Myth vs Fact

Brett van Rensburg

To understand how to catch fish more consistently in both river and stillwater environments one must take into account all factors that affect the fish and how they feed. I have found over the years that being a consistent flyfisher is largely about your environmental awareness and your ability to adapt to these different conditions. nymph hooks.

While at some point many species of fish will have individuals that grow to the sort of size that they will become piscivorous and eat more fish than insects, lots of big ones continue to feed on bugs throughout their lives.

In this article we will explore and expose a number of “myths” or “facts” that I hear continuously when out on the water and, more importantly, I will use my years of competitive flyfishing experience to answer these questions and provide you with a few helpful tips that will improve your strike rate.

MYTH: Want to catch big trout? Use big flies. FACT: Well, kinda - maybe...

This is always an interesting one for me as in competitive angling the number of fish caught are usually more important to us than the size of the fish caught. Having said that, there is nothing that anyone loves as much as catching big fish, me included. I can assure you however that you do not need big flies to do this - although I do concede that this myth is one that is perhaps mildly rooted in truth. It doesn’t take much effort to debunk this myth either - just three weeks ago I found myself fighting and landing a 16lb largemouth yellowfish on a size 18 PTN nymph on 7X tippet.

MYTH: The best time to fish is at sunrise. FACT: There is no single best time to fish.

While for many fish species, and especially trout, this is somewhat true - but it is certainly not fact. Fish feed when food sources are available and plentiful. This occurs at different times of the day or night and can be affected by multiple factors. Personal experience has taught me that water temperature, weather, insect hatches, time of year, general insect availability, wind and sunlight all play their part in determining fish feeding times.

For example, you probably aren’t going to catch a 12cm fish on a big, articulated streamer pattern. In this case, yes, your big fly will probably limit you to bigger fish and in some places where they are a problem you can upsize your fly to avoid catching very small fish. But you don’t have to use big flies if you want to catch big fish. Plenty of massive fish have been caught on size twenty I have caught many fish early in the morning, at midday when damsels and buzzers are moving and in the late afternoon in clouds of mayfly and caddis hatches. It’s all about watching the water and your surroundings, taking note of what’s happening and, importantly, fishing what the fish are looking to eat.

I think not! Fish are smarter than we think and certainly remember a lot more than they are given credit for. Looking at the world of competitive flyfishing this could not be more apparent. You may drift a fly past a fish and get some interest, but as you do this over and over again the fish realises that he has no interest in that fly. This is why a change of fly will often bring a fish on the very first cast.

Another example of this is how competitive anglers competing in World Championship events will change the colour of the indicator material on their Euro nymphing rig in the last session of a competition. This is because the fish have by then grown used to seeing the same colour indicator, have made an association and have become scared to feed when seeing it. These two factors alone tell me that fish have the ability to remember and make decisions based on these memories. Boom! Myth Busted!

MYTH: Trout change feeding habits based on air pressure changes. FACT: Well, it's not quite that simple.

This one is actually true but not for the reasons that you expect. Many fishermen believe that barometric pressure changes have a physiological effect on the fish and this causes them to go off the bite. This is not the case at all!

Pressure changes actually have an effect on the surrounding environment, weather and temperature which in turn cause insects to change their movements, hatch and general behaviour.

We determined earlier in this article that fish feed more when there is more food around

to eat and we can logically determine that they will feed less when their food is hiding. Therefore we can call this one TRUE on the basis that pressure changes cause insect hatches and movements to slow down and in turn cause fish to feed less.

MYTH: If you fall in the river with your waders on you will sink. FACT: I’ve tried, but I can’t prove this.

I must say, I actually had to test this one out for myself to confirm it. Guess what? I am still here. It is, actually, a myth.

As your waders become full you become neutrally buoyant in the water and don’t sink. The big problem is the weight of your kit and boots make it very difficult to swim. So, if you take a tumble remember this before you chuck your rod away in panic.

[Editors note: Safety first! Practice in a shallow pool and know your limitations when wading. Please don't try to prove Brett wrong!]

MYTH: Flyfishing is just for men. FACT: Oh for heaven’s sake!

This myth gets reinforced every time we see a commercial that has been set on a pond or a stream because it’s always men who cast their lines. NO WAYS, this is just a stereotype.

This sport is for all regardless of race, gender, weight and size. Catching fish is just fun and it is important that we get the youth involved early and even more important that we get the female youth fishing. There are plenty of women who enjoy fly fishing and who are excellent at it. Women of all ages represent the fastest growing demographic in the sport of fly fishing in both Europe and America.

MYTH: False casting over a fish will spook it. FACT: False casting over a fish will spook it.

Ohhhhh yes, this is so true! The clearer the river, the more chance you have spooking the fish by ‘lining’ the fish or by false casting over it. When fishing clear streams remember to fish smaller flies, longer leaders, natural colours and to wade carefully.

Most river fish feed higher up towards the surface and when the sun is high and this allows them to watch out for predators that might want to eat them. This means they will easily pick up the flash of your line as it flies over their head.

Try to minimise the number of false casts you require when throwing a fly and especially if you’re presenting a dry fly. If a longer cast is required try to cast away from the fish and turn to cast the line to the intended point at the last second. This simple trick will result in a lot more eats of your fly.

MYTH: Flyfishing means having to know a lot of knots FACT: Nah, not really.

Myth! This simply not the case, unless of course you consider three a lot. For me fresh water flyfishing can be taken care of with three knots:

✓ The quick penny knot to tie your flies to the tippet. ✓ A Duncan or double-uni knot to join mono-filament lines together. ✓ A surgeon’s knot to tie on droppers.

It’s as simple as that. Instructions for the tying of all of these knots can be found on the internet and they are easy to learn to tie. Are there other knots that will help you become a better fisherman going forward? Certainly, however when starting out these will get you a long way.

MYTH: You’ll catch more fish on lures or bait. FACT: Pffffffffft.

You must be kidding! Ok, so I am clearly a flyfisher through-and-through, but this is such

a tired falsehood that I have quit arguing with or trying to convince the worm-drowner, spoon-chucker or crab-tosser otherwise. Whether salt or freshwater, flies systematically outperform other modes of fishing when fished by the average fly caster.

It’s simple, flyfishers use flies that look like the insects and bait fish patterns that fish like to eat. We can manipulate depth, movement, drift and size very easily. In doing so we are able to give the fish exactly what they want, how they want it. Quite frankly, our work rate is substantially higher than the average fisherman not holding a fly rod.

One perfect example of this is the polite conversation with bank anglers when stepping off the Vaal after a mornings fishing. On a good day the average flyfisher will have anywhere between ten and fifty fish. When asking bank anglers how their morning has gone the typical response is substantially lower than this.

MYTH: Nymphing upstream is more effective than downstream. FACT: Let's agree to disagree.

Now on this one I need to be careful because there is a massive difference in opinion when it comes to these schools of thought. Each has its own pros and cons.

When Euro nymphing upstream you are able to control the drift better as you can manipulate your rod and line and obtain the most natural drift. We all know that the more natural the drift the better chance you have of getting the fish to feed. With simple changes in arm and rod positioning you can also very easily adjust the position of the flies in the column of water that they drift through, which means that you can keep your flies in the feeding zone in the column of water very easily and for long periods of time.

On the flip side, when catching smaller fish your strike needs to be near perfect as the fish’s mouth is small and the bite happens quickly. Also, wind can cause major havoc when fishing a high stick causing more damage to your drift than is gained by an upstream approach.

Downstream nymphing has its up and downsides too. By weighting your flies correctly you are able to systematically move your flies into a feeding fish’s view without spooking it. You can also hold the flies in one place providing the time it takes for the fish to move up and feed. Because there is no cast you will not ‘line’ a fish or scare the fish as the flies land. The largest advantage in my opinion is the fact that your line is pulled tight by the flow of the water and therefore your fly is tight against the reel. Often a strike is not required when a fish eats downstream because the tension on the fly and tippet causes the fish to hook itself. Conversely, you need to be cautious as if the fish bites hard you could easily be snapped off. Another negative that the strike is in an upstream direction and you could pull the fly out of the f i s h ' s m o u t h - t h i s i s o b v i o u s l y counterproductive

Unfortunately I am going to leave this one as unsolved noting that both techniques have their advantages. For me one should assess the situation and conditions and make the correct call based on all these factors. A small tip from my side: I will often make use of both techniques and alternate between the two of them regularly. Using this methodology the results have been good to me so far.

Good luck out there!

Brett van Rensburg @flyfishing_sa