Hellgrammite, The King Kong of Aquatic Insects
I was on the water trout fishing the other day, when my buddy Erik Ashlin said, “it was just about this time last year, when all the hellgrammites began crawling into the shallows to begin their pupation.
Let me flip over a rock and see if I can find one real quick, these guys are wicked looking”. No joke, the first rock Erik turned over, this freaking giant 3″ Hellgrammite was laying there with its jaws of life (mandibles) snapping. It was very clear it was gesturing, “come on, get closer…, let me get a piece of you”!
If you ever get the opportunity to examine a big Hellgrammite up close, there will be no doubt in your mind that the Hellgrammite is the King Kong of all aquatic insects. Be careful handling them because they can pack one hell of a painful pinch capable of breaking the skin. Hellgrammites are like a five course meal in terms of food value to trout. I’d lay a bet they pack every bit as much caloric worth as sculpins and crayfish do. Great times to fish hellgrammite imitations are during high flows after heavy rains. During these conditions, they often get dislodged from under rocks and swept down stream. Hellgrammites are also very vulnerable during behavioral drifts, when the larva are searching out new feeding grounds or better water conditions.
If you’re trying to tempt a trophy brown trout, rainbow trout, or smallmouth bass into eating, you can’t go wrong with a hellgrammite imitation. That being said, Hellgrammites shouldn’t be used as your everyday searching pattern. Somedays you’ll find
Read More »Bonefish On Bamboo
I’LL BE HONEST, WHEN BROWER MOFFIT PUT THIS BEAUTIFUL, FLAMED, THOMAS AND THOMAS NINE WEIGHT SALTWATER PROTOTYPE CANE ROD IN MY HAND MY EXPECTATIONS WERE LIMITED.
Saltwater bamboo? This has got to be a gimmick, I thought. A rod designed to separate some wealthy fellow from a sizable chunk of cash rather than connect him to a fish. After a day fishing it, I’m ashamed of that thought. I loved this rod the first time I cast it. The second time I cast it, it brought me a bonefish. Now, I’m not only prepared to tell you it’s no gimmick, I’m prepared to tell you how it’s better than graphite.
Before you assume that I’ve lost my mind, I’ll offer you this disclaimer: if you are only going to own one saltwater rod, this is not it. The T&T saltwater bamboo is a special purpose rod. On those days when you are out on the flats and the wind is blowing 30, hell 15, this is not the rod you need. Anyone who fishes the salt can tell you, there are a whole lot more of those days than calm ones. On the other hand, anyone who’s fished those calm days can tell you what a challenge they are. A windless day on the flats will redefine the word spooky.
As fate would have it, the day I fished the saltwater prototype was just such a day. Calm and clear after a week of tough weather. The fish were spooky. Long casts and delicate presentations were what was needed if we were going to feed some fish. Luckily, I had the right stick in my hand.
Read More »Fish Every Cast!
By Justin Pickett
From the great casts and the perfect drifts, to the ugly presentations and the drowned dry flies, if those flies hit the water, let ‘em drift!
Just about every day that I spend on the water with a client, I’ll find myself, at some point, explaining to them the reasons why I want them to fish each and every cast to the very end.
Flies only catch fish when they are on, or in, the water. Well, at least 99.999999% of the time anyway. All too often I see clients and friends lay their flies on the water, only to immediately rip them off the surface in order to make another presentation. If it’s a buddy of mine, I’ll often give ‘em some grief for it. However, more times than not, it’s a client, which brings me to a stopping point in order to educate them on why I don’t want them doing this.
For one, the act of landing flies on the water, whether it be a single dry or a gaggle of nymphs, and then ripping them off the water makes quite a commotion. The noises, ripples, and splashes that occur from essentially ripping a clothesline from the surface will no doubt either spook the trout you are fishing to, or at least alert them that the day’s contestants have arrived to play the game. If the flies hit the water, leave ‘em! Wait for them to drift out of the run, or at least well downstream of the fish, before picking them up to regroup.
Secondly, take your time and regroup. Yanking your flies from the water only to cast again without changing anything isn’t likely to make the next presentation any more successful. If you land your flies in a less than desirable location, let them drift out before taking them off the water and then take the time to makes adjustments before making your next presentation. Not taking the time to make adjustments only sets you up to likely making another undesirable cast. Move your feet, rotate your shoulders, check your distance. DO SOMETHING! Remember the definition of insanity? Take your time and maximize your chances to succeed.
The third thing that I emphasize to my clients is
Read More »Stop Dropping Your Rod Tip Once And For All: Video
If you’ve ever been told that you are dropping your rod tip, waving your rod, or that you need to shorten your stroke, congratulations, you have the most common casting problem in fly-fishing.
Most fly casters struggle to keep their rod tip traveling in a straight line. Usually a bad habit we picked up casting gear rods as kids. If you can’t make a tight loop or your leader piles up when your line hits the water, this is probably the problem you’re having. It’s extremely common. Don’t beat yourself up over it, just fix it.
Tim Rajeff showed me how to make this simple practice setup, that fixes this problem once and for all. It’s a brilliant solution because it doesn’t involve talking about it. It just trains your muscles to make the right stroke. It’s one of the best things you can do for your fly casting. I use it all the time, when I teach casting and I see the difference.
WATCH THE VIDEO AND STOP DROPPING YOUR ROD TIP ONCE AND FOR ALL.
Read More »8 Common Mistakes Anglers Make Fighting Trout
If I looked backed on my early fly fishing days and had to grade my fish fighting skills, it would yield a discouraging report card.
I lost way more fish than I actually landed during those first few years after picking up a fly rod. I’ll never forget how tense and anxious I was every time I’d find myself hooked up with a nice trout. It seemed like every second of the battle I was terrified that I was going to lose my trophy. In turn, I constantly second guessed my fighting instincts, I wouldn’t follow after my fish if it swam upstream or downstream of me, and I knew very little about the correlation between rod position and applying fighting pressure. Furthermore, I was really clumsy when it came to clearing my excess fly line and reeling in the fish. I always had a hard time figuring out when it was a good time to do that. When all said and done, I bet I only landed one or two fish out of every five fish I hooked during my rookie days. That’s not so hot, probably a D average if I was grading myself extremely leniently. We’ve all been there at some point during our fly fishing career, some of us may even find ourselves with that D average right now. Here’s the positive outlook though, most trout that are hooked and lost during the fight can be linked back to a handful of common mistakes. Yet, most of the time, they all can be easily avoided if you pay close attention to what you’re doing when you’re fighting a trout.
Mistake #1 – Not being in the hook set ready position
I know it sounds elementary, but during my early days, I would often find myself fumbling around with my fly line during my drifts. I didn’t always have my fly line secure in my rod hand, and that usually put me with too much slack in my fly line to pull off a solid hook set. I see anglers all the time during their drifts holding their fly line in their stripping hand only. Bites often come when we least expect them. To increase your chances of getting a good hook set and landing the trout, always make sure you’re in the hook set ready position. Get in the habit of putting the fly line in your index and middle finger on your rod hand immediately after you present your fly. This will have you ready to set the hook the instant you get a bite, and you’ll find your line management will improve.
Mistake #2 – Anglers fail to keep tension after the hook set
Not all the time, but more times than not, trout will swim towards you after being hooked, and it’s critical that you keep your rod tip up and immediately begin stripping in your fly line after the hook set. Doing so, you’ll have a good chance at eliminating the slack and maintaining tension on the fish. Instead of stripping, some fly anglers feel compelled to swing their body around and begin moving away from the fish after setting the hook. This puts the angler out of position, shuffling their feet awkwardly and also doesn’t allow them
What’s Correct, Left or Right Hand Retreive?
I cast right handed so I should reel with my left hand right?
Ask a saltwater guide and 95% of them will tell you the correct way is to always reel with your dominant hand. Ask a trout fisherman and most will say you should reel with the hand opposite your casting hand, because that way you don’t have to switch hands in the middle of fighting a fish to reel. I could go on and on arguing for both sides actually, but I think in the end it’s really a matter of personal preference. In my opinion, there’s no right or wrong way to reel as long as you’re able to get the job done on the water. I figured out a long time ago it would be beneficial for me to learn how to reel and fish effectively both ways. That way it would never be an issue when I was borrowing gear from a buddy, fishing the rod my guide has rigged up for me, or hitting the saltwater flats. It’s worked out great for me and I highly recommend others doing so.
That being said, having sat here and pondered this subject for about an hour now, I decided to call a couple of my buddies in the industry to get their personal opinions. My first buddy works at one of the most prestigious fly shops in the country and he told me the left hand right hand debate, has become one of his biggest pet peeves. He says customers come into the shop all the time asking to get a reel spooled up and when he asks them if they want left or right hand retrieve, he often gets the answer, “Let me call my buddy and ask him what setup I should use”. My fly shop buddy argues, “There’s no law or rule that requires us to fish and reel a certain way. Who cares if someone says your ass backwards. You have every right to fish the way you feel most comfortable”. I happen to strongly agree
Read More »Tipping Good & Bad Fly Fishing Guides Accordingly
Despite all the content put out over the years, and all the communications between fly anglers on this topic, there still seems to be quite a bit of mystery still out there when it comes to tipping fly fishing guides.
I get many clients that tip above and beyond what’s expected of them. Other times, I’m literally crawling back to my truck with every ounce of energy zapped from instructing and putting my clients on fish, and at the end of the day I’m blessed with a cold empty handshake. Sometimes, there seems to be no reasoning at all with gratuity, most clients seem to get it, but no matter what, there’s always going to be those few that feel gratuity isn’t necessary or are uneducated that it’s customary. All I truly care about is that gratuity is determined and provided to the guide based on customer service and professionalism, and that with any service-oriented job, regardless of the industry, gratuity should be on the radar.
A few weeks ago, one of our loyal Gink & Gasoline followers sent us an email that voiced a few concerns about a fly fishing guide they hired on a recent float trip. Apparently, at the end of the day the follower and his partner were in disagreement about the amount of guide gratuity they should leave. Below is the email and question that was sent to us:
“I would like to get your thoughts on tipping guides. I just came back from a trip to Montana and mentioning no names, I spent a week with a very well-known guide. The trip went well and we caught a lot of fish but his equipment sucked. His Driftboat was a small skiff that he did not want you standing up in to cast, and his Skadden style raft frames front seat came off three times, almost pitching my buddy into the river. Any thoughts on amounts or percentages for tipping would be greatly appreciated.”
My Reply:
Here’s my opinion on what you told me, but keep in mind I was not there and did not see the water conditions or his boat equipment.
I’d say your guide passed with flying colors on putting you on fish and that should be a big positive. Depending on your skill level your guide probably had to work extra hard to keep you consistently hooked up with fish. On the other hand,
Read More »Crazy Water on the Dean
You will be reading more in the coming weeks about my trip to British Columbia to fish the Dean River.
In every post I will likely mention the tough fishing conditions. In order for you to really understand what I mean by “tough fishing conditions” I put together this little video.
I have never seen a river so crazy high. The fact that we fished the very next day and the fact that we caught fish that week is a testament to what a truly remarkable river the Dean is. I can’t wait to go back but I hope I have better conditions.
Check out the video!
Read More »Make Better Backhand Casts: Video
The average fly fisher struggles with making a backhand presentation.
A good backhand presentation is the mark of an effective angler. Being able to deliver a fly on the backcast makes you more efficient on the water and, simply put, catches fish. If you can make a good forward cast, you already have the skills you need to make a good backhand cast. It’s just a matter of getting your head around it.
The trick is getting your body into a natural casting position, and remember to make a good positive stop. Once you get the feel for it, there’s nothing to it. It will make you a much more effective angler. Especially when streamer fishing.
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO IMPROVE YOUR BACKCAST PRESENTATION.
Read More »Fly Fishing: Be a Big Brother
How many times have you stood by watching a rookie fly fisherman struggling to catch fish, and instead of helping them out, you turned your cheek, simply because you were in too much of a hurry to wet your own line? I know I’ve been there many times. Heck, I’ve been the guy joking around with my buddy saying, “Look at that guy. He’s standing right where the fish are and casting his fly where he should be standing.” It’s easy to forget that we’ve all been that newcomer at some point in our fly fishing past. Make no mistake, even the anglers currently with mad fly fishing skills, the ones that often carry overly inflated egos both on and off the water, knew absolutely jack squat about fly fishing much more recently than they’d care to admit. Take a minute or two to reflect on your own past, and chances are, it probably hasn’t been all that long since you were that angler that you just finished making fun of for being clueless. I can clearly remember making long drives on the weekends to chase trout up in the mountains, only to drive home discouraged with the smell of skunk all over me. It was never a good feeling, and in most cases, it could have been avoided if someone would have stepped up as a big brother/sister and helped me out for a few minutes.
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