Who’s ready for an Amazon adventure with Nomadic Waters?
We are extremely excited to announce our newest hosted trip with Nomadic Waters! Join us October 18-27, 2024 as we travel to the Brazil interior to chase big Peacock Bass throughout some of the Amazon River’s fish-filled tributaries. The Peacock Bass of the Amazon are known as some of the most aggressive, and beautiful, fish on the planet. Found on most anglers’ bucket lists, they live within the watersheds of the largest, most biodiverse rainforest on our planet, making this a trip of a lifetime. Over the past several years, the Nomadic Waters crew has developed a fly fishing experience that offers amenities and hospitality unrivaled by other operations in the Amazon. Through their dedicated work they have built strong relationships and gained support from the local Amazon communities, helping grow their program to become an increasingly popular fishing operation that welcomes many repeat guests, and hosts, yearly. Yes, the fishing in the Amazon is amazing, but it is the attention to the finest details, professionalism, and their hard-working staff that made us choose to travel and fish with Nomadic Waters. Location: Rio da Lua, Brazil Trip Dates: October 18-27, 2024 Price: $6500 – A 50% non-refundable deposit will hold your spot Our trip will focus on the prime time of year to fish the waters of the Rio da Lua (September through October) when the water is low enough to bring the fish out of the deep cover of the jungle. Nomadic Waters is the only outfitter that has gained access to fish this area of the Rio da Lua, and this exclusivity means that you will be casting in water that has not seen any anglers since the previous year’s trips, literally 365 days prior. On top of that, this region is so large that the Nomadic … Continue reading
Read More »Cuda VS Shark: Video
By Louis Cahill
Barracuda Vs shark, who will win?
What happens when you hook a big barracuda on the fly, and you’re in the fight of your life, and a hungry shark shows up right at the boat? Glenn Ancelet found out at the January Bonefish School in South Andros. Fortunately, I got the whole thing on video!
Who’s your money on, the cud or the shark?
Read More »The Patagonia Trout McNugget
By Louis Cahill
Think trout flies should be small? Think again!
Ok this is admittedly a bunch of silliness, but where else are you going to see a trout eat a chicken nugget? Yep, an actual chicken nugget. I don’t know if this compromises our journalistic integrity or angling ethics but it’s funny as hell.
Justin and I were down in Argentina and there were some pet trout in the spring creek by the place we were staying. No one fished for these bruisers, it was just fun to watch 30 inch trout hanging out by the deck. When we found out they stayed by the deck because the staff fed then table scraps, well, we couldn’t help ourselves.
The fishing in Argentine Patagonia is truly amazing. Why not join me there this February and see for yourself. Click here for details.
Read More »Muscle Tension in the fly Cast: Video
You can’t make a good fly cast if you are tense, but muscle tension is necessary, at the right time.
Do you squeeze the grip of the fly rod when you cast? At some point, you should be. I’ve seen a lot of casters who use a white knuckle grip when they cast. You can’t make a good cast that way. It’s important to be loose and relaxed when you’re casting, but if your grip doesn’t tighten at the end of the stroke, you’re leaving casting power on the table.
A good fly caster’s grip pulses with the cast, becoming firm at the end of both the forward and back strokes. Not just the grip but the muscles of the arm and core should come tight for an effective stop. It’s all about timing and when you get it right, the line just goes.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR SOME TIPS ON MUSCLE TENSION IN THE FLY CAST.
Read More »Fly Fishing: Too Much Mending Can Ruin Your Drift
One of the most critical techniques of fly fishing that anglers often lack knowledge in, is understanding how to properly mend fly line during the drift.
If I tallied up all the time I spend each day instructing clients on various fly fishing techniques, teaching the art of mending fly line would easily rank number one on the list. I bet I say the word “mend” a thousand times a day. It’s not that difficult to mend fly line, all it takes is a little practice and time on the water to get the hang of it. In my opinion, it’s much easier to learn how to mend than the art of fly casting. The main reason mending takes so long for fly anglers to master is because the timing of the mend, the direction of the mend and the size of the mend can change from one presentation to the next. Two of the biggest mending problems I see on the water is bad technique and mending fly line too much during the drift. When mending is done correctly, you usually only need one or two mends per drift to get the job done.
Read More »Small Stream Casting
By Jason Tucker
Of all the challenges to small stream fishing (access, obstacles, wary fish, biting insects, hillbillies) casting must rank as the most frustrating aspect of small-stream fishing.
I have coined several swear words you have never heard casting in small streams. It is that frustrating. When you go to small streams you need to bring a double dose of patience. Some days and some places I have simply turned around and walked out rather than suffer a stroke due to the frustration of casting in tight quarters.
Picture this. You have already had a frustrating day. You’ve caught some fish, but also lost some flies to the bushes. You have tied on the last ‘hot fly’ from your box. Quietly you wade up around the bend, moving slowly so as not to push water, because upstream you can hear a good fish feeding. Sure enough, when you round the bend you can see a fifteen-inch trout noisily slurping flies off the surface completely unaware of your presence. It is the biggest fish you’ve seen all day. Problem is, the fish is twenty feet away and you only have an eighteen-inch space between the tag alders to land the fly. You also don’t have much of a backcast due to the brush behind you, so you’re going to have to steeple cast the fly above you but still get it to lay out quietly just in front of the fish.
“You’ve got this” you whisper. You make that steeple cast by flipping the fly out in a tight arc, then pop the rod tip up to the sky, feel the glass rod load, start your forward motion and change the direction of your arm movement forward toward the fish, shoot just a little line for the distance, then just as your loop extends toward the fish, the slightest breeze puffs it into the tag alders high overhead. Seeing this, you yank your rod back in an effort to stop it, only to pop your fly off in the top of the tree. The fish, seeing the commotion, scoots for cover. This is the challenge of casting on small streams. Some days you will spend more time untangling line and flies from the brush than you will fishing.
I can and do make that cast successfully from time to time. A steeple cast in tight quarters is just one skill that is helpful to have on a small stream. My disclaimer that I will now make is that I am no casting instructor. I’ll do my best to describe some of the skills you should cultivate.
Read More »Cool Shots at Bonefish
WHAT MAKES A REWARDING BONEFISH TRIP.
It’s hard to fly off to an exotic location for a week of fishing without having a goal, or at least some expectations. The first can be dangerous and the second disastrous. Still, one or the other is generally present on a fishing trip and the more the trip costs, the higher they usually are.
I’ll never forget my first bonefishing trip. My expectations were to actually see a bonefish and my goal was to not make a complete ass of myself when I did. (It’s good to have goals, right?) That trip did so much more than exceed my expectations. It was an awakening of sorts and the beginning of a life long obsession.
On subsequent trips I adjusted my goals. I wanted to catch a lot of bonefish. I wanted to catch big bonefish. I wanted to increase my hookup ratio. I wanted to catch bonefish on my own. I wanted to develop my own fly patterns. Eventually I just wanted quality fishing with good friends. One by one, all of those things went in the done column and I kept going bonefishing.
There’s not a thing on that list that I don’t still enjoy doing. Who doesn’t want to catch a lot of fish, or a big fish, or have a great day with a good friend. With the exception of the friend however, they all become less important with time. Most days all I really need is to stand on the bow and glide across a beautiful flat.
So what makes a day of bonefishing exceptional?
Read More »What Does The Trout See?
DID YOU EVER WONDER WHY FISH EAT BRIGHT PINK WORM PATTERNS, OR THINGAMABOBBERS FOR THAT MATTER?
Ever watch a trout refuse your dry fly and wonder what he saw that he didn’t like? A trout’s eye serves the same purpose as ours but it functions in a very different way. The subject of how trout see the world is a complicated one but the basics are well worth your time. Understanding how the fish eye works can help you imagine the watery world they see, and it may give you some insight that will help you catch them. The following are some simple principals to keep in mind.
WATER AS A VISUAL MEDIUM
Water is a poor conductor of light at its best. It affects the way fish see color as well as their visual acuity. Water absorbs light at different rates depending on its wavelength or color. Long wavelength light, colors like red and orange, are absorbed quickly while short wavelengths like blue and violet are absorbed more slowly. This means that as light passes through more and more water, warm colors fade to black while cooler colors fade more slowly. Overall, as a fish moves into deeper water his environment becomes darker, at which point the biology of the fish’s eye affects his perception of color as well.
It is not necessary however for a fish to be in deep water for its vision to be affected by the absorption of light. The rules hold true for a fish in shallow water, viewing an object at a distance. A red streamer, for example, that is running at a depth of one foot, where there is plenty of red light, will appear black to a fish viewing it from fifteen feet away. As the fish closes on the fly, however, the red will become vivid. The same would not be true at a depth of fifteen feet. At that depth the fly would remain black to the fish, even at close range.
Ultraviolet light, which we do not see but trout do, is scattered in water. Colors like white and reflective materials like flash are visible to fish at long distances but may appear blurred by this effect. These flies will get a fish’s attention from a distance and become sharper as the fish draws near.
Color perception and visual acuity are both affected by the chemical composition of the water as well as what foreign matter is present. Tea stained water, which is present in many mountain streams, absorbs UV light quickly, changing the rules dramatically. In these conditions warmer colors become more important and while fish may see less color overall their visual acuity will improve. When water is dirty, light is scattered by foreign particles and the fish’s environment becomes darker with little visual acuity.
THE BIOLOGY OF A TROUT’S EYE
The biology of a trout’s eye is similar to ours in some ways and very different in others. Their eye has an iris, a lens and a retina with both cone cells and rod cells, much like our eyes, but
Read More »Life Is Too Short To Fish In Ugly Places
I was recently reminded that the places we fish are as important as the fish we cast for.
I was tagged in a Facebook challenge on nature photography by my buddy Tim Romano. (#challengeonnaturephotography) I don’t think of myself as a nature photographer, but once I started looking through photos the evidence built up quickly.
I floated the Snake River many years ago with a guide from Jackson. As we floated past the Tetons, I tucked my rod under my arm and grabbed the camera for a quick shot.
“Sightseeing trip’s a hell of a lot cheaper,” my guide groused from behind me.
I feel sorry for that dude. I’ve never lived in Jackson, but I can’t picture myself growing tired of looking at those mountains. So, if you’ve been spending too much time staring at a bobber (or dry fly, let’s not start that again!) here a little reminder to look up once in a while.
Here are 8 photos of some beautiful places i’ve fished. Enjoy.
Read More »Presenting Your Fly To A School Of Bonefish
Bonefish are on the move!
Presenting your fly to a school of bonefish has to become second nature. There is often not time to make a plan. The successful angler is one who can make split second decisions and place the fly quickly and accurately.
It’s a little like shooting a shotgun. You have to know how far to lead the fish in a given situation and you have to be able to picture that lead to know where your target is. It’s a skill that takes time to master but hopefully this video will set you off in the right direction.
OUR FRIEND JOEL DICKEY IS BACK IN THIS VIDEO TO HELP YOU SEE YOUR TARGET.
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