HOOKS.AN.BEADS, FlyFishing

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Learning how to Read a River

When fishing a river it’s always good to know where the fish are and where they hold up.
There are many ways to fish a river

when fly fishing. Examine the river from a high angle if possible look for boulders, loges and any other obstacles that are in the water. Look at the contour of the river your fishing. Get an idea of what the river bed has as far as weed patches feed areas.

Whether you’re Nymphing, dry fly

fishing, or Wet-fly fishing (dead drifting) you got know where they are so learning to read a river you’re going to fish will help you succeed. These are the obvious locations for fish to hide or be at any given time. And the most common ones are listed below.

The highlighted Names are what I call these fishing areas I fish.

The Riffles, better known as the white water, moderate to fast current. Riffles produce abundance or Aquatic insects. Sometime you will find a fish or two here feeding.

The lanes. (Better known as runs / lies) there are three lanes in one runs on a river. The runs are primary feeding areas for trout. Trout use these lanes / runs to lie on the edge of the swift current and feed on the insects there.

The lane tails. (Better known as the tail-end of a run / lies.) these areas I found were the fish sometimes lie and feed while basking in the sun. I fish these tails in the morning hours with good success.

The back eddies. (Better known as pools) the swift current come off of the riffle swirls into the bank and back into the river causing a pool and a slower current before heading back into the fast current of the river.

The cubbies. (Behind a rock or large rubble.) With these rocks /boulders the will provide slack water for the fish to rest and sometime feed dodging in and out of the lanes

The edges. (The undersides of both sides of the bank) there are deep undercut underneath the banks of a stream creating a shelter from hot temperatures, predators. And sometimes hold a lot of fish. And fishing each one of these takes time and patience and sometime skill.

Always remember that 90% of the time when a fish hits / bits take your fly, it’s because you presented it to him right. Presentation is key in fishing a river.

When I fish the riffles I usually fish them with a wet fly or a streamer like a muddler minnow, very large black woolly burger. I will dead drift it meaning no weight on it or on the line just like it says dead drift. This is a very fast pace fishing technique will take some getting used to but when you get it down this will produce big fish. Fishing the riffles is a lot of fun when you get the hang of it.

When I fish the lanes I like to use nymphs I like to drag the bottom and fish that particular lane hard I might stay on that lane for 30 minutes or so. If you recall I did say that there are three, 3 lanes in one run to fish. On the main run there is that lane I call the main lane.

Then you have what I call the top lane (which is the top of the main lane) and of course the bottom lane of the main lane.

I will fish each one of these lanes separately. And I will fish them hard. I have also found that if you are fishing a lane for some time now and have not gotten any hits / strikes move up stream 1 to 3 step and try it again those couple of step can make a big difference in being in that strike zone of the fish.

Fishing the lane ends of these lanes / runs, I call tail-end; it’s a lot different than fishing the three lanes. the tail end of these lanes / runs open up wide it’s clear smooth and it’s where I like to fish the top (dry fly) were the fish/ trout are feeding,

Fishing the back-eddies are quite hard, But if you've spent much time fishing back-eddies you know that it can be very tricky to get a drag-free presentation of your fly. The currents are moving in many conflicting directions at once, so fly, line, and leader conspire against a natural presentation.

FlyFishing with the Grandson

Teaching fly fishing to everyone that wanted to learn from my wife to my boys and my friends it was time to teach my grandson. Started out teaching him how to hold the rod properly then (like a firm hand shake grip.)

With a blank rod letting him flip the rod back and forth learning the forward cast and the back ward cast, with the forward cast stopping at 10:00 o’clock and the back cast stopping at 2:00. With this it teaches you the feeling of the Fly rod and the action of the rod. Once you have a scene of control of the action. I will put the fly line on through the guides and set it up like we were fishing but I did not use a hook, I tied on a piece of yarn or cloth as a fly. Then I teach him how to load the rod.

Teaching him to load the rod, without the feeling of the fly rod bending back and forth in your hand (the action of the rod) you will not get the proper line cast. Now you need enough line out to make a proper cast and without having any slack in the line, With the rod tip close to the ground or water starting your back cast bringing everything into motion and up with a sudden stop at 10:00 O’clock and the rod bending and your line loading.

Start your forward cast with the motion going forward and another sudden stop at 2:00 O’clock then starting the backwards cast all with keeping a stiff wrist. Some people can do this with a loose wrist but it is best to start out with a stiff wrist and use the forearm.

After teaching him these techniques and letting him practice in the back yard. I had setup some paper plates and some buckets for him to aim at. The trick here is to get the yarn so called (fly) in the plates or bucket so many points for each.

We made a game out of it, with two rods going and a little side bet me and him set out to have a little fun. After a couple of hours and some twisted lines he was flipping that yarn and putting it were he wanted it to go. He was stoked.

It’s all good on the ground but now the real test, moving water. A whole new game, letting him warm up a bit. I began to show him how to control the line in the water.
Flipping it up stream, letting it hit the water then showing him how to flip just the fly line up stream so you have the fly’s moving down stream first.

With everything floating down stream and watching the strike indicator, letting him know that once the strike indicator goes under to pick up slightly if there is a fish at that moment the fish will feel the tension and take off (no need to set the hook he’s already done that for you) then the fighting began. YAHOO FISH ON! But if the strike indicator goes under and there is no fish it’s more likely to be the moss or rock on bottom of the river. But if the indicator does not go under and keeps traveling downstream (I call it a free pass) we just start the same process all over.

Letting him practice his casting, after he had done this for a while he then started to get frustrated from not catching anything.

I stood next to him and showed him how to do it from step one but this time I was behind him and we both had the fly rod in our hands showing him as we both did it, it was the second cast and BAM!! the fish hit and we were fighting a fish. I let go and let him have the rod. The look in his eyes was priceless. (You know where you get the chills up and down the back of your neck.)

A few more times with him and a few fish later his confidence grew to where he wanted to try this on his own. For the next few minutes I let him do this and was talking him through it. It wasn’t more than 45 minutes later he had done it. He hooked his first fish on a fly rod all by himself. As the fish hit, it lit that little guy’s face up big time.

Now that he had hooked his first

fish on a fly rod and grandpa had it in the net, I think I have hooked a little boy into fly fishing. Taking him fishing with me, just this last time, he thought it was neat to catch more fish then grandpa. (He still doesn’t let me live that down and he’s only 10). He is still learning new things every time he goes. He’s now learning to read a river and learn where the fish hold up and where they lie, and what area’s they feed in, and how to present that fly to them. he can't wait for another day on the river with grandpa.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

FLY FISHING EQUIPMENT

Things change over the years along with the tackle you use. Over the last 24 years and several fly rods later, not to mention all the nets I have gone through. I have learned it’s a preference on what type of gear you buy / use. I have use a lot of rods and found that one rod feels better than the next, as far as weight and action goes. But I found that what feels good to one person may not feel good to the next person. I also feel what you pay for is what you get.

I had bought several cheap rods over the years; my first rod was a cheap $36 dollar rod. I had it for years. it worked OK, did its job but I was not satisfied. Wanted to buy something else. I had even stepped up and bought a more expensive one. It was a sage brand rod. That rod Worked for a while. Still I was not happy. then moved on to Scott’s fly rods, the rod was a little better, but I was still not satisfied.

Every fly fisherman has a favorite rod. I still needed to find mine.

Several years later I was picking up some fishing supplies at a local fly shop in north salt lake I think it is called high country flyfishers and I just happen to pick up for the first time ever A Thomas and Thomas fly rod the Horizon 905 9’ 5 weight a Fast Action. I looked at it and the clerk asked if I had any question about the rod and if I would like to try it out. I gave him a weird look, he said he would fix it up and we could go outside and let me try the rod. I took him up on that. and after fly casting it a crossed the parking lot, I knew then, that was the rod! 29 years later this is still my Number 1 rod to fish with. My boys have taken over the others.

Let’s start out with the rods.

Yes there are the expensive rods and then you have your inexpensive rods. The inexpensive rods I'm talking are the south-bend, Cortland, Okuma Tempest. To the finer, more expensive rods, Like G-Loomis, Scott, Orvis or my favorite Thomas and Thomas fly rods.

Every rod will have a weight, length and an action.

weight:

Each rod is sized to the fish being sought, the wind and water conditions and also to a particular weight of fly line: Fly rod manufactures weight the rod as to what weight of line the rod can handle. Heavy line means heavy rod.

Thus, the rule here is:
Fly Line Weight = Fly Rod Weight = Fly Reel Weight

fly line weight 1-3 : Use this weight if you plan on fishing for tiny fish, such as tiny trout or pan fish.

fly line weight 4 : A fly line weight for all small fish species such as pan fish, as well as small.

fly line weight 5: Another good all-around fly line weight. Works OK for medium at mid size trout, and OK for average sized bass

fly line weight 6 : A heavier version of 5. Not much fun to use for small fish. But idea for all trout fishing. Works well for bass too and even small salmon.

fly line weight 7: Use this line weight for all bass fishing if you want no worries. Also works well for monster trout fishing. Hopeless overkill for average trout and pan fish. This line weight is also popular for steel head and small to medium sized salmon.

fly line weight 8 and above: These line weights are used for ever larger and stronger fish, particular saltwater species.

length: The typical size trout rod are in between 8'.6" to 9'.6'', and line weight 4 to 6.

Action: The term in a fly rod is the stiffness, speed of "recovery of the rod. The faster action rod will tend to react quicker then the slower action rod will have a whipping motion and slower recover time. Along with all the poles I have had, there to

come all the reels. Yes I have gone through at least a half/dozen reels. I started out with the old Pflueger Medalist. south bend, royal coachman. (I still have the medalist and the royal coachman)Don’t get me wrong they all did their jobs. The thing I did not like about each of these reels is the drag and the fact that they did not like 5 lbs to 2 lbs tippet. The line would twist and twist sometimes ending up in a twisted knot. It did not matter what I did. I could not get the line from not twisting. Then I found the Ross reel Evolution #2series. (pictured on the right) I like its drag system which is precise and sensitive - capable of protecting the lightest tippets even when battling world-class fish.

With the rod and reel combo I have, I feel I'm in control. I try to use the gear that I know that works and know that it’s reliable for me. Every man has his favorite rod and reel... I found mine!!

For my fly line I have used a number of them like, Cortland, scientific anglers, and Rio fly line, Cortland

was the only fly line that I used for many years Cortland 333 DT (double tapered ) floating and then I went to the 444sl DT floating and then I tried scientific anglers, no differences in the too fly lines. Then I tried the Rio Avid trout WF (weight forward) floating fly line. I see and felt the difference in the way it cast and the way it floated on top of the water the weight forward let me cast easier into the wind. I also noticed that my landings at the end of each cast were more laid down instead of a slap on the water. Again this is a personal choice. What might work for me, might not work for the next person.

The next thing is Tapered Leader. There is several out there to choose form. RIO Fluoroflex, UMPQUA TROUT ,Scientific Anglers , Cortland Precision Fluorocarbon. I have used everyone that I have listed here but, I tend to revert back to the UMPQUA TROUT. It seems to me every time I use anything else in the wintertime or cold weather it breaks. The Rio seems to stand up better than the others. And it seems not to twist on me when flipping a dry on the water. So there for I use it all the time. Again just a personal preference.

Tippet
Again some of these names have been mentioned before UMPQUA, FROG HAIR, Scientific Anglers, Rio.

These all have a range from 10x to 0x for trout tippet.

I use a 6x in the spring and summer and when dry flying, Nymphing and fall and winter I will use 5 x

I like to use a small # tippet when I'm fishing the top. It tends to help the fly act naturally. I have used most of these tippets, and still use the RIO power flex more than the others.

Flies:

I used to tie all my fly’s but I only tie a certain few of the fly’s I use, because you can’t buy them anywhere they are the fly’s I have designed and there is no other fly on the market and no one else Knows about them. But I buy most of the others and just when I need a few extras.