BFC Float Clinic Part II ~ Fishing Considerations
E WILL DISCUSS RIVERS BUT FOCUS ON STILLWATER
The 5 CONDITIONS THAT WILL EFFECT YOUR FISHING SUCCESS • Light ~ bright or dark day • Surface Conditions - flat or rippled water • Clarity - gin clear or discolored water • Temperature - below above 50 degrees • Water Depth You can only manage one of these but they are all important and should effect your approach
The Most Important Component?
Rod Reel Line Leader Flies Retrieve Rigging Beer
Fish don’t took down!
If you’re fishing at the wrong depth your SOL!
Everyone is familiar with floating lines
Do not listen to the marketing hype put out by manufacturers or distributors. Talk to someone in a fly shop who has used the various lines and can give you an accurate assessment of how it performs under various conditions. At today’s prices you don’t want to make too many mistakes. If you think you can get this kind of information from a big box store think again!
“BUY THIS LINE …. IT NEVER SINKS, CASTS A MILE AND ITS IMPOSSIBLE FOR FISH TO SEE IT.”
An intermediate sinking line that drops 1.5 to 2.0 ips (inches per second) = 1.5 feet in 10 seconds. It’s designed for cold water fishing has a green running line and clear 40 foot head
Streamer Express Style Lines 26-50 foot tips sold by the grain weight 150 grains = 4 to 5-weight line 200 grains = 6 to 7-weight line 250 grains = 7 to 8-weight line 300 grains = 8 to 9-weight line 350 grains = 9 to 10-weight line 400 grains = 10 to 13-weight line 500 grains = 12 to 14-weight line
Puts the fly in the strike zone NOW Fast retrieves ‌. KG Strip & Jerk
Versi-Tip Style Lines Multiple 15-foot tips ~ loop-to-loop connections
Floating Intermediate 1.5 to 1.75 ips Type III 3 to 4 ips Type IV 4 to 5 ips Type VI 6 to 7 ips Additional 15-foot sections can be bought separately
Five lines for the price of one Can be incredibly convenient Not without problems
River Techniques • Use your fins to position the boat • Keep the boat moving at the same speed as the flies • Fish nymphs perpendicular to the boat casting towards the shore and mending accordingly. • Fish dry flies slightly upstream of the boat to eliminate drag • Fish streamers slightly behind the boat and parallel to the bank • Do not over-weight your flies
Fish always feed in shallow water. When fish are deep they are not feeding which does not mean they won’t take a fly.
Food is always found around the shoreline edge with the most productive water between the surface and 6 feet under.
Want to start an argument? Ask this question…”How long a leader do I need”
Floating Lines 10 to 14 feet Sinking Lines 6 to 7 feet Others: Depends on fly size and weight and the depth targeted
MY APPROACH TO LEADERS Buy 7 1/2 foot 4X and 2X tapered leaders And add a FC tippet sections and/or resize to 6 or 7 foot leaders
The issue and advantage of FC
Retrieves need to match the pattern fished HAND TWIST SLOW STRIP FAST STRIP SLOW STRIP & PAUSE FAST STRIP AND PAUSE Plus any variations you can think of
‌the smaller the fly the slower the retrieve
There are two basic searching strategies reading a lake or simply trolling Individuals who spend all of their time trolling occasionally pick up fish but chances are they spending a lot less time actually fishing. A lot of folks in this category cast behind the boat and troll through the water they just disturbed When you find a good spot sit off to the side fanning casts across it and changing the depth as warranted ‌ the first casts are generally the best
When possible carry multiple rods rigged with different lines and flies
One of these rods should be carrying an intermediate line
BE SMART …. Do the research or hire a guide • Stop by a fly shop and ask about the hatches and buy some flies whether you need them or not • Find out if there are scuds, forage fish etc. available • Get the names of one or more top guides for a targeted lake and call them. Even better, hire one of them and spend the entire time picking their brain. • Ask people where not to fish rather than where to fish • Find out when the lake produces best. While dawn and dusk are normally the best times, its not written in stone.
What’s on the Menu
Knowing what trout feed upon is critical to success. You don't need a degree in Latin to be successful, but you should be able to distinguish one organism from another. You should know how each food source behaves and when they are most active and available.
Look for signs of insect activity or availability.
• Snoop around on shore. Look for signs of recent hatches amongst or on shoreline vegetation. Often the cast husks and those insects that have drowned turn up •Turn over logs and rocks…check out docks • Get yourself an aquarium net and maybe a stomach pump (learn how to use it)
The key is to totally fill the pump with water. Turn the fish upside down and tilt his head at a slight downward angle. This tends to "freeze" the fish - the loss of equilibrium causes the fish to stiffen up and cease wiggling. Incert the stomach pump into the fish's mouth, being careful not to touch the gills. When you feel the pump enter the throat area, proceed slowly. Resistance will decrease as the pump enters the stomach cavity. Squeeze the pump in order to inject a small amount of water into the stomach. This will loosen the stomach contents and you can suck the organisms into the pump.
Use a loop knot to attach all flies excluding your dry flies
You need to know the depth you are fishing at so you can buy a depth finder, carry a spool of marked line with weight on the end, or make a bad guess and limit the number of fish you catch.
In the last few years indicator fishing on lakes has become increasingly popular. Simply stated you are fishing a fly a foot or so off the bottom on a long leader. The fly is allowed to move via wave action or with an extremely slow pull. ….use yarn not foam for your indicator because it will slip through the guides ….try fishing tandem flies ….getting to the proper depth is critical
What about long leader (18 to 25 feet) fishing?
Effectively your floating line acts as a bobber as the angler makes a painstakingly slow retrieve after counting down the decent of the fly. With any movement of the line raise the rod tip.
THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION & TIME
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