This week’s picture is brought to you by Mark.
A nice catch in the State of Washington, caught by swinging a black and blue string leech. Reportedly Mark’s first catch on a spey rod!

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One of my favorite rivers gets tons of pressure all year and the fish seem to get very picky about what they eat and about leaders and tippets. A couple of winters ago I discovered that, especially in the winter, going down to 7X tippet, and even 7X flourocarbon tippet seemed to increase the number of takes I got significantly.

Most of the flies I fish in the winter are small midge larvae or pupae or other small nymphs so knot strength with light tippet is ok. Also, I normally wouldn’t use such light tippet on larger fish, but I found that I was able to hold and land almost every fish and do it in a timely manner so they weren’t exhausted.

Winter fish are a bit less feisty so if you are careful and use a light tippet-protecting rod like a 9′ 3 or 4 weight you can land even big fish up to the mid 20 inch range (if you can find these of course). Give some extra light tippet and your favorite midge patterns a try this winter, I think you’ll be happily surprised.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Ryan.
Ryan fought this monster for 25 minutes on a stream near Erie, PA. He used a 9 foot, 7/8 weight rod. Nice catch Ryan!

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Well, it’s inescapable, the Holidays are almost here. There’s an 8 foot Santa in my yard reminding me daily. Hopefully though, this time of year offers more than malls and merry-making and you find yourself some time to get out on the water. Seems a little shameless but really just trying to help, so here are some great gift ideas or hint ideas, and you can order from home after your fishing trip.

Flies really are the perfect gift. They work for any budget. You can get several dozen or maybe just a few favorites. Also, you can tailor your selection to the person to whom you’re giving them making them just the right gift. This time of year you may consider some midge patterns since they are hatching now and into the Spring, blue winged olive patterns since those hatches aren’t far off, or you may go for a great saltwater or steelhead/salmon selection.

Apparel and technical fishing wear also make great gifts. It’s getting cold right now but that shouldn’t stop you from getting out on the water. Our jackets and under wader wear will keep you comfortable in nearly any temperature.

Now is also the perfect time to stock up on all of the essentials like leaders, tippets, and all the other stuff you seem to go through during the season. It is also the perfect time to update things like rods, reels, and especially fly lines so that you are ready to go when the season hits.

One great way to drop the ultimate hint is to fill up your shopping cart and mysteriously or not so mysteriously leave it up for someone to see. Just makes things a lot easier for both parties

I hope this season brings more than just the eggnog and jingling and that you get some really cool fishing stuff and get to spend some time on the water as well.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Geoff.
Caught on a barbless Bomber in the Mecca of Brook Trout Fishing Burton’s Pond Flower’s River Lodge Labrador! Absolutely Unbelievable!!! We Flied over a dozen ranging from 2 to 6 Lbs.

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One method of deep nymphing that is very effective and is catching on is the bounce rig. The bounce rig is a simple way to get weight and two flies on separate pieces of line. Be aware of your local fishing regulations, while most places allow you to fish with two flies, some do not.

The bounce rig is most easily set up by tying two lengths of tippet to the end of the leader with blood or surgeons knots and leaving two of the tag end of the knots from 6 to 12 inches long. Tag ends are the ends you’d normally trim down right to the knot.

I’ve found that Blood knots are better because the tags are at 90 degree angles to the main leader, so if your line is pointing down to the bottom of the river, the tags are parallel to the river bottom.

The nymphs are then tied to the two tag ends and weight is added at the free end of the tippet where the fly is usually tied. A square knot below the weights is necessary to keep them from sliding off the end of the leader. This rig can be fished under an indicator, by feel, or Czech style by actually moving the flies slightly faster than the current.

The advantages of this rig are that you can bounce the weights along the bottom and the flies that are tied to the tag ends stay just up above the bottom where fish are feeding. If you snag the bottom it is often with the weights and not the flies. Play around with the lengths of tippet and tags and the amount of weight to find what works best for you.