15 Tips For Effective Fly-Fishing From A Drift Boat
It’s easy to become spoiled to fly-fishing from a drift boat.
A good drift boat is a perfect fly fishing machine. It offers anglers a tactical advantage over the fish in just about every situation. I’ve owned a drift boat for some time. Every time I hook my Adipose up behind the truck, I get a warm feeling. I might love that boat too much.
Still, I remember when all of my trout fishing was done on foot and I remember how alien the drift boat felt the first time I stepped aboard. I see it even now, when I invite new anglers out on the boat. I figured it was past time for me to do something about it.
HERE’S MY 15 TIPS FOR MORE EFFECTIVE FLY-FISHING FROM A DRIFT BOAT.
Know your right from left
If you are not familiar with the terms, river-right and river-left, you may struggle with your guide’s instruction. River right and left are always oriented from the perspective of looking downstream. If you are looking downstream, river-right is to your right. If you are looking upstream, river-right is on your left.
Don’t cast over the boat
This seems obvious but I see anglers struggle with it all the time. There are times when you just have to adapt your casting to boat position and conditions. If you’re a right hand caster fishing from the front of the boat, to river right, you are going to have to make some accommodations. I prefer to present my fly with a back cast in this situation but there are other options, like a comb cast.
Whatever you do, resist the urge to cast over the boat. You will inevitably end up hooking someone. You might pull it off for a couple of casts, but soon you’ll get lazy or throw a bad loop or catch a gust of wind and there will be blood. Practice your back cast presentation. It will pay off.
Your water is downstream
Probably the most common mistake I see is anglers fishing
Read More »What The Hell Is That?
Every once in a while you see something you just can’t explain. I was shooting in the Florida Keys the other day with with my friend Capt. Joel Dickey. It was late in the day. The sun was hanging right on the horizon and I was making the best of the evening light. I was out of the boat, standing in wast deep water shooting Sandy Horn casting from the bow and Joel on the platform when Joel called out “we got a school of perms coming, big school”. I stayed still and quiet, excited about the chance to shoot a hookup from out of the boat. I could see the push about a hundred and fifty yards out. Joel wasn’t kidding about it being a big school. The push looked like the wake of a flats boat.
Our setup couldn’t have been better. The push was headed straight for us and fast. I could see Joel squinting into the glare. At a hundred yards he said, “no, it’s not permit”. A minute later, in a very different tone of voice he said,”oh my God that’s a f¥€king huge shark”. Now, I have heard these words before and I have seen sharks in the Keys bigger than a flats boat. You don’t have to say f¥€king huge shark to me twice. I made a little wake of my own getting back to the boat.
By this time the push was fifty yards away and closing fast. You could see the water parting off the dorsal fin. I thought about saying, “we’re gonna need a bigger boat”. Before I could it dawned on all of us that we should be able to see a fish that big by now, but we couldn’t. We could just see the push.
Read More »It’s All In The Wrist
If you’re confused about how to use your wrist for a better fly cast, you’re not alone.
Plenty of anglers have been told not to use their wrist when they cast. The truth is, you cant make a good cast without using your wrist. It’s all in how you use the wrist and when. Knowing how to apply power successfully, using your wrist, will take your casting to a whole new level.
IN THIS VIDEO TIM RAJEFF SHOWS YOU HOW TO CORRECTLY USE YOUR WRIST WHEN FLY CASTING.
Read More »Take Advantage of Your Vise!
By Justin Pickett
Being a consistent fly tying machine can sometimes be challenging.
Especially if you plan to tie in the interest of making some extra spending cash, you need to stay consistent and efficient. When it comes to consistency, you’ve got to be able to stick to your recipes day in and day out, and not wander off due to complacency, or from just not having a golden standard to tie from. One of the things that I have done over the years that has helped me tie consistent flies is to simply use my vise. Our vises are more than just hook holding apparatuses. They hold materials, flies, tools, lights, but something else they do (an unadvertised feature) can be even more beneficial while sitting at the tying desk.
Aside from providing the platform from which we tie flies, a vise can also provide measurements and points of reference.
When I tie, I always place the hook in the vise the same way, whether it is a 2/0 or a #20. When I lay the hook in the vise I make sure to have the tip of the barb just barely inside the very tip of the vise jaw. For barbless hooks, I place the hook point even with the tip of the jaw, completely covering the bottom bend of the hook. This gives me a consistent starting point before I lay the first wraps of thread. When it comes to tails, wings, legs, foul guards, weed guards and just about any other material that needs to be measured or trimmed, I have numerous angles, screws, and joints along the vise that I can use as landmarks to ensure that I have the correct length, or that I’m placing a material in the right place.
These are all things that you’ll
Read More »Thank You God for the Terrestrial Season
bout this time every year, when I’m starting to get run down from guiding, the terrestrial season arrives, and I’m blessed with a second wind.
I’m always astonished at how the presence of terrestrials can make my familiar trout waters seem so fresh and new to me. Even after I’ve already spent hundreds of hours during the season drifting flies through the same riffles, runs and pools. Every day, I find myself more excited about fishing than the last, despite it being one of my busiest times of the year guiding. Thank God for the terrestrial season. I tip my hat to the creator, for he sure did a fine job of planning out the life cycle and timing of the terrestrial season. Yep, life is grand for the fly fisherman when the terrestrials are out. The water and air temperatures (at least where I live) are usually warm enough to leave those stinky waders at home, and the longer days allow us the luxury of staying on the water for a few extra hours.
Is it just me, or do trout seem to have the same look in their eyes as we do during the terrestrial season, pure addiction. I love the fact that it’s not the end of the world if we forget our strike indicators or split shot when the terrestrials are out. The trout often rise
Read More »Garners Twisted Whistler
SOMETIMES TO CATCH BIG STRIPED BASS YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TWISTED.
Garner Reid is back and he’s opening up his fly box to share part of his arsenal. When you guide for the toughest of freshwater predators, you have to be prepared to do what it takes to put clients on fish. No one I know does it like Garner. His Facebook feed is not for the faint of heart.
A big key to his success is collection of unique fly patterns for striped bass. The Twisted Whistler is no exemption. This fly pulls out all the stops. A sixty degree jig hook, tip dyed buck tail and Icelandic sheep wool give it action that those striped bullies can’t resist. It’s big, it’s bag and it catches fish.
Watch the video and learn to tie Garner’s Twisted Whistler.
Read More »My Most Memorable Bonefish
sn’t it funny, how certain fish we catch during our fly fishing trips can end up providing us with ten times the satisfaction over all the others. Sometimes, the size of our catch has little at all to do with the amount of reward it brings. I love catching big fish just as much as the next guy, but for me at least, it’s often more about overcoming the challenges along the way that’s what really makes one catch end up standing out amongst all the rest.
For example, my most memorable bonefish to date, only weighed around four pounds. I’ve landed much larger bones over the years, but what made this particular bonefish so special to me, were the extremely difficult fly fishing conditions I had to work through to hook and land it. Before it all unfolded, and I found myself feeling that special fish tugging on the end of my line, I was holding onto the last remaining tidbits of hope I had left inside me for dear life. I thought success was just about impossible. Never give up when you’re out fly fishing. For when you succeed when everything is stacked up against you, it will be invigorating to your very core.
Read More »8 Things That Are More Important Than A Long Cast
Are you practicing the techniques that actually catch fish?
This idea came to me as a result of a Facebook conversation. Kelly Galloup posted a great video about fly line tapers where he mentioned an article he read here on Gink and Gasoline. Thank for the nod Kelly, you are the man. It sparked such lively conversation that I thought it was worth expanding on.
Yes, fly anglers obsess about casting distance. We all want to shoot backing but most of us know that has very little to do with catching fish. I should say, with catching trout. And I’ll go ahead and get the caveats out of the way now. Everything I’m going to talk about in this article relates to trout fishing. There are types of fishing where distance matters quite a lot. You will also absolutely catch more trout if you can cast further.
Most importantly, we all want to grow and learn as anglers. Why should distance casting not be part of that growth? I just think it’s important to keep it in perspective. When it comes to trout fishing, there’s a long list of things that are more important than throwing a long cast. Once you’ve mastered them, cast for the moon. Why not? As long as those fundamentals stay in place, you’ll catch fish.
SO HERE’S MY LIST OF 8 THINGS THAT ARE MORE IMPORTANT IN TROUT FISHING THAN A LONG CAST.
Line control and a good drift
Probably the single most important factor in catching a trout on the fly. If you want to catch fish work on mending, high sticking, reach casting and paying out line. There are lots of ways to catch fish but whether you’re fishing dry flies or nymphs, a good drag-free drift is is the most consistent producer. The best cast in the world is pointless without a good drift.
Accuracy
Whatever distance you’re casting, your fly needs to land on target. If the fly isn’t in the fish’s strike zone, you’re wasting your time. There are several things that go into an accurate cast. A good straight line rod path and a good sense of distance, for sure. Where most anglers fall short is in consistently
The New Orvis Waterproof Sling: Review
It’s been a while since I’ve felt motivated to change fishing packs. I have plenty of opportunities to try out, and use, new fishing packs. To be honest, I’m not usually that interested. I like the pack I’ve been using for years and changing is a headache so I’d have to have a good reason. Newer is not necessarily better and familiar is often best. I hadn’t had my hands on the new Orvis Waterproof Sling Pack before I was moving all of my gear over from my old pack. It was clear that this wasn’t a special use pack, but one I wanted with me on the water every day. I’ve been fishing out of it for several months now and I couldn’t be happier. Check out this video for the details and features of the new Orvis Waterproof Sling Pack.
Read More »Being There
I’VE BEEN ASKED A HUNDRED TIMES HOW I TOOK THIS PHOTO. THE ANSWER IS REALLY SIMPLE.
I took several years. I had this idea in my head for a long time. I wanted to show the pure mayhem of a jumping tarpon. I wanted tell the whole story. The power, the speed, the violence of it, but also the story of a great guide and angler working together. There’s only one way to show all of that. You have to observe the scene from a nearly impossible angle.
It was obvious that I would need two boats. That’s not the tricky part. I also needed two guides. Two guides who know each other very well. Who can predict each other’s actions. Guides who could consistently put me on big tarpon. Most importantly, I needed guides who could put their egos aside. Not get worked up about who was in the photo or who got the fish, and most of all, two guides who didn’t mind taking each other to their precious tarpon banks.
Those two guides are Bruce Chard, who you see in the photo, and Joel Dickey who is masterfully putting me where I need to be to get the shot. If there are heroes in this story, it’s them. I was simply in the right place at the right time. It was their hard work that put me there.
Of course I can’t forget Kent Klewein and the absolutely perfect performance he showed on the bow. Fighting a tarpon like this one, nearly 150 pounds, is no walk in the park. The authority Kent showed in managing that fish and soliciting jumps from her was super human. Getting the right people on your team always makes you look good.
So there we are. I’m laying on the bow with the camera. Bruce is yelling, “She’s going right, now left. She’s coming up. Get ready!” Joel is goosing the boat forward then back, turning hard to one side then the other. I’m glad I was laying down. When the big fish came up, 1/4000 sec shutter speed and an index finger were all I needed.
It sounds like we just ran out there and took the shot but it wasn’t that simple. It took a couple of years of driving to the keys, arranging two boat trips and putting down the rod to pick up the camera when the fishing got hot. There were some epic failures.
Like the time when I made a cast just as the angler on the other boat hooked up. I stuck the rod between my legs and picked up the camera, which was around my neck. I got one frame off before, you guessed it, a tarpon ate my fly, still floating in the water. I almost lost my eleven weight.
The story of what happened to the photo next still amazes me.
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