Getting The Cast Going
By Louis Cahill
One of the hardest things for beginner fly anglers is getting the cast started.
I was reminded of this the other day when fishing with a first-time angler. It’s easy for an experienced caster, who’s teaching someone, to launch right into the dynamics of the fly cast without explaining how to get their fly in the air in the first place. It’s a dead-simple topic, but stay with me while I cover it for those who need it.
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF COMMON PROBLEMS THAT GET THE FLY CAST OFF TO A ROUGH START.
Slack
By far the most common problem is slack in the line. no matter how good a caster you are, you can’t cast a slack line. I’ve watched a lot of new anglers start flailing away with their fly at their feet, creating wild hoops of line everywhere. It never ends well. Before beginning your cast, be sure your line is tight and straight and your rod tip is low.
There are two simple ways to insure this happens. The easiest
Read More »Sunday Classic / Keep a Backup Nymph Rig Ready
Changing out flies on the water takes time but is often necessary to catch trout consistently all day.
Keeping a pre-rigged tandem nymph rig ready to go, will allow you to quickly change out your flies from one hole to the next and save you critical time when your fishing time is limited. They’re great to have when you find your hot fly has turned cold, when you break your rig off on a snag or find yourself with a nasty tangled mess. Let’s face it, we often find ourselves in question on the water, particularly in the first hour after we’ve wet our line. It can take some time to figure out what the trout want for the day, and by having a couple different pre-rigged tandem nymph rigs on hand, you’ll find it much more efficient to try multiple fly patterns and rigs out, and that should help you dial-in quicker and start catching trout.
Sometimes the tandem nymph rig you just caught trout with in the hole downstream, may fail to get the attention of the trout in the next hole you fish. This isn’t always the case, but sometimes for sure. In fact, this happened to me just the other day. My client had landed a fish out of the first three holes we fished in the morning with a woolly bugger lead fly and a micro san juan worm dropper. As my client worked the fourth hole of the day, the bites abruptly stopped, despite him making several great presentations and drifts. Knowing there were fish in the hole, I snipped off the rig and tied on one of my different pre-rigged nymph rigs. First cast, my client landed a trout, and he went on to catch another fish after that. If I would have stuck with the first rig, thinking the flies were fine because they worked in the previous holes, we probably wouldn’t have landed those two fish. There is no doubt there are times when trout will key in on a specific aquatic insect and become selective feeders. However, some days, when there isn’t a hatch or specific food source they are keying in on, I think trout often create their own specific food menu for the day. When this is the case, and you’re not having success, often all you need to do to get trout to bite, is show them something different. Humans are no different. If we eat the same thing for lunch a couple days in a row, we’re ready for a change.
So before my guide trips these days, I’ve got in the routine of tying up a few different tandem nymph rig combinations, and stow them in
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Living the Lamar
The Lamar Valley holds a special place in my heart.
Back when my wife and I were both in the advertising business and self employed we would take off the entire month of August and escape the heat and traffic of Atlanta for cold water and higher latitudes. We’d spend the whole month in a tent. On odd numbered years we would head to Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. We’d always stay the maximum 2 weeks in Yellowstone and although I came to know and love the entire park, the Lamar Valley was always special.
When I saw this video from Tight Loops it brought those memories back. If you’ve never been to Yellowstone, this will put it on your list. If you know and love the park, it will take you back there. Take a few minutes with Tight Loops and visit this national treasure.
LIFE IN THE LAMAR
Read More »Fly Fishing: Our Trout Rivers and Streams Need More Wood
Wood is Good!
Several years back, one of my favorite wild trout streams, only a few miles from my house, got slammed with tornados and high winds (from back to back hurricanes that had moved up from Florida). The aftermath from the strong storms, downed dozens, upon dozens of trees along the stream. I was heartbroken at first when I witnessed all the downed wood. The first thing I thought about, was how much critical shade the stream had lost from the destruction of the large stretches of tree canopy along its banks. And that made me nervous water temperatures would thereby increase significantly during the summer months, posing a real threat to year round survival of the wild trout that lived there. I wasn’t alone in my worries, as I quickly found out when I talked with my local fly fisherman in the area. The large majority were in total agreement. We thought the best thing we could do, was go in and strategically remove as much wood as we could to avoid massive silt build ups, which we thought at the time, was causing the stream flow to slow down, and not only contribute to warming the water, but also choking out the natural aquatic bug life. Looking back now, as a much more educated angler, I know see the massive influx of in-stream wood cover that was gifted to us by the hurricanes, was not an environmental catastrophe, but actually a blessing in disguise for our beloved trout stream.
Read More »Florida Lowers Limits To Increase Redfish Numbers
By Justin Pickett
On April 14 of this year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) passed a new daily catch limit for Red Drum along its Northwest coastline.
According to the FWC, “these changes come as the result of stakeholder concerns that Red Drum populations have declined in some parts of the Panhandle region of northwest Florida since 2013, the final year of data included in the most recent stock assessment.”
The new regulations come after a lengthy period of researching and surveying the population of redfish within the northwest region’s waters. Along with their gathered data, the FWC has been gathering testaments from recreational anglers via an online survey, Facebook, and face-to-face interviews at the boat ramps. Their surveys and conversations have grossly indicated that many anglers are concerned about the decline seen in redfish numbers observed over the past several years. The good news is that it isn’t going unnoticed, or being pushed to the side. Instead, the FWC recognizes the value that the Red Drum brings to the communities that rely on fishing as a way of life, and they’re doing something about it.
EFFECTIVE MAY 1, 2016, EACH ANGLER WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO KEEP ONE RED DRUM WITHIN THE SLOT OF 19”-27” PER DAY.
However, the total vessel limit of eight Red Drum and the six per person transport limit will remain the same. These regulation changes will place the entire Gulf Coast of Florida under the same limits for Red Drum. The goal of these new “regs” is to increase the number of Redfish within the fisheries, thus increasing the angler’s experience on the water, while promoting more catch and release efforts in hopes to increase the Redfish populations within the Northwest region.
I’m glad that the FWC is stepping up and realizing the need for the regulation change. I typically spend at least a week’s worth of days in the Northwest region of Florida fishing for Speckled Trout and Redfish. I’ve been fishing along the Nature Coast for twelve years now, and I can honestly say that I’ve noticed the drop in Redfish numbers. It was common for each angler to catch a handful of nice Reds everyday over the grass flats of Dead Man’s Bay when I first began fishing out of Steinhatchee. Over the past few years I can probably count the number of Redfish that I’ve landed on my two hands. It’s not a problem that happened suddenly. It’s been a gradual decline over years, and it will likely take years for numbers to recover. At least things are on the right track, and I look forward to seeing a positive turn around in the Redfish populations in the coming years.
The FWC is also meeting in June to discuss
Read More »Sunday Classic / Rob Smith’s Musky Sucker
ROB SMITH IS NOTHING, IF NOT COLORFUL SO WHEN I ASKED HIM TO TIE A FLY FOR MY READERS I EXPECTED SOMETHING BODACIOUS, AND I GOT IT!
Rob likes his fish the way he likes his mustache, big and scary. He’s our local authority on striped bass and musky. When it comes to putting pounds of fish in the net, Rob has you covered.
This fly has been a proven producer for musky. It imitates the suckers that are prevalent in musky rivers. It’s a beefy fly and you’ll need to eat your Wheaties to throw it, but you’ll like the results.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Cheesman Winter
Colorado is one of the best places on Earth.
If you’re a trout angler, you probably agree with me. For quality fishing in beautiful places the mountain state is hard to beat. One of the things that makes it an anglers paradise is year-round trout fishing. Even the harshest Colorado winters offer up pleasant days here and there and the state’s impressive tail water fisheries stay open.
Trouts Fly Fishing recently posted this great video, by filmmaker Russ Schnitzer, of winter fishing on the South Platte River in Cheesman Canyon. The canyon is a highly technical fishery with some amazing trout.
TAKE A QUICK TRIP TO COLORADO AND ENJOY SOME WINTER FISHING.
Read More »Fly Fishing: Swinging Streamers for Trout in Deep Water
Most streamer fisherman out there would agree that pounding the river banks with a streamer will catch trout just about anywhere. If you’re willing to put in the time and hard work, eventually you’ll be rewarded with a big fish. During high water flows on rivers where habitat is insufficient out in the main river, many trout will relocate to the banks where they can use the irregular banks and it’s abundant cover to shelter themselves out of the excessive current. There next move, once they’ve gotten to the banks, is to find prime ambush spots where they can easily pick off prey moving by. This is why casting to the bank and ripping streamers back to the boat is so effective. You’re repeatedly putting your streamer right in the kitchen where good numbers of fish will be holding and regularly feeding.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Don’t Be a Sleep at the Wheel When Fishing Egg Patterns
Egg patterns are a staple in my fly fishing and guiding.
Stocked trout are suckers for them, but even wild trout will gladly snack on them if you correctly put it in front of them most of the year. Several different egg imitations and sizes are available for fly anglers to fish with. Y2K’s, glow bugs, sucker spawn and nuke eggs are just a few of the variations out there. I’m all for using these effective egg patterns on the water, but there’s one very important thing fly fisherman need to understand about fishing egg patterns, and it needs to be respected. When trout eat egg patterns, they usually do so with total abandonment, and if you’re not quick to set the hook, you’ll find trout will end up getting hooked deep in their throat or gills a high percentage of the time.
I’ve noticed this a lot over the years with the clients I guide. They’ll be asleep at the wheel during their drift, and the strike indicator will bounce three or four times, and then take off before they finally get around to setting the hook. If you’re going to fish egg patterns, do the fish a favor and be ready to set the hook at the first sign of a bite, no matter how subtle it is. This will greatly cut down on your egg patterns being swallowed by the fish in the process, and you’ll be practicing respectful catch and release. If you aren’t willing to take this approach, keep your egg patterns stowed away in your fly box.
Some of you may be saying, “wait a minute Kent, it’s reasonable to think the same thing could happen with other fly patterns if you wait too long to set the hook, right?” Yes, but I’ve found the frequency of it happening is far less than when you’re fishing egg patterns. Just the other day on the water, I put this very argument to the test. My client had a banner day. We landed a great number of fish, of which, many came on our nuke egg dropper. My client was doing a brilliant job of making good presentations and fighting the fish, but he was
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Nymphing With The Best Of ’em
You’ll not find two fishier guys that Tom Rosenbauer and Joe Humphreys.
The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast is always an awesome place pick up tips and tricks that will put you on fish. Tom’s 2014 episode with angling legend Joe Humphreys is well worth revisiting. Joe has been an innovator and free thinker his entire career and is a wealth of insight and information. I don’t think there is anyone who can’t learn something from Joe.
Check out Tom Rosenbauer and Joe Humphreys on nymphing.
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