Saturday Shoutout / Simon Says Streamers
Here’s an excellent streamer tutorial from Simon Gawesworth.
This video, part of RIO’s “How To” series, features two of my favorite people. Simon Gawesworth and Rob “Silent Bob” Parkins throw streamers on the South Fork and Simon does an excellent job imparting serious wisdom.
Simon covers virtually every technique you need to be a successful meat chucker. If you’re looking to up your streamer game, this is a great place to start.
WATCH THIS VIDEO AND LEARN TO FISH STREAMERS.
Read More »Strike Indicators, What Matters to Me
DO STRIKE INDICATORS SPOOK FISH?
There is a lot of debate over whether strike indicators spook fish. I’m not going to beat around the bush on this one folks. I truly believe that most of the time they don’t. Especially if you rule out calm and slow moving shallow water. Only when I’m dealing with really spooky fish, do I downsize and dull down the color of my strike indicators. The other 80% of the time I think the fish pretty much just find them interesting, possibly a tasty morsel, or just another piece of trash floating over their heads.
What I really think we should be doing is looking at the other side of the coin. In my opinion, we should worry less about spooking fish with our indicators, and worry more about matching the correct size strike indicator to the type of water and rig we’re fishing. That makes much more sense to me, anyway. Now I know there’s lots of you probably saying this is obvious rookie stuff, Kent. I hear you all loud and clear, but bare with me a minute, because I still find myself having to explain to anglers why it’s a good idea to carry different sizes and colors of strike indicators on the water. And as long as I’m doing that, there’s a need for this information to be out there for people to read.
HERE’S HOW I GO ABOUT CHOOSING WHAT STRIKE INDICATORS I USE ON THE WATER.
I Fish Big Bright Indicators For: High Turbulent Water, Harsh Glare, Big Heavy Flies & Split-Shot
It doesn’t make any sense to use a strike indicator that’s too small to stay afloat in turbulent water. Some will argue with me on this, but I believe it’s much easier to see strikes when the indicator is above the surface, not below it. Same goes for harsh glare conditions. If you can’t see your indicator how are you going to be able to see the strikes? Upsize your strike indicator and change to a bright color if needed. Lastly, when you’re going to be fishing big heavy flies or lots of split-shot, you’ll need to go bigger with your indicator to keep it afloat. It’s also important to remember that strike indicators aren’t just used for seeing strikes. We also use them to control and maintain the depth at which we want our flies drifting.
I Fish Small Dull Colored Indicators For
Read More »Sunday Classic / Streamer Retrieves For Different Current Speeds
I’ve talked in great detail about streamer fishing since I began writing articles for Gink & Gasoline. Most of my time has been spent talking about color and pattern choice, streamer gear/rigging for both big and small water and how to locate and target prime trout water with streamers. One area of streamer fishing I’ve yet to talk about in detail is retrieve speed and candor with streamers.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Michigan Fly Tying
Those boys in Michigan are taking streamer fishing to a whole new level!
Simply some of the most stunning streamer patterns I’ve ever seen. I’ll be whipping some of these babies up next time I hit the water. Don’t be a loser, tie some for your local trout stream and get out and catch that monster.
MICHIGAN STREAMER TYING
Read More »Dreaming of Bonefish
I’ve just wrapped up what turned out to be one of the best bonefish seasons in recent memory, but it doesn’t stop me from dreaming.
As I write this I’m on a plane to Abaco for the last G&G Bonefish School of the season, and I’m already missing it. This was a great season and the anglers who joined the schools found themselves in the presence of some very big bonefish. A handful of them landed their biggest bones to date, a handful over 10 pounds. I can’t tell you how rewarding that is for me, especially when I have watched these anglers develop their skills and worked with them to make it happen. I caught some pretty nice fish myself this year, but it’s not my fish that make me proud. So after a season like that, what do you dream about?
I’m sure I’m far from alone in that I dream about fishing. I don’t mean aspiring to goals in fishing, I mean literally dreaming about it. I spend plenty of nights on the water, from the comfort of my bed, but over the years those dreams have evolved in interesting ways. I used to have stressful fishing dreams. Dreams where I’d be watching a strike indicator drift uninterrupted through the same run time and time again. Those were nightmares. I’ve had crazy fishing dreams, including one where I landed a fish who transformed into Kiera Knightly on the bow of the boat. Not a nightmare. Recently my dreams have been extremely detailed in the setups and presentations and most of them have been set on the flats of the Bahamas.
In these dreams, interestingly enough, I’m often not the one doing the fishing. Sometimes I’m just watching from the seat of the skiff, as I spend plenty of time doing when I’m awake. One of these recent dreams found me on the boat with my friend John Van Vleet of Scientific Anglers. John is as good natured a soul as you will ever find and you’d be hard pressed to find a better guy to spend a day on a boat with. No Ms. Knightly, but a great guy.
In the dream, John and I were way back in the back country with Andros South guide Torrie Bevins. John was on the bow and we weren’t actively fishing. I think Torrie was taking a leak off the platform, when
Read More »Flathead Mayfly Nymphs Rule
If you take the time to to flip over enough rocks in moderate moving water you’re bound to find lots of Flathead Mayfly (Heptageniidae) clinger nymphs of various sizes. These three and two tailed flat bodied nymphs, with robust legs and broad heads are very important for fly anglers. Quill Gordons, March Browns, Hendrickson, Light Cahill, Pink Quill and Gray Fox are some of the popular species that belong to the flathead family. To date, there’s been fly patterns created for over 45 different species in 10 different genera of the flathead family. Because there’s usually multiple species found in any given watershed, I typically find trout keep them on the food menu year round. The subsurface nymph patterns seem to produce nice trout for me even when fishing conditions are really tough. Oddly enough, I rarely find a good variety of patterns that imitate the nymph stage in my local fly shops. Below is a pattern I tie as a general all-around nymph imitation for the flathead “clinger” mayfly. It’s designed to mimic the bold features of the flathead, and it’s landed many big fish for me the past few seasons.
Read More »Peanut bonefish, shifting baselines and Florida’s water crisis
By Sandy Moret
The flats of Islamorada and Florida Bay once boasted some of the finest bonefishing on our watery planet, due to the lush seagrass that held tons of delicious bonefish cuisine like shrimp, crabs and toadfish galore. Toadfish were a major part of the bonefish’s diet and were one of the main reasons there were such monster bones in the backcountry.
Back in the late ‘70s, I had just begun fishing the Islamorada Invitational Bonefish Fly Tournament with Captain Al Polofsky. Small bonefish did not really count for scoring, and if you brought one of those “peanuts”—at the time, a bonefish under eight pounds—to weigh-in, you were actually penalized. We knew how much all the fish weighed because they were unceremoniously brought to the dock, mostly dead, and weighed at what is now the Lorelei (known as the Islamorada Yacht Basin back then). Most anglers didn’t think much of killing fish at that time, which is why so many old photos show fish strung up at the dock.
We were total rookies fishing that tournament, but Al decided to propose a new rule at the anglers meeting that a 100-point bonus be offered for releasing bonefish alive. The rule was passed unanimously, and catch-and-release bonefishing was born in the Keys.
That year in the tournament, Al was poling me on a bank in Everglades National Park and three monster bonefish were digging it up in very shallow water. As we came into position, I threw a number four Chico Fernandez Snapping Shrimp, and the fish all pounced on it, and one came up with the fly. We knew it was a porker from the first blistering run. We landed it and raced six miles to weigh it. The fish weighed a hefty 12.3 pounds, and we successfully released it.
We had lost an hour of fishing time running to the weigh-in, but we still had a good tide, so back we headed to that same spot. Well, there were now two fish tailing in the exact same spot where we had just caught the first big one. I threw the snapping shrimp again, and again hooked up. Another sizzling run, and we landed the fish and headed off to weigh-in. This fish weighed a whopping
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Right-Handed Strip Set
I’ve talked before about the importance of the strip set in saltwater fly fishing. I think every angler who’s tried their hand in the salt knows that you aren’t going to catch a fish without mastering this simple technique. Simple as it may be, reprogramming your muscle memory for the strip set can be a challenge and has sent many anglers into fits on the bow.
Today, I’m going to talk about taking your strip set to the next level with your rod hand. It was my friend Joel Dickey who first introduced me to this idea. We were tarpon fishing in the Keys and I fed a big fish that followed my fly for a good ways before eating it. As tarpon will often do in this scenario, the fish ate the fly and, rather than turning, kept cruising toward the boat. I gave a hardy strip set but, even with my six and a half foot reach, I was never able to put enough pressure on him to bury the hook. The fish jumped and was gone.
“What the hell are you supposed to do with that?” I asked Joel.
“There’s not a lot you can do,” he shrugged and told me, “about your only shot is to clamp down on the line with your right hand and pull.”
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Ghost Stories
It’s no secret that I am in Love with the Bahamas.
It’s people, it’s culture, it’s beaches and beautiful waters. I even have a Bahamian dog, but my love of the Bahamas begins and ends with bonefish and the culture surrounding them. I feel fortunate to call a number of Bahamian bonefish guides my friends. I have an immense respect for these self-made men of the flats and relish every minute I spend in their company.
The film Ghost stories, by World Angling, takes on the task of documenting the guides and bonefish culture of the Bahamas. You can almost feel the warm breeze watching this footage. If you need a brief vacation in the Bahamas, I highly recommend it.
GHOST STORIES
Read More »Protect Yourself From Lyme Disease
2017 Promises to be a record year for Lyme Disease, here’s what you need to know to be safe.
Changes in the environment and patterns of human population have created a paradise for mice in parts of the US. Their populations have exploded and with them the black legged ticks, which carry lyme disease. In some areas you are at risk for lyme disease just mowing your lawn. Those of us who pursue outdoor activities need to be especially vigilant. Lyme disease is nothing to mess with. It can cause serious life-altering side effects including heart damage.
The media has been full of sensational reports lately, but I’ve seen very little in the way of useful information, other than “check yourself for ticks.” Then I found this story from NPR titled,
“Did You Get Bit By A Lyme-Infested Tick? Here’s What To Do”
I recommend reading the
Read More »