the anticipation is about to kill me. I shouldn’t have to manage it alone, so I’m sharing it with you! Here are 5 great videos featuring the rivers and species we’ll be targeting. Nine members of the G&G family will be along on this trip, so look for lots of photos and articles in March.
Read More »Cool New Gear From Vedavoo
We’ve come to expect rugged, innovative fly fishing gear from Vedavoo.
This year’s offerings do not disappoint. Scott Hunter came to IFTD with some of his coolest creations yet, including an updated, modular Mammoth pack, the Damsel, designed for women anglers, and a Beast pack made from the same fabric as the popular Watermaster raft.
These are some of the smartest designs i’ve seen in fly fishing packs. Whatever you need from a fishing pack, Vedavoo has you covered with something simple, durable and practical.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO TO SEE THE NEW FLY-FISHING PACKS FROM VEDAVOO.
Read More »Don’t Let Yourself Get Numb to the Reward
By Kent Klewein
IS THAT COOKIE CUTTER RAINBOW TROUT MAKING YOU FEEL NUMB INSIDE? ARE YOU LOSING THE FEELING OF REWARD LATELY ON THE WATER?
Two decades have passed since I caught my first trout on a fly rod, and even with all those years that have gone by, I can still picture that beautiful 12″ trout in my hands clear as day. I remember that little bugger coming up and crushing my parachute adams, like it was the first piece of food it had seen in days. The feeling of accomplishment and reward I received from catching that trout was so strong, it gave me a perma-grin ear to ear, and a natural high that lasted the rest of the day.
Nowadays I often find I’m becoming numb to the reward I get from most of my catches. Landing a big trophy fish or fooling a lone sipper on the far bank still gets my adrenaline pumping, don’t get me wrong, but they all seem to fall short of the feeling I got from landing my first 12″ trout. Why is that? Am I turning into a snob? I’m sad and ashamed to admit it, but I think I am. That’s why lately I’ve made a point to try to take the time to always reflect back to those early days before I step foot in the water. If I’m guiding, I’ll show up extra early before my trip begins, and picture my anxious client driving over the mountains to meet me. I clear my mind and focus on how excited he or she is about the fishing trip that’s about to start, and how they probably lost sleep the night before picturing trout rising to their dry fly. Doing this, it gets me pumped up, keeps me grounded, and puts me in a zone so I can be the best guide I can be. When I’m fishing on my own, I’ll sit on the bank and watch the water flow over the rocks, through the riffles, and into the pools for a few minutes before I wet my flies. It seems to put everything into perspective for me and it enhances my overall experience for the day. Fly fishing can only be fully appreciated if we keep an eye on the big picture and don’t lose sight of the art, and the purpose it serves for us in our lives.
Every fish should be looked at as
Read More »RIO Flats Pro Stealth Fly Line Review
The new Flats Pro Stealth fly line looks to be RIO’s best offering in years.
Ladies and gentleman, we have a winner. This fly line answers some very big questions for me and my first outing with it was a success. The Flats Pro delivered everything I need from a fly line, and a little more.
I have had a love-hate relationship with almost every saltwater line I ever owned. I have often thought of slicing together the sections I like from several lines but I’ve never trusted the technique for large saltwater species. I have only fished the Flats Pro Stealth 4 days but, from what I’ve seen, it’s the chimera I’ve been looking for. Each section of the line gives me the performance I’m looking for and the line as a whole functions as an efficient and precise fishing tool. Notice I say “fishing,” not casting. The Flats Pro cast great but there is so much more to this line than the cast.
The basics by section.
Front Body
Lot’s to talk about here. The front body of the Flats Pro Stealth is made up of a 6 foot clear, intermediate tip and a 6 foot front body. The entire 12 feet of the front body is designed to make delicate presentations. Thats key with spooky saltwater species but often comes at a cost. Not so much with the Flats Pro. More on that when we talk about the body of the line.
The 6 foot clear, intermediate tip offers the ultimate in stealthy presentation. I’ve fished clear, and clear tip lines for years and can attest to their effectiveness at not spooking fish on tough presentations. I definitely made use of that with the Flats Pro.
So why not make the entire 12 foot front body clear? Two reasons. Experienced saltwater anglers always watch their fly line as the retrieve the fly to see how current and boat movement effect their presentation. Guides watch it too and give their clients direction based on the movement of the line. The 6 foot clear tip leaves enough line visible for the angler to use, and enough to be effective for fishing. It also keeps your fly at an effective depth for species like tarpon.
The anglers who this is going to pay off for in spades are the folks who struggle turning over a leader thats 12 feet or better in length. With the Flats Pro Stealth you can shorten that leader to a manageable 9 feet and still have 15 feet of clear line to your fly. As I’ve said many times, there are few things as important in the salt as turning over your leader. If you struggle doing it, this line is going to help you immeasurably.
Body
As I said, a delicate front taper makes soft presentations, but often at a cost. Many anglers struggle to
Read More »Sunday Classic / DIY Magnetic Fly Box
Make a fly box and win a Gink and Gasoline sticker!
THERE IS ONE THING THAT ALL FLY FISHERMEN HAVE IN COMMON. WHETHER WE CHASE TROUT OR TARPON, MUSKY OR BASS WE ALL CARRY TOO MANY FLIES.
For any given day on the water I select fly boxes from a stack in my office and cram as many of them as humanly possible into my pack. Not only do all of these fly boxes take up space, they eat into the budget too. This little DIY box helps with both. It’s cheap and tiny.
I love magnet boxes, especially for small flies. Getting a number 24 midge into and out of foam is almost impossible and dumping them lose into a bin is a disaster. The magnet box holds these tiny flies nice and tight and keeps them from tangling up in a ball. It’s easy to find the fly you’re looking for and retrieve it. The foam strips in the lid are great for dries and a few larger patterns.
To make this box I start with an Altoids box. This is basically free because I’m buying the mints anyway. I used a Yellowstone souvenir box for this one. The next step is to apply the magnetic sheet. This is cheap and easy too. These magnets are
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Acpceclipse Floodtide
Flood tide redfish and a big black sun.
It’s hard to think of a better way to enjoy the total solar eclipse than on a low country marsh. The boys at Badfish couldn’t agree more. They put together this video from the day the sun went black.
ACPCECLIPSE FLOODTIDE
Read More »New G Loomis IMX Pro Fly Rods Focus on Fishing Specifics
IMX Pro fly rods are made for the working guide.
G Loomis has taken a really interesting approach with the new IMX Pro rods. They’ve designed rods for specific fishing circumstances that guides, and hard core anglers, find them selves in with regularity. If you know how you want to fish, chances are Loomis has a rod for you.
The IMX Pro is available in a variety of lengths and weights, single hand and spey. I had the chance to cast several of them at IFTD and was very impressed. These rods are light-weight and powerful with smooth actions. Best of all the IMX Pro rods come in at an attractive price. $495 for single-hand.
IN THIS VIDEO STEVE RAJEFF TAKES US THROUGH THE IMX PRO MODELS AND FEATURES.
Read More »