** NOTE ** Video for Hook Sets appears below Setting the hooks is the most exciting part of the day. For all the time we spend planning, prepping, wading, tying, casting and drifting, it's all in anticipation of that brief moment when a trout eats the fly. You fooled...
The Q&A series on Troutbitten is an effort to answer some of the most common questions I receive. Here's the latest . . . Question This one is from Tanner Mason, in Colorado. How does your weight type or configuration change when you are fishing with an indicator...
Nothing turns a good fishing day into a great one like efficient casting. Consistent accuracy puts the fly, leader and line just where we plan. Over and over, great presentations start with a cast full of intention, a cast with purpose, that leads to an effective...
** NOTE ** Video for The Dorsey Yarn Indictor appears below For over a decade, my Troutbitten friends and I have fished a small yarn indicator that weighs nothing, is extremely sensitive, versatile, cheap, doesn't affect the cast, and flat out catches more trout than...
The Lift and Lead is a cornerstone concept for advanced tight line nymphing skills.
Lift to allow the fly to fall into place. Lead to stop it from falling and to keep it gliding through the strike zone.
For certain, the lift and lead is an advanced tactic. But if you’re having success on a tight line for a few seasons now, you’re probably already incorporating some of this without knowing it. And by considering both elements, by being deliberate with each part of the lift and lead, control over the course of your flies increases. Efficiency with weight improves.
The path is more predictable. And more trout eat the fly . . .
Many anglers hang up the fly rod when the days grow long. As spring surrenders its sweetheart days, summer signals the conclusion of trout fishing season, and new interests take over. The streams are fished out, the water is too warm and trout are off the feed. It’s not worth the effort, they say. Summer water surely presents a challenge. But good trout fishing can be had all summer long by accepting the difficulties and understanding the roots of the problems faced . . .
How many times have I assumed that no trout would eat, when all I needed was a different target? How many trout did I pass earlier this morning because I was complacent about my drifts? “Good enough” was my mindset. “Close enough” were my terms, but the trout were on a different page . . .
When I start wondering why the fishing seems slow, I first check my distance. Have I started creeping the cast too far beyond that perfect baseline? If so, I reel in a couple turns. I wade closer, staying behind the trout and being cautious with my approach.
Fly fishing provides so much variety in presenting flies to a trout that a good and well-rounded fly angler can make something happen, even on the slowest days — usually. And so, we spend our time on the water learning and refining these various techniques with dry flies, nymphs, streamers and wets, waiting for the trout to turn on, but fishing always with persistence and hope flung into each cast.
I’ve been around enough long-term fishermen to understand one primary character trait — we all approach the water with an effort to learn. That’s what keeps things fresh year after year. That’s what keeps a man fishing from childhood to the grave. It’s not the trout, but the process of discovery, the perfection of tactics that will never be good enough to make a sure thing out of a day on the river.
Every angler finds moments when the fishing is easy, when seemingly any decent presentation of the fly brings a fish to hand. Even the most difficult rivers give up a good bite once in a while. And the easiest rivers, with eager trout, produce great bite windows that last for hours or even days. But what should we learn from that? . . .
Convinced or curious? Sometimes, it’s that intersection of the two states that elicits the irresistible urge from a fish. And trout eating on the drop is one of those times. . . .