The Troutbitten guys are here to talk about two flies. Why do we fish two dry flies, two streamers, wets or nymphs? Why don’t we? Why might we fish with just one fly instead? Multiple fly rigs are a common solution to fishing problems, but extra flies on the line can certainly create more issues than they solve.
How do we fish around midstream rocks? How do we use them to our advantage? Because trout surely use them to their advantage . . .
Why do we catch trout in patches? Because when we get to the end of the day, we often look back to remember catching three trout in one spot, then nothing for a while. Maybe we missed two and landed five in another spot. We had three at the best undercut bank and another handful at the tailout . . . but in between, there were often long periods of inactivity. Why is that?
We wade for contemplation, for strength and exhaustion, for the challenge and the risk. We wade for opportunity . . .
I was resigned to the plan but having a hard time watching it fail.
Why was my confidence so easily shaken? Because a river that was once the most predictable of any that I fish has now become the opposite. It’s a confounding mystery that I keep coming back to, wishing to solve. And I know that with enough time, with an open mind and by running the right experiments, I’ll find the answers . . .
Trout learn to see some colors, some materials, some shapes and movements as fake. And when they see the same fake fly often enough, they stop eating it. That’s what we mean by angler pressure. So, part of the game becomes a guess about what flies the trout have learned to reject and how we can turn the fish on again.
That’s the unnatural thing about trout seeing too many fishermen and too many flies . . .
Most anglers are tempted by big water. We fall for the trap. The river dares us to fish the far side, and it tricks us away from the things we do well.
. . . These are easy mistakes to make on big water. But discipline solves the problems. Actively planning and following through is an elusive quest with a fishing rod in hand. Most of us want to be creative. We want to follow our whims. The shady side of that boulder sure looks good, right? So why not make a few casts? Then fifteen minutes later, you’ve wasted time, energy and confidence with bad drifts and poor judgment . . .
Riverside is a new video series from Troutbitten. It’s a place for sharing some of the latest articles from Troutbitten and streamside thoughts . . .
There may be nothing more misunderstood in the tight line game than floating the sighter. But it’s a great tactic that solves a lot of problems and offers some unique presentations that fool trout.
However, there’s a lot more to floating the sighter than simply laying line on the water. In fact, without a solid understanding of what’s going on, laying the floating the sighter can hurt the presentation . . .