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PODCAST: Dry Fly Skills Series #7 — Fishing Dry Flies — S12, Ep7
For this final episode in the dry fly skills series, we work through some scenarios that anglers frequently encounter. Because, just like nymphing, fishing streamers and fishing wets, we fish dry flies for many different reasons and in many different ways.
Head Hunting, Fishing, Terrestrials, Small Stream Stuff, and Working a Hatch . . .
Fish and Film — Tight Line Nymphing and Tight Line to the Indicator (VIDEO)
This third installment of the Fish and Film series highlights the technical aspects of good, adaptive nymphing. It’s a look at a full morning of fishing riffles, runs and flats, while making the necessary and natural changes to find fish.
There are many adjustments along the way. And I comfortably switch between pure tight line tactics and tight line to the indicator style, along with weight adjustments, using both beadhead flies and additional split shot . . .
PODCAST: Dry Fly Skills Series #6 — Rise Forms and Hook Sets — S12, Ep6
Watch for different rise forms and prepare for the hooks set. It’s all a lot of fun when you realize that good fishing isn’t luck. It’s attention to detail with an open mind and a willingness to dive into the mystery . . .
STORIES
Winter Pregame
Lessons like these linger, and they have an impact. His was a message not to fear the winter, but to respect it, to venture forth but to prepare for the unexpected. Seek adventure, with provision as your companion.
Most of Dad’s lessons were ingrained that way. And, years later, when fishing became a life for me, I saw no reason why snowy roads or ice in the rod guides should keep me from fishing . . .
Last Cast
The light of the last day of the year began to fade, and I reminisced a bit. It’s been an incredible year for me, full of life lessons that I probably needed to work on for some time now.
Here’s to living the next year vividly . . .
What to Trust
Of the good fishermen I know, one thing I see in all of them is how easily they can reach conclusions about fish habits. They have a knack for knowing what to trust and when to trust it.
The damned thing about a river is that it changes every day, and the habits of trout follow. If you’re observant enough to see the dynamics of a river, you can predict how the fish will respond, just by correlating their behavior patterns with the changes in water level, clarity, food availability, etc. Often, though, that’s a big leap to take. And it requires trusting in your observations enough to act decisively on them . . .
TACTICS
VIDEO: The Golden Ratio of Nymphing
One rod length over and two rod lengths up. That’s the Golden Ratio. That’s the baseline, and it’s where trust in our drift begins. There are surely moments and situations that call for something different. But a good tight line style starts here, within the Golden Ratio of nymphing . . .
VIDEO: Wading Belt Carrying System
How can we keep our stuff with us, make it easily accessible and not be slowed down or fatigued by extra weight? Answer: Carry the heavy things on your hips.
Most anglers focus on whether to choose a chest pack, vest, sling pack, hip pack, lanyard or something else. We think of carrying fly boxes, tippet, leaders and other incidentals. But what about the net? What about water, a wading staff, a camera or anything else with extra weight? Carrying these items should not be a secondary consideration. As the heaviest things among your gear, how you carry them is of primary importance.
The heavy stuff is best carried on your hips, so the most critical part of your carrying system is probably the wading belt. And most wading belts are not up to the task.
Forgiving Flies
This is one of the most amazing times to be on the water. Fishing through a snowstorm rekindles memories, ingrained from the novelty of tracking flies and fly line through the optical mystery of falling snow.
. . . This morning, I’m leaning on my favorite set of forgiving flies — just a handful of patterns I’ve noticed that our notoriously picky trout are more willing to move for and eat. These are patterns that draw attention and perhaps curiosity, but also don’t cause many refusals.
NYMPHING
Three Nymphing Questions to Solve Any Problem
There are three questions that lead you to solving all your nymphing problems. If you’re struggling, if you’re wondering if the empty net is your fault, ask yourself these questions and answer them honestly.
Is everything in one seam? Do I have to be this far away? Is my fly deep enough for long enough?
Assuming that a dead drift is the goal for your nymph, answering these three questions leads you to correcting your own mistakes . . .
Nymphing: Are We Making Too Much of the Induced Take?
If there’s one thing in nymph fishing that gets far too much credit, it’s the induced take, in all forms. From Frank Sawyer’s slight movement up and out of a pure dead drift, to the Leisenring lift, nymphing anglers everywhere are enamored with ways to twitch, jig, swing and lift the nymph.
An excellent dead drift is your baseline presentation. The induced take is a variation. And do not forget that a good induced take begins with a great dead drift. That is what is so often missed . . .
Slipping Contact — Tight Line and Euro Nymphing
Slipping contact is the intermixing of influence and autonomy. Take the fly somewhere — help it glide along. Then surrender it to the current, and let the river make the decisions. Slip in and out, and find the balance between influence and independence to the fly . . .
STREAMERS
Design and Function of the Troutbitten Standard Mono Rig (*UPDATED*)
Here, finally, is a full breakdown on the design of my favorite leader. It’s built for versatility without compromising presentation. It’s a hybrid system with an answer for everything, ready for fishing nymphs on both a tight line and under an indy. It fishes streamers large and small, with every presentation style. It’s ready for dry dropper, wet flies, and it even casts single dry flies. All of these styles benefit greatly with a tight line advantage.
Anglers in contact are anglers in control. It’s fun and effective, because we know where the flies are, and we choose where they go next . . .
VIDEO | Streamers on the Mono Rig: Episode 2 — Casting
The Troutbitten video series, Streamers on the Mono Rig continues with Episode Two, covering the unique possibilities and the demands of casting.
Fishing streamers on the Mono Rig offers anglers ultimate control over the direction and action of their flies — all the way through the drift. And while small streamers may need nothing more than a nymphing-style cast, mid-sized and full-sized streamers require a few changes in casting to get the most from the technique . . .
Streamer Presentations — The Touch and Go
Want to get deep? Want to be sure the fly is low enough? Try the Touch and Go.
Sometimes, I don’t drift or strip the streamer all the way through. Instead, I plot a course for the fly, looking through the water while reading the river’s structure. And I look for an appropriate landing zone for the Touch and Go . . .
ANGLER TYPES IN PROFILE
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BIG TROUT
Ask Landon Mayer | One key habit of BIG trout, and the flies to match
Big trout are on the lookout for non-escaping prey. Yes, even the largest trout in a river would rather snatch an easy meal that won't run away from them. Big trout are lazy — let’s call it efficient — and they avoid chasing down their dinner whenever possible. What...
The Big Score | Meet the Bad Hombre
Halfway down the flat, on the fifty yard line and right where the players meet for a coin toss, a small unremarkable nymph tripped over a stone and then recovered. It danced deep into the belly of a bucket, home to the largest and baddest brown in the river, and then it paused . . .
We watched daylight race the river downstream
The best thing about a float is seeing miles of water as if in one frame. It’s like a filmstrip that you can take out and hold in your mind for a while. If you’ve done this long enough, then every rock around every bend carries a memory. The best island channels hold a group of those stories and offer them up as you float by. It’s a photo album: the river is a flowing film of your best and worst times on the water — moment by moment passing by. And if you’re lucky, you might create a new highlight for the reel . . .
NIGHT FISHING
Night Shift — This River and the Other River
I think I’ve night fished often enough now to make some conclusions -- not many, but a few basic determinations that allow me to have confidence in laying out a few principles. Here’s one: night fishing around here is hard. It takes dogged persistence over many...
Spaces
The truth is, there is little to fear in the woods or the water at night. Do you want to know what’s out here in the dark after midnight? Nothing. Seriously, it’s startling how much nothing is going on. Maybe that’s what part of our instinctual fear of the dark is — fear of nothing existing in those smaller known spaces and trying not to be too claustrophobic about it . . .
Night Shift – The Porcupine
So I was startled, but not surprised, when something heavy hit my legs in the dark around midnight. Fishing to the banks upstream while standing in the swift middle current, the hefty thump happened so fast that it was past me and downstream before I could move. That was too soft to be a log, I thought.
I flipped on my headlamp and looked downstream to see a porcupine returning my wide-eyed gaze. His head turned, and he glared back, as if the hit-and-run was somehow my fault. I almost expected him to flash a middle finger, but I guess he needed both paws for swimming . . .
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