The Water Haul Cast – Slow Your Roll
By Kent Klewein
The water haul cast is phenomenal for fly fishing small trout streams.
I love it for a few reasons. First, because it allows you to make a presentation without false casting over the fish. This is done by you using the water and fly line to load your fly rod and present your fly/flies in one cast. On highly technical water, where you have spooky fish, this niche cast can significantly increase your catch rates. Second, the water haul works great for tight quarters where you don’t have a lot of room to cast. The biggest mistake I see fly anglers make when they’re water hauling, is rushing the cast. You want to slow your roll when you’re performing this fly cast on the water. The water haul cast takes about twice as long to make a presentation with your fly than a traditional fly cast, and that is because you combine the pick up and the water haul together.
If you’re having problems getting the distance or straightening out your leader and fly when your water hauling, try slowing down and you should see your cast improve. A proper setup is
Read More »First Fly Rods
What should your first fly rod be? Does it matter?
My first fly rod was a 9′ 7 weight bamboo given to me by my grandfather. Not some cherished family heirloom or finely tooled work of art. It was a piece of shit with half the cork missing, ferrules that spun like a dervish and a paper clip for a stripping guide. I’m not kidding, an actual paper clip.
I loved my grandfather but I’m well acquainted with his pragmatic nature and creative problem solving. I’m sure he was headed to the garbage can with the old rod when I happened along with some annoying question, and my career as a fly angler was set in motion by way of shutting me up so he could get back to whatever he was doing. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. It turned out to be one of the greatest gifts I was ever given and I still have it.
That busted old rod sent me down a path which lead to some casting skills I’m proud of, as well as some bad habits. I’m happy with where I landed but it’s not the path I’d set you on if you asked me, “What should my first fly rod be?” You can learn to cast a fly with anything, but having the right rod for a beginner does make a huge difference.
Hold your horses. I’m going to talk about money in a minute and it’s not all bad news.
The most important thing for a beginning fly caster is to feel the load of the rod. It’s a hundred times harder to learn tempo and a good smooth casting stroke if you can’t feel the rod load. Beginners struggling with the wrong rod will create all kinds of problems for themselves by trying to compensate for the lack of feel. This is how tailing loops, creep and whip-cracking are born.
It boils down to this.
Read More »Is America’s Keystone Fishery A City Block From Disaster?
By Brian Kozminski
I live in northern Michigan, epicenter of the world’s largest freshwater system.
Twenty percent of the world’s fresh water surrounds us, and that’s great. It provides us multiple uses for recreation. Swimming, boating, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, SUP’s, and fishing. When I ask people from neighboring states where they like to go fishing, they always say they head up north and fish Michigan’s rivers and lakes. But, recent news of more eDNA, from Asian Carp, found in the Chicago shipping canal has me concerned.
How many more years are we going to spend doing research, wasting millions of dollars, looking for a way to prevent the impending doom of their arrival in the Great Lakes? If they do arrive, or [GASP] are already here in the Great Lakes, what amount of devastation will they cause on a billion-dollar fishery? Will anglers from the Midwest still come up and fish the Pere Marquette for salmon and steelhead?
We’ve been here before, invasive species are not a new thing. In fact, we have almost 200 invasive species of flora to fauna in the Great Lakes. We’ve been battling the sea lamprey since the late 40’s when the Welland Canal opened and nearly decimated a thriving Lake Trout and Whitefish fishery in less than half a decade. These days the FWS spends millions of dollars a year on research and containment of the vampire of the Great Lakes.
New residents from the Black and Caspian Seas have also taken hold in Lakes Michigan, Huron, Ontario, Erie and Superior. Round Goby and Eurasian Ruffe out-compete the common darter and native sculpins in the deep waters we love. They have a voracious appetite for eggs and have targeted smallmouth beds. Smallmouth bass have retaliated, finding a new flavor of the month, but can’t keep their population in check.
Zebra and Quagga mussels liter the fresh water sea floor, estimated at 4 quadrillion. Trying to wrap my mind around that number makes my medulla oblongata ache. Sure, they’ve filtered out the water in Lake Charlevoix and Lake Michigan, made it pretty and clear so we can see depths of 30 feet, but we need the phytoplankton in the food chain. This is where the story gets interesting.
LET’S PRETEND THE GREAT LAKES ARE A CHILD’S AQUARIUM.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Fly Fishing Shade In The Summer Can Keep You Hooked Up
When summer is in full swing water temperatures are at their highest levels of the year.
Fly anglers can stay in the action longer if they concentrate on fishing shaded areas. I don’t care if you’re on the lake fly fishing for bass or on your local tailwater chasing trout, I’ve found shaded areas consistently attract fish during the summer months. Shade offers fish shelter from the sun and also cooler water temperatures. Any shade is good, but if you can find shade and deep water together, you’re generally going to be looking at a honey hole this time of year. Fly fishing during the summer can often be very challenging for fly anglers. Fish can become lethargic in the summer heat and they tend to feed more in the morning and late evening, and rest during the middle and afternoon hours of the day. Fly anglers that understand this, generally opt for starting their day extra early or focus on the late evening bite. Doing so, they
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Saturday Matinee
Five great fly fishing films in one place.
This week’s theme is pretty simple. Just some awesome fly fishing videos to enjoy. Grab a beer and some popcorn and click play.
Read More »Scott Fly Rods Come On Strong In 2015
I’ve been a fan of Scott fly rods since the first time I cast one.
The quality and design of Scott fly rods is second to none. This year at IFTD Scott unveiled a couple of hot new rods that I’m pretty excited about.
The Tidal is a new saltwater rod designed with the goal of making saltwater fly fishing accessible for a wider group of anglers. The Tidal has an action that is efficient and powerful but still forgiving to the average angler. The price is accessible too at $475.
The new 3 piece SC Bamboo rods are remarkable. It feels like no bamboo rod I’ve ever held. It’s incredibly light and crisp. Hollow built and triple heat treated this little baby sings. It’s as beautiful to look at as it is to cast. Innovation in a medium as old as bamboo is extremely rare and my hat’s off to Scott for doing such a fine job of it.
Watch the video for a look at what’s new this year from Scott.
Read More »4 Worm Patterns I Always Carry In My Fly Box
Worm Fly Patterns That Consistently Catch Fish
It’s no secret worm patterns are super consistent most of the year for catching both stocked and wild trout. They work especially well for stocked fish, after a big rain, and during the spring, winter, and fall seasons. I’ve had days when the only thing I could get trout to eat was a san juan worm. There’s a bunch of haters out there that will not fish them, claiming it’s the next closest thing to fishing a real earthworm, but look in their fly box and I bet you’ll find a few. I on the other hand, have no problem fishing worm patterns, because they do a great job of keeping my clients rods bent, which in turn, pays my bills. To top it all off, worm patterns are among the cheapest and easiest fly patterns for me to tie. I can rip out about a dozen in less than ten minutes, for about $2.50 worth of materials. Choosing to put worm patterns in your fishing line-up, will almost certainly put more fish in your net. Below are four worm patterns I always keep in my fly box.
Fly Patterns Left to Right: Chamois Worm, Fl. Pink Flash San Juan Worm, Squirmy Wormy, Delektable Soft-Hackle Worm
The Chamois “Shammy” Worm
Yes, you read the name right, this fly is made out of a car drying chamois. For $10-14 you can buy one and tie about 100+ chamois worms with it. This pattern can be deadly after a fresh rain, when earthworms have been washed from the banks into the stream. Once the chamois material gets wet, it looks just like a live worm. I tie them in all sizes, but for my larger versions I often will tie a monofilament loop off the bend of the hook to keep the chamois material from fouling and wrapping around the hook. Most of the time you won’t find the chamios worm in fly bins at the fly shop. That means to some degree, there will be less anglers fishing this pattern. That can pay off when all you need to catch fish, is to show the trout a little something different.
The 2015 G&G Fly Fishing Photography Contest Begins Now!
It’s time for you to show us your best fly fishing photo of 2014! The annual Gink and Gasoline fly fishing photography contest is on. Send us your best fly fishing photos shot in 2014 and win some awesome fly fishing gear! PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ACCEPT INCORRECT SUBMISSIONS. •All submissions must be in by midnight EST on Feb 20th 2015. 1st Place A Sage ACCEL single hand fly rod with a Sage 3200 reel. Boom! 2nd Place A Redington Vapen Fly Rod in red or black! 3rd Place A RIO InTouch fly line of your choice and a Fishpond Westwater Lumbar Pack! Last year’s contest was amazing and we can’t wait to see what you and that camera of yours have been up to all year. We have a panel of rock star judges lined up, so get those entries in. This year’s esteemed judges are: Bob White A renowned sporting artist, Bob’s beautiful painting have defined the look of fly fishing. His ability to capture a fleeting moment through the eyes of a sportsman has earned him international recognition. http://www.bobwhitestudio.com Greg Strelecki An advertising photographer and educator with over thirty years of experience Greg’s work has immortalized celebrities, athletes and Presidents. He currently heads the Photography program at The Creative Circus. http://www.gregstrelecki.com Steven Brutger Steven is one of the brightest rising stars in the outdoor photography world. His work captures the grit and elation of hunting and fly fishing. He is a passionate conservationist who works tirelessly to preserve wild places on behalf of Trout Unlimited. He shoots and writes for Stalking The Seam. http://stalkingtheseam.com SUBMISSION GUIDELINES HERE’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET IN ON THE ACTION. •The contest is open to everyone … Continue reading
Read More »Sunday Classic / Fighting Big Bonefish
We’ve talked about casting to bonefish in a variety of conditions.
We’ve talked about the propped retrieve to get the fish to eat. Now that your hooking up with all of these big bones owe buddy Bruce Chard is back with some advice on fighting bonefish. Check out the video and Bruce will show you how to get that fish to the boat as efficiently as possible.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / The Cobra Climbs A Tree
Having trouble getting your fly into those hard to reach trees?
The Limp Cobra can help. This post strikes the perfect balance between humor and solid information. Even if trees are not a problem for you, you’ll get a couple of good laughs. If they are, you’ll learn something.
The Limp Cobra is quickly becoming one of my favorite stops on the fly fishing web. If you’ve never seen it, take time to browse through some of the older posts. There’s a lot of goodness in there.
“HOW TO LOOSE YOUR FLIES IN TREES.”
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