Choosing Flies for Tandem Nymph Rigs
Today’s article is intended for beginner and intermediate fly anglers that struggle with choosing what fly patterns to tie on when they’re fishing a tandem nymph rig.
Most of our fly boxes are stocked with dozens of different fly patterns. It can be difficult at times to know where to start. I get the question all the time, “how do I know what flies to tie on?” The answer to that question is I don’t. Sometimes I can get a good idea by doing some bug sampling or observing the conditions on the water, but generally, I have to experiment with fishing different flies just like everyone else does until I figure out what the trout want. However, the key to my consistent success is treating my two-fly rig like it’s a buffet of food choices for the trout, and always fishing flies that imitate different types of food sources that the trout forage on. This increases the chances that the trout will like one of the food imitations in my rig and I’ll catch fish.
To make things easier for me, I categorize my nymphs into four different categories: Big flies, small flies, bright colored flies and natural colored flies. When I start out my day on the water, I begin rigging my two-fly rig with combinations of these.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Tarpon On The 4 Weight
Let me be clear on this…I am not a dumb ass. Well, at least not a big enough dumb ass to try and catch a tarpon on a four weight. But I did buy a new four weight reel the other day and a ten weight line. So I sat down to line up the two reels, which is my cat’s favorite thing in the world, and something occurred to me. I rig my four weight for tarpon. What I mean by that is that I use the same system for attaching my fly line to the backing that I learned when I started saltwater fly fishing. Before I started fishing salt I attached my line to the backing with a nail knot, like I learned to as a kid. Now I spend a lot more time whipping a loop on the back of my fly line with tying thread and superglue. Then I spend even more time tying a double Bimini twist in my backing and connecting loop to loop. But why? Well, it’s clearly a stronger connection but do I need that on a four weight trout rod? It sure doesn’t hurt when you find yourself connected to a ten pound trout on your four weight. You will be seeing that backing, I promise. Still, it’s clearly overkill. It comes back through your guides smoother and that’s nice, but still not a big deal. Here’s my reasoning, and this is why I use this method on all my reels. First, it’s just better. Second, and most importantly, I only change that ten weight line once a year, some times not even that. Why let the knot I trust to hold a tarpon be the first knot of it’s kind I have tied in a year? Knot skills are … Continue reading
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Carp Fishing in America
THE WEATHER IS STARTING TO WARM UP AND CARP GUYS ARE GETTING RESTLESS. ERIN BLOCK OF MYSTERIES INTERNAL GIVES YOU THE HISTORY AND HYSTERIA OF CARP FISHING IN AMERICA.
Many things seem like great ideas at the time, yet most are only figments of a hopeful imagination or intoxicated faculties. Few actually take off with the vengeance of sprinters after the start gun. Few actually work or have legs to stand on. And although they are there if you look hard and long enough, success stories are few and far between. We cheer them on, those long shots. And I’ve always been partial to the underdog.
So had I been around in the late 1800s, I would have cheered on the carp. Facing pressured fisheries and depletion of native stocks, the U.S. Fish Commission (just as English monks had done in the 1300s) made the decision to import what they thought to be the most economical food source for their country’s growing population, the best return on investment: the carp. Having proved their worth over centuries in Asia and Europe, it seemed the most logical move to make.
However, what was not foreseen was the success of that idea; or rather, success of the carp and failure of the idea.
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / Humbling Day on the White River
It’s 4:00am and my adrenaline has me awake way ahead of the alarm clock just like the first time my Dad took me hunting when I was a kid. As I gaze onto the silhouette of the White River I hear the resident trout in the river ambushing baitfish and stockers in the moon light. By the sound of the loud thrashing of the water I can tell it’s the sound of trophy trout on the feed. I’ve booked legendary fly fishing guide, Davy Wotton who’s been guiding on the White River for over twelve years. Davy is well known in the fly fishing industry for his SLF Dubbing, extensive fly fishing videos and long standing conservation efforts.There’s no doubt in my mind I’ll be in good hands with his local expertise. I’ve got my Scott S4 8 weight rod rigged up with my sinking line, and I’ve packed my Cliff Outdoors streamer box that’s filled to the max with my freshly tied up streamer creations.
My goal for the trip is to bring a Brown Trout to the net measuring over thirty inches.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Frankenfly & FloatFisher
This week’s Saturday Shoutout showcases two fly tying blogs that are updated regularly and sure to motivate you at your vise. Check out FrankenFly and FloatFisher for good fly pattern recipes and videos.
Read More »DIY Boat Speaker for iPhone
Sometimes, there’s nothing better than floating a river with your buddies and listening to some of your favorite tunes. Even though most of us own one or two of those portable speaker docking stations, it’s surprising how often we get five miles down the road and remember we left it by the front door or forgot to charge the darn thing. Thanks to some redneck ingenuity, I’ve found a suitable solution that will allow you to listen to music even if you forgot your speakers, and all you need is a knife and a empty beverage container. Just cut the top off of a plastic cup and slide the speaker end of your iPhone into it, and you’ve got yourself a redneck portable speaker. You won’t be jamming out but it will amplify the sound enough for everyone in the drift boat to enjoy the music playing.
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Secret Spot
Dirty little secrets. We all have them. Well, maybe they’re not so dirty, and if they are, I guess we have ourselves to blame. But everyone who ever owned a fishing rod has one. The spot that we think of as ours. It’s human nature I suppose, to want to own something, especially a place. I’ve heard that Native American cultures did not believe in the idea of people owning the land. I guess it’s clear how that played out. As for the rest of us, the ones with the fishing rods, we hold that idea firmly to our chests. The idea that we have a secret spot. A place that that we, through our skill, wisdom, charm and good looks, what-have-you, have found and laid claim to. A place so good that we dare not tell a soul about it.
Generally there is some impediment involved. Our place is hidden, hard to reach, you have to know that turn or trail or pull off. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a secret, right? Everyone would know about it. We get satisfaction from knowing something others don’t. We judge ourselves as somehow better than the masses for having and keeping our little secret. We go there and enjoy the great fishing and the solitude, and for a time we enjoy the illusion that we are alone. That we have been magically transported back to those “good old days” before every tree had been cut and every pool had a trail to it. We enjoy the idea that we are casting to fish who have never seen a fly, until the inevitable happens. Until
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Salmon Confidential
THIS WEEK WE SHOUTOUT TO THE ROGUE ANGELS. I HAVE TO SAY THANKS LADIES, FOR ANOTHER SLEEPLESS NIGHT. IF SALMON CONFIDENTIAL DOESN’T SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU DON’T EVEN BOTHER WITH THE WALKING DEAD.
This documentary takes you deep into the world of the dwindling BC salmon population. It explains the science and the politics behind what could be the greatest natural disaster of our time.
This hour and ten minute documentary is riveting and well worth your time. A big thanks to The Angels for spreading the word.
Watch Salmon Confidential
Read More »Gary Merriman Ties The Tarpon Toad
I’VE KNOWN GARY MERRIMAN FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS AND ONLY FOUND OUT ABOUT A YEAR AGO THAT HE WAS THE CREATOR OF THE TARPON TOAD.
The Toad is a great pattern and almost anyone who has fished for tarpon has tied one on at some point. It’s been around for a long time but it still catches fish.
Gary explained how he watched tarpon that followed flies without eating them and got the feeling that it was the action of the fly that they didn’t like. The tarpon patterns of the day would sink fast, then shoot back up in the water column when stripped. Gary was looking for a fly that would track at a consistent depth. When he tied the Toad he gave it a flat body that works like a planer to keep the fly at the right depth.
It’s a simple fly to tie but there are a few important features that make it work. Watch the video and learn from the man who created this great pattern.
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / 8 Flies for Southern Appalachian Brook Trout
My good friend Dan Flynn is the man when it comes to hike-ins for Southern Appalachian Brook Trout. I’ve never met a fly angler that enjoys bushwhacking through walls of thick impenetrable rhododendrons more than Dan. Randomly pick any thin line of blue on a Delorme’s Georgia or North Carolina topography map and chances are, Dan’s thoroughly explored the high elevation tributary.
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