5 Tips To Stop Breaking Off Bonefish
By Louis Cahill
If you’re breaking off bonefish, there’s probably and easy fix.
Someone asked me not long ago about losing bonefish due to tippet breaking. It happens to the best of us but there are only a couple of ways for it to happen and each has a pretty simple fix. If you follow a few simple guidelines you can cut way down on the number of bonefish you lose.
It’s fair to say that several of the potential problems I’m going to talk about apply to almost any species of fish. Some are much more common in the environment where we find bonefish and others just happen more frequently because of the speed with which things happen in bonefishing. It is a demanding game but breaking fish off should not be a problem.
Keep in mind that tippet strength is always a concern and in no way a constant. The weight of your tippet has everything to do with where you’re fishing. In locations where bonefish see a lot of pressure, you will need to fish lighter tippet and you will have to be much more diligent. Regardless of the strength of your tippet, there is no reason not to fish to the best of your ability and each of these tips is relevant.
How bonefish break off and how to stop them.
THE HOOK SET
One of the most common ways anglers break fish off is on the hook set. Bonefish behave unpredictably. Often a fish will eat your fly and make an immediate turn away from you. Sometimes even before you strip set. This is most common when a fish charges the fly while it is still high in the water column. Even small bonefish are powerful and failing to give them line when they need it will result in a familiar popping sound. You need to
Read More »Imposter Syndrome on the Flats
By Tim Loonam Is faking it keeping you from making it? I’m standing on the deck of a Bair’s Lodge flats boat on South Andros and turn to look over my shoulder. There’s our guide, Gary, wearing that huge Bahamian smile with the ever-present cigar stub in the corner of his mouth and an off-kilter ball cap barely covering his unruly mop of mini-dreads. I look down at Louis Cahill, my fishing partner as he finishes uncoiling the fly line I’ve stripped into the cockpit. He too smiles at me and boosts my confidence saying, “You got this, dude.” I turn forward just as Gary calmly says, “Get ready, mon…bonefish 2 o’clock…50 feet, moving right to left.” I take a deep breath and think of the Nobel Prize. Wait, what…? Before you punch your fist into your open palm and say, “You’re dead, nerd!”, stay with me. As I got ready to cast, I thought about the 2000 award in psychology known as The Dunning-Kruger Effect. The Dunning-Kruger Effect applies anytime we engage in a new endeavor whether it’s learning a foreign language, flying a plane, performing brain surgery, or in my case, a double haul cast to a ghost of the flats. In their research, David Dunning and Justin Kruger plotted their subject’s confidence level in a task against the subject’s actual competency, and what they found universally was with any new task we all start out Unconsciously Incompetent: We simply don’t know how bad we are. That certainly applied to my first attempts at the double haul. I remember flinging that fly line around like one of those Korean dancers with a ribbon attached to a stick at the Opening Ceremonies of the Seoul Olympics. The next phase in the Dunning-Kruger Effect occurs as we gain just … Continue reading
Read More »Know Your Lines
John Byron, AKA The Bonefish Beginner
“Lines are very difficult to learn.”- Benedict Cumberbatch
“It’s nice when someone knows their lines.”- Ed Norton
“Because I don’t know my lines, I really don’t know what I’m doing.”- Christopher Walken
Who knew these guys fished the flats?
WELL OKAY, MAYBE THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE. BUT IF THE TOPIC WERE SALTWATER FLY FISHING, THEY’D BE SAYING SOMETHING VERY WISE.
The starting point, the big decision point in selecting gear for the salt chuck is the size category of the outfit. Eleven- or twelve weights for tarpon and GTs. Nine or ten for permit. Seven-weight through nine for bonefish — maybe even a six-weight if it’s super calm or you want to show off.
And then, having selected the perfect flyrod in the most desirable weight and a truly magnificent reel to complement it, typically the last step is to buy some random flyline the same size as the number on the rod butt. Apply keen selection criteria like it’s cheap or I like the color or the sales guy talked me into it and you’re ready to go.
Right?
Wrong.
YES, ROD AND REEL ARE SIGNIFICANT, BUT I’VE COME TO BELIEVE THAT THE RIGHT FLYLINE IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT:
Short shots at bonefish, heavy winds, big flies for big fish? You want a line that’s got its weight up front, one that loads the rod quickly and punches the fly out there. A Rio Quickshooter or Airflo Tropical Punch.
Spooky spooky fish, long casts, calm winds? You want a line that will carry the cast and not collapse on you when you’re working beyond the punch point of those front-loaded lines. Average/moderate/medium lines from Scientific Angler or Orvis or any of the rest of reputable line makers who offer special lines for the salt.
For all lines — the front-end-loaders, the lighter-longer classic fly lines, and everything in between — the ultimate description lies in the line profile, worth studying and understanding for all the lines you might buy.
Fishing the tropics, you need a tropical line, one with enough stiffness that it’s not an overcooked noodle in the sunshine. Stripers and albies? A cold-water line with enough flexibility to be castable even when it’s downright chilly.
Check the line coating too. Some lines sing going through the guides and you’ll either like that or not. Some cast farther for being super slick. Some just feel better than others. What matters is what suits you.
Colors too: can you see the line on the water? White and light blue are hi-viz. International orange even more so. But will it spook the fish? That’s one more thing to decide.
And then there’s the question of
Crossroads
JUST A FEW DAYS AGO I FOUND MYSELF AT A CROSSROADS.
I had a day off from work and the usual “daddy duties,” which gave me the chance to get out and play a bit. Of course, being me, I decided to use that day to go fishing. No surprise there. After going over the short list in my head, I decided I would fish a rather popular trout stream in our area. I’m not a big fan of crowds or combat fishing, but the fact that this stream offers a steady stream of cold water, and lots of sight fishing, keeps me coming back.
Sometime after lunch that day, while approaching one of my favorite runs, I spot a large trout holding in the tail. Immediately, I get into to super ninja stealth mode and start planning my approach. It’s no doubt a big brown trout. I’ll have to double back and wade up to the run from below. Even then I’ll have to have my A-game with me. Doing anything otherwise would surely spook this wise, old trutta.
I was a little nervous as I stepped in downstream of the run. I swear it took me ten minutes to wade upstream all of twenty yards or so. Keeping a low profile, and staying quiet as possible, my only fear was that someone else would come along the trail and unknowingly spook this fish. Fortunate for me, this never happened though. And as I approached a large rock that I would use for cover, this big trout came into my view.
His back seemed thick as my thigh, and his length was impressive. Now I had caught some nice fish that day, but this big’un would surely be one of the largest I’d ever tangled with, dwarfing anything that I had brought to my net that day. This guy had certainly seen some flies float by in his day.
Scanning through my box, I pick out a couple of homemade flies, hoping that one of them will persuade him to eat. My rig is setup with a 5x leader tied to a #10 Turks with 6x tippet attaching a…. nymph of sorts. As I begin my first cast I know that I will only have a few shots before this trout will likely give me “the fin” and move on. There will be no false casting here, so I stripped line from my reel, letting the current take my flies from me. Once I had the right length of line out of the rod tip I executed a nice and easy water-haul to my target. The flies landed softly, beginning their drift down their intended path, and as they got to this trout’s discerning eye, he simply skated to the side and let them glide on by.
So here is where I came to this crossroads.
Read More »The Roll Cast Mend
Do you ever find yourself on the water when a regular mend won’t provide you with a long enough drag free drift to catch trout? This usually occurs when you’re trying to get a drift across multiple currents on the far bank or when you’re trying to fish a soft seam, adjacent to faster water, that’s too far away from you to high-stick. In these two situations, a standard mend will usually not provide you with enough slack to keep your dry fly drifting naturally to the position of the rising trout or give your nymphs enough time to sink down into the strike zone.
When I find myself fly fishing in this situation,
Read More »The Best Way to Improve Your Trout Game
The single best way to improve your trout game is to fly fish on trout water that challenges you.
I’m talking about super technical water where trout are wary and extremely educated. The places where the smartest of trout live, where all you get is one or two shots to hit your target. These trout streams force you to maintain the highest level of discipline in your fly fishing. You have to think out every step of your approach and presentation to find success. If you fail at executing these strict requirements, you’ll almost certainly be skunked on the water.
It’s really easy for many of us with our busy schedules to focus our time fly fishing locations that allow us the most success, or should I say the easiest success. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy these easy trout streams myself, where I can immediately start catching fish within minutes of wetting my line. Just remember, if all you do is fish easy trout water, you’re going to have a rude awakening when you finally get around to stepping foot on a truly technical trout stream. You won’t find success, your confidence will shrivel, your pride will take a beating and you’ll probably feel like crawling off into a hole when it all said and done. Not only that, but you’ll also be impeding the improvement of your fly fishing skills in the process, and you’ll be no different than a kid refusing to take off the training wheels on his/her bike because it’s easier and safer.
So change up your routine, step away from your comfort zone and the rookie trout water for a while. Next time you go fly fishing
Read More »Summer is Coming
Summer, and the tube hatch, are just around the corner.
Here in the south we view summer in much the same way the my northern friends view winter. There’s plenty of fun outdoor stuff for us to do but it’s also a long miserable slog. It’s also a time many of us dial back our trout fishing and seek out other species, as water temperature climb dangerously high for man and trout.
Tom Dorsey, of Thomas and Thomas, doesn’t seem to mind. I love this photo of Tom, taking a moment to chat up the daily tube hatch. Nothing creepy going on here. Tom seemed oblivious, fishing off the other side of the boat, until this young lady paddled over and spoke to him.
I couldn’t hear the conversation, and I think it’s very unlikely that this gal knew she was talking with one of the greatest fly rod designers of all time. Secretly I like to think she was a fan who recognized Tom on the river and couldn’t resist paddling over for an introduction. That’s the world I’d like to live in, anyway.
Either way, it’s impossible to talk with Tom and
Read More »Tight Quarters Trout Fishing
(WATCH OUR VIDEO THAT DEMONSTRATES THIS SCENARIO)
If you’ve been fly fishing for a while, you’ve probably become pretty proficient at dropping your dry flies in tight quarters to catch trout that are either tucked in under foliage or holding tight to an undercut bank. What If I asked you to make that same presentation, however, with a tandem nymph rig on a small stream with a strike indicator and split-shot? Could you pull it off with the same percentage of success? If you answered yes, hands off to you, because you are not the norm. I’ve found that most of my clients in this situation lack the confidence and know how to make consistently accurate fly presentations with a heavy tandem wet fly rig.
Below is a video Louis and I shot a while back, explaining how I pull off tight quarter casting on small trout streams. I had my rod rigged with a tandem nymph rig to show you the most important things I focus on when casting to targets in these tight quarters.
TIGHT QUARTERS FLY CASTING ON SMALL STREAMS
Tip 1: Position yourself where you can get the correct casting angle to your target and also get a nice drift.
Tip 2: Strip off plenty of fly line but only start out with a foot or two of fly line when you begin your cast.
Tip 3: Cast smoothly and watch your
Read More »Beyond The Flies: Making The Most Out Of Your Winter Fishing
By Kyle Wilkinson
Being prepared for a day of winter fishing means more than having a box of the right flies.
I got an email earlier today from a customer who had just gotten back from the river. He had attempted to fish the South Platte however, after several hours of trying to cast between floating icebergs and slush, he decided to wave the white flag and head home. His question was to know how to predict these sort of conditions ahead of time- before making the hour plus drive to find an unfishable river.
The South Platte, like virtually every other tailwater around the country, is well known to be a year-round fishery. With that said, there are still a few other factors that need to be considered when planning a winter outing. Following these 5 steps are just as important as your fly selection if having a comfortable and successful day on the water during winter is your goal.
Nighttime Temperatures. Everyone loves to pay attention to the daytime temps you’re likely (or more like keeping the fingers crossed) to experience during your day of winter fishing. A sunny, 40 degree day during January can feel like a heat wave, particularly if you’re coming off a nasty cold stretch leading up to it. And while pleasant daytime temps are something no one will complain about, the nighttime temperatures in the days leading up to your trip are just as important to pay attention to. Given the fact that it’s winter, fishing a tailwater is always going to be your best bet. If you see nighttime temps are hovering around freezing, plan on seeing the majority of the river open. On the other hand, if your day on the water is immediately following a especially cold stretch- i.e. single digits (or lower) at night, followed by sub 32 degree days, then plan on the situation mentioned in the first paragraph to be what you encounter. Thankfully, given the wonderful nature of tailwaters, the remedy to avoid fishing in a “Slushy” is to just plan on fishing closer to the dam. The water should remain warm enough–particularly within the first mile below the outlets– to remain relatively ice free compared to the lower stretches.
Layer Properly. I know this seems like common sense, but it’s something I see a lot of people do wrong.
Read More »The cutthroat and the sweet sixteen
“HE IS OUR LEGACY. HE WAS LEFT HERE FOR US BY A LOVING FATHER, IF YOU BELIEVE IN THAT SORT OF THING, AND ONCE HE IS GONE WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO REPLACE HIM.”
My friend Gary Lacey did me a disservice while shooting clays one day. I fell one shell short for the round and he handed me his beautiful Beretta SO3 EELL to finish the round. I wish I had never touched that gun.
What a beautiful sensation it was when that elegant little side lock fell into place against my shoulder and the bright orange disk disappeared in a puff of black powder. How could I not covet this gun that I would never be able to afford? As pleasant to look at as to shoot the Beretta, with its lavish engraving and gold inlayed pheasant and duck, was a far cry from my clunky old Browning automatic.
Square jawed and utilitarian, it’s a poor gun for the job. The Browning A-5 Sweet Sixteen was never made for shooting clays, not that it matters, I’m not very good at it. Still, I enjoy shooting my Sweet Sixteen. Of all the guns I own, it is the most dear to me.
The gun belonged to my maternal Grandfather. He wasn’t, I suppose, what you would call a sportsman. He fished and hunted but when he did it was for food, not for sport. He taught me to shoot squirrels and catch sunfish. He taught me to
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