Stalking Trout, FILSON style!
Well, you’ve made it to the river, now what?
Winter is here, and while its hard to hang up the fly rod, I don’t really mind that much. How can we, as anglers, use the snowy weather to help us catch more trout in the spring? Well, I tie some flies, read some books and magazines, and reflect on past seasons.
Over the years, there have been a handful of things i’ve discovered that have dramatically improved the numbers, and sizes of fish I catch. Truth be known, they are mostly techniques i’ve read about, and adopted in one way or another. I’d like to share some of these with my fellow HipWaders. While these ideas will not be new to everyone, they will be to some. I run through these in my mind EVERY time i’m pulling on the waders, and approaching the stream. Second nature or not, they read like a list even in my thoughts.
Approach. Trout are skittish creatures. Period. Sure, we can all think of times when a trout took a fly right beside us, but was it a big fish, a totally wild fish? The year I started fly fishing I would wear a white hat, splash right into the river and chuck old-faithful in hopes of catching a monster. I did manage a good number of fish, have fun and wonder why they were all tiddlers. After studying a bit, I changed my vest, hat and clothes to more drab, earth-tones. I decided to see how quietly I could get myself in casting position, stripped off as much line as I would need to eliminate too much false-casting and chucked old-faithful. Well, I managed even more fish, and the odd big one. I’VE GOT IT MADE, I thought, the ultimate trout stalker! Camo waders…..? Would they help? As quick as that thought entered, I ushered it out. With my size, I thought i’d look more like a bag of raked leaves at the end of someone’s driveway than the utimate trout stalker!
A few seasons went by, lucking into a few bigger fish as time went on. The bruiser was eluding me though. I thought that I had the right fly most of the time. To me, if you’re getting hook-ups every 3-4 casts on rising fish, you’ve chosen the right fly. Every 15-20 casts, you’re relying heavily on the curious/opportunistic nature of wild fish. I read more, watched other anglers more and watched the fish more. I began to form this picture in my mind that I was, when getting into position, interrupting something. I began to see the trout as behaving naturally before and after I was present, but do they feel at ease when i’m there? What do trout “at ease” look like? I decided to watch more, fish less. I would still quietly approach the river, but now try to watch where I think the fish are, without stepping in. Seconds feel like hours when you try this, watching happy trout rising greedily to the little sailboat-like mayflies. The first time I made the effort to do this, anticipation almost won over discipline when a ghost-like form came up from under a log and (unlike his smaller brethren) sipped a BWO dun from the surface. WOW! He came up so quietly that i’d have never seen him if I had not been watching that very spot. With shaking hands I tied on a size #20 BWO biot comparadun and snuck into the water so quietly, a blue heron would be jealous. I casted up, and accross to him when my breathing had slowed a bit. The fly landed perfectly, 2 feet upstream of where i’d seen him rise. When the fly passed over the spot by the log, it vanished in a quiet swirl. I set the hook either too fast, or too hard and the soggy fly zoomed past my head almost hitting me. That scene has played itself over in my head hundreds of times. Observation allowed me to hook (and subsequently lose) the biggest brook trout i’d ever seen on this stretch of river. I’d fished that spot maybe 50 times and had never seen a trout half that size. I adopted my eyes as new angling tools. Observation, my new “secret weapon.”
Flies. Unless you’re new to HipWader.com, you’ll know I run the fly-tying portion of the site, O’Reilly’s Tying Bench. I LOVE flies. I buy too many, tie too many, and read/surf a ton of information about them. (How much I must absorb is open to debate!) I have it bad. I have a fly problem. When choosing a fly on the river, there are several considerations. Can you see naturals? What was hatching the last time you were there, if it was recent? What have you read on HipWader river reports? Five years ago, a small brook trout i’d caught launched his lunch into the net I landed him in. I looked like a black, non-descript bit of mush, but I carefully protected it until the fish was released. I got it into the palm of my hand, added a couple drops of river water and gently stirred it with th tips of my hemostats. What an eye-opener. The bit of mush turned out to be 1 adult BWO mayfly, three almost caramel-colored ants and about 12 red midge larva, size #24. Since ive never killed a trout, and would never use a stomach/throat pump, this was a wonderful learning experiene. I switched to a small, red serendipity-like midge pattern and (surprise surprise) the fishing took-off! You don’t need to see the stomach contents of a trout to know which fly to use. Often if its “Isonychia” time, they take that fly, even if there are none present on the water. If trout are rising, observe closely. Can you see naturals? Trout rising to caddis often do so aggressively due to the speed they ascend and take flight. Trout feeding on midges often do so very quietly, almost lazily. They’ll seldom leave their feeding lane to pursue such a small offering, casts need to be accurate. If their noses break the surface, they are likely taking something OFF the surface. (This often leaves a small bubble where the fly was too!) If they are taking emergers, you’ll often see a bulge, possibly even a small splash, but not see any part of the trout OUT of the water. These are general rules, emphasis on GENERAL. I’ve seen trout behaviour that betrays all of what i’ve just said, but it still holds true 99% of the time.
The CAST. We all have a good idea of what a cast should look like. I’d say i’m an average caster at best, certainly not equipped to offer many suggestions on improving yours. What I will say about casting is that you should always be mindful of the presence of the line. Is a trout, the trout you’re after, seeing your line, or your fly first? I’ve seen DOZENS of anglers casting upstream to a trout, “lining” the fish. No surprise, trout don’t respond well to a pc. of yellow plastic splashing over their heads. Where possible, be sure to make the fly the FIRST thing the trout sees.
While I don’t have the discipline to employ ALL these ideas, all the time, they do result in more fish. I’m sure that you will find the same to be true. Happy fishing, tying and daydreaming. The coffee is on, think i’ll tie some hendricksons today…………
