Euro nymphing VS Indicator Nymphing
By Devin Olsen
I grew up fishing many of the fabled tailwaters of the American West. Throughout high school and my early college years, I would travel around to find the biggest and pickiest small fly eaters I could find. Having immersed myself in this fishing environment and culture, I became a dyed-in-the-wool suspension/strike indicator nymph fisherman; with some indicatorless sight fishing thrown in for good measure. You couldn’t convince me there was a better way of catching numbers of fish on most trout rivers. The last few years have had a way of convincing me I was wrong.
In 2005 I started working with Fly Fishing Team USA members Lance Egan and Ryan Barnes in a fly shop. I was immediately intrigued by the competitions they were fishing in and the possibility that I could represent our country in international competitions. There was only one problem, the typical split shot and indicator game I was so accustomed to was not legal in FIPS Mouche governed competitions like the World Fly Fishing Championships. Suddenly I had to rethink and relearn my nymphing approach and find other alternate ways of being effective. Thankfully I learned a lot from Lance and Ryan; especially the long French leader style of European nymphing that Lance began to use after the 2007 World Fly Fishing Championships in Portugal. Now, after 11 years of competing with Fly Fishing Team USA, a lot of comparisons on the water, and two team and one individual World Fly Fishing Championship medals, I’m convinced that European style nymphing is more effective than strike indicator/suspension nymphing in most water types.
To illustrate the reasons why I believe European nymphing methods are often more effective, watch the embedded video clip, which is an excerpt from the film Modern Nymphing: European Inspired Tactics; which Lance Egan, Gilbert Rowley and I just released last month. For some more in-depth explanation, the list below explains what I view as the pros and cons of European vs. suspension/strike indicator style nymphing.
Pros of Euro nymphing:
Read More »Argentina Dream Stream
I can’t think of anything better than stalking big trout in Argentina.
There is something other-worldly about fly fishing in Argentina. It’s at once so familiar and yet so strikingly different. The fish are big and optimistic, and the angling pressure almost non existent. Condors soar above, llamas lounge on the banks, and bid trout feed at your feet. What more do you need?
I’ll be hosting a trip to Argentina in Feb of 2018. We will spend four days on the Limay river in Argentine Patagonia and four days chasing golden dorado on the Upper Parana. There are still a few spots open. If you’d like to see this fly-fishing paradise for yourself, send me an email at hookups@ginkandgasoline.com.
CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME VIDEO FROM OUR FRIENDS AT ANDES DRIFTERS!
Read More »4 Tips For Capturing Better Release Shots of Your Fish
Your best shot at capturing a good photograph of you and your catch, is first having someone along with you that’s competent with a camera in their hands.
But even a world class photographer will tell you, it’s extremely difficult getting those picture perfect photographs, if the person handling the fish has no clue what their doing. Some of my favorite fly fishing shots to look at are catch and release shots, because there seems to be something extra moving about capturing the release of a fish in a photograph. Problem is, release shots are often some of the hardest photographs to pull off on the water. You have to have satisfactory light and adequate water clarity, but even with both of those, much of your success will ultimately be determined by the cooperation of the fish your shooting. Below are four tips for capturing better release shots that Louis and I have learned through trial and error over the years. Followed correctly, they should increase your chances at getting that perfect catch and release shot.
Tip 1: Choose a Calm Stretch of Water for the Release When Possible
Fast moving water isn’t optimal. If you can find a nice eddy or a calm stretch of water close by, you’ll find it much easier to photograph a nice release shot. In most cases, slower moving water will provide you with better water clarity for showcasing the fish below the surface during the release. I’ve also found it’s much easier to handle and keep the fish in proper position in slower moving water.
Tip 2: Keep Your Catch Calm and Relaxed
Don’t be in a rush to get the shot. Keep the fish in the water and in the net until it has calmed down before you move forward with the release shot. This is especially true if you land the fish quickly. A hot fish generally will swim off so fast, it will be
Protect the Head of Your Nymphs with Thin Skin
The more durable a fly, the more fish you can catch on it and the longer the life of the fly will be. Making a point to tie and purchase your flies with durability in mind will save you time at the tying bench and keep a little extra cash in your wallet. Nymphs in general are the work horses in our fly boxes. They’re constantly getting beat up from banging against rocks on the stream bed during our drifts. One way I increase the durability of my nymphs is to finish off the heads of my flies by folding over and super gluing down a piece of thin skin. This tying technique covers the vulnerable thread at the head of the fly and makes a nice looking nymph wing case. In some cases, like with my rubber-leg copper john version above, I use
Read More »Bonefish The Hard Way, Deep In The Mangroves
WHEN YOU ARE PLANNING A DIY BONEFISH TRIP, IT’S IMPORTANT TO CHECK THE TIDES.
If you are wading or using kayaks to navigate the flats your mobility may be limited and timing the tides becomes crucial. Bonefish will be most accessible on low tides. Late in a falling tide when they are forced out of the mangroves to early rising tide when they work the edges. It’s important that these tides fall during the time of day when the light is good for catching fish.
That said, I did the exact opposite on a recent trip to Cat Island, Bahamas. It was a vacation, not a fishing trip. The distinction is important to my wife. It means I don’t fish all day, every day. You can read my recommendations on how to make that work, (HERE). On this particular week, low tide came very early in the morning and after dark. Most mornings were compromised by rain. It was a tough set up, but I was determined to catch some bonefish, so I tried something crazy. And it worked!
At high tide the bonefish were feeding deep in the mangroves. In some spots, a hundred yards or more from the edge of the flats. So, I went in after them. It wasn’t long before I was catching bonefish and learning a lot about this new way of fishing. It’s not ideal. In fact it’s damned hard to do, but surprisingly fun.
HERE’S WHAT I LEARNED.
Read More »Low Flow Streamers
By Bob Reece
Low Fall flows don’t mean an end to streamer fishing.
I blessed to live in the great state of Wyoming. However, in my region of the country, flow levels on many of the watersheds that I fish are far below average this fall. Even with these challenging conditions, fall streamer fishing is still an option!
This past weekend I headed out to one of my favorite pieces of water. I was surprised to find the flows even lower than I expected. I had originally planned on fishing large streamer patterns on a heavy shooting head line. The water conditions forced me to call an audible and abandon that setup.
Knowing that there were large fish in this watershed, I simply altered my streamer setup and proceeded with a mini meat approach. I rigged up a floating line with a twelve and a half foot leader tapered to 2x. To the end of this I attached one of my Masked Bandits. This is my smallest streamer pattern and has no weight added to the hook shank. Due to this lack of weight it’s important to completely saturate the pattern prior to fishing it. During this process, I also rub it into the mud and sediment along the water’s edge to give it that “part of the ecosystem scent”.
The strength of this setup in shallow water conditions lies in the fact that
Read More »Leave Your Cowboy Hat at Home
By Bob Reece
In Cheyenne, Wyoming we host Frontier Days, the world’s largest outdoor rodeo.
That folks, is a great time and place to wear a cowboy hat. On the other hand, spotting and stalking fish in glassy water is not. Whether on still or moving water, the clothing that you wear can have an impact on the success of your fishing day. This is especially true when stalking fishing in water with high levels of clarity. In both my personal and guide days on the water I’ve seen this impact fish-to-net success.
While I guide entirely on still waters, many of those days are spent spotting and stalking fish with clients. During those experiences, two different people stand out in my mind. One arrived in a fluorescent pink sweatshirt. To start the day off, we fished indicators. With the morning dry fly activity, we began to slowly move down the shoreline in search of rising fish. As soon as I told her we would be trying this method, she removed the sweatshirt and wore a drab colored under shirt.
The other client wore a bright white cowboy hat.
Read More »Stream Etiquette, Two Stories About How To Share The Water
TWO EXPERIENCES IN TWO DAYS LEFT ME WITH TWO VERY DIFFERENT FEELINGS.
I spent a couple of days fishing in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago. A dear friend came in from Colorado and gave me the chance to share some of our eastern rivers. We had two close encounters with other anglers which proved to be lessons in stream etiquette. One a great example of how to share the water, the other not so much.
Stream etiquette is often complained about but seldom taught. What’s expected on the river changes from place to place but there are some simple ideas of respect and tolerance that are universal. If you’re not sure what’s cool and what’s not, I hope these two examples are helpful.
ENCOUNTER #1
My buddy and I arrive at a favorite piece of water with about an hour and a half of light left. The run is down in a gorge and we inspect it from above before hiking down. There’s no guarantee that it hasn’t been recently fished but no one is there now, so we head to the water. We are both fishing tenkara rods and my buddy is ready to fish but I want to make a fly change before fishing this new spot. I line up across from the first pool and start rigging while my buddy heads to the next pool upstream. Just then another angler rounds the corner and calls out. He has hiked up from down stream and was out of sight when we inspected the water.
To my mind, this is his water. As I see it,
Read More »Bonefish Fly Lines: Beyond The Cast
By Louis Cahill
Does having the right fly line mean catching more fish? Absolutely.
Having the right fly line for the species you’re targeting and the conditions you’re fishing is key for a successful day of fishing. You can buy a line from almost any manufacturer bearing the name ‘Bonefish’ but that doesn’t mean it will be the best line for the day you are on the water. It may do a great job of loading your fast action saltwater fly rod, but not catch you a lot of fish.
When shopping for a fly line, we focus almost completely on how the line casts. Of course it’s important to have a good cast but often it’s too late when we stop to think about how the line we chose fishes, and there are some big differences. This, of course, applies to all types of fishing but is especially pertinent to bonefishing, so I’m using that as an example.
It’s very common these days to see anglers over-line their fly rods. Putting a 9-weight line on an 8-weight rod absolutely makes it easier to load, but that ease of casting may come at a price. I fished recently with an angler who had paired his Sage One 8-weight with a 9-weight RIO Outbound Short. He liked it because it felt like his Winston trout rod. The only problem was, he couldn’t catch a fish.
There are three things wrong with this setup. First, the head diameter on that line is huge! It casts a huge shadow and makes a thunderous racket every time it lands on the water. It spooked every fish on the flat. Secondly, the short head meant that he had to strip the line in completely every time he recast. There’s no time for that in bonefishing. You need a line you can pick up and recast quickly. Lastly, by slowing the action of his rod down to that of a trout rod, my friend had lost all of the benefits of having a fast action rod.
I’ve seen this problem go the other way, too. I tarpon fished with a buddy a while back who had chosen a RIO
Read More »It’s The Little Things
“I know it when I see it!”
Kent and I were doing a presentation at a fly shop the other day and after showing a couple of hundred fishing photos, during the Q&A part of the program, a fellow raised his hand and asked “do you guys catch any small fish?”
I guess I’m as guilty as anyone for perpetuating the idea that size is all that matters in fishing. I sure don’t feel like that’s true but when you look through my photos you, sort of, start to get that feeling. It’s easy to go too far the other direction too and get all moist and sloppy about tiny wild fish. I really do love tiny wild fish but that’s not all there is to me either. I just want to catch a great fish.
I guess I’ll define a great fish this way. When asked how he would define pornography Sen. Jessie Helms replied, “I know it when I see it!” I guess that goes for fish porn too.
The average size fish in the stream where this little guy was caught is around eighteen inches and I caught plenty of those fish the day this photo was taken, but this beautiful little guy that my buddy Dan landed is the one I’m going to show you. In my opinion he was
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