Fly Fishing the Trico Hatch & Spinner Fall
The first major spinner fall that I ever witnessed and had the pleasure of fishing took place many years ago on the South Platte River in Colorado. I’ll never forget the excitement I felt as I watched countless trico spinners floating downstream in the surface film. Never in my life had I seen so many bugs on the water. With one scoop across the surface of the water with my hand, I held dozens of tricos. I was so amazed by the density of bugs on the water that it put me in a frozen trance. Unable to wet a line, I remember thinking to myself, “This must be what fly fishing in heaven is like.” Growing up in the Southeast, I’d never seen a spinner fall of such magnitude. I’d only read about them in books. Looking back on that day now, I believe my reluctance to start fishing that morning had a lot to do with me just taking it all in, and appreciating the true beauty of nature at work. Only after I took the time to pay my respect to the bugs and wild trout, did I feel worthy enough to begin fly fishing such a beautiful place.
Read More »Top anglers simply fluff about less
By Chris Dore
They get into position, and get their fly out there in front of fish quick and without hassle. This is one of the reasons why they simply catch more fish.
THE SCENARIO…
Now Johnny Punter, upon being shown a feeding fish will saunter into position, after painstakingly dropping his pack and adjusting his waders, wiping his glasses clean and then proceeds to wrap his fly around his rod tip several times, while still flailing away false casting, while peeling 10 inches of line from the reel every false cast…. in case you’re wondering, he did not catch that fish…
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Create a pre-cast routine… it’s that simple.
Advanced Archery Bowhunting guru, Simon Bullivant once advised me to create a ‘shot sequence’ when preparing to fire at a target. “Practise it often, cover the essentials and make it instinctive, then you’ll hit more targets.”
My shot sequence now consists of nocking the arrow, checking it’s tight, tweaking the peep site, securing the release and drawing back smooth, ensuring the knuckle of my thumb lightly touches the lobe of my ear. Inhale…exhale…pause and squeeze.
I bark a lot of directions on the river as any of my guiding clients will tell you. However one of the most important ‘orders’ is the series of actions from the approach to the trout to the cast. Here’s a sampler:
– Take a prominent marker so you know where the fish is from your casting position — usually a different position from where we initially see him… “two rod lengths out and half a rod length below that lowest willow branch,” or “half a rod out from that boulder.” (My 30′ will differ from your 30′ often greatly, so if we talk in rod lengths then you can create a visual…)
– Get down there ASAP and begin your approach. If the fish is out there, I don’t want you up here.
– As you’re moving into position,
Read More »Sunday Classic / Search out the Small Water in the Big Water
“Big water is much harder for us to dissect and visualize what we’re fishing. You can’t always see the fish you’re fishing to and it’s much harder for beginners to distinguish productive from unproductive water. When you find yourself in this situation and you’re overwhelmed, try searching out the small water amongst the big water.”
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / April and Me
I recently had t opportunity to record an episode of Anchored, with April Vokey.
I’ve been a fan of April’s podcasts for some time. I think she has a real talent as an interviewer and she works very hard at it. Her interviews are always thoughtful and engaging. She takes the time to dig in and get to know the folks she interviews.
I’ve known April for several years but we have never sat down for this kind of conversation. I was genuinely uneasy about the idea of talking about myself, but April made it easy and even I’m surprised at a few of the stories she got out of me.
We talked about my background and how I found myself in the fly fishing business, the creation of Gink and Gasoline, the ethics of fly fishing photography, and a story I rarely tell about how I was nearly killed by chimpanzees. Even if you’re not interested in me, and I don’t blame you, you should be listening to April’s podcasts.
Check me out on, Anchored, with April Vokey.
Read More »Using UV Clear Coats
By Bob Reece
UV clear coats are a relatively new addition to the family of fly tying materials. Several brands have appeared on the market over the past few years. Within these brands there are several varieties with regard to the viscosity of the liquid and its finished state. This spectrum of options has expanded the possibilities for applications.
Looking at the desired outcome should be the starting point for choosing the appropriate UV material. If your goal is to create a thin protective barrier, UV materials with the lowest possible viscosity are ideal. These runnier variations allow for a sparse application, while still adding an element of protection and sheen. In addition, they are ideal for sealing eyes into pre-made heads for streamer patterns.
When looking to build a more substantial profile or complete three dimensional shape, the higher viscosity the better. These thicker versions of UV materials are ideal for enhancing wing buds on nymph patterns, creating eyes on terrestrials or acting as the main ingredients in egg patterns. Their highly viscous makeup allows them to temporarily hold their shape during the brief intermission between application and exposure to UV light.
Most recently, a flexible UV coat has made its way onto the market. This branch of the product provides
Read More »Fly Rod Grip – Keep it Consistent
A common mistake that I see with many of my first timers is they fail to keep a consistent fly rod grip when they’re first learning how to cast a fly rod. Without notice, they often shuffle their rod hand around on the cork, which ends up altering their grip slightly from one cast to the next. Probably the most common grip movement I see with my students is they reposition the thumb during the casting stroke. To be more specific, they slide their thumb off the top of the cork to the side of the cork, and it causes problems with casting form, makes it more difficult to abruptly stop the rod at the end of the back cast and forward cast, it seems to make it harder for anglers to feel the fly rod loading, and direct a cast to a designated target.
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Toughest Water in Wyoming
“HOW WAS YOUR DAY?” ASKED THE GUY AT THE FLY SHOP COUNTER.
“WELL,” I ANSWERED, “I FISHED THE TOUGHEST WATER IN WYOMING.”
Everyone rolled their eyes. This was exactly the response I expected. Working at a fly shop in Jackson hole, I imagine, you get to listen to more than a few boastful dumb asses. When I told them where I’d spent the day, they all laughed and agreed, I’d fished the toughest water in Wyoming. See if you can figure out what happened?
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / The Feather King
Ever wonder where those beautiful fly tying feathers come from?
This great video profile from The Great Big Story, follows Tom Whiting of Whiting Farms on his daily duties raising the birds which provide the worlds best tying feathers. If you are a tyer, or just an avid angler, you’ll love seeing this behind the scenes view of Whiting farms. It’s pretty fascinating.
ENJOY, “THE FEATHER KING”
Read More »4 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Chasing Musky on the Fly
Today’s guest post was provided by Charlie Murphy, a long time honorary member of Gink & Gasoline and musky devotee. For those of you who don’t know Charlie, he’s as laid back as they come, he eats, sleeps and breaths fishing 365 days a year, and he’s always got your back when you need him. Another thing we love about Charlie is he’s constantly finding ways to add humor into every situation. All these qualities make Charlie a great travel and fishing partner and if you ever have the chance to fish with him, we highly recommend it. That’s enough introduction, read below Charlie’s humorous but true correlation between the old school movie The Karate Kid, the character Mr. Miyagi, and fly fishing for musky.
Read More »Spey Casting: Straight Is Better Than Long
When you’re swinging flies with two-hand rods, landing the cast straight is always better than making a long cast.
Look, I’m as guilty as any of us. We all want to launch the fly into orbit around the sun. It feels good, it looks good, and in our minds it makes us better anglers — but does it really? I’m prepared to make the argument that it doesn’t even make us better casters. My personal definition of a good cast is, a cast which catches a fish, and that’s not always the longest cast. Especially when you’re swinging flies.
It’s the swing that catches the fish, not the cast. Of course, you want to cover as much water as you can, but only if you are covering it effectively. If you make a long cast, but a poor swing, you may be putting your fly in front of fish that wouldn’t see a short cast, but you’re not offering them a presentation they will eat. What worse, you’re making a poor presentation to the fish you could have reached with a better cast.
Catching fish, especially steelhead, is all about a good swing.
You want the fly to swing at just the right angle and speed to trigger the eat. Too fast, too slow, or presenting the wrong profile to the fish, and your odds of a hookup drop dramatically. You’re looking for a nice buttery swing with just a gentle belly in the line. For a much more detailed explanation, click here.
To accomplish this, you need a cast that turns over nice and straight every time. Most anglers, even those brand new to spey casting, can do this with a short cast but start running into problems when they try to cast long. If you’re having this issue, there are two things you need to do. First, fish the cast you can make. If you can only cast forty feet and land the cast straight, then fish that forty foot cast. Second, get to work on the problem.
When your line doesn’t land straight, it’s because your casting stroke isn’t straight. One of the fundamental rules of fly casting with any rod is that the rod tip must travel in a straight line. In spey casting this is most often a result of “rounding the corner” of your sweep. It’s pretty common for anglers to do this as they try to cast farther.
In an effort to speed up the cast, many anglers will start the casting stroke too early, before the sweep is complete.
Rounding the corner creates
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