This week’s picture is brought to you by Éamon.
This is the Owenduff River, a prolific Atlantic salmon and sea trout spate river in Mayo, in the west of Ireland. This beat, which is surrounded by the Ballycroy National Park, is one of the most remote places in Ireland and belongs to the Rock House Fishery. The season runs from beginning of April to end of September.

If you’d like to get in touch with the Rock House Fishery you can email them here: gp.guy.geffroy@wanadoo.fr.

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

This week’s picture is brought to you by Larry.
A great shot of a rainbow during a rainy afternoon on the Yampa River, South of Steamboat Springs.

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Today’s super popular knotless tapered leaders are great in most general situations but don’t always work for all things. A couple of situations for which I like to create my own leaders are for indicator nymphing and Czech or Polish nymphing.

For all nymph fishing it is important to remember that a thinner diameter leader will allow flies to sink much faster to get in the fish zone sooner. A thinner leader will also allow your flies more movement and a more natural drift.

Although current types and speeds, as well as depths and fly sizes vary, it is good to go with a leader that tapers quickly, generally within a few feet from the knot to the fly line, to a long length of 2X, 3X, 4X, or even 5X or 6X material.

Choose your tippet diameter according to fly size and weight, current speed, and fish size. Go with the finest material for small flies and a bit larger material for large weighted nymphs and faster water. Choose length according to the depth of the stream. Attach the indicator to the butt section near the start of the finer diameter material.

For Czech and Polish nymphing it is good to include a 4 - 6 inch section of 20 or 30 pound amnesia or other bright monofilament in the butt section for additional help in detecting strikes. Experiment with your own leaders to find what works best on your particular waters and it will result in more fish caught nymphing.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Gordon.
This nice cutty found it’s way to the end of Gordon’s line while cruising the shore of Pyramid Lake, Nevada. Gordon was fishing an indicator and a size 10 copper midge.

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One simple rule of fly casting is that where the rod tip goes the fly line follows. Seems blaringly apparent right? But it really helps when you understand this principle and practice with it in mind. Good casters throw tight efficient loops by making the rod tip travel back and forward in a straight line. Consequently, the line travels back and forward in a straight line.

Several of the most common errors in casting disrupt the straight rod tip path. These can be but are not limited to over or under powering the cast for the amount of line, tracking errors that cause the rod tip to deviate side ways, not applying power to the cast smoothly causing shock waves, or arching the rod tip path by allowing too much wrist rotation.

Practice making the rod tip travel in a straight line on the back and forward casts and you should be happy with the results at the end of the line.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Darrell.
Darrell pulled this lovely brown just as the season starts out of Four Springs Lake in Tasmania. Nice catch!

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One really cool thing about this time of year is that fish in lakes move into shallow water to feed and become more aggressive. This is true of multiple species too. Try targeting them with flashy streamers or even big dry flies for trout or poppers for bass and pike.

Don’t just assume that the season is over when it gets cool. Keep on fishing until the water turns hard or the winter weather finally slows things down a little. Targeting shallow fish this time of year can be some of the most enjoyable fishing you’ll find.