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Aug 2018 - Tips - Daily fishing and tying tips
Aug 2018 - Tips - Daily fishing and tying tips
See through appearances
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances. I have seen so many fly fishers that are stuck in a rut and cannot see the difference between dry fly run or a nymph run, they will stick to their mode of fishing. Have a look at the water see thru the "appearances of the water" See what is under the water, see what the water "OFFERS YOU" not what you want to offer the water. You will be pleasantly surprised on what the water offers you when you start looking thru the "appearances" of the water. (PS: the only difference between a habit, a rut, and a grave is the depth)
What works today, might not work tomorrow
What works today, might not work tomorrow, next week or next year. This is applicable to flies, bead colors, hot spots, size of flies. And remember, fish do have a memory, they do remember flies that have pricked them if you practice catch and release (Which you should be doing). So change and adapt to keep on catching fish. If you fish the same water, week in and week out, try different flies, different techniques (dry fly one week, nymphs the next week, wet flies the following week, streamers the week there after and soft hackles the last week.)
Let Your Rod and Reel Dry
After a fishing trip, remove your fly rod from its tube and let it dry out. It is good for the cork and metal on a graphite or fiberglass rod and doing it is even more important for a bamboo rod. The best way to let your rod dry out is to remove it from the rod tube and sock and put it in a safe place to dry for a few days. Take your reel out of its case and let it dry out as well. A wet cork handle in the tube can grow lots of mildew over a week or two before the next trip.
Avoid fishing trout in warm water
Avoid fishing for trout In water over 18 degrees C or 65 degrees F. Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen than cold water. Even with proper catch and realize techniques, fish can die after being being released when water temperatures are over 65 Degrees F, due to this lack of oxygen. If the water is too hot, fish for warm water or salt water species such as bass or bluegill or carp instead of trout.
Tie some nymphs on scud hooks
Tie some nymphs (PTN, GRHE, etc) on scud hooks and keep the nymphs handy in the fly box. Make sure the tails are around the bend of the scud hooks. When fishing with the nymphs, and you let it swing downstream and the nymphs reach its drift at the end of the swing, hold the nymph still in one spot, the tails at the angle gives the nymphs beautiful motion, with little diving and rising motions. Very enticing for the fish to take a gulp.
Varnish hooks to fight rust
When tying salt water flies on hooks, which are not fully stainless, it is a good idea to varnish them before putting on tying thread or material. Use clear nail polish in a thin layer applied with a brush. Varnish a handful of hooks at a time and let them dry before applying material. The varnish protects the hook from the water seeping under the materials, and will even help the thread "bite" better, giving you a more durable fly.
Have the right attitude
This is the second of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 10. Have the right attitude. My Italian friend, Edoardo Ferrero sums it "When someone gets on the water, I want to see the red eyes of the devil in his eyes”. You must want to catch fish, you must have the hunger to learn how to fish no matter what your talent. With the right attitude you will learn new stuff. With the right attitude you will transfer some of your knowledge to someone new. 10 fly-fishing commandments
Be coachable
This is the ninth of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 9. Be coachable. Be willing to accept that someone can teach you something, like tying a better knot, how to do a certain cast better. 10 fly-fishing commandments I am by no means the world’s best fly fisher, or the best fly tyer, but I have taught many people to fish as well as hundreds of school kids. Up to a couple hundred have attended my Nymphing Master Classes.
Be prepared
This is the eighth of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 8. Be prepared. When you get to the water, make sure you have cleaned your fly line, make sure you have the right tippet. The right flies. Did you take your lunch. The more you are prepared, the more you will enjoy the fishing and the better you will fish. 10 fly-fishing commandments
Try the extra bit
This is the seventh of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 7. Try the extra bit. Do a bit of extra. Tie flies, invite a new fishing friend, tie extra leaders or tippets, teach someone new to fly fish. Or write a tip of the day. That is an extra bit as well. 10 fly-fishing commandments I am by no means the world’s best fly fisher, or the best fly tyer, but I have taught many people to fish as well as hundreds of school kids. Up to a couple hundred have attended my Nymphing Master Classes.
Do it with passion
This is the sixth of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 6. Do it with passion. Do have a passion for fishing. No passion, no joy, no energy, no fun. If you have passion for the fishing, you will have fun whilst you go fishing, and you will enjoy it. 10 fly-fishing commandments I am by no means the world’s best fly fisher, or the best fly tyer, but I have taught many people to fish as well as hundreds of school kids. Up to a couple hundred have attended my Nymphing Master Classes.
Have energy for the fishing
This is the fifth of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 5. Have energy for the fishing. Do not be too lazy to get up at 4 in the morning. Do not sigh at the thought of an hour-long hike to the water, or the thought of making coffee and sandwiches for the next day. Have the energy to do all that – and enjoy it. 10 fly-fishing commandments I am by no means the world’s best fly fisher, or the best fly tyer, but I have taught many people to fish as well as hundreds of school kids. Up to a couple hundred have attended my Nymphing Master Classes.
Have the right body language
This is the fourth of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 4. Have the right body language. If you do not look like you want to fish, you will not fish. Get the attitude in your step as you walk to the water. When you are stalking a fish, do it like a leopard that wants to catch a meal, not like some lazy circus elephant wandering into the ring. 10 fly-fishing commandments
Put in some effort
This is the third of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 3. Put in some effort. Put some effort in your fishing. Be willing to stay up an extra 30 minutes to tie a leader or tippet setup in the evening. Drive the extra 5 or 10 or 30 minutes to get to the water - or a special stretch of water. The effort that it takes to hike the extra 10-15 minutes or half hour to get to a secret stream or spot that you heard about. It might be a dud (that happened a lot to me), but you might see the most amazing sites along the way.
Have a fishing ethic
This is the second of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 2. Have a fishing ethic. Respect the fish, respect the environment, respect the river, respect other anglers... you get the idea. 10 fly-fishing commandments I am by no means the world’s best fly fisher, or the best fly tyer, but I have taught many people to fish as well as hundreds of school kids. Up to a couple hundred have attended my Nymphing Master Classes.
Get out
This is the first of my 10 commandments of fly fishing and you can apply it in which ever way it helps you. 1. Get out. First of all, just go and fish. If you stay at home or have excuses not to go and fish, you will never catch fish or learn how to catch fish. 10 fly-fishing commandments I am by no means the world’s best fly fisher, or the best fly tyer, but I have taught many people to fish as well as hundreds of school kids. Up to a couple hundred have attended my Nymphing Master Classes.
Streamer hook sets
These tips will work when stripping in streamers in still water, ocean or river. When you miss a take on a retrieve, try one of the following: A. Keep on stripping the fish might take again. B. Stop completely, leaving the fly absolutely motionless. The fish might think it stunned the prey and it is lifeless or dead and come back for a second bite to devour the prey. C. Strip much faster. The fish might think the prey has escaped and will try harder to catch the escaping prey.
Keep on stripping
If you miss a take when stripping in a fly, keep on stripping. When wet fly fishing down stream and across, swinging flies, lift lift the rod to set the hook on a take. If there's a fish you're in the game. If not, drop the rod down again and let the fly fish on. The fish will often return and try again or another fish will see the fly and attack.
Nymph hook setting
Try the following when you are fishing upstream where the fly is drifting towards you and even slightly past you. This can work when you cannot see to nymph all the way. like in pocket water, deep runs, etc. Simply set the hook every three seconds! Not the type of hook setting where you rip the fly out of the water or move the nymph a meter or several feet, but a gently quick set, moving the fly not more than 30 centimeters or a foot or so. Fish like that for a day, with two nymphs, a nymph and strike indicator or what you prefer.
Straighten twisted line
Fly line can get twisted when casting. To untwist it, cast downstream and feed an extra few meters of fly line. Keep the line in water and the flowing water will unwind the line.
Start with a stretched line
Always start a cast with rod and fly line in a straight line. Make sure the fly line does not drop down at an angle from tip top eye, and make sure that the fly line is laying straight in front of the rod and has no snakes or S’s. When you pick up the rod, it starts loading immediately. Other fancy casts like roll casts etc. requires something different.
Roll your marabou
When tying with marabou, it is not always the easiest to get it to sit neatly on top of the hook shank. When you cut the marabou from the main stem of the feather, take the clump of marabou at the butt section and roll it between your fingers, almost like you would do with dubbing. Roll it in one direction, until it is a firm tight bunch. This will be a nice tight clump of marabou at the butt section and the fibers will still be loose and free. Depending on what you want to tie, you can cut this at an angle for a gradual slope or a square cut if it has to be pushed up against a bead.
Control your marabou
Once you have tied a bunch of marabou onto the hook shank, apply a bit of saliva between your thumb and index finger and stroke over the marabou. The fluffy marabou will be out of the way, making it much easier to tie the rest of the fly. Once the feathers dry - or get into water - the marabou will spread out again.
Downstream hook set
Setting of the hooks on soft hackles, spiders or other such wet flies that are swinging downstream can be the most "difficult" hook set to do, as it goes completely against everything that you have been taught and learned over the years. With a normal setting of a hook, you lift and set the hook before the fish spits out the hook.
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