Saturday Shoutout / Tight Line Video Gets Competitive
TIGHT LINE VIDEO PRODUCES SOME GREAT FLY TYING VIDEOS.
I’ve been a fan for some time. But this video was not what I was expecting, and in a good way.
I’ve never liked the idea of competitive fly fishing. I guess you either love it or hate it and I hate it. That’s another topic, but in this video the guys from Tight Line made me think twice. There is a lot to learn from competitive fly fishing.
There’s a tons of great info here for the trout angler looking to improve their skills. It worth a look and while you’re at it, check out the Tight Line Video YouTube channel. There’s plenty more goodness where this came from.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM COMPETITIVE FLY FISHING
Read More »Summer Is Coming
THE RIVERS MAY BE MUD, BUT I CAN SMELL IT IN THE AIR.
You might even be getting in a little late season skiing the way this year has been, but it’s right around the corner. Here in Georgia we’re already fishing terrestrials, it’s almost here. My buddy Cody Dutcher just posted his first Alaska salmon of the season on Facebook with the message, “Summer, it’s official.” It could already be here!
Summer might mean hundred degree temps in my part of the world but nothing says summer to me like this photo from the Dean River in British Columbia. I had just landed my biggest steelhead to date, a forty-two inch buck, when I saw this chinook salmon breach.
I climbed the mountain side to get a better angle, and waited. When he breached again I
Read More »Tie Twice the Flies in Half the Time
If you tie flies and you’re looking for a way to increase your fly output, I’ve got a great fly tying tip for you today. I personally don’t have the luxury of extra time on my hands these days with running two companies and managing my family time. When my fly boxes start getting bare, I have to restock them as fast as possible. For years, I’ve been an advanced fly tier but I’ve never been one of those guys who can rip out a dozen flies in thirty minutes. I take that back, I can bust out a dozen san juan worms in thirty minutes, but that goes for most of us. For more complex fly patterns, it can be very beneficial to us if we take the time to get organized prior to wrapping the thread on the hook.
A while back, I took a serious look at the clock during my tying sessions and I found out that I needed to make some serious changes if I wanted to get the most out of my tying efforts. The first thing I realized is
Read More »Thank You God for the Terrestrial Season
About this time every year, when I’m starting to get run down from guiding, the terrestrial season arrives, and I’m blessed with a second wind.
I’m always astonished at how the addition of terrestrials can make my familiar waters seem so fresh to me, even after I’ve already spent hundreds of hours during the season drifting flies through the same riffles, runs and pools. Despite the terrestrial season being one of my busiest times of the year guiding, every day I’m more excited than the last. I tip my hat to the creator and give thanks, for he sure did a fine job of planning out the life cycle and timing of the terrestrials. Yep, life is grand for the fly fisherman when the terrestrials are out. The water and air temperatures (at least where I live) are usually warm enough to leave those stinky waders at home, and the longer days allow us the luxury of staying on the water for a few extra hours.
During the terrestrial season, trout seem to have the same look in their eyes as me, pure addiction. It’s not the end of the world if I forget my strike indicators or split shot either. Trout often rise to terrestrials with such dependability, that I can often call my fish even before my fly lands on the water. I love that every take on the surface seems unique. My heart always seems to beat a little bit faster when I’ve got a terrestrial tied on, because I never know if my foam hopper or beetle is going to get smashed like a freight train or get sucked in, and make that beautiful popping sound, just like the blotting sound my wife makes after applying that sexy red lipstick.
Read More »Sunday Classic / When your fly is there, be aware!
I’ve touched on this before but it occurs to me that the subject needs more attention. Quite possibly the most important thing in fly fishing is situational awareness. That is, knowing what your fly is doing in relation to it’s surroundings. Surroundings like current, structure, light, the boat and most importantly, the fish. Trout fishermen are accustomed to thinking about the drift of a dry fly but less at ease with the idea of a nymph’s drift, for example. Lots of guys fish streamers with a simple swing down and across, without considering how the baitfish they are imitating would negotiate the currents, eddies and structure along the way. This idea exists in every type of fly fishing but is never more crucial than in salt water so let’s look at that in more depth.
Right from the first false cast you should be thinking about the environment in which the fish exist. An experienced angler knows that a flat is less like a pond and more like a river. Except for brief periods of tide change the water on the flats is always moving. Like a winding meadow stream it finds it’s way through a maze of channels. Unlike a river
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Galloup InThe Riffle
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HAIR.
The folks over at In The Riffle do a great job with their fly tying videos. They are some of the clearest and most informative videos I’ve found on fly tying for trout. Their YouTube channel is well worth exploring.
This week I’m showcasing a couple of videos featuring streamer guru Kelly Galloup. Kelly gets down to the nitty-gritty on dear hair, showing you how tell good hair from bad and spin up some impressive profiles. No one knows more about tying with deer hair than Kelly and there videos are well worth your time.
Thanks, to the folks at In The Riffle for bringing us
ALL THINGS DEER HAIR WITH KELLY GALLOUP
Read More »Spooky-ass fish
DOES TALKING ON THE BOAT SPOOK FISH?
I enjoy conversation on the boat. I like spending time with my friends, shooting the shit and engaging in a little light-hearted ribbing. But does it affect the fishing? Banging down the cooler lid, shifting stuff around in the boat and walking in shoes are all things fish can hear. Their lateral lines are amazingly sensitive to any vibration in the water. Any sound that involves the hull of the boat is telegraphed directly into the water. Think of the hull as a loud speaker. But what about sounds in the air with no direct connection to the water? Do fish hear us talking?
I’ve heard a lot of opinions on this and many people believe that they do not. Personally I am sure they do. For one thing, when shooting underwater video my microphones pick up talking above the surface. I feel certain that a fish’s lateral line is more effective than a microphone inside an waterproof housing. This makes me sure fish can hear sounds in the air.
If that’s not enough to convince you,
Read More »Swinging Streamers on Big 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 feeding.
The majority of the time this scenario works great, but what do you do when you find yourself in areas where the water is super deep and the fish are sitting on the bottom? These places make it extremely difficult for anglers using the pounding the bank technique to keep their streamers down deep in the strike zone during a steady retrieve. Even with a full sinking fly line the cards are stacked against you. Don’t get me wrong, it can still work, especially if you cast upstream of your target water, and give your streamer time to sink before you begin your retrieve. Unfortunately, you won’t always have the time nor the room to pull this off, and that should have you searching for an alternative method that’s better suited for fishing your streamers in these deep water locations.
Swing Streamers through deep water hot spots
The best method I’ve found to consistently get hookups from deep water fish is
The Mystic 3wt Switch Rod Changes Trout Fishing
THIS LITTLE BEAUTY FROM MICHIGAN IS QUICKLY BECOMING ONE OF MY FAVORITE FLY RODS FOR TROUT.
For the last couple of years I’ve been fishing switch rods for trout. Not exclusively, but with greater and greater frequency. It started as a way to keep my two-handed skills polished between steelhead trips but quickly found a life of its own. It didn’t take long for me to realize that these lightweight Spey rods were better tools for catching trout on a lot of the rivers I fish.
I started out swinging small streamers and wet flies when wading small to medium size rivers. It wasn’t long before I was reaching for my switch rod for nymph fishing and then even dry fly fishing. Eventually they started showing up in the boat. These days I’m seldom on a trout stream without one.
Fishing switch rods has put me on fish I was missing before. They have allowed me to reach water that was off limits, fish deep runs more effectively and manage drifts like never before. I even got Kent turned on to two handers, which he previously had little interest in. The results speak for themselves. Switch rods have definitely changed the way I fish for trout.
The problem for me has always been weight. Finding a switch rod that was light enough to fish comfortably with a wide range of techniques, light enough to
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Woolly Bugger Isn’t all that, Or is it?
This isn’t Montana, Your Not Norman Maclean, and the Woolly Bugger isn’t all that.
This was a bumper sticker a guide buddy of mine had printed up a few years back. It was prominently displayed for his clients to read when they pulled up to greet him. That’s one hell of an ice breaker for checking fishing egos at the boat ramp, let me tell you. I give my boy J.E.B. Hall props for his comedic humor and gutsy style. For those of you who don’t know J.E.B., he’s a veteran Western North Carolina guide, Author of Southern Appalachian Fly Guide, and has spent multiple seasons guiding at Alaska West. Meet him one time and you’ll say to yourself, “this guy is the Johnny Knoxville of fishing”.
Most anglers fall into one of two categories when it comes to their perception of woolly buggers. They either love them or despise them. I love the fly pattern for two reasons. First, for its impressionistic design that’s capable of mimicking many different trout foods, and second, for its versatility in how the pattern can be fished. It’s rare for me to not break out a woolly bugger at some point during the day. When trout aren’t biting, I almost always can find fish willing to snack on them. The only time I keep woolly buggers out of the game and sitting on the bench, is when I’m
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