How To Fly Fish

GUILT & FISHING

2010-08-18T05:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Anglers

Its been a very long time since I last posted. Got no excuses really - life just got in the way.. You know how it goes, but I'm back now and ready to keep going.

What else can I talk to you about. Perhaps if you were to leave a comment about some aspect of fly-fishing you would like to hear about I can then get back to you with a new posting.

I've talked about finding the lie, the type of fly to use, the line, the rod, and all sorts of accessories. Some of you have actually listened which is great.

Here is some further help for you.

Flies - Buy Them Or Tie Them

Always use special polaroid lenses in your shades to see beneath the reflection of sun on water.

Already wear glasses - then special 'Fitsover' sunglasses are what you need.

Want a quality fly fishing rod or need one that breaks down for travel.. just what you want when you drive past a sparkling river that just begs for you to fish it?

Want a fly box with hooks or a great vest? Whatever you need you can find at any good sports store or if you cant bother with going shopping, then order them online and the links I put in this quick posting will lead to some good fishing gear.

Good shopping - great angling

Al

How To Fly Fish In Other Countries - New Zealand

2009-01-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

In this series about how to fly fish, I’ve covered most of the basics so far about lies, technique, gear and tackle but it’s important to note that there are differences in technique and equipment between different countries. I've been lucky enough to fish in more than one country and can tell you that if you think you can take your gear and tackle and just go to another country and use it just like you would at home then you’re wrong.

The canniest anglers will go for the best option of consulting a fishing guide in the country they are visiting.. especially if that is New Zealand. The sports fishing in New Zealand, whether salt water big fish or fresh water salmon and trout fishing must, arguably, be some of the best game fishing in the world. But I used a fishing guide until I got to know the various rivers. There is some pretty wild water in the back country of the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand. And some pretty wild fish too.

One of the best spots to salmon fish in New Zealand is on the Rakaia.

The small town of Rakaia has earned its name as the Salmon Capital of New Zealand, with large populations of both salmon and trout in the Rakaia River. The fishing season stretches from October through until April, peaking in the months of February and March. During this time, anglers line the 20 kilometres closest to the mouth of the river. The annual Rakaia Salmon Fishing Competition puts the skills of local and visiting fishermen to the test.

But you must be aware that trout fishing regulations are different for the different rivers and unless you want to find your gear, tackle and catch confiscated and yourself being fined a substantial amount for using the wrong gear, at the wrong time of year, it would definitely be a wise thing to find yourself a fishing guide.

One guy I know to be one of the best fishing guides around is Chappie Chapman. You can be sure of getting yourself some really decent fishing when you go out with him. But there are others who are pretty good too.

The thing to do would be to get yourself to Christchurch, New Zealand and make your way to a couple of the really good fishing stores and ask them there.

Learning how to fly fish is an entertainment, a struggle and a real downright pleasure.. it definitely is a love/hate relationship. Only the pig ignorant angler thinks they know it all for fishing is like life, a series of ups and downs - times of great pleasure followed by times of massive frustration. Times when 'never again' are followed by 'when can I go fishing again'.

Good fishing - until next time

Al

How To Fly Fish: Fly Fishing Tackle.

2008-12-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

As a rule of thumb, I’ve found that quality gear is worth the investment. In my experience, learning how to fly fish means learning that the cheaper the product, the faster it gets broken, so take the time to choose your gear wisely even if you have to save up for it.

I have found that going to a tackle store that specializes in fishing gear with staff who are actual fishermen and women pays off in the long run. You might get cheaper gear at a chain store but whether it will hold up to the rigors of fly fishing is pretty much of a gamble. If the gamble pays off, well and good, but if your cheap piece of gear falls apart when you are out fishing, then that’s your fishing trip down the drain.

There is pretty much of a set system when it comes to putting together your tackle. First off is the rod to which is added a reel. Next comes about 100m of Dacron or micron to which the fly line is then attached as a backing. Most fly fishermen tend not to use or even need backing line but in other places in the world you will find it is essential.

The fly line is quite a specialized piece of line. It is made of one sort of polymer or another enclosing a Dacron core which has a breaking strain of around 10 - 15 kg. Next is attached a leader butt or trace, about 2m long of around 4kg breaking strain line, then a leader of around 3 - 5 m. This system then allows the line to break off close to the fly if you get snagged. Better losing a bit of leader and a fly than the fly line itself which can be a very expensive bit of line (around $100 and sometime more).

Generally fly-fishing gear is matched to a size numbering system. These run from#1 weight (the lightest) to #12 (the heaviest). That means a #7 rod will be matched with a #7 line which goes with a #7 reel and so on. The key to this whole system is the line weight. In America, most fishermen don’t use reels with backing as you simply do not need it on the fish you catch there. However, if you were fishing in New Zealand waters, for example, backing is very much needed and so the reel needs to be big enough to cope. I've seen anglers using American gear downunder, and not being able to load the extra backing line which is needed.

Learning how to fly fish can seem never ending with all the new information. You are learning all the time. Anyone who thinks they know it all are usually the guys I tend not to fish with. They can be arrogant and stupid and their tall fishing tales are always much longer than any fish they catch. It’s a bit like a small pool with a medium size trout in it… as long as he stays in that pool he is a pretty big fish.. but if he ever makes it out into a big stream he will quickly find he isn't the biggest fish in the river after all. :)

Catch you next time

Al

How To Fly Fish: How To Catch Yourself A Trout – Fly Fishing

2008-09-10T02:51:00.000-07:00

Fly Fishing is about the only way I know to deliver a lure to a trout in a way that won't scare them half to death and send them heading for the best cover they can find. When you are learning how to fly fish, then good casting skills are one of the disciplines you will practice and practice.

Flies are so light that they will not pull the line off the reel. The line weighs so much more than the fly. This is one of the major differences with surf casting and other forms of fishing. These other forms use the weight of the sinker to pull the line off the reel, but it is entirely different with fly fishing. This is the reason you cannot fly fish using a spin or jig reel. With fly fishing, the line is relatively heavy and it is the line which pulls the fly to the spot you want it to be.

Practice, practice and even more practice and eventually you will be able to deliver your fly to almost exactly where you want it to go and in such a way that entices that trout to rise and gulp it down.

Control and flexibility are the two keywords that come to mind when thinking about a fly rod. The extra long length gives the angler the sort of control that is absent in all other forms of fishing.

Personally, I believe that when I learned how to fly fish, I was pretty much hooked. It is so elegant and so cool being able to flick that line out and lay the lure so it will drift down to where your wily trout is waiting and enticing it to snatch it down. There isn't anything like it in the whole wild world, especially when that trout takes the bait.

Good fishing

Fly Fishing for Trout

HOW TO FLY FISH – Worst Day Fishing Is Better Than Most Good Days

2008-07-23T03:36:00.000-07:00

How are you going with your flyfishing this season. Must admit to being pretty busy myself to the point of not getting around to post to my blog. It's been a pretty good year for fish this season and I've manage to pull a couple of really big ones in. I released most of them to go and fight another day.

When I was a bit younger, I felt that to prove my status as an angler, I had to cook and eat my own fish... now, particularly if the fish put up a great fight, I nearly always elect to release them. Trouble with that, is that as Im usually on my own, I dont get to take a picture of me holding the fish to prove that I caught it... and somehow, saying "The fish was th-i-s big" while holding my hands about 3 feet apart, doesn't have the same believability factor that a digi-pic would have. Ah well.. I know I caught the fish. Guess I don't have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Thats one of the good things about being all grown up.

Would be great for some of you reading this post, to drop a comment and let me know about the fish that YOU caught.

Great fishing

Al

Northern Hemisphere vs Southern Hemisphere

2008-02-16T01:31:00.000-08:00

Hi there fellow anglers...

It's been quite a while since I last posted in this blog. Reason for that is that while the fishing season was closed in the Northern Hemisphere, I've been down enjoying the wonderful summer in the South Island of New Zealand. The weather has been fantastic and the fishing has been great.

I will be posting again regularly once the fishing season begins again in the States.

Catch you soon

AJ

How To Fly Fish: Ways To Catch Yourself A Trout – Trolling

2007-11-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

Just so that we are certain exactly what is meant by trolling, here is a definition of sorts. Trolling is NOT trawling. Trawling is dragging a net behind a boat. Trolling is pulling a lure or a fly behind a boat. Trolling is the method used for catching Big Game fish such as marlin but is also used for other fish species. As you learn how to fly fish, you will learn all the different ways of getting whatever you are using for bait (lure or fly) down to where the fish are lying.

So how do you get your lure down to the depth where the fish are? There are a couple of good ways. One is a lead-line and the other is ‘down riggers’. A lead-line is a lead wire inside a dacron outer sleeve. These lines usually have a different colour every ten feet or so and while it is a pretty inexact science, many trollers will talk about how many colors are down below. This will be a rough guide to whether the fish are shallow or deep.

A ‘down rigger’ is a around a 6-7 lb lead ball attached to a reel by wire. The fishing line is attached to this by a clip. This is then lowered to the fishing depth which then pulls the line down with it and trolling begins. This is a much easier way and more exact method of reaching a specific depth. Once you have your fish on the hook, the line snaps out of the clip and you then work on landing your fish in much the usual way. The lead ball or ‘down rigger’ get wound up by its wire.

Trolling is usually done at a very slow speed. To my way of thinking, trolling is about as exciting as watching paint dry or grass grow but, whatever spins your wheel as they say. Learning how to fly fish is full of interesting twists and turns and it really pays to try many different ways until you hit on the one that really rocks your boat and one that you can get your teeth into and give it your best shot. This is the one that will hold you in thrall. And when you catch that big fish, make sure you have a great set of scales to weigh it on.

As always… good fishing

How To Fly Fish: Ways To Catch Yourself A Trout

2007-10-27T03:34:00.000-07:00

This week’s information is vitally important for every person learning how to fly fish. Forgetting or ignoring these rules can lead to a day of fishing from hell. Yeah, I identify with that because I’ve had a few days from hell myself in my earlier days. Now I always carry a reference notebook detailing what the angling rules are in the area I’m fishing so I don’t make the errors I used to make..

In most places in the world, trout fishing is governed by strict rules and regulations and the methods I'm going to be discussing in the next few blogs are not all legal in all areas,. whether you are in the UK, the USA, Australia or most particularly in New Zealand, the rules can change from one river to another and from one lake to another and the penalties can be really severe from a fine and confiscation of your trout, to loss of gear and even loss of your vehicle if any illegal fishing gear can be found in it. So you need to be aware of the rules governing how you fish, when you fish and what tackle you can legally use.

JIGGING:

The first method you need to know when learning how to fly fish, is Jigging. Jigging isn't something new, its been around for thousands of years and the reason its still used is because it WORKS.

So what is Jigging? A jig is a lure that looks like a bait fish. In action it acts like a wounded fish. I cannot say enough about fishing where the fish are not. It’s especially true with jigs. You can move your jig and make it look like a perfect injured baitfish, but if there aren’t any fish there its all just wasted time and effort. Jigging is for fishermen who catch fish.

Jigging by its very nature is pro-active fishing. What you get out of it is in direct proportion to the time and effort you put into it.

To be a successful jigger, you have to use the 80:20 rule. 80% of the time in preparation and 20% actually fishing so it is a three part process:

Identify the 10% of the water where the fish are most likely to be
Search in that area and find the fish
Use your equipment in the right way to catch the fish

So there you have it. The first in a series on how to fly fish, “catch yourself a trout” methods. Keep dropping in. I've got lots of fishing secrets to share.

Keep spotting those fish

Fly Fishing For Dummies

How To Fly Fish – Terrestrials & Other Aliens

2007-10-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Fishing heaven happens a couple of times a year and when you are learning how to fly fish, you will memorise both of these times. The first time is when a hatch happens (see previous post - "Match The Hatch") and the second is after a bit of a wind has blown hundreds of terrestrial insects onto the surface of the water and they are stuck there. Part of learning how to fly fish, is taking advantage of the opportunities nature provides.

Can you imagine the pull a gourmet feast of terrestrial insects caught in the surface tension of a river or stream has on the average trout? They really take advantage of it. Here is the time when the energy ratio works in the trout’s favor. Their dinner is a captive feast. All the trout has to do is leisurely take each insect stuck in the water and literally feast themselves fat.

Moths, cicadas, bees, crickets, grasshoppers, blowflies and all sorts of flying or hopping insects are laid out on the ‘dinner table’. Just remember that the same currents which concentrate at lies and brings the nymphs to the trout also bring surface terrestrial insects to a waiting trout.

Don’t forget your polaroids. I wish you great spotting as you learn how to fly fish.

How To Fly Fish – Match The Hatch

2007-10-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

One of the things a smart Angler will discover as they learn how to fly fish, is that of the habits of the hatch. Each species of insects which spend most of their lives under water go from an egg, to a larvae, and then they will turn into an adult insect. Conditions have to be just right in order for a hatch to take place.

A hatch is when a whole bunch of nymphs rise to the surface of the water, some by swimming and some by attaching air bubbles to themselves. When they get to the top of the water they have to struggle through the ‘skin’ on top of the water – the surface tension which is like a film on top of the water. Once they make it through this skin they change into an adult insect and fly away to breed.

This is the most dangerous time of their lives as moving through that surface film takes some time and once through the film they have to pump up their wings and during this time they can be picked off in their dozens by hungry trout. That is why a hatch takes place involving thousands of nymphs and insects. There is safety in numbers.

This isn't the end of the story. Once the adult insects have mated they return to lay their eggs and get picked off here too. Finally, once all the mating and laying of eggs has been completed all the adults die. They fall down exhausted onto the surface of the water and end up in a trout’s mouth. This is a positive epicurean delight for the trout.

Trout, though fairly predictable, can also be rather single-minded and very particular in what they will eat. They know the insects they eat at this time, so you have to be very particular about the fly you use as a lure. Talk to your local tackle store or fishing club about the hatches on the river or lake you are going to fish. You need to match the hatch. In other words you must use flies that have the look of the real hatch insects. They must not only look like the real thing but must also be the right size. Of the two points, its MORE important to match the size than the look of the real hatch. You are more likely to get a trout to take a fly of the right size but not quite the right appearance than the other way around.

There seems to be such a lot of information to take on board while you are learning how to fly fish but think of it as the foundation for the beginning of a life-long passion. I don't intend in this blog to get to the subject of tying a fly as it is a whole other topic. Instead, if you're interested, I can recommend a good book on Fly Tying.

Catch You Later

Al

HOW TO FLY FISH – Big Fish Rule

2007-10-07T01:35:00.000-07:00

Trout don’t only eat nymphs, flies and beetles, they eat smaller fish. Smaller fish, whether trout hatchlings, roe, or other species are generally referred to as bait fish and are definitely on the menu as far as trout are concerned. Learning how to fly fish means knowing what species are available and depending which river or stream you are on, then this varies quite a bit.

A strongly flowing river its not really worth it for a large trout to chase down a bait fish. Too much energy is spent to gain too little in return. Remember the ‘energy ratio’ I mentioned in previous posts. (Energy from food must be greater than energy spent in capturing that food). So you won't see a trout chase down a bait fish in strong currents. However, in sleepy slow-flowing backwaters, large trout can be seen patrolling up and down as they don’t have to use much energy to find their food and will be seen catching baitfish.

It's very important to note right here that fly fishing on shallow water and backwaters must be handled with the greatest of care. Trout are wary and the bigger the trout the more wary they have become because they didn’t get to the size they are by getting taken by a fly fisherman. You MUST be extraordinarily careful of shadows on the water from your body, and of vibrations from your feet transmitting through the water.

Learn to imitate the heron. Its very slow step and movement is ideal for successful angling. It's not unusual to even get down on your hands and knees and crawl forward. Always remember to fish your feet, first. This means stop as far back from the water’s edge as is practical and yet still see and its best to hide your presence with a tree or bushes, and then examine the bank very carefully. Then move your examination further out into the water. That is, scan and analyze close to the bank, then about 3 – 6 feet out from the bank until you can't see any further into the water.

NOTE: Its very important that you have the right sort of sunglasses or you just wont be able to see the fish as the light reflecting off the water surface will blind you. Most successful anglers use good quality polaroid lenses. I always have a couple of pairs with me because I do dumb things like sit on mine or drop them into the water when I'm landing my trout and let me tell you, when it comes to the choice of my polaroids or a monster fish.. guess which option I take? The sunglasses I prefer are Cadillac Polaroids.

If you can't see the fish because of surface glare, it is so easy to scare them by blundering your way down to the water. Once you see one fish, you can tell there are probably more. Work out which one you are going to go for and try not to spook them. While you are learning how to fly fish its always easy to scare the fish away so keep reminding yours to always fish your feet first.

Catch you later

HOW TO FLY FISH – Finding The Lies

2007-10-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

In the last article, I wrote about Lies. In learning how to fly fish and how to be a successful angler (remember, a successful angler is one who actually catches fish), I talked about Lies. Lies are where the big trout lie up to wait for food to drift down to them. A lie can be found where several currents concentrate into a narrow ‘seam’, an area that trout can keep an eye on without expending too much energy. A trout’s food must provide more energy than they expend in getting that food. That’s the formula for a truly magnificent fish – it all revolves around the energy equation. Food energy must be great than expended energy. If it’s not , then the fish just don’t survive.

Now where can you find these lies or feeding stations. Behind a rock, log or bank of weeds that sits in a current is a good one. The water flowing around the rock or log etc concentrates the food into a narrow current so the trout doesn’t have to move far to get its nourishment.

Really good lies or feeding stations is where the trout can lie and conserve energy but at the same time glide a very short distance into the current to grab up any juicy morsel and then slip back into its energy conserving spot. A great lie like this is sometimes called a ‘prime lie’. The really BIG fish will be found in this spot. They own it and drive other smaller fish out.

In my next article on how to fly fish, I will talk about bait fish.

Catch you soon.

(In the meantime, here is a pretty good book on casting)

Joan Wulff's Dynamics of Fly Casting

How To Fly Fish – Learning About ‘Lies’

2007-10-02T15:45:00.001-07:00

Good preparation for learning how to fly fish, is learning about ‘lies’. No, I don’t mean learning to talk about the big ‘one that got away’. Only poor anglers need to lie, (now a good exaggeration is something different).

The word ‘Lies’ when talking about angling, is knowing how a river or stream moves, where the currents are and how they ‘lie’. One of the most important thing you can learn to do when learning how to fly fish is to understand the energy ratio that governs all living things. This is a rule that applies to all animals, birds and fish and that is, the amount of energy required to get food must NOT exceed the amount of energy that will derive from the food. All creatures have to live by this rule. Even the lions and tigers live by this one. That’s why the king of beasts is often described as lazy. A lion cannot expend more energy to get food than he will get back from the food he eats, otherwise he will starve to death. And in a pride of lion, the male is twice the size and twice the weight of the female and therefore must expend huge amounts of energy in a kill. Thus the males mostly let the lighter females chase down the kill.

It isn't quite the same with trout and other fish. Fish don't live in tribes or groups and its every trout for him or herself. But the similarity is that a trout cannot just dash around the river trying to eat nymphs or else he too will die. The bigger the trout becomes, the less he is inclined to move to get his dinner. So a trout will find a spot where currents meet and concentrate the amount of drifting food being delivered right to his waiting mouth. A trout will sit in slower water and just move leisurely into the faster current to pick off drifting nymphs and flies and then glide back into slow water, conserving their energy.

So a very important factor in learning how to fly fish, is understanding the psychology of angling – be where the fish ARE and not where they are NOT. Take a look at these Fly Fishing Secrets.

Catch you soon

Al James

HOW TO FLY FISH – First Find Your Fish

2007-10-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

When learning how to fly fish, you need to know how to find your trout. Trout live in rivers, streams and lakes and will ONLY be found in about 10% of that water, often in much less than that.

In order to know where to find your fish, its very important that you know as much about their eating habits as you can. In rivers and streams about 90% of a trout’s diet is made up of nymphs. Nymphs are the larval stage of a number of different insect species. These species are the stone fly, the caddis fly, the mayfly, the midge and the terrestrial insects. (Terrestrials are insects like crickets, grass hoppers, damsel flies, bees, wasps, and others)

Most of the life of these insects is spent underwater. They hatch, develop, emerge from the water, mate, lay eggs and die. Some of these insects only survive a day above the water before they die. They live amongst the stones, rocks and aquatic plants and weeds, some for up to a year before they crawl above the water.

As they crawl about on the bottom, some lose their grip and get taken by the current where they drift down the river and get eaten by a big fat trout. For about 10% of the time, trout can be seen ‘rising’ to feed. Rising is what it is called, when a trout comes to the surface to eat insects who are just about to change into adults on or near the surface of the water. However, for about 90% of their time, trout feed closer to the bottom than the surface and they are looking for the larvae or nymphs of insects to feed on.

Knowing where the insect nymphs and larvae are to be found is a great start in learning how to fly fish for a good sized trout.

Fly Fishing: The Lifetime Sport

Catch you later

Al

HOW TO FLY FISH – Being A Successful Angler

2007-10-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

So you want to learn how to fly fish. Well why not! It is a fantastic way to spend a day, somewhere with beautiful scenery, peaceful and quiet yet with all the skill of a hunter, you will be tracking and catching a fish.

TROUT: Whether you choose to keep the fish or release it (more about that in a later blog) you will feel just great about using your skill to get your fish

Some people think fishing and immediately think – GEAR. Fishing tackle, flies, line, reels, rods and a 101 other aspects. And sure, they are all important but the most important part of being a good (and by ‘good’, I mean successful) angler, is actually being able to locate your fish.

You need to begin by doing some study on the basic behaviour of your target fish, in this case, Trout. You need to understand where they will be found. If you were to just get a hold of your fishing gear and head off to a bit of fresh water and start casting everywhere then you will most likely be fishing where the fish are not.

If you do this then you aren’t really fishing.. you are just wetting your line and your waders. Successful anglers, those 20% of anglers who catch 80% of the fish don’t waste their time fishing where the fish aren’t to be found.

Wanting to learn how to fly fish is a great beginning and in my next blog I want to talk about locating your fish.

If you can't wait to begin learning about rigs and reels and flies and ties then check it out here.

The New Fly Fishing Basics

Catch you soon

Allan James