Last week’s article about my favorite small stream leader was popular enough to bring a bunch of questions to my inbox about casting a fly rod in tight quarters. I have plans for a full series on small stream work, eventually covering all the gear, the tactics and the...
My gateway into fly fishing was through tunnels of mountain laurel. Native brook trout swam in cold, clear waters that trickled out of the gaps and ravines of a Pennsylvania state forest and merged into the upper tributaries of remote valleys. Under the deep,...
For over a decade, I’ve searched for visible monofilament suitable for building Mono Rigs. There are many options for hi-vis mono, but my preferences are specific. And for so long, I couldn’t find anything that checked all the boxes. That search is over (for a while)....
Every angler has their favorite knots. But the longer we fish, the more we encounter situations where what we usually do just doesn’t work. So we learn from it. We research and we ask other anglers. And maybe we find a rig, a tactic or a knot that solves the problem....
The George Harvey Dry Fly leader is a slackline leader built for dead drifting. With intentional casting, with the right stroke, the Harvey lands with slack in all the right places, with curves and swirls through the entire leader and not just in the tippet section. The Harvey is a masterful tool built for the art of presenting a dry fly on a dead drift. But success begins by understanding how the Harvey is different, and why it works.
Fly distance restrictions unnecessarily limit the common angler from taking full advantage of tight line systems. If you choose to fish under FIPS rules, do so by choice, with your eyes wide open and for good reason. Take a fresh look at why you are choosing your flies, your leaders, your fly rods and your tactics. And be sure that you’ve thought through both the benefits and the consequences inherent.
Leader length restrictions unnecessarily limit the common angler from taking full advantage of tight line systems. Such rules force the angler to compensate with different lines, rods and tactics. And none of it is as efficient as a long, pure Mono Rig that’s attached to a standard fly line on the reel. Here’s a deep dive on the limitations of using shorter leaders and comp or euro lines.
Using competition fishing standards for the average angler is extremely limiting. And following FIPS Mouche rules makes little sense for most dedicated fly fishers. (FIPS is the governing body for international competition.) Comp rules strip away too much of the versatility and efficiency offered by long leader systems in the first place . . .
Seaguar Invizx has become my go to fluorocarbon tippet material, and some of my Troutbitten friends do the same. It’s thin, strong and flexible with excellent handling and flex. Invizx is as good as some fly shop brands and better than many others. And because the type of tippet we use is not what catches trout, I don’t overspend on tippet . . .
Regardless of the leader choice, angle of delivery, or distance in the cast, every tight liner must choose whether to lead, track or guide the flies downstream. So the question here is how do you fish these rigs, not how they are put together.
Good tracking is about letting the flies be more affected by the current than our tippet. Instead of bossing the flies around and leading them downstream, we simply track their progress in the water.
Tracking is the counterpoint to leading. Instead of controlling the speed and position of the nymphs through the drift, we let the flies find their own way . . .