Sunday Classic / 14 Ways To Prevent Fish Mortality
The years we spend learning to cast and drift a fly or the thousands of dollars we spend on gear and travel are all wasted if we don’t have fish. With more anglers entering the sport every day, sport fish are heavily pressured and in grave danger. There are a lot of common mistakes that anglers make which contribute to fish mortality. Most are innocent and many don’t show an immediate risk. With that in mind here are fourteen tips to help keep our little friends happy and healthy. The 10 second rule A fish’s gills are remarkably efficient at collecting oxygen but the delicate membranes that extract the oxygen molecules rely on their buoyancy to keep the collecting surfaces exposed. Out of the water they collapse and are useless. This is to say the obvious, fish can’t breathe out of water. It’s easy to over estimate how long a fish can hold its breath. The fact is, a fish can’t hold its breath at all because it doesn’t have lungs. He is out of air as soon as you lift him from the water. Add to this that his metabolism is raging because he’s been fighting for his life and you have a pretty desperate situation. While you are trying to get that hero shot, he’s dying. Use the 10 second rule and never keep his head out of the water for more than 10 seconds and give him a good 30 seconds before you lift him again. Hold on loosely I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen guys squeeze a fish until its eyes pop out. Some guys just get so rattled holding a fish you’d think they never saw one. This death grip can cause serious internal injury especially to the heart. The trick is … Continue reading
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Pat Cohen Tying Videos
Pat Cohen’s flies are as creative as they are deadly.
I was fortunate to co-host a tying event with Pat a while back and it was a real pleasure spending some time with this master tyer and watch him work his magic. I learned quite a bit. Pat’s background as a sculptor really shows in his signature deer hair creations. No one creates exotic presentation patterns like Pat, but there is another side of his tying.
Pat ties some unorthodox flies which leave a lot of anglers scratching their heads. I can tell you from spending a couple of days on the water with Pat that these flies wreck fish. That’s what you get when an artist puts his mind to something. Pure genius.
Pat was kind enough to tie a couple of flies for me to video. You’ll be seeing those before too long, but or now here he is tying 3 flies I’ve seen catch fish. You can check out more of Pat’s videos and get all the materials he uses, or just buy his flies at http://rusuperfly.com
ENJOY PAT COHEN’S TYING VIDEOS.
Read More »New fly rods and reels from Sage
It’s a big year for Sage.
The folks on Bainbridge Island have been hard at work this year. The X rod is a huge product launch for Sage and deserving of the hype surrounding it. The line of X rods is pretty deep and there are some new reels from Sage this year as well. I spent some time with Peter Knox, of Sage, at the IFTD show to go over some of the X models and the new 6200 reel.
Watch this video for more details on the new Sage X fly rod and 6200 reel.
Read More »Fly Fishing: Too Much Mending Can Ruin Your Drift
One of the most critical techniques of fly fishing that anglers often lack knowledge in, is understanding how to properly mend fly line during the drift. If I tallied up all the time I spend each day instructing clients on various fly fishing techniques, teaching the art of mending fly line would easily rank number one on the list. I bet I say the word “mend” a thousand times a day. It’s not that difficult to mend fly line, all it takes is a little practice and time on the water to get the hang of it. In my opinion, it’s much easier to learn how to mend than the art of fly casting. The main reason mending takes so long for fly anglers to master is because the timing of the mend, the direction of the mend and the size of the mend can change from one presentation to the next. Two of the biggest mending problems I see on the water is bad technique and mending fly line too much during the drift. When mending is done correctly, you usually only need one or two mends per drift to get the job done.
Read More »The meaning of Fly Shop
By Owen Plair
The local fly shop is a place where lives are changed forever.
It’s a place where you can feel at home and a place that exists solely to help you as an angler. That feeling you get as the door opens and you look around is something that cannot be replaced. Being surrounded by everything you love, and the people who love it as much as you, is what life is all about. Its a place where new adventures start and countless memories are created.
So why would you drive to the local fly shop when you can just buy it online and have it shipped to your house for the same price? Why not just google what flies to buy or what fly line to use? This rod looks cool online, why not just order it? Don’t get me wrong, the internet is a great tool. You can learn a lot and most of the time find what product you’re looking for. Fly fishing is a very small industry and there are few actual fly shop locations. Those few locations are shops which are born from a passion for fly fishing and created for you as an angler to further that obsession. It’s a place that not everyone wants to shop and a place that needs your support as much as you need theirs. Think about a handshake and a smile next time, instead of clicking a check-out button.
Just about 10 years ago I started working at the local fly shop. I was a 16-year old kid trying to make a few dollars to put gas in my car. I knew very little about fly fishing, hell, I didn’t even know what an 8wt was at the time. The door opened and the first customer of the day walked in. I greeted him good morning and asked if I could help him with something. “Do you have any bonefish tippet?,” he asked. In my head I was thinking tip-what?!? “Let me get someone who can help you,” I replied.
I went to the back and got my boss to come help the customer find his “tippet”. As I watched Tony help this customer with tippet and then flies, and then wading boots, and then a new shirt for his trip, I soon learned he wasn’t just selling the customer, he was truly helping him, and creating a friendship by doing it. “You never want to wear Nike tennis shoes wade fishing in the bahamas. These are a few of the flies I used at that lodge a few years ago, tell the ole Pinder Brothers I said hello and have a great trip! ” said Tony.
The customer thanked him with a big smile and handshake of excitement that he was now ready for his upcoming trip after taking the advice from Tony. About two weeks later that customer came back
Read More »Sunday Classic / Fly Fishing Fast Water Chutes for Trout
There are multiple ways for anglers to fly fish fast water chutes, but most of the time, I find it most effective to wade to the sides of the chutes, and fly fish perpendicular to them. Doing so, it gives me better control of my drifting flies and improves my line management. Positioning to the side of a chute also improves my stealth, because I’m able to present my flies in front of the trout with just my leader, keeping my fly line out of site. Check out the video below that demonstrates how I prefer to fish fast water chutes.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / So Many Octobers
“It is easy to forget that in the main we die only seven times more slowly than our dogs,”
October has long been my favorite month. I’ve frequently thought it odd that a time which feels like a beginning to me, is really the beginning of the end. This year especially, as I say a long goodbye the best dog I’ve ever known,
This piece by Greg McReynolds, on Mouth Full Of Feathers, really hit home. If you love dogs, and brown trout and bird hunting, I’m sure it will for you too. Enjoy your October. We only get so many.
“We Only Get So Many Octobers”
Read More »New fly Rod Technology And Fly Lines From Winston
Sweet new Winston rods and for 2016 and fly lines made to match.
The new Winston Air fly rod takes advantage of new high tech resins to make a rod that’s faster and lighter. The action is familiar to the Winston fan, but definitely a step into the future. What’s more, you can buy a Winston fly line matched to your new rod. How cool is that idea? Fly lines made specifically for your new Winston fly rod. An idea so simple, you have to wonder why it hasn’t happened before.
Check out this video for all the scoop on new Winston fly rods and lines.
Read More »Carp, Enough of the Golden Bones
Sub-title- It’s Time to Give Carp Their Due
Some time back—I believe 15-20 years ago—anglers in Traverse City, Michigan, began calling carp “Golden Bones,” and things haven’t been the same since.
Traverse City is a big city/small town set at the end of the twin arms of Grand Traverse Bay. It is a beautiful little town that over the years has turned into a food and wine destination where even Mario Batali keeps a summer home. The bay is 32 miles long, 10 miles wide, and divided into East and West bays by Mission Peninsula. It has white sand beaches, and is ringed by farms, cherry orchards, vineyards, and almost continuous, clear, shallow flats.
In May and June those flats are invaded by large smallmouth hunting crayfish and bait fish, and giant carp by the thousand. Twenty years ago, those carp were pursued by a small but dedicated contingent of fly fishermen. Some of those fishermen were guides who saw an opportunity, but also had a marketing problem—how do you get clients to travel long distances and then shell out several hundred dollars on a guide trip, to fish for carp?
You absolutely have to see the Lake Michigan flats to believe them. If you’re picturing murky green water and casting to mud swirls you’re wrong. The water is crystal clear, at times blindingly blue, and the fish are up shallow, often tailing with their backs out of the water. Gulls and terns wheel and screech overhead, waves roll and lap, and the wind, well, it does what wind does. Put all this together with fish that can take you into your backing in seconds, and you have a situation that reminds you of, well, bonefish.
Twenty years ago carp were stigmatized as
Read More »Weather Dictates When and How I Fish My Terrestrials
Every year, I’m asked by clients, when is the best time for them to come up and experience the terrestrial bite? For years, I kept a terrestrial fishing journal to help me better serve my clients. The journal documented the arrival times of specific terrestrials and when I first started catching fish on them. It seemed to help me for a couple seasons, but after that, I started to become too reliant on the data in the journal, and I lost sight of the most important variable of all in timing the terrestrial season–weather. Depending on what the weather is doing for the current year, it can speed up or postpone the arrival of the terrestrial season. Some years it will only sway the start of the terrestrial season a week in either direction, while other years, it can sway the arrival well over a month. Understanding the role weather plays in the lives of terrestrials can help anglers nail down more accurately when the terrestrial season will begin and peak in their area. If you can be one of the lucky few to time and start fishing terrestrials before everyone else does, you can be rewarded with some of the biggest fish of the year.
THE EFFECT WEATHER HAS ON TERRESTRIALS
Having consistent warm weather is a major factor in the arrival of terrestrials. Cold nights during late spring will keep terrestrials hiding in their burrows and out of sight during most of the day. During years when these cold snaps linger on, it will delay the arrival of the terrestrial season significantly. Sun is a major player in getting the terrestrial fishing going as well. I’m not 100% sure of this, but I think once the rainfall drops off in the summer, and the hot sun sucks out most of the moisture content found in the plants that the bugs are eating, the terrestrials are eventually forced to search out food sources that have a higher moisture content. It makes since to me at least, that the best places for the bugs to find moisture rich plants during the heat of the summer would be around water. All living things, including terrestrials, need water to survive. Furthermore, sun is the fuel for plants to grow, and many of our streams and rivers have large amounts of flowers that bloom (late spring, early summer) along the banks that provide food (nectar) for terrestrials. During above average rainfall years, where you’ve got more cloudy days than sunny days, it can inhibit or postpone the growth and blooming of these flowers that attract the terrestrials, and therefore, they won’t be attracted to the water and available to the trout. So when you’ve got a really wet spring and summer you can expect the terrestrial season to be late. It’s important to note also, that years with high rainfall, will significantly increase the water levels on our trout waters and postpone the terrestrial bite. Too much rainfall will keep the bugs from showing up, and raise water levels, which will discourage trout from expending the energy to rise to the surface to eat them, particularly if there’s sufficient food below the surface for the trout to eat. High water also flushes out terrestrials much quicker than during average water flows. You won’t find terrestrials swirling around in eddies for long periods of time.
WHERE TO FISH YOUR TERRESTRIAL PATTERNS FIRST
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