Use Your Map!

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By Justin Pickett

WHILE IN PATAGONIA THIS PAST WINTER, I HAD HEARD OF A SMALL LAKE FROM THREE SEPARATE INDIVIDUALS DURING MY STAY AT THE LODGE.

I had only been there two days and I’ve had these men explain to me what good fishing it is, and how they’ve all caught some really nice trout, specifically browns, from it. Now this lake is far from the reasons why I came to Patagonia, but by the first night I had already decided that I was going to find this lake.

The days are long during the summers in Patagonia. Really long. The sun is up well before I have risen (usually around 7am) and the sun just finds its way below the horizon around 10pm. The great thing about it is that this provides plenty of time for fishing and exploring. On the fourth day of our trip, we decided to end our fishing by 2pm. The extra time would be for some good R&R, as well as giving the guides extra time to prepare for our three-day float trip that began the next day. Most of the fellas in our group decided to take a siesta. I, on the other hand, had to find this damn lake!

I strung up my rod, grabbed my chest pack, and headed out.

With the resident lodge dog trotting alongside, I marched down a horse trail that followed a small stream that ran through the middle of the property. Surely all I had to do was follow this stream back to its origin and I would certainly find this lake.

About twenty minutes later I did indeed stumble upon a “lake”, or maybe more like a small koi pond. As I stared at this piece of water, I could see several fishing rising to small mayflies dancing on the water’s surface. Thinking that I must have arrived at my destination, I threw out a few casts and managed to get a refusal out of a five or six inch rainbow trout. I sat for a minute, taking the extra effort to pay attention to what kind of fish I was seeing. After a handful of minutes it was clear that this little pond was the home to nothing but baby rainbows, and this was obviously not the lake that I had heard so much about.

I found that this small stream continued on above the small pond, so naturally I kept following it. Along the way I found an old bridge, some pretty horses, and then I found myself trespassing into someone else’s backyard. Now, this no espanol-speaking gringo certainly doesn’t need to get into any kind of trouble while I’m out by myself. Especially not

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Making the Best of Bad Conditions

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by Johnny Spillane

Saltwater fly fishing is totally dependent on conditions.

Recently I flew down to Orlando for the IFTD/ICAST show and I decided to fly in a day early and spend some time in the saltwater with my good friend Scott Harkins, who works for Simms, and our new friend Captain Scott MacCalla who guides out of Titusville and fishes the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon. Conditions were not ideal and the following is some advice on how to make the best of a saltwater trip when everything is not going as planned.

DON’T SET YOUR EXPECTATIONS TOO HIGH

Everyone wants to go catch a 100lb tarpon and we all want to do it the first day. I’m going to tell it to you straight, don’t get your hopes up because it can take days or weeks to land one. The wind might be blowing in the wrong direction, clouds might impair your visibility, a decrease or rise in pressure might ruin the bite. Everything can go wrong in the salt. Get used to it.

LISTEN TO YOUR GUIDE

Even though you might have your heart set on some specific fish you want to target, if you’re there for a day, ask your guide what the options are. The guides know the conditions and know what to expect. Listen to the options and decide what interests you the most. They may tell you there is a small chance to get what you’re after, but keep that in mind when it does not work out, they warned you so you can’t hold it against them.

KEEP AN OPEN MIND.

Everyone wants to catch a permit or a tarpon or a bonefish

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The Ultimate Cold Stopping Fleece Buff

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MY FLEECE BUFF IS THE ONE PIECE OF GEAR I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT.
That became all too clear to me when the temperature plunged into the single digits and I realized I had misplaced my fleece buff. It’s my winter fly fishing equivalent of Tony Stark’s iron suit. With it, I’m impervious to cold, with out it…uhhhh, I don’t like to think about it. It’s a recipe for winter misery.

My fleece buff is homemade. My wife made it for me years ago and it was almost free. The secret is the fabric. It’s not just fleece, but 300 GSM (grams / square meter) wind-stopper fleece. Even a gale doesn’t penetrate it. It seals up the top of my jacket and puts up over my face and head, covering exposed skin and stopping heat loss where it’s the worst.

Best of all it’s

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Sudden Impact, Fishing A Better Beetle

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By George Daniel

Beetles that Create Impact On Trout Streams

A fly fisher’s job is to gain “positive” attention from the fish they pursue. In this instance, we’re going to focus on trout and terrestrial patterns. Positive attention occurs when a pattern creates enough impact on the water surface to arouse curiosity (not fear) in a feeding trout. Focus on presentation and good technique is always of the top of the list, but sometimes the right patterns can make all the difference. I’m still a firm believer that technique trumps pattern choice, but there’s always exceptions. 

One reason I guide is for the lessons I learn through the power of observation. It’s my job to try to help coach individuals into catching fish, but so often I’m the one taking home the lesson of the day. In the case of this article, I’m referring to the time I spend with longtime fishing guest/client Bob Williams.  First, let me make it clear that Bob “The Beetle” Williams doesn’t need a guide. He’s one of the most well rounded terrestrial fly fishers I’ve met. I am grateful for the fun times we have had on the water and thankful for the lessons I’ve gleaned over the years.

One such lesson is that, not all fly tying foams are created equal. Long story short, the density built into a terrestrial can make the difference between getting no attention or receiving positive attention. Several years ago, Bob showed me a dense foam material manufactured by a local PA guy and it totally changed my opinion on the importance of how a pattern lands on the water.  What I’m getting at is, there are times when your patterns need to create such an intense impact that trout can feel the fly land, even if they cannot see it. Common sense, I know, but sometimes we can all use a refresher course in terrestrial fishing 101. 

Think about deep undercut banks where trout will hold. Trout holding deep under the bank often cannot see what’s going on outside their lair, and a terrestrial pattern that is designed to land softly on the water is not likely to garner a trout’s attention.  For years I only guided with one beetle pattern, tied with the standard foam that all fly shops sell. It worked well enough so I stuck with it until my first trip with Bob. Then Bob introduced a foam beetle material he bought from Bill Skillton years ago. A rigid foam strip coated with a material that drastically increased its density. Watching the effect it had on the local trout forever changed my opinion on fishing undercut banks with terrestrials.

After having little success fishing my foam pattern along a prime section of undercut bank, Bob asked to head back downstream fish back through the same water with his beetle instead.

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Is Your Steelhead Fly fishing Or Just Swinging?

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By Louis Cahill

IS YOUR FLY FISHING FOR THE ENTIRE SWING?

Many anglers who successfully swing flies for steelhead could be catching even more fish by improving their swing. Steelheading is all about taking advantage of every opportunity and it’s pretty common for anglers to waste as much as half their fishing time with a poorly swung fly. I include myself among them. It’s technical business and requires constant attention.

The key to a good swing is keeping the fly moving at just the right speed and angle. That buttery slow swing that gives the fish time to see the fly and react. The gentle motion that entices the attack. It’s a hard thing to visualize and even harder to describe. Fortunately there’s a reliable visual cue that will help you determine when you fly is swinging well and when it isn’t. The belly of your line.

Before we talk about what the belly of the line tells you, let get some terms straight.
The belly is the part of the line which is swept by the current causing an arch in the path of the line. When swinging flies the belly determines the speed at which the fly moves across the current.

Picture yourself fishing from river left. You cast directly across a swift current, which flows from your left to right. Your line bellies down stream so that the middle of your line is down stream of your fly. We will call this a convex belly.

Now, picture yourself on the same side of the river but casting across a slow moving current with your fly landing in faster current on the far side. Your fly moves down stream and hangs below your line, which curves to follow. We will call this a concave belly.

Picture a swing where your line makes the shape of an L. Your fly and leader point in a direction perpendicular to your rod. We will call this a 90% belly. A 45% belly would have less curve in the line and a 100% belly would have more. A straight line swing or 0% belly would have no curve in the line.

When the fly is swinging at a good pace and angle, we will say it’s fishing. Not fishing means the speed and angle are wrong.

Now that we have our terms, what’s the swing we are looking for?

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The Need For Speed, Line Speed, That Is

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Joel Dickey is one of the most dynamic casters I’ve ever seen.

One of the hallmarks of his dominating casting style is truly awesome line speed. It enables him to shoot massive amounts of line and hit distant targets with accuracy, even in high wind. In this video he explains how you can build your line speed.

WATCH THE VIDEO!

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Bugs, Bugs Everywhere, And Not A Fish To Be Seen

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HAVE YOU EVER THROWN A PARTY, SENT OUT THE INVITATIONS, BOUGHT THE ONION DIP, AND IN THE END IT’S JUST YOU AND YOUR ONION DIP?

Now imagine the river is the party, the bugs are the onion dip, and the trout are your ungrateful, good for nothing, no-show friends. If you spend enough time on rivers, you have either seen or will see a situation where the hatch is out in force, yet not a single one of our finned friends is so much as poking a nose up to say hello. It is usually at this point your buddy starts with his blubbering about, “This is crazy man, all these bugs and not fish…I just can’t believe it dude…trout are cruel mistresses…I hate you Dad, ” and other such nonsense. My advice is

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Slowing Down and Casting Easier Can Improve Your Fly Cast

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Slowing down and backing off the power will help out your fly cast.

Read the title of this post and try to live by it.It’s my attempt in “one sentence”, to help fly anglers quickly improve their fly casting, and it’s made me twice fly caster and fisherman I am today. There’s lots more to fly casting than slowing down and casting easier, but if anglers focus on doing both together, they often will find that it can greatly improve their overall technique and control. Ask any professional sports athlete how they maximize their performance and potential, and almost all will reply with excellent technique. It’s no different in fly casting. If you want your fly casting to reach its full potential, you have to first build a strong foundation of fly casting mechanics and principles that you can consistently live by on the water. I’ve found personally that when I take the time to slow down and cast the fly rod with less power, it’s much easier for me to focus on the most important element of my fly casting, my technique.

Let your fly rod do the work
I’ve noticed a great deal of fly fisherman over the years cast with a tempo that’s too fast (rushing their cast), and they also often apply far too much power during their casting stroke. The majority of fly anglers that fall into this category are usually intermediate fly casters. They’re generally skilled enough to fish multiple types of rigs and cast their flies close enough to their targets to catch fish, but they’re approach has them expending far too much energy in the process. Furthermore, this style of casting usually yields a casting stroke that is slightly out of control, creates loops that are inefficient (sloppy) and presentations generally suffer. Put all these negatives together and you’ve got a fly rod that’s not able to perform its job effectively. Remember to always let the fly rod do the work, don’t try to be the power house. It will only work against you in the long run.

Why slowing down and backing off the power will help your fly cast out
First, by slowing down and watching your forward and back cast, you’re going to improve your timing and eliminate the creation of slack, because you’ll be matching the pause length correctly to the amount of fly line your casting. Second, by decreasing your power and casting easier, you’ll find it easier to smoothly accelerate your fly rod through your casting stroke, and keep it traveling in a straight line path throughout the cast. And because you’re

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Is Your Steelhead Fly fishing Or Just Swinging?

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By Louis Cahill

IS YOUR FLY FISHING FOR THE ENTIRE SWING?

Many anglers who successfully swing flies for steelhead could be catching even more fish by improving their swing. Steelheading is all about taking advantage of every opportunity and it’s pretty common for anglers to waste as much as half their fishing time with a poorly swung fly. I include myself among them. It’s technical business and requires constant attention.

The key to a good swing is keeping the fly moving at just the right speed and angle. That buttery slow swing that gives the fish time to see the fly and react. The gentle motion that entices the attack. It’s a hard thing to visualize and even harder to describe. Fortunately there’s a reliable visual cue that will help you determine when you fly is swinging well and when it isn’t. The belly of your line.

Before we talk about what the belly of the line tells you, let get some terms straight.
The belly is the part of the line which is swept by the current causing an arch in the path of the line. When swinging flies the belly determines the speed at which the fly moves across the current.

Picture yourself fishing from river left. You cast directly across a swift current, which flows from your left to right. Your line bellies down stream so that the middle of your line is down stream of your fly. We will call this a convex belly.

Now, picture yourself on the same side of the river but casting across a slow moving current with your fly landing in faster current on the far side. Your fly moves down stream and hangs below your line, which curves to follow. We will call this a concave belly.

Picture a swing where your line makes the shape of an L. Your fly and leader point in a direction perpendicular to your rod. We will call this a 90% belly. A 45% belly would have less curve in the line and a 100% belly would have more. A straight line swing or 0% belly would have no curve in the line.

When the fly is swinging at a good pace and angle, we will say it’s fishing. Not fishing means the speed and angle are wrong.

Now that we have our terms, what’s the swing we are looking for?

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Fly Fishing Provides Great Health Benefits

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I tell my clients, all the time, that I’m grateful for all the benefits fly fishing provides anglers.

It provides us with one of the funnest ways to exercise, and it has the ability to completely wash away the stress of everyday life, from its therapeutic entertainment. We really should be thankful that this passion of ours provides us with so much more than just the reward of catching fish. Each and everyday we fly fish, we should take a minute to sit back and reflect on this fact. What other exercise activity can you think of that allows you to burn tons of calories during the day, and not have the faintest clue your even working out? Most of us aren’t extreme athletes, and even if we were back in the day, many of us have gotten older and are no longer. The great thing about fly fishing is you can tailor it to your own abilities and needs. It’s a great activity for maintaining your long term balance, dexterity and muscle strength, and it does a very good job of keeping your brain sharp.
I really think we could boost the growth of the fly fishing industry if more people were writing about all the great health benefits it provides, both mentally and physically? I’d love to see Yahoo, or one of those other giant headline news websites (that most of us visit daily) post on its home page, a fly fishing picture with the headline, “Lose 15 pounds and have a blast doing it.” We need to start thinking outside the box to promote and attract newcomers to fly fishing, and I think this could be one area most of us have been overlooking.

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