Cicada Fly Patterns – 4 Gink & Gasoline Favorites
I get asked the question all of the time what’s my favorite place to fly fish?
Some may find it weird but I always have a hard time answering that question. I’ve had the opportunity to fly fish so many unique and beautiful places in my life that there’s no way I could settle on one place as my sole favorite. If you’re wanting a quick answer, a much better question to ask me would what’s my favorite hatch to fly fish. I’d have no problem giving you a straight answer on this question. If I could spend all my time traveling around and planning out my fly fishing for one specific hatch it would be with 100% certainty, the periodic cicada hatches that occur along the Eastern United States.
In 2000, I got to experience fly fishing the periodic cicada hatch for the first time in my life. The hatch happened to occur around my home waters and for one and a half months straight, I got to experience the heavenliness of strictly fishing giant foam cicada patterns on the surface. I’d never seen a hatch have so much effect on my resident fish and I’d never witnessed such epic dry fly fishing. Day after day, I landed multiple trophy trout. The amount of food that a periodic cicada hatch provides an ecosystem is insane. Some scholars claim that the food value of a periodic cicada hatch is equivalent to an Alaskan salmon run. Have no doubts, the cicada has the power to convince the smartest and biggest fish to drop their guard and come out and feed for several weeks with total recklessness 24 hours a day.
You don’t have to be an expert fly fisherman to find success fishing a cicada hatch. It’s probably the least technical hatch I’ve ever fished. All you need to do is get yourself a good cicada fly pattern and fish it on waters where the hatch is occurring. The only thing you really need to know is go big with your tippet (2X-3X) and don’t be too quick on your hook sets. Below are some of my favorite cicada patterns.
Read More »Fear And Loathing On The Water
WHEN THINGS GO BADLY, YOU’VE GOT TO STAY POSITIVE AND TURN YOUR TRIP AROUND.
The sky is clear. Mangrove leaves glow in early morning sun. Dirty brown water floods the mud flats of Delacroix, Louisiana. I take in the view from the poling platform while struggling to move the boat against a twenty MPH wind. The last few days have been challenging, to say the least. We’ve battled the thunderstorms and wind, poor light and water clarity, and today the water temperature has dropped ten degrees. We were chased out of Venice when the Mississippi rose nine feet and landed here, where at least we know a couple of spots. The whole trip has been a mess and I’ve spent most of it on the platform. On the morning of this, the third day, I have only landed one redfish and I’m looking to turn things around.
I pole the boat into a sweet looking spot where the lee of a small island meets the mouth of a creek. It looks too good to not hold fish. My buddies Scott and Daren have given up on their fly rods and gone over to the dark side, throwing spoons and jigs on gear rods. Daren fires a cast into the creek and Scott casts to the island. Both lines come tight and we have a legitimate double in the first thirty minutes of fishing. My shoulders relax and I think that today things just might turn around. I spin the push pole in my hands and sink the point into the soft bottom to hold the boat while my friends land their fish. That’s when I hear a loud snap and the pole is suddenly free in my hand.
There’s no managing a flats boat in strong wind with a broken push pole. We spend most of day three riding back to the dock, driving a half hour to the nearest hardware store and fixing the pole. By afternoon, when we return to the flats, things have changed and there isn’t a redfish to be found. I blind cast wildly to fishy looking water while a pounding rises in my ears. My frustration becomes palpable and my casting sloppy. We call the day around 3:30 when the boats wiring starts acting up. I ride back to the dock in a state of self loathing. Voices of negativity singing choruses in my head. Feeling sorry for myself like a little bitch.
Just a week earlier I was swinging flies for steelhead on the Deschutes river in Oregon. Conditions were tough there too. I’d taken my friend Andy Bowen for his first west coast steelhead trip, to learn how to cast a two hander and swing flies from Jeff Hickman, who taught me. Andy was on the board early with two nice fish. His first, a wild buck, handed him his ass early in the fight, almost spooling him. The look on Andy’s face was priceless. He kept his cool and, with constant coaching from Jeff, landed the fish.
It was a perfect first steelhead experience. I always choose my words carefully when
Read More »Fly Fishing Q&A – What Would Kent Do
WE RECENTLY EXPERIMENTED WITH ASKING OUR G&G FACEBOOK FANS TO PROVIDE US WITH FLY FISHING TOPICS/QUESTIONS THEY WOULD LIKE US TO ANSWER AND GET MORE INFORMATION ON.
Louis coined the concept WWKD (What Would Kent Do) and it’s been very successful thanks to all of your participation. I picked out three inquiries from the participants and have provided my answers. Let us know how you like this Q&A platform and we’ll continue to use it in the effort to provide you with the content you desire.
Lance Lynch asks:
“You drive a hundred miles to a pristine river. You are so excited to get out and fish but you snap the tip off your rod. No spare rods, a full day ahead of you. WWKD?”
This is a great question because many of us have found ourselves in this situation before. You know how I always talk about carrying extra gear? This is why folks. Stuff like this happens all the time to us. It’s very easy to snap the tip off your rod getting it in or out of your vehicle, or even drop your fly reel on the ground and bend the spool. If you’re a serious fly fisherman, you should always take the time to pack extra gear, especially if you’re going to be traveling long distances to fish. Consider purchasing a inexpensive rod-tip repair kit and keep it in your vehicle and if you have a back up fly rod, pack it as well.
Fuji Rod-Tip Repair Kit
To answer your question, this is what I would do if I didn’t have a rod tip repair kit or a back up fly rod with me. It’s a quick fix, just carefully snip off the broken section as close as possible to your next rod guide with a pair of nippers or pliers. Keep in mind the fly rod won’t cast as nice, and it will catch the fly line some, but you’ll still be able to cast it well enough to make satisfactory presentations and land fish.
Kim Brock asks:
“What is the most important advice that you would give to a new trout angler. WWKD?”
This is a pretty broad question but here are seven tips I stress most with my novice clients.
One, take the time to learn the fundamentals of fly casting so you can learn proper technique. Always watch your backcast when your practicing fly casting and fishing on the water. It will shorten your learning curve, help keep you out of the trees and minimize tangles on the water. You’ll also improve your skill level much quicker overtime by doing this. If you don’t fish all that often, it can be very beneficial for you to practice fly casting a couple of times for 10-15 minutes in the yard before you head out on your fishing trip. Doing so, you’ll feel more comfortable and confident in your fly casting and you’ll have worked out many of your casting flaws.
Two, when you’re trout fishing don’t
Read More »The Perfect Gamefish
By Justin Pickett
All hype aside, golden dorado may be the perfect gamefish.
Prior to my trip to Parana On The Fly Lodge, I had my own preconceived ideas of what fishing for Golden Dorado might be like. Everyone knows they have teeth. You’ve no doubt seen them in photos, jumping and thrashing in the water. But what you don’t know about them, and what I didn’t know about them, will make them even more badass than you ever thought.
First off, they are some moody little bastards. Chucking hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of casts between fish is common. Not because the fish are scarce. There are plenty of fish living within the Parana’s waters. The Goldens just seem to have a particular set of requirements that must be met before they strike. Even the little guys can get picky and will inspect your fly all the way to the boat before turning away. I remember thinking to myself on the second day that this type of fishing reminded me of fishing for musky. Constantly pounding the banks and structure, over and over, fighting the urge to “zone out” from the repetitive nothingness of empty retrieves. Sometimes the only break in the monotony would be the occasional hang up in the bushes or trees, or maybe the hideous, haunting sound of howler monkeys blasting through the jungle. It took me a day and a half to land my first Golden Dorado. In other words, you have to work for them a little bit. You have to earn your stripes a little, and pay some dues. You’re not just going to step onto a boat, sling some line, and yank one in the boat. It takes a little bit of grit, and I like that.
Another thing that makes these apex river monsters awesome is where and how they hold in the river. Like many of our favorite gamefish here in the states, they are ambush predators. Hiding amongst submerged trees, bushes, rocks, sand banks, and cut-banks, the mean-muggers blend in to the powerful, turbulent waters of the Parana, despite their golden flanks. They hold on the
Read More »Flat Water Nymphing
The past few years, Louis and I have grown very fond of one specific pool tucked up in mountains of the southern appalachia. We visit it regularly because of the bounties of trout that it sustains and nurtures year round. We nicknamed it the “lazy boy pool”, because it constantly has food entering the pool and its slow moving water and deep water cover requires little energy for fish to feed round the clock. It’s loved by lazy trout and they in turn grow big and fat. Despite the large numbers of trout the pool holds, angler won’t find it to be a cake walk for catching them. To have success in this pool you have to bring your A-game. The fish have grown wise to fly anglers and the glass calm and crystal clear water adds further to the overall challenge. Trout here, get to examine your flies for long periods and they regularly dish out more refusals than eats. It’s had Louis and I pulling our hair out on multiple occasions. If we need our ego’s checked, this is the perfect place for us to do that. It never fails to reminds us we are far from having it all figured out. The slightest mistake by an angler will send wakes across the water alerting all the trout in the pool, and when that happens, the fish get lock jaw.
Read More »Lowcountry Winter Redfish
By Owen Plair
What makes the winter fishing for redfish so special?
There are not many fisheries that have a winter time season, due to migratory fish, cold temps, snow, and ice. One of the many great things about the Lowcountry is that it is a year round fishery for Redfish. When the bright green spartina grass starts to fade to brown and the water temperature dips below 65 degrees; you know winter fishing has arrived here on the coast of South Carolina.
One thing that’s special about the winter is the low tide fishery, which is mainly what we are fishing. The fiddlers go down in the winter which takes away the opportunity for tailing fish on the flood tides. During the low tides from mid December until the end of March, fishing can be some of the most visual of the year as large schools of 20-200 Redfish cruise the shallow water mud flats.
In the winter, water clarity is the best it gets all year. Colder water and less rain provides gin clear water on the mud flats, and small creeks. Clear winter skies make it easier to see these large schools as far as 50-100 yards from the boat, as they cruise down the mud flats in 8-10 inches of water. It’s as close to bone fishing that you can get and an absolute blast watching 5 or 6 different fish chase the fly.
Redfish school up in high numbers during the winter time to stay safe from dolphin, which are their number one predator. The dolphin also take advantage of the clear water and large schools during low tide, since there are not as many mullet or other bait fish for them to feed on. The redfish naturally feel more comfortable cruising the flats in numbers, when threatened by feeding dolphin.
Like I mentioned above, there are not a lot of baitfish and shrimp around during the winter months. One good thing about this is that the redfish
Read More »3 Bad Habits That Lose Big Fish
By Louis Cahill
Tired of hooking big fish just to lose them in the fight?
This came up the other day when I was fishing with a buddy. Like too many anglers, he’d been losing big fish, one after the next, over the same simple mistakes. It was a ‘face-palm’ moment when I pointed it out. In part because he actually knew better than to do any of these three things, and did them any way.
I’m not ragging on my buddy. I’ve seen plenty of anglers make these same mistakes and suffer the consequences. Simple habits you can get away with on the average fish become huge disasters when you hook a trophy. Have a look at this list and make sure you you’re not making the same mistakes.
3 BAD HABITS THAT LEAD TO LOST FISH
Ignoring wind knots
How many times have you felt a wind knot in your leader and thought, I’ll fix it next time? Maybe the fishing was hot and you didn’t want to miss any action. How many times did ignoring that wind knot result in breaking off a nice fish? The only time to fix wind knots is NOW. As soon as you find them, and it’s a good idea to check your leader often. If you find wind knots, chafing, nicks, or anything other than a perfect leader, fix it right away. You never know if the next fish to eat your fly will be a trophy.
A sloppy reel
Ever look down at your reel and see a sloppy mess of fly line poorly stacked on the reel? I know I have. Maybe things got hectic fighting the last fish or you just spooled up a bunch of slack line in a hurry when you saw a fish rising in the next pool. That sloppy reel is an invitation for disaster. Poorly spooled line can easily bind or knot when a strong fish starts ripping it off of the reel. When you see a bird’s nest in the making, stop, strip it all off of the reel and stack it neatly. It’s time well spent.
The statuesque angler
Like Fred McDowell said, “When the lord gets ready, you got to move.”
Read More »Look At It From The Fish’s Point Of View
Light affects what fish see and how they eat.
I am teaching a young man to fly fish. We have fished well past sundown. There is only a band of warm red along the horizon giving way to a glowing blue sky. A bright moon and stars just beginning to show themselves. Forty feet away the surface of the water dimples and rings in rhythm as trout rise the the evening hatch. My student is frustrated.
“I don’t think they like this fly. Let’s change it.”
“It’s too dark to tie on another,” I tell him, “let’s try this one a little longer. Maybe a few feet longer cast.” I know this is the right fly. He just isn’t reaching the fish.
“I think it’s too dark. They can’t see it.”
“They can see it.”
“How? It’s totally dark. I can’t see it.”
I resist my smart ass nature. I don’t say, “Well they can sure as hell see the naturals.” In stead I tell him, “Look up. Can you see those swallows? That’s what the fish sees. Mayflies, like swallows flying above them.”
This is a simple idea, but one fly anglers don’t often think about. The fish looks at your fly from a different point of view. An almost exact opposite point of view than ours. The world looks a whole lot different from below. Light, and the where it’s coming from, play a huge roll in how you choose and present your fly.
Trout are always looking up.
Even when they are eating nymphs they look for food which is at their level in the water column or higher. Not all species feed in this way. Bonefish or carp for example feed on the bottom. Other species like tarpon look up for their food. The roll which point of view plays in their eating habits, and in your presentation, will vary from species to species. Let’s look at a couple of examples.
If you read the article, “What Does The Trout See,” you know that trout have very acute color vision when the light is bright. That doesn’t always mean that fly color is crucial in full sun. Let’s say it’s mid day and the sun is high in the sky. When fish look up at a dry fly, they are looking right into the sun. Not only is this uncomfortable for them, it seriously limiters their vision.
A fly floating on the surface with the sun directly above will appear
Read More »Presenting A Fly With Your Back Cast Is Like Being Ambidextrous
LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT I THINK IS ONE OF THE MOST UNDER-RATED SALTWATER FLY CASTS. THE BACK CAST PRESENTATION.
Imagine being ambidextrous and never having to worry about what direction the wind is blowing. That’s what a back cast presentation can do for you. Using your back cast to present the fly to the fish is a key ingredient in the recipe for success in the salt.
We all know that taking advantage of every opportunity will increase your odds of catching more fish. If you can produce a nice presentation on your back cast you can take advantage of every opportunity, in any direction. Add speed and accuracy, and you will become a great saltwater fly angler.
Using the back cast as a presentation cast can be a foreign concept. Most anglers do not effectively utilize the incredible versatility of this cast, because they don’t even know to consider presenting the back cast to a fish. Everyone thinks a back cast is just a back cast and that’s all.
Let’s start looking at the many different uses for a back cast presentations. I will also explain how to use these tactics to help you catch more fish.
Angler Awareness
Your ability to have a constant awareness of wind direction is crucial. Whether you are wading or fishing from a boat, your orientation to the wind will constantly be changing. Spotting a fish will call for a quick choice of a forward cast or a back cast presentation. Your ability to know which cast will be best, ahead of time, is key. As you gain experience, this step will become automatic.
Loop Roll Over
Fully extending your line arm on your back cast presentation will help add much needed power to help roll over the loop, turning over the leader and laying your fly out straight. Lay your fly out straight and your odds of catching fish go way up.
Keep an Eye on Your Target
Since you are casting forward 180 degrees away from the fish during a back cast presentation, it’s difficult to keep an eye on the fish. Turning your body to the side a bit and opening up your stance will help you to swivel your head easier during casting to help keep your eye on the fish. Beware when you open your stance, you risk breaking your rod path off a straight line plane, causing your loop to open losing distance and accuracy.
Back Cast – Forward Cast
When presenting your fly on a back cast you should focus on all the same things you would when presenting a good forward cast. High line speed, tight loops, double hauling and a correct trajectory are all important for a successful back cast presentation.
Strip Quickly and Take Up Slack
Opening up your stance while presenting your back cast not only helps you keep an eye on the fish but will also
Tie Connor’s Jerk Minnow
THIS DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE FLY IS ALL ABOUT THE ACTION.
Connor Jones, from Cohutta Fishing Company, ties this versatile baitfish pattern for bass and trout here in the southeast. It’s a simple fly with a clean profile and it’s easy to tie in a variety of colors.
The secret to the jerk minnow is it’s action. Connor builds a hard, hollow head, from Senyo’s Laser dub and Clear Cure Hydro, which captures air and gives the jerk minnow an erratic darting action, when stripped hard. Big predatory fish can’t resist it
It’s a fly that will produce fish on lakes and rivers. Tie it in the colors and size to match the forage species on your local waters. Strip hard and hang on tight!
Watch the video and learn to tie Connor’s Jerk Minnow
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