Sunday’s Classic / 3 C’s of Trout Fishing
Here’s the Million Dollar Trout Fishing Question…. Are you putting enough emphasis on the 3 C’s in your trout fishing? The availability of Current, Cover and Cuisine most often dictate where trout decide to set up shop. Being able to consistently pick them out will ultimately determine how much success you have on the water. Furthermore, if you can find a spot that has all three C’s, you’re probably staring at a honey hole that holds the trophy of your dreams. Back when I was a rookie fly fisher and lacked knowledge, I can recall early on how I’d start out my day selecting a section of water, and go about mindlessly fishing its entirety from point A to point B. I had no understanding of the needs and survival instincts of trout and how it influenced their whereabouts. All the water looked good to my untrained eyes, and I’d spend equal time fishing the entire stretch of water, regardless of the depth, where the current and food were located, or if the spot had any elements of cover. Back then, I was completely clueless that there was a reason 20% of the water held 80% of the fish, and in turn, I spent way too much time fishing in all the wrong places. It was amazing how long it took me to figure out why I wasn’t catching very many trout. Don’t make this common rookie mistake, you’re better than that. Instead spend your time eliminating unproductive water, and locating and fishing productive water that has all three C’s. Doing so, you’ll find your catch numbers and the size of your catches increase dramatically. Below are basic descriptions of current, cover, and cuisine, and why all three are equally important to trout. Current Trout have a love hate relationship with … Continue reading
Read More »Saturday’s Shoutout / FinPusher & Trout Twinkies, Tim Romano Early Summer Slide Show
Today’s Saturday shoutout we bring you a cool read from Collin Carlson at Finpusher.com that talks about the fishing highs we all get fly fishing when we’ve got multiple species of bugs flying in the air and trout eating our dries like candy. The second is a photography slide show by Tim Romano from Fly Talk that showcases some of his latest shots on the water. Thanks for tuning into Gink & Gasoline and may all of you have a great weekend.
Read More »The Sugar Foot
I SPEND AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE WATCHING BONEFISH CHASE FLIES.
If you do it long enough you’re bound to learn something. In the average presentation you want to lead and cross a fish. Therefore, when the bonefish first sees your fly, he sees its profile. If he likes what he sees, he generally follows the fly for a while before he decides whether or not to eat it.
I wanted to create a fly that gave the bonefish an incentive to eat. I wanted a fly the would change its appearance as the fish pulled in behind it to follow. I wanted to give the fish a visual trigger to eat. The result of that effort (and a fair amount of rum) was the Sugar Foot.
This fly has a light flashy shrimp profile and great action. The body of the fly conceals a bright orange egg sack that becomes visible as the fish comes around from behind. Does it work? So well that I call it by the same name I call my wife.
Watch the video and learn to tie the Sugar Foot.
Read More »Playground Earth All-Terrain Relay – BFGoodrich Segment #1
Three months ago, Louis and I traveled to the Miller Motorsports Park in Utah to take part in a three-day extreme off-road driving school sponsored by BFGoodrich. This was our first stop before we started the Playground Earth All-Terrain Relay, which was five different week-long adventures that took place over thousands of miles, all on one tough set of BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires. The professional instructors coached us in great detail on the specifications and capabilities of the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO tires, and they spent significant time training us on advanced off-road driving techniques designed for conquering many different kinds of rugged terrains. We even learned how to manage the 450+ horsepower under the hood of the Ford Raptor with spurts of adrenaline pumping through our veins. Above all, we learned good driving technique and quality tires were the two most important elements when it comes to safe and successful off-roading.
Read More »The Smithfly Switch Belt and Digi pouch, Fly Fishing Gear That I Can’t Live Without
EVERY NOW AND THEN A PRODUCT COMES ALONG THAT CHANGES YOUR LIFE.
An innovation that suits your needs so exactly that you wonder if you’ve been talking in your sleep. Some gadget, like your iPhone, that leaves you wondering how you lived without it.
Well, I have been talking. For some time and not in my sleep, to every manufacturer of fishing packs I know about making a truly waterproof pack that I can trust and is large enough to carry my camera. No one listened.
As it turned out though, I was not the only one thinking about this problem. While I was talking to the big guys, a clever fellow in Ohio by the name of Ethan Smith was solving my problem. There in the shop at Smithfly, Ethan was changing my life.
As you might guess I carry an insane amount of gear when I’m on the water. Along side my fishing pack with its six fly boxes, eight spools of tippet, split shot, line dressing, water bottle, net, and so on, there are two Nikon DSLRs, an array of lenses, a flash, batteries, data cards, lens cloth and the kitchen sink.
This all started out in a backpack containing a waterproof Pelican case that weighed forty pounds. Try hiking, wading and fishing with that for a day. Not only was it killing me but it took forever to get to my camera and I missed too many shots. I eventually discovered small dry bags made for kayakers and they were an improvement but I had to carry four of them and they were so small that I couldn’t carry the camera with the lenses I wanted on it. I had to assemble the camera, in the river, every time I took it out of the bag.
Then I discovered the Smithfly Digi Pouch. The Digi Pouch is a super heavy duty dry bag that offers not only safety for your gear but amazing versatility. It works as part of the Smithfly modular system and attaches securely to the Smithfly Switch Belt. The system is brilliant in its simplicity.
Ethan figured out that there are guys
Read More »Sunday Classic / The White Tiger
It was a windy day in November on the west side of South Andros. My buddy Bruce Chard had tied up a fly he called the White Tiger. It was big and gaudy and orange and every time it hit the water the bonefish went crazy. We stuck so many big bones that day it was silly so when we got back to the lodge I asked Bruce to tie the White Tiger for a video. If your going bone fishing don’t go without a White Tiger. Check it out.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Skiff Republic, Orvis and TU on Teaching Kids to Fly Fish
My friend Marshall Cutchin spent a little time on the flats with his kids recently and wrote a really thoughtful essay about it. It got me thinking. Teaching kids is important. It’s important to them and important to the sport but possibly even more important to ourselves.
Almost everyone has a kid they can teach to fish but not all of us feel prepared. Teaching is a skill and like any other skill, teaching involves some learning. Fortunately, Marshall and a few other smart folks have given the issue some thought.
Here are three great pieces on the subject of teaching kids to fly fish.
Skiff Republic – Learning
Tom Rosenbauer – Teaching a Child to Fish
Phil Genova – First Cast, Teaching Kids to Fly Fish
Read More »Fly Fishing: Don’t Overlook The Trout Water Close To You
When you fish your home waters day after day you get pretty good at knowing where the trout like to hang out.
But if you let your big ego convince you into thinking you know it all, that’s when the fish will put you in your place. The other day guiding, I approached a honey hole with my client and gave him the break down on where I thought he should make his first presentation. I backed up my preaching by telling him about all the big fish we had landed there in the past. I insisted that all he needed to do was land his flies off the big rock on the far bank, and he’d get a hookup. My client promptly responded, “That sounds good Kent, but let me ask you a question? Shouldn’t I make a cast on the close side first? That water looks good too?” I replied, “That’s probably not a bad idea. It definitely could hold a fish, but if it was me fishing this spot, I’d land it off that big rock and drift the far seam first.”
This is where my client put me in my place and showed me tat even though I spend hundreds of hours a year on this trout stream, I’m no physic. Despite my coercion, my client went with his gut feeling and made his first presentation to the water close to him. Then, two-seconds into the drift, his line went tight and a behemoth trout came shooting out of the water like a tomahawk cruise missile. We landed the fish, and my client looked over at me with a “I told you so” grin. I smiled and said, “What…? I told you it probably wasn’t a bad idea to fish that close water.”
Read More »The CDC Blood Midge
MIDGE PATTERNS CAN BE REMARKABLY EFFECTIVE FOR TROUT.
Depending on how you count them there could be over a thousand species of midge. That’s a lot of choices for the discerning trout. There are almost as many choices for the angler and a midge obsession can easily get out of hand.
I find that more times than not a Blood Midge will do the trick. I spent a morning on the Colorado River one April and caught twenty-four brown trout on a blood midge without moving my feet. Trout are naturally attracted to these red patterns even when they are not an exact match for the naturals. I’ve tied many different Blood Midge patterns but my current favorite is the CDC Blood Midge. The power of CDC can not be overestimated. This is a great pattern and very easy to tie.
Watch the video and learn hoe to tie The CDC Blood Midge.
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / 3 Tips for Fishing High & Dirty Water for Trout
Have you ever pulled up to a stream after a heavy rain ready to fish but canceled your fishing plans because the water looked too high and dirty? I’ll be the first to admit there are times when this is the case, but very often, anglers turn around and head home when they should have Fished-ON. The fact is, trout can see a whole lot better than we think in dirty water with their ultraviolet vision. If you fish the right kinds of fly patterns and target the right water, in many cases you can do pretty darn good fishing in water conditions that are high and dirty. Even better, your odds at catching a trophy class fish are increased because the dingy water will mask your approach and also keep big educated trout from being able to scrutinize your fly patterns so much. So go ahead, call those anglers you despise and tell them the waters blown out. You’ll have a good chance of having the water to yourself and wailing on fish all day long. Don’t be afraid of dirty water. In many cases it can be your friend. Tip 1. Target the Right Kinds of Water So you’ve decided to take my advice and fish on, good for you. The first thing you need to do when fishing high and dirty water is target high percentage water. I search out the slower moving seams close to the banks, long stretches of fast shallow water that are followed by buckets or deep water where the fish will stack up, and eddies behind boulders or lay downs. These are all safe havens that trout search out refuge in during high water. They all allow trout to save energy by staying out of the excessive current, while capitalizing on the … Continue reading
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