This week’s picture is brought to you by Noe.
That’s one fatty you have there! Reportedly Noe’s largest Rainbow to date.

Submit pic here

Those who are regular “tip of the week” readers (thanks both of you) might know that I recently relocated to a pretty dry Southwestern state where trout aren’t as easy to find. That’s why I was so pumped this last weekend as I threw my stuff in the car and headed 2 1/2 hours to the mountains to a beautiful little stream I’d seen before but hadn’t yet fished. I had done my homework and asked around quite a bit and felt pretty confident that I’d have an enjoyable and fruitful fishing day.

As I followed the twisting road up the scenic canyon I was impressed by the creek. Big boulders formed many large pools. There were deep runs, pockets, riffles, and wide flats combined with crystal clear water, all making it appear like trout paradise. As I fished though I found the “trout” part of that “trout paradise” to be glaringly missing. I fished dries, dry-dropper, deep nymphs, streamers, and gulp (the sound of difficultly ingested pride), even glow bugs - nothing. I tried to see fish, scare fish, even smell fish - nothing. I even smiled a big smile as a slip, trip, and tumble landed me halfway in the stream. The cold water down the waders at least reminded me that I was actually fishing.

So where’s the tip in this? Well I’m not sure, but as I settled into the realization that I wouldn’t be catching fish that day I started to look around and realized that no other type of fishing or really no other type of recreation offers the kind of secondary rewards that fly fishing does. The stunning rock walled canyon, the silence and peace, the wild life, and everything else about that place reminded me, corny as it sounds, how good it was to just be out there. Fly fishing, even just the process, performance, and location of it, is just plain enjoyable. Now catching fish is a much more tangible reward (and doesn’t require as much pretty language to convey) but there really is a lot to enjoy about fly fishing that doesn’t even require fish. So get out there on the water and by all means try to catch fish but remember to enjoy all of it.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Tom.
A beautiful catch on the Trinity River in Cali. Thanks for the great picture Tom!

Submit pic here

One of my local streams just had a bunch of water dumped into it from an upstream dam. This washed a lot of weeds and other debris into the river. If making it to another river just isn’t an option here are a few things to do to save the day under these circumstances.

Abandon dry flies and go to bright nymphs - If water is high and there is alot of debris it is likely that fish will not be looking up to feed. However, it also means that a lot of drifting food is present so fish could still really be feeding well. The classic fly for this situation is the San Juan Worm. Use bright colors like pink and red if the water is a little off color. More subdued colors work when the water is relatively clear. Fish deep and slow. Also try various bright bead head nymphs like Rainbow Warriors, Copper Johns, and Lightning Bugs. You will have to clean them off regularly, it stinks to do but it needs to happen.

Go big - Debris filled water or dirty water makes fish much less wary. Go up a few sizes with the flies you fish and feel free to go up a size or two in tippet since visibility is likely poor. You may be surprised at how large a fly you can actually catch fish with in these situations. I’ve seen size 10 and 8 flies catch fish in rivers where 18s were the norm.

Fish near shorelines - Often when flows go up fish move to the calmer waters right against the shoreline. I have caught fish in these situations by short line nymphing just inches off of the bank. Be methodical and work every pocket since in dirty water it may take a few more drifts before you get your fly squarely into the fish’s feeding zone.

Fish side channels and tribs - If you know of or can find smaller tributary streams or side channels fish these well. Side channels or small braids sometimes don’t get quite the volume of drifting debris that the main channel will have and fish often move into tributaries or hang right at their mouths to avoid hard currents and poor visibility.

Hopefully your rivers stay clear but if you find yourself on debris filled water don’t give up and you may just catch the biggest fish in the stream.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Kia.
“I caught this fish at the Kings River in California!!!” Nice catch there Kia!

Submit pic here

This week’s picture is brought to you by Ming.
High winds on the Upper Owens force Ming to make switch casts. Great pic Ming!

Submit pic here

The other day I was at a park and saw a great thing. There was a guy there fly fishing. I wasn’t aware that there even were fish in the park pond so it was a little weird. When I got closer I could see that he was actually just practicing. It reminded me that now is a good time to tune up the casting skills.

Here are a few things to remember if it’s been a while:

Casting Mechanics: Casting styles vary and that’s ok but the basic physics of good casting don’t change and that means certain biomechanical things are necessary for good casts. I like to tell people to always keep their elbow lower than their shoulder and tucked in toward their body for a more comfortable casting stroke and less chance of rod tip path issues. Also try not to sway your body back and forth or twist at the waist. Both of these motions are detrimental.

Rod Tip Path: Fly line always goes exactly where the rod tip goes; it just has to. However, the most common thing casters have a problem with is too much arc in the path that their rod tip travels - the wrist bends too much on the back cast and the rod tip and line end up traveling down toward the ground or water behind you. The solution is to really limit wrist rotation so that the tip of the rod travels in a straight path back and forward. Also concentrate on coming to a complete and solid stop after the back cast allowing the line to shoot back just as though you were casting backwards.

Timing: Probably the thing that goes the easiest with experienced casters is timing. Almost always this means rushing the cast. Remember that the line needs time to straighten after the back cast or you just can’t load the rod effectively for a good forward cast. A long line generally needs more time to straighten. If you can’t fish often then just getting out and practicing good casts with timing in mind is the way to get your timing back.

Get out there and practice for a few minutes even if you can’t break away to fish. It will feel good just putting the rod together and when you can get on the water you’ll be ready.