Let Your Guide Decide
IT’S CRAZY TO ME BUT I SEE IT ALL THE TIME. GUYS WILL SPEND A FORTUNE TRAVELING TO SOME FAR FLUNG FISHING DESTINATION AND WHEN THEY GET OUT ON THE BOAT THEY’LL TIE ON THE FLY THE GUY IN THE SHOP AT HOME RECOMMENDED INSTEAD OF ASKING THEIR LOCAL GUIDE.
Guides behave differently in different locations. A Florida Keys guide would never let you tie on a fly from your box with out approving it first. He’d more likely just cut it off and tie on one of his own, but guides in other places can be a lot more low key. In the Bahamas for example the guides are very laid back and if a client ties on a fly, they will likely not question it. They of course have an opinion, an informed one at that, and if you ask for it you’ll get it.
I was on the boat one day with, Andros South guide, Jose Sands and an angler who will remain nameless. This fellow is a great fisherman and a guide at home. He had selected a fly from his box and when the time came made a perfect presentation to a huge bonefish
Read More »Reece’s Surface Assassin
By Bob Reece
For many fly fishers there is nothing more enchanting that watching trout sip emerging insects from the water’s surface.
This allure can often lead to frustration without the proper pattern and presentation. While the fly fisher is responsible for presentation, Reece’s Surface Assassin is the appropriate pattern.
Both emerging mayflies and caddis flies display some common characteristics when viewed from below. A smooth shelled abdomen along with the husky remains of gills, legs and antennae dangle below the surface film. Simultaneously the glistening exoskeleton and compressed wings of the “new” insect emerge on the water’s surface. Reece’s Surface Assassin, in its wide array of colors, effectively displays this combination of traits to feeding trout.
When fishing this pattern I typically use it as a solo dry. However, in heavy emergences I do rig two Assassins as double dries. I always connect them eye to eye using a non-slip mono loop knot to attach each fly. This allows
Read More »DIY Bonefishing – It’s All About The Short Game
By Rod Hamilton
“I HAVE SEEN MORE THAN ONE FFF CERTIFIED CASTING INSTRUCTOR BROUGHT TO TEARS AFTER HIS TENTH BLOWN SHOT AT UNDER FORTY FEET”
Whether you are wading in eighteen inches of water, weaving through the mangroves or doing the Flamingo Slide over a mucky flat, there is no such thing as a seventy-foot cast. For DIY fisherman, it’s all about the Short Game.
Leave your driver, fairway woods and long irons in the bag. DIY success is about accuracy with your wedges and putter. It calls for short precise shots, minimal false casting and one chance to make a pinpoint presentation. There are no Gimmies at thirty feet.
I have had the good fortune to fish with some great anglers and casters this year. I’m still awestruck by the elegance of them laying out an eighty-foot line. But I’ve come to realize that the skills required to be successful from the front of a skiff don’t necessarily translate to being successful in the “hand to hand” combat experienced by the DIY guy.
I’m talking about soft presentations at 20 – 40 feet in 25 m.p.h. winds with one false cast. Then dropping the fly not in a Hula Hoop, but on a Frisbee.
Let me tell you I have seen more than one FFF Certified Casting Instructor brought to tears after his tenth blown shot at under forty feet. It’s the difference between being a great driver of a golf ball and a great putter, both are wonderful skills to posses, but different.
Setting the stage for a DIY day; you just got out of your car or off your bicycle. The fish you will be encountering have seen a “Charlie” before; in fact they probably bolted from one yesterday. And the direction you walk has more to do with “where can I go” then the sun, wind and tide.
And, 90% of your casts will be forty feet or less.
SKILLS REQUIRED FOR THE SHORT GAME:
Read More »4 Tips For Capturing Better Release Shots of Your Fish
Your best shot at capturing a good photograph of you and your catch, is first having someone along with you that’s competent with a camera in their hands.
But even a world class photographer will tell you, it’s extremely difficult getting those picture perfect photographs, if the person handling the fish has no clue what their doing. Some of my favorite fly fishing shots to look at are catch and release shots, because there seems to be something extra moving about capturing the release of a fish in a photograph. Problem is, release shots are often some of the hardest photographs to pull off on the water. You have to have satisfactory light and adequate water clarity, but even with both of those, much of your success will ultimately be determined by the cooperation of the fish your shooting. Below are four tips for capturing better release shots that Louis and I have learned through trial and error over the years. Followed correctly, they should increase your chances at getting that perfect catch and release shot.
Tip 1: Choose a Calm Stretch of Water for the Release When Possible
Fast moving water isn’t optimal. If you can find a nice eddy or a calm stretch of water close by, you’ll find it much easier to photograph a nice release shot. In most cases, slower moving water will provide you with better water clarity for showcasing the fish below the surface during the release. I’ve also found it’s much easier to handle and keep the fish in proper position in slower moving water.
Tip 2: Keep Your Catch Calm and Relaxed
Don’t be in a rush to get the shot. Keep the fish in the water and in the net until it has calmed down before you move forward with the release shot. This is especially true if you land the fish quickly. A hot fish generally will swim off so fast, it will be
Why You Should Invest In Your Casting
By Justin Pickett
I have never met anyone who could pick up a five-weight fly rod and make consistent, accurate fifty-foot casts without ever having prior experience with fly casting.
I used to play a ton of golf. So much so that at one point, much earlier in my youth, I could hold my own on any given course and typically shoot Par. Nothing to really brag on, but I wasn’t bad. During my time around golf courses, I never met anyone who could walk up to the 1st tee on any given course and drive the golf ball 300yds down the middle of the fairway without ever having swung a golf club before. It takes a considerable amount of learning and practice to develop the skills needed to be able to hit a golf ball with accuracy, control, and distance. And then there are the many other skills, such as putting, chipping, and bunker shots, requiring different strokes, techniques, and timing that must be practiced in order to put an entire round of eighteen holes together. For the vast majority, it’s a large investment in one’s time and effort to become a decent golfer and get the most enjoyment out of your day on the course. On a side note, I have also yet to meet anyone who enjoys looking for golf balls in the woods all day.
I have been fly fishing since the young age of ten. In my thirty-something years, I have fished way more than I ever golfed, and I have to say that I have never met anyone who could pick up a five-weight fly rod and make consistent, accurate fifty-foot casts without having prior experience with fly casting or fly fishing. Just like with golf, it takes a considerable amount of learning and practice to develop the skills needed to be able to consistently complete an accurate fly cast of any distance. Throw in roll casts, water hauls, the double haul, and reach casts and it’s starting to get a little overwhelming for the beginning angler. We haven’t even begun to talk about all the other little pieces, such as mending, hookset, fish fighting, etc. It’s a lot of info and a lot of factors that have to all come together fluidly for the angler to successfully bring fish to hand on a consistent basis, which adds to the enjoyment of our time spent on the water.
I wanted to place a focus on casting, though, because it is the first skill we need to learn in order to place a fly effectively in or on the water, and it is
Read More »Lock your forceps
By Dan Frasier
For all you flats guys and bank fishermen out there.
Landing, unhooking, wrangling, getting a picture, and releasing a fish can all turn into a giant goat rodeo. Nothing makes it worse than having a bare hook connected to a nearly invisible line which is tied to your very expensive rod; flailing about. One trick I love is to use my forceps to unhook the fish, and then lock them onto
Read More »Nets, Go Big or Go Home
I received an email from a reader the other day asking advice on steelhead nets. I thought it was a topic worth some discussion. We put a lot of thought into rods, reels, lines and flies but often the piece of equipment that seals the deal is an afterthought. I was guilty of this for years, carrying a net that wasn’t up to the job for purely sentimental reasons. I finally realized it made no sense and tooled up.
HERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I LOOK FOR IN A NET.
Size Matters
Bigger is better and biggest is best! When your fighting the fish of a lifetime you don’t have time to run to Wal-Mart for a bigger net. Plan for success. My regular trout net is 20″ across. For steelhead you’ll want something bigger. It’s easier to net a tough fish and it gentler on them as well. Go big or go home.
The Bag
This is the most important thing to me. Traditional nets tear fins and remove slime from fish. The new rubber nets are the friendliest thing for the fish. Put them back the way you found them.
A Long Handel
I don’t care what they allow in competition, longer is better. If it means you net the fish faster it cuts down on the chance you will unbutton and it’s better for the fish.
Light Weight
I love the look of a wooden net but the big ones are too heavy to carry wading. I use the
How Louis Got His Groove Back
IT’S HARD TO OVERSTATE THE IMPORTANCE OF CONFIDENCE IN FLY FISHING. IT’S OFTEN THE SPECIAL SAUCE ON SUCCESS.
I squint into the sun. My eyes burn from sweat and sun screen. I take a few deep breaths and puff them back out. I stretch my neck side to side, it pops and cracks. I close my eyes for a second, though I know I shouldn’t, I squeeze the cork in my hand and try to slow my heart rate. I open my eyes and I see an army of tarpon. I am loosing my cool.
There must be fifty or sixty fish in this school and plenty of them are a hundred pounds or better. I’ve seen it before but it’s a sight you never get used to. You can easily spend a whole day on a flats boat staring at the water without seeing a fish. I’ve done that too. Moments like this have to be savored and at first I was doing a pretty good job of it but now things are getting weird.
Normally in salt water fly fishing the presentation is what matters. That’s not to say that you don’t need the right fly but it’s not generally like fishing to a educated brown trout who’s only eating the females among the emerging mayflies. Not generally, but this afternoon is different. These fish are being really picky. Normally, you get a shot at a fish and it’s either interested, or it’s not and you are left to wonder why or just assume that fish isn’t eating and move on looking for the next fish. You don’t get the luxury of sitting there and sorting it out. This afternoon we are sitting in the midst of a huge school of tarpon, who are clearly eating all around us, and I have made a dozen good presentations, each to be met with a follow and a refusal. It feels oddly like trout fishing. My buddy Joel Dickey is working thru every fly in his box trying to put me on a fish while we watch tarpon busting the surface all around us. These fish are keyed in on something and we are trying to match the hatch.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of confidence in fly fishing. It’s often the special sauce on success. The thing that gives one angler the hot rod while his buddy fishes the same fly and goes fish-less. I felt real confident when we rolled up on these fish. How could you not? A school of fifty feeding fish, surely you’re going to get one, right? But with each nerve-racking follow and heart breaking refusal my confidence is eroding. My presentations are getting rushed, my casts becoming less and less accurate, my
Read More »Bob Heads Downstream
DON’T WE ALL KNOW THE FEELING?
See more of Bob and the art of Andrea Larko on Etsy.
Read More »Caring For Zip-front Waders
MODERN WATERPROOF ZIPPERS HAVE REVOLUTIONIZED THE DESIGN OF WADERS.
The ease and convenience of zip-front waders is easy to get used to. There was a time when I scoffed at the idea, but now I can’t see fishing in anything else. Especially with the durability and dependability found in the new waterproof zippers. My Simms G4Z waders are bombproof and require virtually no maintenance. Still, waders are expensive and it pays to take care of them.
Here are a few tips to keep your zip-fronts going strong.
Never pack your waders zipped
This is the most important thing I can tell you about waterproof zippers. I once spent a very cold week steelheading in open waders. Throwing a pair of waders with the zipper zipped into your duffle and driving to the river may not be the end of them, but fold those waders and put them in a bag and hand them over to an airline and you’re screwed. When your bag ends up at the bottom of a pile of luggage a lot of weight is on the fold in that zipper. As that fold is flattened, the teeth pop apart below the pull. The zipper pull will not re-mesh them and the separation will grow until the entire zipper is open. Your waders are done. Always pack your waders unzipped to avoid this problem.
Wash your zipper
It’s a good idea to wash your waders once in a while anyway. This will greatly increase the longevity of your fishing buddies. It will also keep mildew from growing. Mildew, in addition to smelling awful, will degrade the seams and cause waders to leek. While you’re at it, wash the zipper thoroughly with running water and dry your waders wrong-side-out. This will clear grit from the zipper that can jam the pull and damage the teeth.
Lubricate your zipper
Lubricating your zipper will keep it moving freely and
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