Articles in the Category Fly Fishing Strategies

PODCAST: The One or Two Fly Debate, Across Fishing Styles — S13, Ep2

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.

VIDEO: Fishy Water — Summer to Fall

Find feeding fish. Find the fishy water. These are the keys to putting trout in the net. But as the seasons change, so do the habits of trout. This film focuses on the shift between summer to fall.

Consistency on the water, day to day, requires an awareness of the shifts that take place, season to season.

Meeting trout in these times of transition takes some forethought and willingness to adapt . . .

How Big of an Ask?

Are trout opportunistic feeders? Sure, but it depends on the opportunity. We choose the fly and decide how to present it. We then pick what water will receive the cast. And to inform those decisions, it’s critical to understand what we’re asking the trout to do.

How big of an ask is it?

And how opportunistic do we expect the trout to be?

Here are a few examples . . .

The Setup Cast — Fly Fishing Strategies

The setup cast keeps you in control on the river. It allows for repositioning and redirecting the line, leader and fly to the next target. The setup cast gives you a chance to regroup and rethink, too. It keeps you in rhythm by keeping you out of trouble and lending new options to an active angler.

When the First Cast Matters Most: Part One — Streamers

Mar 25, 2020 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Streamers, Tactics

While fishing the long flies, accuracy is paramount. In a recent conversation with my friend, Bill Dell, he made an excellent point that changed the way I fished streamers again. Bill’s thoughts forced me to rethink the habits I’d fallen into. And that hammered me back into shape.

Bill told me he doesn’t make a cast until he’s in the ideal position, until he can deliver the streamer to that sunken log near the bank with exactly the angle he considers best. He refrains from any lead-up casts. Rather, Bill saves the initial cast for when he can deliver the knockout blow — no jabbing on the way in. Here’s why . . .

Why You May Not Need the Crutch of 6X and Smaller Tippets

Jan 26, 2020 | Commentary, Fly Fishing Strategies, Tips

I’m not suggesting that 6X and lighter tippets are always a crutch. But they certainly can be. Extra-thin tippets are an easy way to solve a tough problem — getting a good dead drift. But sometimes, choosing a harder path makes all the difference — because you might learn more.

. . . How and why in the article . . .

The Sweet Ride

Dec 18, 2019 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Tips

There’s a sweet spot to every drift. For each swing of a wet fly, strip of a streamer or drift of a dry, there’s a range — a distance — where the fly looks its best. This is the moment where the fur and feathers tied to a hook are most convincing or most natural. It’s when the fly is really fishing and not just dragging through the water. Good anglers recognize this sweet spot of the drift. They maximize its length. They position themselves in the river to control it with their rod tip or with slack line. And they set it all up to happen over the best trout in the river . . .

We’re looking for the best part of what happens after a cast. We’re searching for the sweet ride. And we’re trying to make it last as long as possible . . .

Cover Water — Catch Trout

Nov 10, 2019 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Stories

John crossed the bridge with his head down. He watched each wading boot meet a railroad tie before picking up his other foot for the next step. Cautiously, he walked the odd and narrow gait required when walking the tracks. And with nothing but air between each massive railroad tie, he could see the river below.

I’ve never known anyone to fall on a railroad bridge. I suppose you couldn’t fall through. But you’d surely break a leg or twist an ankle with one wrong step on that slick wood.

So I stood by the “No Trespassing” sign, next to the edge of the bridge, and watched my friend slowly make his way toward me. He looked disappointed. And when gravel filled in the gaps between ties, when John was back on solid ground, his head stayed down.

“Did you catch a Namer?” I asked with feigned enthusiasm.

“Ha! Nope, I surely didn’t do that,” John said, waving his hand and brushing off my next question.”

Fly Fishing Strategies — Plan for the Hook Set

Sep 1, 2019 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Tactics

For a moment, let’s consider where the line goes when the hookset doesn’t stick a trout . . .

You strike on the rise and miss a fish. Or, while nymphing, you set when the fly bumps a rock for the forty-fifth time. And the fly goes where?

In wide open meadows and valleys, who cares? With no trees to eat your fly, sloppy hooksets go unpunished. But the rivers I frequent harbor broken tree limbs as earnest gatekeepers. I like dark, shady corners because the trout do. And working around these obstacles forces me to be mindful — to know where every hookset finishes . . .

Fly Fishing Strategies: Learn the Nymph

Mar 1, 2018 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Tactics | 12 Comments

As a young troutbitten kid, I learned to fish live minnows strung on a small double hook with a barrel swivel and split shot. My uncle taught me to cast upstream and dead drift the unlucky creature, adding a slight lift when necessary to keep it off the bottom. When the fathead minnow was across from my position, I allowed the line to tighten and swing as the minnow was carried downstream. That transition between dead drifting and swinging was the sweet spot of the drift, and I learned to understand where it would happen. By considering the speed and direction of the various currents, I tried to position myself adjacent to the prime holding water for the best trout. Even at ten years of age, fishing was a beautifully complicated game and every cast was full of possibility. It was captivating.

Fly Fishing Strategies: No Limits — Fish every type of weight available

Feb 21, 2018 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Stories, Tactics | 7 Comments

Casting to the bank with my back against the wind, the medium copper conehead on the Half Pint wasn’t enough to drop my fly through the stained water and out of site, so I needed split shot . . .

. . . I turned into the wind with my head down. The rain pummeled the hood of my raincoat, creating a buckshot spray that sounded like small hail on a tin roof. With soggy fingers poking out through wool gloves, I reached into my vest for the disc-shaped container of split shot. I plucked out two #4 shot and quickly squeezed them onto the line . . .

. . . Use whatever kind of weight makes sense. Use whatever fits the situation and matches the objectives, and I don’t limit yourself.

Fly Fishing Strategies — The Add-On Line

Feb 16, 2018 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Tactics | 18 Comments

Adding a second fly to the tippet section usually improves your chances of fooling a trout. Sure, there are times when the precision of just one fly is an advantage, but more often than not, I fish with multiple fly rigs. I like two nymphs, two streamers, and two...

Fly Fishing Strategies: Over or Under? Your best bet on weight

Feb 8, 2018 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Tactics | 12 Comments

When nymphing or fishing streamers, I think most of us are trying to use enough weight to get the fly down and keep it there, and yet not so much that the damn thing snags a rock with every cast. You might think there’s a fine line to this, but honestly . . ....

Fly Fishing Strategies: Tags and Trailers

Mar 18, 2016 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Nymphing, Tactics, The Mono Rig | 22 Comments

Sometimes trout are feeding so aggressively that the particular intricacies of how nymphs are attached to the line seem like a trivial waste of time. Those are rare, memorable days with wet hands that never dry out between fish releases. More often than not, though, trout make us work to catch them. And those same particulars about where and how the flies are attached can make all the difference in delivering a convincing presentation to a lazy trout.

Two nymphs can double your chances of fooling a trout. But there are downsides. Here are some strategies for rigging and getting the most from two fly rigs.