Louis’s Saltwater Casting Drill
There’s no debate, practicing your casting makes you a more effective angler.
But all practice is not created equal. Simply heading down to the park and hucking as much line as possible doesn’t accomplish much. A while back we published a practice routine recommended by Tim Rajeff. If you haven’t seen that video, you should check it out. Any angler can benefit from Tim’s practice plan.
Today I’m going to add my own casting drill. This is a saltwater specific drill that works on a couple of techniques commonly used in saltwater fly fishing. It simulates making three presentations to a moving fish and it requires several tasks at once.
I lay out 3 hula-hoops in a line. The first at 40 feet, the next at 60 feet and the last at 80 feet. If you can’t cast 80 feet just shorten the gaps and work with the cast you have. I then step to the side so the three rings appear as a diagonal line. Starting in my ready position, I cast to the first ring, then pick up the line and cast to the second ring, and then the third. I do all of this with no false casting.
Don’t stress out about hitting the center of the rings. Your accuracy will improve with practice. Work on making the presentations efficiently without false casting, by shooting your line to the target. Pick the line up slow and smooth so your fly will not make noise and spook the fish. Work on making the three casts as quickly and accurately as possible.
I like this drill because it teaches several techniques in a realistic fishing scenario. If you can hit those three targets quietly in 10 seconds or less you’re going to do well on the water. It’s easier than it sounds. Just stay focused and keep practicing.
For the gear-heads, I’m casting the new
Read More »Fixing A Twisted Fly Line In Seconds
Every fly angler has experienced a wicked twist in their fly line causing it to tangle and knot at their feet.
It may be caused by a flawed casting stroke, a big fly twisting in the wind or it may be God punishing you for masturbating. Regardless of why it occurs, it’s frustrating at the least and heartbreaking at the worst. There’s nothing worse than taking a shot at the fish of a lifetime, only to have your cast cut short by a knot in your guides.
Fortunately, a twisted fly line is easy to fix. You don’t have to lose valuable fishing time, while stripping the entire line off the reel and towing it behind the boat or letting it hang in the current. You can fix that twist in seconds.
In this video, our good friend Zack Dalton from RIO Products shows you how.
Read More »Bends Are Like Best Friends
Bends in rivers and streams are like my best friends.
They possess all the qualities that I value and they always provide me consistent support in my endeavors. I don’t know about you, but when I find myself staring at a section of river or stream and I see a nice bend, I quite often head straight for it. I do this because I know it will usually produce a quality fish or two on the end of my line, and it’s generally very obvious to me where I should present my flies.
Just about every bend you encounter on the water will hold these three qualities.
1. One Well Defined Current
There usually will be one well defined current, collecting and moving food through the bend. This clearly indicates to anglers where the most food is drifting and where the fish should be positioned to intercept it.
2. Clear Channel or Trough
That well defined current usually has cut out a deep channel or trough in the bend. This reinforces further why fish will be located here. The deeper that fish can get below the surface and current, the less energy they’ll have to exert to maintain position and feed. The deeper water also provides
Listen To Your Heart
Hear I am, in the front row of Symphony Hall, tears streaming down my face, thinking about Beethoven.
If you’re wondering what this has to do with fly fishing, that’s a fair question. Stick with me for a bit and maybe I’ll get there. Maybe not. First you’re going to hear about Beethoven, and a little about me.
Music has always been a huge part of my life. It’s one of a few things I am truly passionate about. My musical taste has never been defined by genre. I deeply love some pieces from every style of music, and passionately hate many more. It’s hard to have a conversation with me about it. I know what I think. At heart, my aesthetic is punk rock. Long before we coined that term. I have always been attracted to artists who rebelled. Creators so passionate and singular in their vision that they angered way more people than they attracted. For me, these are the ones who get it, and no one got it like Beethoven. If you trace the family tree of punk back past Joe Strummer, Iggy Pop, Brian Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis and Hank Williams, you will eventually find the first punk to stand erect and scream at the sky was likely Beethoven.
Of everything he wrote, the piece that really gets to me is the Ninth. I’m in pretty good company saying that it is the single most powerful piece of music ever written. I’ve been a regular at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for over thirty years and have had the chance to see the Ninth performed several times. I was even lucky enough to attend a dress rehearsal, with Yoel Levi conducting the orchestra and the late Robert Shaw the chorus, in which they played the fourth movement twice! My wife and I saw it again last night and it was one of the most powerful musical experiences of my life.
I had a bit of an epiphany there in the front row. I’m going to share it with you but first you should understand that I am not a musicologist or musical historian, just an enthusiastic fan. Scholars have argued about the meaning of the Ninth Symphony since it was written. I’m certainly not going to settle that. In the end, like any piece of art, the Ninth belongs to every one who listens to it. Its meaning is that which you ascribe.
Beethoven was a troubled dude. He had the reputation for being an asshole
Read More »Swing For The Fence On Every Cast
By Louis Cahill
After four days swinging flies in dirty water without a pull it’s easy to lose faith.
I faced some pretty tough conditions on a recent trip to the Dean River in British Columbia. Heavy rain turned the river into a raging mess of mud and floating trees. It was not a pretty sight, but I turned it around.
High water tactics can be laborious. Fishing long heavy sink tips and weighted flies makes casting a chore and swinging your fly a downright pain in the ass. You have to put the fly where the fish are and in high water they are hunkered down on structure or hugging the bank. Getting down to submerged structure in fast water means weight and lots of it. That means lots of hanging up on the rocks, especially at the end of your swing.
After four days with no action and hanging your fly up on every cast it’s easy to start avoiding the water that you know is going to give you trouble. Little things like picking up your fly just before it reaches the end of its swing or not giving that sink tip quite as long to sink makes robotic fishing easier on your nerves. The problem is, it doesn’t catch fish.
The worst is when, after days of toil without a fish, you snag that rock and immediately throw your line over it only to see it turn and bolt downstream without your fly in its mouth. We’ve all done it. I learned long ago that big fish often eat like rocks. I always hold pressure on a rock for a few seconds at least. It’s paid off many times and it paid off again in BC.
After four days of fishing and clearing ten thousand snags, when my fly stopped I held on, maybe ten seconds, before a beautiful bright steelhead gave me a sign of life. Ten seconds feels like an eternity at the end of four days but it’s like Lou Reed says, “You need a bus load of faith to get by.”
Kent calls it fishing with confidence. Faith or confidence, either way a good fisherman always believes in his heart that, this is the cast. Eventually he’s right. My numbers were
Read More »The Tequeely Streamer
By Bob Reece Some patterns simply brighten up a fly box with their aesthetics. Hopefully, if they’re in your box, their visual appeal is matched by their effectiveness. This tandem of traits is true for the Tequeely streamer. After extensive research I was unable to find the creator of this pattern. I’ve heard stories of it originating in Montana as an imitation of newly hatched baby birds that would frequently fall from their streamside nests. Regardless of whose mind it came from or its original purpose, the fact remains that it works. On the freestone waters of Colorado and Wyoming that I fish, May through early July typically produces higher water that carries some color. Flash reigns supreme in these conditions. Yellow marabou and rubber legs along with a reflective body, turns this streamer into an underwater beacon. The gold bead only adds to this and provides the needed weight to punch this pattern through the surface film. While its imitational intentions remain clouded, the results that this streamer produces do not. Its combination of traits trigger a response in dominant fish, particularly large browns. However, its uses since inception have reached numerous species of fish. If you’re in search of a flashy producer for you streamer arsenal, add this bling filled bug to your box. Watch the video and learn to tie the Tequeely: To see more tying videos by Bob Reece, click the link below: http://www.thinairangler.com/tying-videos To connect with Bob Reece as your personal Fly Coach, click the link below: http://www.thinairangler.com/fly-coach Bob Reece Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!
Read More »Dicky’s Tarpon Silencer
WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD FLY?
On dead calm days in the Florida Keys the silver king can be afraid of his on shadow. I’ve seen plenty of big tarpon vanish at the sound of the fly landing on the water. As a flats guide, so has Joel Dickey. That’s why he came up with this fly that the calls the Tarpon Silencer. The Silencer lands so softly that even the most skittish tarpon keep their cool and it’s shrimpy profile is irresistible.
If you’re planning a trip to the Keys, or any tarpon fishing destination, this is a fly you want in your box.
Watch the video and learn to tie Dicky’s Tarpon Silencer.
Read More »Don’t Let Go of the Fly Line in Your Rod Hand During the Hook Set
Have you ever set the hook on a fish, and the next thing you know, you’ve got your arms spread apart in the shape of a giant slice of pizza, leaving you unable to reach the fly line with your rod hand?
Do not be ashamed if this happens to you every now and then on the water. You’re not alone, I promise. Many fly anglers do this regularly, and the reason they get themselves in this situation is because they’re letting go of the fly line in their rod hand when they set the hook. You can completely eliminate this problem on the water if you make sure you keep a solid grip on the fly line with your rod hand during and after every hook set. Doing so, it will allow you to maintain tension and control of the fish while you’re stripping in fly line or getting that excess fly line on the reel.
I know some of you that have found yourself in this situation have probably used your mouth to hold onto the fly line until you can get your hands back into the correct position. God, I know I have plenty of times.
Read More »Fly Casting Tip – Rely On Muscle Memory for Difficult Casts
Visiting Yahoo today to check my emails, one of the headline articles titled “Why We Choke When All Is on the Line” caught my attention.
As I read the article, it reminded me of a lesson I learned a long time ago as a guide, which was, most of the time my clients cast better in tough or high pressure situations when they’re relaxed, confident and keep their head (brain) out of the game. It’s really easy to think that the more difficult a fly fishing presentation is, the more we should be trying to focus and think about every detail of our cast during the execution. According to many neuroscientists and psychologists who’ve studied why professional athletes choke under pressure, most agree that thinking too much during a task, no matter how routine it may be, can actually decrease your chances for succeeding in high pressure situations.
Read More »Fight The Good Fight, in Saltwater or Fresh
MY FRIEND KIRK DEETER SAYS FRESHWATER AND SALTWATER FLY FISHING ARE, “TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SPORTS PLAYED WITH THE SAME EQUIPMENT.”
In essence that is true and Kirk’s point is doubly true. Anyone who’s tried both can attest to that, but some of that equipment looks more similar than it is.
Reels, lines, leaders, hooks, tying materials are all different but there is likely no piece of equipment more different than the rod. There are a lot of differences between freshwater and saltwater rods and in several ways their use is quite different. This became readily apparent while giving a good friend, who guides for trout, a quick lesson before is first bonefish trip. He’s a great fisherman and caster but I could see from the look on his face that the eight weight I was lending him was strikingly unfamiliar.
We’ve talked a good bit about saltwater casting, the double haul and line speed but for those who are making the switch from trout to saltwater fly fishing, I’d like to offer some pointers on the techniques that I feel are the least intuitive. The fighting of fish.
When it comes to the fight, the trout rod and the saltwater rod are truly two different tools and they require different techniques. The divergence of those techniques starts with a fundamental element, the fish. It is the difference in the fish that dictates both the design of the rod and the tactics employed in its use.
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