Rubber, Above & Below
By Bob Reece
Round rubber and spandex are two members in the vast tide of synthetic materials that have washed over the fly tying world in recent years.
They have both been used to create numerous surface and subsurface patterns. However, I would argue that one is better suited for the world above while the other thrives below.
Round rubber comes in a wide array of colors and sizes. While this material has been used on numerous subsurface patterns, I would argue that it’s most effectively put to use on the water’s surface. In comparison to the structural makeup of spandex, round rubber is a rigid material. Due to this comparatively stiff makeup, its motion is produced at a longer wave length. This trait is beneficial in the creation of appendages for terrestrial patterns both large and small. The legs and antennae of terrestrial insects are typically much longer than those of aquatic insects. As a result, those appendages often extend significant distances away from the body and the rigidity of round rubber is ideal for imitating this trait. Its structure allows for the creation of longer hopper, beetle, spider and other terrestrial appendages that will maintain their dimension while still providing movement. Conveniently, the rounded shape of medium round rubber also results in a more consistent and controllable knot. These knots can be used to imitate prominent leg joints. This consistency eases the process of creating the approximate right angle in these legs, resulting in a bent leg look that more effectively imitates the natural.
Moving below the surface of the water, I
Read More »It’s All in the Heart
By Louis Cahill
Bill didn’t know anything about fly fishing.
That’s not my judgment; he told me so. In fact, it was the first thing he told me. Standing on the bow of the skiff, staring into a Bahamian flat, looking for a fish he’d only heard of, he was as out of his element as a cat on roller skates. A tire salesman from Wisconsin, he’d walked into the local fly shop and told the guy behind the counter,
“I want to catch a tarpon on a fly. What do I need?”
The shop guy told him you don’t just buy a fly rod and catch a tarpon. He knew about the Gink and Gasoline Bonefish School and said,
“Go on this guy’s trip. He’ll teach you what you need to know to catch a tarpon.”
When Bill told me that story, I thought, hell yes! I’ll fish with this guy any day. I don’t care if he doesn’t know which end of the rod to hold.
The first day Bill and I fished together was not a great day for a beginner. We had some sun but the wind was howling. I’m sure Bill had some thoughts about how much he’d spent on that new eight-weight rod, that must have felt worthless in that wind. When I stepped up and punched my clearing cast into the wind, he moaned,
“Jesus! Right into the wind,” and rested his face in his hands.
I’ve heard folks, mostly folks who know less than Bill about fly fishing say, “It’s all in the wrist.” Of course, it isn’t. It’s no more in the wrist than it is in the rod, the line or the fly. It’s not in a book or a video. It isn’t even in your head. Fly fishing is in your heart, and I didn’t have to spend much time with Bill to see that his was full.
Bill didn’t want to catch a tarpon because it would make him cool, or even because it was a challenge. He didn’t want to do it so he could post the photo on Facebook or brag to his buddies. His buddies wouldn’t even know what a tarpon was. Bill wanted to catch his tarpon for one simple reason. His doctor had told him he was going to die. Soon, and for what ever reason, catching a tarpon on the fly was the one thing he wanted to do first.
When Bill told me that,
Read More »Flynn’s Stonefly Nymph
I HAVE SAID ON MANY OCCASIONS THAT, I DON’T CARE TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE TROUT DON’T EAT STONEFLIES.
My good friend Dan Flynn shares my obsession with the noblest of insects. Dan is a great tyer with an impressive repertoire of classic patterns. I have always admired his meticulous stonefly nymphs. I’ve also spent many days watching him crush trout on them.
The Scott Wave Fly Rod Has A Secret
Scott’s new mid-price offering, The Wave, is not what I expected. Jim Bartschi sent me a seven weight wave a couple of months ago, just before I headed to Belize for five days. He didn’t tell me anything about it, which is typical for Jim. I assume he wants me to come to my own conclusions about a rod without his opinion, which I appreciate. I took the rod out and cast it in the from yard for a bit. “It’s a little soon to be replacing the Sector,” I thought, “but OK.” I took the rod to Belize and was into fish on my second cast. The weather was awful and pretty windy for a seven weight but the Wave really delivered. It cut through the wind, delivered flies with remarkable accuracy and and finesse. I was impressed. Not ready to give up my Sector but I immediately loved this little rod. When I got home, I called Jim up to talk about the trip and was shocked to learn that the Wave is not replacing the Sector. It’s replacing the Tidal! I should have guessed from the name but the Wave, in no way, feels like a mid-priced fly rod. The weight, the tracking, the recovery rate all feel like a premium rod. Since the Radian, Scott fly rods have had a unique feel that sets them apart. Not that I didn’t lone my S4s but the contemporary Scott rods are truly next level. I did not get that feel from the Tidal but the Wave has it in spades. Once I got the rod home, frankly, I couldn’t stop fishing it. Since I’m stuck with fresh water here, I started using it for streamers and bass fishing. I was thrilled with hoe it preformed. The Wave is … Continue reading
Read More »Fly Tying, Less Is More
CLICHÉ SAYINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS HELPFUL OR APPLICABLE. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS HOWEVER, WHEN IT COMES TO TYING FLIES. “LESS IS MORE”.
Over the past ten years I’ve been blessed to spend time teaching new fly tiers of all ages. Regardless of age or gender beginning tiers often work on the “more” end of the spectrum. Excessive distance between the tip of the bobbin and the hook shank is one of these hurdles. When constructing flies, more distance between these two object makes for more difficulty. Keeping the tip of the bobbin in contact with the hook reduces the likelihood of cutting it on a hook point or the edge of the vise jaws. Additionally, this technique makes it easier to maintain consistent pressure when tying in materials. Lastly, it reduces the total tying time for each fly.
As a tier it is also extremely important to remember that the vast majority of aquatic insects are petite creatures. Far too often this fact is over looked during the construction of flies. Excessive use of materials results in bulky pattern profiles that do not accurately match their intended imitation. Simultaneously, unneeded thread wraps also add bulk to flies. With most patterns, minimizing the amount of material and thread wraps results in a more accurate end product.
Take a moment to evaluate what you are doing as a tier. The next time you
Read More »DIY Camper Van Tour
Meet the Gink and Gasoline Intruder. I’ve always wanted a camper van to make extended fishing trips easier and more affordable. The problem is, the rest of the world wants one too and prices have gotten out of hand. So I set out to design and build a DIY camper van that gives me everything I need to live comfortably on the road, without the six-figure price tag. I bought my 2008 Sprinter Van several years ago, fortunately before used vehicle prices went through the roof. It has a few years on it but only about 60K miles when I bought it. I built all the improvements myself for around $2500. I’m in a super comfortable camper for right around $20K total. It took some luck and some work and a lot of head scratching but none of it was really difficult. If you can use a circular saw and a drill, you can do it too! Check out this video for a complete tour!
Read More »Big Fish On The Margins
By Louis Cahill
High water events can make it easier to target big fish in unusual places.
Most anglers know from experience that high water often means big fish. There are several reasons for this, not least of which is the confidence mature fish find in the cover offered by higher than usual water. Especially when the water is a little stained, you have the opportunity to target fish who would otherwise only feed at night. In addition to having larger, predatory fish in a feeding mood, high water can also make them easier to find. Especially in smaller streams where high water conditions may make their usual holding water less comfortable.
On a recent trip to Patagonia, my buddy Johnny Spillane and I fished some unusually high water. Spring, October/November down there, is usually not a wet time of the year, but unexpected heavy rains had rivers swollen and water moving at an unusual tempo. Most of the Patagonian rivers still run crystal clear, even at their highest, but a few showed some color. In spite of the conditions, we had amazing fishing and, though we fished only small streams and rivers, we caught a lot of big fish. In fact, the average size of the fish we caught was larger than I expected.
The conditions, and the tactics we employed to fish them, successfully targeted the largest fish in the river.
The first choice made was an obvious one. We passed over the spots where fish would normally hold and fished the margins. The spots that wouldn’t normally offer fish much cover but which, in higher flows, offered soft water where fish could take refuge from the raging current. Many of the spots where we caught quality fish were micro seams created by small structure or nooks where a piece of bank had caved away.
Shallow inside bends were another big producer as are the narrow cushions along steep banks. Tempting looking drop-offs and deep pools under performed and although traditional holding water, like the seams from midstream boulders produced fish, some of the largest fish we caught came from the smaller holds. Many spots produced several nice fish.
The second choice that paid off for us was
Read More »Fly Casting: Power and Control
By Louis Cahill
I’m just back from four days fishing for golden dorado at Parana on the Fly Lodge in Argentina.
Dorado fishing is the most demanding fly fishing I know and, days later, I still have the sore muscles to prove it. We target these apex predators with big flies and heavy rods. Success depends on making accurate casts and often at long range. You might make a hundred of these casts before you strike gold. If there are any shortcomings in your casting, dorado will find them.
It’s no small thing to make several hundred casts a day, turning over an eight-inch streamer accurately. Especially when many of those casts are over sixty feet. You need the right balance of power and control to do it consistently. Especially as fatigue sets in. I learned a technique years ago when fishing the salt that makes it all come together. The key is knowing when to focus on the power and when to focus on the control.
One of the most fundamental principals in fly casting is, you can’t make a good forward cast without a good back cast. This is often where anglers start to struggle as they become fatigued. Their back cast becomes anemic and there is no saving the forward cast. This is especially true when wind or large flies complicate the process. The key is to start with a powerful back cast.
By focusing on power in your back cast you insure that you are able to fully load the rod for your forward cast. A loaded rod is where real casting power comes from, so by generating enough power and inertia in your back cast you are setting yourself up for success on you forward cast. Once the line
Read More »Georgia Brook Trout Management is a Dirty Shame
IT’S A SOUTHERN THING AND YOU GOT TO UNDERSTAND.
They are maligned and loathed, as an invasive species, in many of my friends’ home waters but here in Georgia, the brook trout is our only native trout. They once held dominion over the roughly four thousand miles of North Georgia trout water. That was a long time ago. Before rainbow and brown trout were stocked. Before dams were built and forests cut and endless miles of stream developed. Before acid rain, there were brook trout. Anglers just a generation older than me tell stories of plentiful brookies up to sixteen inches in mountain streams. Today, an eight inch fish is something to brag about and the anglers who love them will hike miles through mountain laurel thickets to catch fish half that size.
Native brook trout here in the southeast, what the old timers call “specks”, are a very special fish. Driven south by glaciers during the ice age, these fish were stranded when the world thawed and took their own evolutionary course, adapting to the southern environment and establishing a unique genetic strain, much like the subspecies of cutthroat trout in the west. Think of them as our Yellowstone Cutthroat.
A beautiful southern strain fish.
Although their genetic distinction has been verified, visually identifying the subspecies can be tricky, even for a trained biologist. In my experience the southern fish generally have a lighter, sometimes almost white, background color on their flanks than northern fish. Their green backs are warmer, more olive, in color and they are overall more colorful. These indicators however do not hold true for every individual. Northern strain fish are present here, due to stocking, and are often misidentified. The boundaries of each fish’s habitat are well known and understanding the habitat is the best way to be sure.
Holding on to existence only in the tiny mountain headwaters, its numbers in dramatic decline, the Spec is in trouble. There is no doubt that
Read More »The Pacu Bead
By Louis Cahill
If you are a dry-fly purest, you might want to sit this one out.
Bead fishing in the jungles of Argentina is about as far from fishing a dry fly as you could imagine. It’s not much closer to Alaska bead fishing. It’s one of the most unorthodox and effective methods I’ve ever used to catch a fish. It’s also incredibly fun!
We travel to the jungle for golden dorado, but like many predatory fish, the dorado takes a long siesta during the middle of the day. Rather than pound the water pointlessly, we’ll take a couple of hours to catch some of the exotic species found in these rivers.
The most popular is the pacu. These brawny fish are shaped like trashcan lids and put up a serious fight. They are sometimes called freshwater permit, mostly for their shape, but they are also picky eaters. They are omnivores but one of their chief food sources is actually fruit and nuts that fall from trees lining the river. They have teeth like a human for chewing these tough terrestrials.
So how to you target a fish that eats nuts?
Well, not by wading, I can tell you that! (Sorry, that was too much to resist.) Seriously though, the Argentine guides have developed an ingenious way to imitate this unusual food source. They fish giant beads from the craft store. Beads up to three-quarters of an inch in diameter. They taper the hole on one side of the bead with a
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