Getting In Bed With Bass, Part 1
Spring is here, which brings around something that gets me on the verge of a fish-gasm at the sight of it…
No, it’s not the first hatch of the season. Yea, there are caddis and mayflies popping off of trout waters across the country, which is awesome too, but that’s not why I’m excited. Nope.
Largemouth Bass are moving onto beds and the spawn is on!
Something fairly unique to the bass fishing world is fishing for spawning fish. While considered extremely taboo in the trout world, as well as other species, fishing for spawning fish on beds is commonplace, as well as one of my favorite times of the year. In many lakes and ponds, it’s the best chance at finding and catching the big females that prowl the waters. Fishing to big bass on beds can be incredibly rewarding, and also incredibly frustrating. Taking your biggest bass is just within reach, but you need a flexible game plan to be successful and here are some quick points to help you develop that plan.
When
Spring time (usually mid-March into April) is the prime time for spawning Largemouths. With the warmer days, the water temps reach that magic 55-65 degrees that begins pushing the males towards the shallows to begin prepping beds in anticipation for the females. The exact timing will vary based on your latitude, but
Read More »5 Tips For Technical Tailwaters
By Johnny Spillane
A QUICK RESPONSE TO LOUIS’S ARTICLE “TROUT ARE NOT SMARTER THAN PEOPLE, BUT THEY MAY BE SMARTER THAN ME.”
Trout have a brain that is smaller then a pea. No offense to Louis, but I’m positive that you can out-think a trout in a technical tailwater situation.
HERE ARE FIVE TIPS TO HELP YOU CATCH INCREDIBLY “SMART” FISH.
1. Go light and go small.
Fish are creatures of their environment. If they see small bugs all the time then you have to fish accordingly. 7X tippet and size 24 or 26 bugs are what the fish are looking for. Go down in tippet size before you switch fly patterns.
2. Match the sky
If you are fishing with an indictor, go with something that matches the color of the sky. If it’s overcast, use gray yarn, if it’s clear use a small clear or white Thingamabobber or yarn. You can also use a Slinky indicator. They are deadly with picky fish.
3. Use stealthy weight
If you are using split shot, make sure they are not flashy at all. Anything painted in a moss green is better then silver lead.
Understanding Fly Line Tapers and Diagrams
Buying a fly line doesn’t have to be a leap of faith.
For many anglers, fly lines and their characteristics are a huge mystery. They know that different fly lines cast differently and that some suit their needs or casting styles better than others but they have no idea why. What’s worse, when it’s time to buy a new line they aren’t able to make an informed choice. They just go to the fly shop and ask for the best line. Thank God for knowledgable fly shop guys, but do you really want to rely on someone else’s guess at what you will like?
If this sounds like you, I have good news. There is an easy way to get a sense of how a fly line will cast before you ever take it out of the package, and with a little experience you can quickly choose the line that’s right for the way you fish.
Fly lines have become really complicated in the last five years or so. Specialty lines have multiplied like rabbits and line companies have created lines to match every species, water condition and casting style. If you’re confused, you’re not alone. Fortunately, almost every manufacturer publishes line diagrams which show you, in detail, the taper of each line. If you know how to read the diagram, you’ll know how the line will cast.
BASICS
There are three basic types of line tapers. Weight forward, double taper and triangle taper. Looking at the diagram, it’s pretty clear how they get their names. The double taper line is a very traditional style of line which has a long level belly and a symmetrical taper on each end. Weight forward lines shift the weight to the front of the line and were developed to match modern fast action carbon fiber rods. Triangle tapers are a kind of hybrid of the two.
Think of the diagram as a picture of the fly line in profile with the thickness of the line exaggerated. The thickness of the line indicates two things. Where the weight is and the relative stiffness of the line. Where the line is thicker, it will be heavier. Different line materials have different stiffness, but within a given fly line, the line will be stiffer where it is thicker. Knowing where the weight is in the line will tell you how it loads the rod and the stiffness, as well as the weight, will tell you how it presents the fly.
ANATOMY OF A FLY LINE
To understand the information the diagram gives you, first you have to understand the different parts of the fly line and how they affect the line’s performance. Most modern fly lines have five parts. From front to back they are the tip, front taper, belly, rear taper and running line. Each one performs a specific function and its weight and length determine how the line casts.
THE TIP
The tip is the final word in fly presentation. The longer and lighter the tip, the more delicate the presentation. A long light tip will work to your advantage when
Read More »A Conversation With April Vokey
April Vokey is one of the most recognized, and sometimes controversial figures in fly-fishing.
Few anglers have been thrust into the limelight in quite the same way as April Vokey. April is the first to admit that she asked for it, but it hasn’t always been an easy ride. She has enjoyed, and often endured, a weird kind of celebrity which may only exist in fly fishing.
She has been a writer, a teacher, a blogger, a social media sensation, a TV personality, an entrepreneur, a passionate conservationist, an advocate for at-risk kids and, above all, an obsessed angler. She is a walking contradiction in many ways and whatever you think you know about her, there is more to the story.
I met April, by chance, on a gravel bar on the Dean River in British Colombia. She would agree with me that that first meeting was odd, and neither of us would have guessed it was the beginning of a friendship, but it was. I was flattered, and a little nervous, when April asked me to record an episode of her “Anchored” podcast. (If you’re not a listener, you should be.) We agreed then that she would return the favor and sit down with me for an in depth interview for the G&G audience.
While April was in town helping with a fundraiser for our local Chattahoochee river, we recorded this interview. Four and a half months pregnant, she is clearly embracing the moment as a turning point and chose to share a lot of personal experiences which she has not discussed publicly in the past. It was an engaged, frank and enlightening conversation.
I HOPE YOU ENJOY GETTING TO KNOW APRIL VOKEY AS MUCH AS I HAVE.
Read More »deGala’s CDC Callibaetis
By Herman deGala
A new twist on a classic trout pattern.
In escrima, Filipino Martial Arts, we have what is called a “Colonial Mentality”. For years escrima languished in obscurity in the Philippines while martial arts from other countries grew and became very popular. It hasn’t been until the last 15 years that escrima has come in to the limelight and become cool again.
Like everyone, I love seeing the new flies as they come out. The innovative use of materials and technique has been amazing. With better access to quality materials and the proliferation of technique videos on the web, there’s no telling where this can go.
But the old stuff still works and works well. Below is a video of my most productive fly for callibaetis. I’ve updated the hook and changed the bead to tungsten, but it is still that same old pattern. In rust, it mimics the larval instar stage of the callibaetis and the point at which it is most vulnerable in its development. Fished on a stillwater line and stripped in six inch bursts toward shore, it’s a morsel of food the trout can’t ignore.
Take a look into the corners of your boxes and pull out that fly that netted you over 60 fish in one day. Sure, tie it on one of those sexy jig hooks. Add one of those tungsten beads with the distressed paint job. You’ll find what was once old has become new again.
WATCH THE VIDEO AND LEARN TO TIE DEGALA’S CDC CALLIBAETIS
Read More »Steel Wire for Movement and Durability in Articulated Streamers
By Justin Pickett
If it doesn’t wiggle it don’t go in my box!
I fish and tie a lot of articulated streamer patterns. I have an entire cliff box jam packed with them, as well as a collection of Plano boxes full of experiments and f*** ups. Being the crazy tier that I am I’ve experimented with many different types of lines and wires that I use to connect my trailing hook to my lead hook. I’ve used different types of monofilament, fluoro, braid, and even leather cord in an attempt to find the perfect combination of movement and durability.I’ve been less than pleased with mono and braid because of durability issues. Eventually both become frayed and eventually fail.
Through the last couple of I’ve been searching for ideas and found a brand of beading wire on Amazon that sells it in a few different sizes. Typically found in medium, fine, and very fine, it gives me options depending on the size and weight of the streamer I am tying. It also comes in either black or steel grey. It’s a braided steel wire coated with nylon called Econoflex and runs around $3.50 for a thirty foot spool.
Read More »NZ Guide, Chris Dore Talks Kiwi Nymphing
SO THE OTHER DAY, I NOTICED I RECEIVED AN INTRIGUING EMAIL FROM ONE OF OUR GINK & GASOLINE FOLLOWERS, COMMENTING ON MY ANGLER POSITIONING POST.
It just so happened to be Chris Dore who sent the email, a very popular fly fishing guide from New Zealand. We hit it off pretty quick, he said he loved the blog and we immediately began replying back and forth to each other about trout fishing techniques and tactics. I’d ask him a question on how he would handle a specific scenario and he did the same. I soon realized the knowledge he was providing me was invaluable, and I requested that he write a guest post on the blog so all the G&G followers could get in on the action. I asked Chris to talk about a handful of nymph patterns that he always carries with him on the water. Specifically the ones that always seem to get the job done for him. With no hesitation, Chris replied with this great article for nymphing New Zealand trout water, showcasing some of his favorite nymph patterns.
KIWI NYMPHING – BY CHRIS DORE
Chris Dore, renowned NZ fly fishing guide. Photo Courtesy: Chris Dore
New Zealand trout streams do not possess the sheer numbers of aquatic invertebrates found in most North American waters. With the exception of the famous Mataura River in Southland, trout do not have much opportunity to lock onto just one food source–they must take what comes by or they simply may not eat. This opportunistic feeding behavior forces the Kiwi Angler to think more along the lines of presentation over imitation when nymph fishing for trout, and if a trout does not eat your size 16 pheasant-tail or hares-ear nymph, you’d better check your presentation mate.
Follow me…
The three things I consider when confronted by a nymphing fish or an orgasmic piece of trout water here in New Zealand, are size, color and weight.
Size isn’t too important but is still a factor to consider. Again, this comes down to the lack of numbers thing: mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies are present in most streams across the size range, and so trout won’t often discern between
Read More »Top 10 Trout Flies For The American West
I HAD A CLIENT COME INTO THE STORE THE OTHER DAY ASKING ME TO SET HIM UP WITH THE BEST PATTERNS FOR FISHING THE WEST.
He was planning on traveling around Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana this summer and his goal was to put together a selection of flies that would allow him to catch fish on every river. After setting him up with a fairly comprehensive selection of dries, terrestrials, nymphs and streamers, we started debating what the 10 best patterns are to cover all types of western trout water. We assumed you could fish the same pattern in different colors and sizes which I guess makes it a lot more then 10 patterns, but anyway this is what we came up with. Let us know what you think and send us your top 10!
#10- The Hair Sculpin
The Hair Sculpin is an awesome streamer. It moves, it can be tied in all different colors and sizes and most importantly it catches fish. You can throw it on a sink tip and fish it deep in lakes or my favorite, bounce it off the shore from a boat. It’s good liven.
#9- The Panty Dropper Hopper
The name alone makes this fly awesome. It comes in various colors and sizes and its got very realistic looking legs. If you fish anywhere that has hoppers, the Panty Dropper will get the job done.
#8- Zebra Midge
Go to any tailwater and generally on the “Hot Flies” list in the local fly shop is a Zebra Midges. They are super simple to tie and best of all they work. You can tie them in any color and size you want from a miniscule #28 to a #12.
DeGala’s Hula Damsel
By Herman deGala
It’s the time of year when the rivers and creeks around Colorado are blown out because of run-off but the weather is just gorgeous. What is a body to do? Of course, you could head to some tailwater. Until you get there and find everyone thought the same thing.
Or you could head to your nearby lake or pond. It’s all filled up. You can see dragonflies and damsels dancing in midair. You might even see a bass come up and just crush a dragonfly as it drops its eggs.
This Hula Damsel is my favorite pattern for this time of year. It is articulated to give it an extra bit of movement as you strip it through the water. It dives when you pause, which is a definite trigger.
I typically fish this along the shore along the reeds and weed line with an intermediate line. It sinks very slowly and stays in the feed zone as you strip, strip, pause.
WATCH THE VIDEO AND LEARN TO TIE DEGALA’S HULA DAMSEL.
Read More »The Fight Isn’t Over When You Get a Tarpon Boat-Side
Catching a tarpon on the fly is a feat most fly fishers dream about but never experience. Some fly anglers get lucky right out the gates, but for most of us, catching one of these beasts on the fly often takes several trips to accomplish. My good friend Capt. Bruce Chard is one of the most competent tarpon guides I know and has taught me a great deal about chasing the silverking. When he put me on my first 125 pound plus tarpon he made a point to let me know that the fight isn’t over when you get a tarpon boat-side.
Bruce Chard explained to me that many tarpon
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