PREPARING FOR THE DAY

by Landon Mayer

Preparation for a trip begins before I even arrive at the water. When fishing familiar waters, I try to visualize what the water looks like and reflect on past experiences. In new locations, I use a map and satellite images to determine where I think quality trout will be holding; cover, oxygen, and food supply are the trout’s most important criteria in choosing holding lies. This mental preparation is similar to an athlete’s getting “in the zone.” It is almost like you are role-playing how you will fish the water the following day. This can result in extremely positive days.

I then turn my attention to the vise. If you do not tie, concentrate on going through and evaluating your fly box. This is the best way to prepare yourself for the trip and develop a systematic plan on how you will present your flies to the trout. I prepare two dozen flies that imitate the predominant food supply in a small container (puck) for easy access while on the stream. I call this being “on deck,” akin to a batter getting ready to step up to the plate. I also use this small container as storage for the hot flies. I am a firm believer in speed on the river; yes, you can take the time to organize each fly in its proper place during or after each retie, but you run the risk of missing the few shots you will get at the fish in the process. You can organize your fly box after your trip or before the next day’s fishing.

I keep detailed records every month of the year of what the trout are feeding on. If you’re just getting started, one of the best books I have found to date is Dave Whitlock’s Guide to Aquatic Trout Foods. It was my “Bug Bible” when I first started fly fishing. This book is noteworthy for the detailed drawings on each page that show the insect in motion, and the format makes it easy to learn.

A good example of proper fly selection for the Winter/Spring months is match the midge hatch. I keep a good section of Tube Midges ties with a thread head, or tungsten bead for depth control. Some with a gill tuft above the eye of the hook, and some with a wing emerging out behind the thorax. This allows me to match the various stages of the hatch, and when needed, drop below a Griffith’s Gnat dry fly on a stealth dry dropper rig.

Before you even consider your equipment, don’t overlook the way you dress. Anglers often camouflage themselves to blend in with the river’s edge. Because trout see upwards in a conical path, it is important to think about what the trout will be seeing above and behind the angler. If your destination is in a canyon, match the canyon walls. If it is fall, match the changing foliage. A bluebird day requires a similar color blue.

As for equipment, I usually begin with a nymph rig. No matter what season, weather, or time of day, the odds will be in your favor because a majority of a trout’s diet is subsurface (unless the fish are feeding heavily on the surface when you first get to the water). Additionally, I rig a second rod with dry flies so I can avoid rerigging if the trout suddenly decide to feed on the surface. Some of the largest trout I have landed were caught during sporadic hatches. In addition to hatches, a break in the weather can also allow the trout to feed on the surface, where you can present a hopper or a mouse to trout that have seen nothing but subsurface food all day.

Streamers are tricky. I have yet to meet an angler who can hit the water and nail fish on streamers all day. Streamers work only under specific circumstances. For instance, if the water suddenly increases in flow and becomes off color, trout will feel much more comfortable attacking large prey. Streamers can also serve as my cleanup method, in which I go back to a previously fished area to present the streamers, hoping wary fish that didn’t attack earlier will attack now. No matter what type of water you are on, the last two hours before nightfall bring out the large nocturnal feeders that will take a streamer consistently.

Each discipline of fly will require you to adjust the size of the rod, reel, and line setup. For dry flies I like to use lighter rods and line weights (2- to 4-weight, depending on the water) than I use when fishing nymphs or streamers to add a softer touch to the presentation. A 9-foot rod is ideal for water with room to cast and fish at fair distances. However, if I am fishing pocket waters in tight quarters, shorter is better. Rod lengths from 7- to 8- feet help prevent snags on waters with movement from choked edges[tg1] .

The nymphing game has changed over the past five years, but the weight of the setup remains the same for the most part: 4-weights and 5-weights are still some of the most common sizes. In big waters with big fish, like the rivers in Alaska, it is not unheard of to go up to 7- or 8-weight nymph sticks for lifting power. The length of the rods can vary, too. A 9-foot rod will do for most waters and distances. Rods 10 feet or longer do come into play for larger bodies of moving water, because they have more reach and fly line control, and on still waters because they have more length for lifting and leverage during the fight. If it is feasible, having both a 9-foot stick and a 10-foot stick will cover all water types, from intimate to vast.

For streamers, 6- to 8-weight rods are common. I prefer a 7-weight because it is the most versatile, allowing me to fish streamers on a river in the a.m. and then cast to pike in a still water bay in the afternoon. To get maximum power and distance out of a stream rig, try overweighting the rod by one weight in fly line. My preferred set up is a 7-weight rod and reel matched to an 8-weight textured series fly line from Scientific Anglers. The heavier line causes the rod to reach maximum flex, and the textured line reduces friction as it shoots through the guides, adding ten feet (literally!) and speed to each cast when needed.

The reel is one of the most im- portant pieces of equipment you own. It’s a misconception that the drag on a reel will not come into play for trout. Yes, some water will allow you to strip line in during the fight. But many of the rivers that I fish

About Landon

Landon Mayer is a veteran Colorado guide and author of several books. His newest book, Guide Flies: Easy-to-Tie Patterns for Tough Trout, can be purchased on his website at www.landonmayerflyfishing.com. You can follow Landon on Instagram at @landonmayerflyfishing.

have trout strong enough to rip 20 to 30 feet of line off the reel before you can even react, so I prefer large arbor reels with low start-up inertia, a durable build, and sealed drags to reduce debris from entering important moving parts.

When rigging for the trip, I always use fresh leaders. Whether you buy them or build them, using fresh tippet will ensure maximum length and strength. After rigging the leader, I check that my tippet spools have at least three feet or more ready for use. I constantly change flies and retie tippets after landing larger trout. I have a tippet spool holder containing X sizes, starting with 0X (for streamers) and continuing up to 3X, 4X, 5X, and 6X. I rarely use 1X or 2X, opting for the strength of 0X instead. For low, clear water, I’ll sometimes use 7X, but I prefer sticking to 6X for the strength. Lastly, always double-check your tools for the day, such as strike indicators, fly floatant, knot-tying tools, and markers. There is nothing worse than gearing up or tying on a dry fly and realizing you have no floatant.

Nancy Emerson Global Luxury Specialist 970.366.1194 nemerson@masonmorse.com