Fly Fishing Instructions: Emphasis On Salmon/Rainbow
Fly fishing instructions (one man’s opinions or ramblings, take your pick)
With an emphasis on migratory trout/salmon
By Peter Thomas (aka Tyeflyer) September 2003
A number of people who were new to fly fishing posted “help wanted” messages on a number of boards. Because beginner levels vary, I took a catch all approach and tried to explain a little bit of everything with the emphasis on migratory trout/salmon, I did not solicit what level they had achieved. This is basically 10 hours of semi-chaotic, somewhat organized thoughts captured to paper. It is not the be all, the end all, just something in between. It is intended more for the novice, may provide some insight to the intermediate, and experienced people may find little use from it.
I recently posted two messages; one explaining my recent luck, and the second was that if somebody asked for help, I would explain what I could. Well I received a couple of requests, and did not want to be a hypocrite, so I rose to the challenge. (I have also seen numerous requests for help on the old board) You might want to print off this document, as it is 11 pages long and took about 10 hours to write. I hope it helps some anglers new to sport gain some insight.
These are techniques that work for me. Some may not work for you, others may. You can also use most of these techniques for fishing for migratory trout/salmon when using a noodle rod (rods are have a stiff lower section and a limber upper end and are 10 to 17’ long). I usually take my noodle rods with me when I go fishing, if I get into a heavily forested area, I may not be able to cast with a fly rod, but I can still “flip with a noodle rod”. Bend and warp any of this advice to help increase your success. If you find something that works, stick with it. Feel free to experiment or ignore any of this. This is how I find and catch fish, it works for me. If you are new to the sport of fly fishing (especially for migratory trout/salmon) I believe it will have some helpful information. If you disagree with me, have a nice day.
Fishing Environments
a) Salt water fishing (never done it)
b) Lake fishing (only tried it twice with no luck)
c) River/stream fishing - warm water species (bass, pike, muskie)
d) River/stream fishing - residential trout
e) River/stream fishing - migratory trout/salmon - running
f) River/stream fishing - migratory trout/salmon - spawning
g) River/stream fishing - migratory trout/salmon - holding
Types of fishing
1) Structure
2) Sight
For migratory fish, I primarily sight fish. If the water is fast and the fish are running, I am watching the water for fins, wakes, rooster tails, porpoising, jumping falls, etc. Chinook salmon moving through shallow water are not shy, they are built like tanks and power their way though water in a straight line. Coho’s, Pinks, and the trout species tend to weave there way (when ever possible) through the water, very seldom exposing themselves. But they do create wakes as they displace water. I used to fish the Nine Mile River after work. There is usually a night run of rainbows when they are running, that starts around 7:00pm. I would get up to the river around 6:00, pick my spot (so nobody else could move in on it) and just wait watching the slower moving water downstream. (If fish were present, then I would fish for them, but since this river is so small, you know when fish are present). Only when I saw the wakes moving upstream would I start to fish.
I have walked about 60% of the Nine Mile, all the good areas of the Maitland, and several big chunks of the Bayfield, just looking for signs of fish. You have to cover as much water when the fish are holding to find them. Sight fishing, when they are moving, takes a lot of the mystery out of the battle and increases you odds 10 fold. On several occasions we have parked one car at the upstream bridge, drove down to the downstream bridge and walked the river back up to the upstream bridge. If the fish are running, than I fish as close to the river mouth, that has structure (rapids, pools, etc) as possible. But when the run it well established, I have to move upstream where the fish are. Fishing the mouth, when 90% of the fish have already gone by, is a waste of time. To increase your odds, you have to fish where the fish are.
Structure fishing (whether in a lake or river/stream) is just that. Locate structure that will hold fish. I could write 8 pages just on this subject. If you understand what structure is, then you know what to look for. If you don’t know what it is, buy some books and read up it, do more fishing, watch were people are fishing and do more investigating on the waters you fish. I do mention this topic in the following pages, but I have seen entire books dedicated just to this subject, and content exceeds my desire to explain it in full.
Basic Rules
1) 10% of the water holds 90% of the fish
2) The amount of energy gained from a meal has to be less than the amount of energy expended
Equipment
1) Fly rod
Any fly rod will catch fish. It does not have to be a $900 Sage special. My first spring/fall rod/reel/line combo was made by Mitchell and cost $150 for all 3 items. And I caught fish. The fish finally broke this rod and I have upgraded to a $300 rod (9’6” 8/9 weight), but the price of the rod does not increase your chances to catch fish. You need a long rod to turn big fish. It should be a quality construction so that it does not break. It has to have sufficient back bone, so that you can land 20 pound Chinooks in the shortest possible time, so that you can get to back to trying to hook into trout. And when you hook into the really large trout, that is when the rod will be tested. If you hook into 14” to 20” fish, the rod will have more backbone than is required, but if you take a 5/6 weight rod out, you spend more time trying to land the Chinooks (which will stress them more, and means you have to spend more time reviving them.)
When you are fishing for these large fish, keep your line on your spool. Don’t have 10 yards of line sitting at your feet, because if you have to move quick, this line will get caught on stuff which will cause you to loose your fish. And when you set the hook, its best if the line is not sliding between the eyes. It is also much easier to fight these fish on the reel.
For residential trout I use a 5/6 weight. On smaller fish it overpowers them quick, but when fishing on the Grand, there are now fish that are 24” to 30”. A smaller rod means longer battles when you hook into those monsters. And I do enjoy landing the fish, not much sense in letting them all go at a distance.
2) Fly line
Any fly line will catch fish. The colour does not matter (though I sometimes think that it makes a more visible target for the freak show)
3) Fly Reels
The only recommendation that I will make on reels, is to spend the extra money and get one with a disc drag. I was fishing on the Nine Mile one week day, had the best hole on the river all to myself, and hooked into over 20 fish. The reel did not have a good drag, and the fish would just rip the line off the reel. I probably spent an hour, just winding in my fly line without the fish. I only landed 2 fish that day. I went out the next day, purchased a Scientific Anglers Reel with a disc drag. That night I hooked into in big Coho, cranked the drag to max, and the fish could not pull line off. Recently on the Ganny I have hooked into some big fish that made explosive runs, and the disc drag kept most of the line on the reel. If the reel was more of a free spooling version, the fish would have gone father, taken my line to the backing, gotten more tangles, and increased my frustration 10 fold. Spend the extra money on the reel.
For residential trout, any reel will work. A standard washer drag system will provide sufficient resistance to help tire the fish out.
4) Leaders/tippets
I have a heavy duty tippet tied to my fly line that ends in a loop. When I tie on a leader, I make a similar loop and just join the two. I can have a new leader and fly tied on in less than 2 minutes (unless my fingers are cold.) This method allows me to change leaders quicker to match the circumstances that I am fishing. When the water is low and clear, I fish with either a 4 lb leader or a 6 lb fluorocarbon leader. When I foul hook fish, I will break the line. When the water is higher and more stained I will go up to 8 or possibly 10 pound.
If I am fishing for residential browns in the Grand river, I will go down to a 7X tippet.
The length of leader/tippet depends on the species you are fishing for residential browns in the Grand river, I will have a total of 12’. If the fly line lands on the water to close to the fish, it will spook them.
With 8’ of leader, it guarantees that the fly makes a soft entry onto or into the water.
When I am fishing for migratory species, the leader can be as short as 3’. The leader/tippet total length will never exceed the length of my rod, because I need to pull those large fish close to me. If I have 12’ of leader/tippet on a 10’ rod, that bends 4’, it means that I cannot get within 16’ of that fish. It takes longer to land them if I cannot find a spot to beach them. If I have a total length of 6’, I can usually raise my rod high enough so that I can get them close enough to net. I once lost an incredible rainbow on the Maitland because I reeled in too much line, and the knot where the tippet was attached went trough the top eye. When I fish made one last run, the knot got caught on the eye, and the leader snapped.
On the Ganny this past week, the guy I was fishing with had a limited number of flys and got tired of loosing them to fish. He went out and bought a small diameter 50 pound leader and landed over 75 fish (both fouled which he released and fair), but he never lost a fly. The water was fast and stained, to the fish never saw the leader. Later when we were upstream fishing, he came across a nice Brown in behind some spawning salmon (if you are fishing the redds for salmon, always let you offering go well past these fish, as trout often sit behind these nests getting the best meal of their lives, and never walk through a redd. I believe only 2 fish from any one nest make it back to the river to spawn. The rest get consumed in the food chain. If you walk through a fish nest, you can kill literally 1000’s of fish, which only increase the pressure on the fish that do hatch.) But when he was trying to catch that little brown, he could actually see it shy away from the fly, because it could see the leader.
The key here is do what ever works, you need to insure that the length and weight of the leader/tippet are going to increase your odds of catching fish and not diminish them.
5) Flys
For warm water species, you need to use either flys that imitate bait or are attractor patterns. They need to be cast to structure that will hold fish.
For residential trout you need to select flies that approximate what the fish are feeding on and present it to them in a realistic manner. These fish are more intelligent, suspicious and less opportunistic than migratory fish that are on the move.
To catch migratory fish that are on the run, any fly, that floats past their mouth, there is a very high probability that they will inhale it. If it is 6” to the right, left, top or bottom, they chances of them moving to get the fly are decreased. You have to present the fly as close to the fish as possible. Any fly will catch these fish, if you can get in front of them. If you are fishing in 24” of water with a fast current and you can see them holding in the at 12”, you need to insure that the fly is going to float at 12” off the bottom in front of the fish. Whether you used weighted flys, let the wet fly sink, use sink tippets or spit shots, the fly has to be presented so that it floats in front of the fish’s mouth. If you are fishing in 12” of water that has a really fast current and the fish are on the bottom, then the fly has to float at about 2” to 3” from the bottom. Flies that go over, under or around these fish, will not catch them.
Fast, dirty water calls for larger flies. As it clears and slows, smaller flies have to be used. And when it is gin clear, I use small, sparsely dressed flies. In the past 2 weeks, I caught fish on numerous different flies, but the guy that was fishing across from me, only used 1 red fly to catch all of his fish. A guy downstream was getting fish on streamers and nymphs that I would have never thought would have caught fish.
The secret here, is the fly has to be presented in front of the fish
6) Nets
Nets shorten the time it takes to land a fish, and thus reduces the amount of stress on the fish and reduces the amount of time you have to spend reviving it. Please don’t take gold fish nets when fishing for salmon. Big fish require big nets. While the nylon version are harder on the fish, the big salmon and trout are built tough. A large fish can destroy a soft mesh net. If possible, leave the fish in the water while in the net when you are removing the hook, this reduces the amount of stress on the fish, and does not remove it protective slim.
For residential trout, I use a soft mesh net. These nets do not remove the slime from fish as badly as the nylon nets.
When I am traveling through a heavily forested area, I have on net that collapses and fits into a sheath. Its make walking through these jungles a little easier.
And if the water is warming up, you want to land the fish as quick as possible, so that the acids don’t build up in the fish from the fight. If there are still fish in the rivers, as they warm up, you will need to spend extra time reviving them.
7) Vests
I have a vest for warm water species, residential trout and one for fall/spring fly fishing. This allows me to set up each vest so that I do not have to transfer stuff from one vest to the another. I hate getting down to the river, and realize that I am missing something.
Each on has lots of pockets including a bellows pocket in the back that I can either pack a lunch or store my jacket in once the sun comes up. Buy using a vest, I do not have to leave stuff on the bank, hoping that it will be there when I get back. As I walk back upstream, if I see a different spot or want to try a new fly, I have all my stuff with me.
Waders
Neoprene waders are great when it’s really cold. On hot sunny days, you sweat so bad you can actually stain your legs from the die out of your jeans. If the waters you are fishing are relatively shallow, hip waders work fine and are more comfortable. The big advantage to neoprene waders is that they don’t bunch up and fold like rubber waders. If you are walking through fast water with rubber waders, all of those fold create drag, which will push your legs with the current and can cause you to loose your footing. With neoprenes, the water flow around your legs and does not create any drag so all you have to contend with is the current. If you can afford breathable waders (and the price on them is dropping) I would highly recommend them.
I generally put wear a pair of wading shorts under my jeans when I am going to be wearing my Neoprene waders. Before putting on the waders, I strip off my jeans, and as a result do not sweat as much on sunny days. I would not recommend this tactic when fishing in November or December.
I found rubber waders with the boots attached to be uncomfortable after a long day. As you are walking in the river, you foot is always moving inside the boot. Leather wading boots with felt soles and cleats offer the best traction, but if you are fishing in the winter with felt soles, the snow starts to build up on them, and after a long hike, you feel like Gene Simons out of KISS, because you are now 12” taller. For winter fishing, you do need a different pair of wading boots.
When I am fishing the Grand and similar rivers in the summer, I have a pair of wading shoes and quick dry shorts. I put my wallet in plastic bag and toss it in the back of my vest with my keys. While the initial shock causes your eyes to open wide, but you climatize to the cold water pretty quick.
Some wadding tips
If you are using hip waders, never go above your mid thigh.
If you are using chest waders, never go above your waste.
Rubber waders fill with water quick, so a wadding belt is advisable.
Neoprene hug your body and let in very little water.
If you are wading in water above your waste, you may become buoyant, and the current can topple you over.
If you are wading in a strong current and it is getting difficult to keep your footing, turn back.
It is better to start at the top of a rapids and work your way downstream on an angle, instead of fighting the current.
In the last 10 years I have only fallen in the river 3 times. Two of them I was actually on dry land, stumbled and decided to break my fall in the water. A really good idea if you are going to be wadding (even if you are an experience wader) is to pack an extra set of dry clothing. A 90-minute car ride in wet jeans in not a pleasurable experience.
9) Polarized glasses
If you are going to sight fish, you need polarized glasses. They remove the glare from the water and allow you to see fish. But beware, there are certain rocks and weeds that look like fish. Over the years I have spent numerous hours drifting flies past non-fish shaped objects, and as I got closer discovered my folly. But is better to investigate and try instead of walking past.
Know your water
Whether you are fishing rivers, streams or lakes, you need to know the water. For some lakes you can purchase maps that show the structure, and these are essential. Fish finders are also a great investment. Fishing Buddy makes a portable fish finder that cost about $200. I have taken mine into gravel pits and even streams to figure out what spots are holding fish. Bass Pro Shops has a new product out where you attach the transducer to the end of line, cast it out, and it sends a signal back to the display via sonar. I am definitely going to pick up one of these. Image how you can increase you quality fishing time by eliminating spots that don’t hold fish. In lakes, you have to locate structure to find fish. Chances of spotting fish activity, depending on the size of the water body are greatly decreased.
For rivers and streams, you need to know the riffles, rapids and pools like the back of your hand. On younger streams and rivers, each spring they are re-created. One year I found a hole on the Nine Mile River that had a sweet spot about 4’ wide and 8’ long. The next year it was 6’ wide and 12’ long. The last time I was there it was 10’ wide and 20’ long. Streams and rivers change, so a spot that did not hold fish one year, may be incredible the next year. Your favorite spot from the year before, may be destroyed by the this years runoff.
You need to locate spots which I call “restaurants”, places where fish can rest comfortably, and have food delivered to them. These are the spots where migratory and residential fish hold. Their have been times that when I have been wading, that I have accidentally stumbled over undercuts and ledges on the river bottom. I have even (after fishing the area without success, and nobody else was fishing the area) walked thorough the run, trying to figure out what is on the bottom and where the fish will hold and why. Pressure waves are a great location for fish to hold, but it nice to know what is making the wave. If the water is clear enough, and not two cold, you can even go swimming to get a better understanding of what is on the bottom.
Another way to reduce the learning curve is to hire a guide (especially on new water). I fished the Grand River for several years before doing this, and in one summer went out with two separate guides on different dates and sections of the river. Note only do they help you find good spots that you can go back to latter on your own, but they will explain what, why, how, when and where. You can really pick their brains because part of the price you are paying is for education (especially if you explain that you are new to the sport). If you are ever taking a vacation to major fishing location, don’t attempt to fish the waters solo, hire a guide. They will know the water, the weather, the diet, the species and so forth. They will get you into bigger fish quicker. If you are up for the week, go out with a guide as soon as possible. You can make solo trips latter in the week.
Another trick that works really well for migratory fish is to walk the river before the season opens. If the fish are present, and conditions are right, you will see where they are holding (under lumber, in runs, etc.), you will see where they are spawning (in riffles, the tops of rapids, etc.) and most importantly, you will see the water that is devoid of fish. You can also use this technique for residential trout. Instead of just going to the river, take a day and walk as much of it as possible. Make a photocopy from a “topo” map, and as you walk down the river make notes what you see (pools, deep rapids, shallow runs, ripples, pressure waves, fish rising, etc.). You can even walk through parts of the river if you to look for ledges, holes, etc. but be careful doing this. One way to help you remember what the river is like, is to take a camera and photograph all the spots. Then you can take this information home, analysis it and determine the best spots that are going to have the highest potential.
The more that you can know about the water you are fishing, the greater you chances of locating structure that will hold fish or you will see fish activity.
Weather
This topic is extremely fish oriented. You can fish for bass, pike, and residential trout on any sunny or overcast day. Rainy weather/cold fronts can put them off for 3 days. If you really know the water you’re fishing, then this is not a problem, but don’t go looking for new spots after a cold front has moved in.
Migratory trout & salmon are a different story. The fist two rains on the Ganny I saw this year, the fish started moving in the rain. You would look down the river and seen a dozen rooster tails torpedoing up the bedrock as a 10” high fish moved through 3” of water (and they would go from 6am to noon). These were the fish that were waiting in the harbor, and were extremely excited to get in the river. The next couple of rains, only a few fish moved in during the rain, but the day after (and until the river dropped down) the runs were incredible. But while those rains blew out the Wilmont and Bowmanville, they made the conditions ripe on the Ganny. (And when the Ganny was low and clear, those rivers where probably ripe to fish). The Ganny is slow to rise, and fast to drop. After 6 hours of moderate rain, and 3 hours after the rain stopped, the river was only up about 3”, but 6 hours later it was raging, and up about to 8”. But the 2nd day following, it dropped 6”. Up off Lake Huron, a good rain can make the Maitland unfishable for three days, but the Nine mile clears up after two days. And on the Nine Mile, there is a set of clay banks up river from the first bridge. When the rain hits those, it turns it into chocolate milk, but if you go father up, the water is only stained. You really have to invest the time and effort into the waters that you are fishing. You need to understand how the rain will effect the river, how dirty it gets, how quick it rises and falls, and so on. Buy understanding this single element, you can increase your odds ten fold. There is nothing better than being on a river that people think is unfishable, when it is prime. And it has its own just rewards when you stay at home, and hear how your friends got soaked and caught nothing. After a time you will be able gage the amount of rain and the effect on the river. Theweathernetwork.com allows you to look up any town, and you can see the last 24 hours of weather to determine how much rain they got. The following web site has an incredible display of active weather, so once again you can track where the rains are, which way they are going and how much rain is falling.
http://www.intellicast.com/Local/USNati … e&pid=none
The best time to catch the migratory fish is when they are on the run. They are more opportunistic, the water is usually stained so that you can go with a heavier leader, you can usually see where the fish are moving (which seams they are following) and you can fish with more aggressive flys. When the water drops and clears, you have to start using smaller flies and lighter leaders and the number of fish decreases. I saw over 2000 fish go up the Ganny this week, yet when we walked 2 miles of the river I was hard pressed to find 20 fish. (At times I have no ideas on where they evaporate to) And with low clear water, they were extremely nervous. I did find a bridge with a 50 fish under it. But fishing for bridge fish with a fly rod is a waste of time. Leave that to the float fisherman with their spawn.
I cannot emphasis enough that you have to know the water you are fishing. Spots that normally won’t hold fish at summers water levels can have fished stacked in them during a run. Rocks that once were above water could now provide resting spots or ambush points for fish. Lumber that used to be exposed at the side of river banks could now have a dozen fish hiding under it. I once came across some brown trout that were spawning in the exposed tree roots of an undercut bank. One year the water in Bayfield River/Bannock Burn Creek was so high, the trout were swimming up drainage ditches looking for places to spawn.
Another key indicator and a very simple one is watch where people are fishing. But look for the die-hards and dedicated guys, they usually have rods over 9’. Watch to see where they are fishing (seams, drop-offs, riffles, etc). In fact, see if you can strike up a conversation with them and ask them a few questions. I think any fisherman will be happy to inform another (as long as you don’t muscle in on their spot or interrupt their fishing). I believe most of us are a good lot, and are willing to help somebody with honest intentions.
And if you concentrate and learn one or two rivers, that knowledge is transferable to other rivers. You will be able to spot similar water on new rivers, instead of walking past it. A pressure wave on any stream is a pressure wave. The fish don’t have a score card for each river they run, but they will hold up in similar structure on any river.
I fished the Maitland, Nine Mile and Bayfield rivers for over 20 years. This is the first year I have fished the Ganny and Wilmont. In the spring I caught bows on both rivers, on water that I had never seen before and on days when a lot of guys were getting skunked. In the fall, my comprehension of weather allowed me to time my trips so that I was extremely successful. On the days when the fish were there, I was there. The mornings when I knew the water was going to be bad, I was on the river at first light, caught a few and then went home. The days when I pissing everybody off by, because I walking fish past them, I put in 8 to 10 hours days. But it was the first time I had seen this stretch of water. I found the cutest little spot in-between two pressure waves. It had a unique structure downstream from it, a piece of flat bedrock in front of it, and to make it even better, the river narrowed from 40’ to 20’, so the sweet spot ended up being about 10’ square. Well it’s a lot easier to fish a 10’ wide section of water than a 40’ wide section of water, especially when its holding 24 fish. 75% of the people that walked by would often see a fish leave the unique structure, but would not see it swim over the bedrock, they would just keep walking, instead of investigating. And the ones that did stop and fish did not understand the current (you got to remember 40’ of water is now going through a 20’ wide section). Their offerings were either going over the fish’s heads, or traveling to fast for the fish to even have a chance to hit. When the conditions were right, I pulled 50 fish out of that section of river, that everybody did not notice or did not know how to fish. When the river had crested, it was moving even to fast for me to fish effectively, so I found a new spot.
To put all of this is one sentence: know the water you are fishing under all circumstances conditions and seasons.
Casting
Once you find the fish or the structure (especially for migratory species) you can usually locate yourself really close to them. I very seldom have to do a traditional fly cast. Most of the time I am either roll casting or what I call “flipping” (a bottom bouncing technique, where at the end of the drift, you just flip your rod over in a small arc, so that the fly goes to the top of the drift). When I am fishing in fast water, I can have up to 10 medium to large spit shots on the line (to get the fly down) which means that you can not cast in a traditional manner. With light flies, you use the line to get the fly out, but with an once of weight (at times) you cannot cast. (The last day I was on the Ganny, some guy who was new to fly fishing and had added extra weight to his line, but was trying to cast in the traditional manner. There was nothing wrong with that except that he clipped the guy I was fishing with 4 times. This did not go over well). There are very few rivers in Ontario where you have to cast long distances (Lower Grand, Maitland, Suageen are the big 3 and if you casting long distances over moving water, you had better be able to mend your line). You want to position yourself as close to the fish or structure (without spooking them) and concentrate on the fish that are within 10’ to 20’ in front of you and 10’ upstream and downstream. If you think there are more fish on the other side of the river, move to the other side of the river. Especially on some of these crowded urban rivers. With people walking behind you, people drifting floats down, people trying to catch fish on your side of the river, find a spot that either has fish in it, moving through it, or holding in it and concentrate an the 20’ square (or how much you can fish effectively) and be don’t be concerned about fish in other parts of the river. If you can’t get any results from that spot, go look for another spot. You have to remember you only catch fish when your fly is in the water. If you are constantly get your line tangled with other “anglers” (whether they are members of the freak show or dedicated anglers who accidentally hook up) you will not catch fish if you are spending half your day waiting for some idiot to untangle his collection of hooks and weighs without cutting your line. When I hook up with somebody, I usually try to get the tangle up to me, and if it is bad, I will just cut off my fly and weights and let them worry about their line. I want to fish, and I can tie on a new knot and fly damn quick. If they want to spend twenty minutes unraveling line, that is fine by me, because it means that I don’t have to worry about another tangle for that amount of time. And avoid tangle with float fisherman, they have so many bloody weights on their line spaced over such a great distance, you have to be a magician to untangle both without cutting a line. And if it is a member of the freak show, the first time I will untangle it, the second time I will warn them, and the third time I cut their line (hoping they don’t know how to tie knots and have to leave the river.
The big secret here is that if you are concentrating on a 20’ square, that either has fish or you believe has fish, it is easier to see all of the lines in the water. This way you can cast in sync with other anglers, cast as they drift by, or pull your line back quicker if you see a potential tangle. If you are casting 30 feet to the other side of the river, and guys are floating bait down, or letting the current take bait down under the water with their drag open, and everybody else casting to the four corners of the compass, make sure you study the knot section of your scout manual, because you will be watching a lot of other people catch fish.
I guess to sum all of this up in one sentence, pick a small area that has the highest potential (and least amount of people if possible) and concentrate on the structure or fish.
And this works for most fish. I have caught more bass that are 10’ in front of me than 40’ out. Same goes with pike. I guess to sort of steal a line from Kenny Rodgers, “you have to know when to cast, and you have to know when to roll (cast) and you have to know when to fold”. Never leave a river when there are fish in it, and never stay on a river when there are no fish in it.
Flies
Warm water species have a number of streams and dear hair flies specially designed for them. While some imitate baitfish and such, more fall under the classification of attractors. You use them around structure that you think will hold fish
Residential trout are a different breed. I read somewhere that 80% of what trout eat, is below the surface. So you have to find the structure that will hold the fish, while they are waiting for the food to come to them. You need to know what bugs are active, and what stage of their life cycle they are in. A high percentage of a residential trout’s diet is made up of caddis nymphs. If you are casting traditional dry flys when they are gorging on emergers, you won’t land a fish. If you are casing spent flies in the middle of afternoon, you might as well stay home.
“Dave Whitlocks’s guide to aquatic trout foods” is probably the best book to understanding what trout eat (Published by the Lyons Press, ISBN 0-941130-64-9) it has illustrations of all the all the bugs life cycles and is packed with some very good advice.
Once again you have to know how the weather will affect the body of water you are fishing and you have to know the body of water you are fish. In the case of residential trout, this includes their diet. But kicking over rocks with a net at your feet, you find out what bugs are on the bottom, by examining the trees and bushes you can see what has just hatched, but watching for skin shucks and emergers floating in the water you can see what is active. If you can key on one of these, then it is just a matter of trying to find a fly that best imitates what you think is hatching.
But keep in mind that the amount of energy gained from a meal has to be less than the amount of energy expended. On the Grand river I have caught and seen caught, over 30 brown trout that measured 20” plus on 2” & 3” crayfish flies. A big fish has a big belly, and a crayfish fills it up a lot quicker than 1000 caddis nymphs.
The one thing you have to keep in mind about the Grand River, is the fish in the Catch and Release zones have become very intelligent. Other rivers with residential trout, that don’t receive the pressure that the Grand Rivers does, do a lot more sampling. Stuff they are not sure of, they will inhale, and if it tastes good, they consume it. Some of those poor fish (especially the bigger ones) have been hooked so many times as they were growing up, they know the name of every fly, and can tell a good tie from a bad tie. On a river like that, presentation counts for 90% of your success. (And I am of the opinion that the Grand hates me, as it skunks me more times than it is generous to me)
Migratory trout and salmon are still another story. Numerous conditions affect the choice of fly to use; water clarity, water speed, and type of activity are the basics. If the water is fast and dirty, I use large black nymphs (2” to 3” long). I call it a “stoned hellgrammite”, as it is a combination of a stone fly and a hellgrammite. I usually weight them pretty good, so I don’t want to invest a lot of time in tying them. Due to there size, they do foul a number of fish, but when I know it is definitely fouled, I will break the line off instead of trying to land it and get the fly back. I refuse to spend 30 minutes trying to pull a fish to shore by its tail, when I can tie on a new fly, hook into a rainbow and watch him dance across the water. I also loose a lot on the bottom in faster stretches. Instead of using dubbing to tie the body, I use black knitting wool, instead of build up a traditional 3 piece stone fly thorax, I just use skud backing and make a one piece thorax. In 3 days I went through 75 flies, and it took over 12 hours to tie those flies. If it was a traditional Kaufmann stone fly, it would have taken me 48 hours to do the same number. I am not about to invest that kind of time into a fly that could have a life expectancy of 5 minutes. When you are fishing for large trout and salmon, your fly mortality rate will be much higher. And since I am using them in fast, stained water, the fly is moving too fast for them to get a good look at. All they see coming at them is a supersized meal deal instead of a kids meal. The trout really smack them, because they need to pack on as much energy as they will be in the rivers longer than the salmon. Browns are in the river until late December and Rainbows winter in the rivers. A big meal really gets their attention. My “stoned hellgrammite” has all the key elements of a bug. It’s the right proportion, it’s the right colour, looks like it has a segmented body, a thorax, legs, tail and antennae. Under the right presentation (speed and water clarity) it looks plausible that it is a good meal. In clearer, slow moving water when fish have longer to look at, they might realize that it is missing key elements, don’t trust and let it pass by.
If the water is clear, and my “stoned hellgrammite” won’t turn them on, then I will try a Kaufmann stone fly. Having a more realistic key indicators, they will usually hit on it. But while my large “stoned hellgrammite” are tied on number 2 or 1 long shanked hooks, these ones are tied on 6, 8 or 10’s. But because it is a smaller fly it is harder to pick out the details, but it does to have all of the key indicators of a bug, so once again they take a chance and inhale.
When the water gets even lower, I toss more sparely dressed flys at them with a little bit of “electirc” on them (flashabou, tinsel, etc), so that it catches the sun rays and creates interest. But when the water is that low, the fly has to drift right in front of the fish. It will not exert any energy to get that meal. Bigger flys it will avoid because it can see to much detail, but smaller ones (with a bit of a twinkle) will catch their eye.
Other flies that worked this September included;
Salmon River Spring Wiggler: orange crystal chenille with an overbody of squirrel (caught the Atlantic)
Name forgotten fly: black goose biots tail, orange crystal chenille, and copper bead head
Michigan Wiggler: neon pink micro chenille with an overbody of squirrel.
All three had characteristics of looking like spawn, and that was what they were keying in on.
The three most important flies for migratory trout/salmon are
a) single egg fly
b) stone fly (either #8 or giant depending on water conditions)
c) any fly that resembles roe in some way
One fly that made up a couple of years ago was a electric egg sucking leach. It had a black crystal chenille body with a fluorescent green or orange bead head and green or black krystal flash (?) wrapped around it. I was fishing the Nine mile and caught Coho, Rainbows and Chinooks. The following year it wouldn’t raise a fish. Don’t be afraid to experiment, sometimes they want colour, other times they want drab. Sometimes big flys get them excited, other times it small flys. Now I have the luxury of tying my own flies, so a number of winters ago, I sat down a tied up every tasty pattern that I could. So when I go to the river, I have over 1200 flies that I can play with. But in that mix, there are over 600 wool fly eggs, 200 Kaufmann #10’s (tied in two different colours and on two different styles of hooks), 2 dozen egg sucking leaches, 3 dozen woolly buggers (tied in different sizes and colours) and any special fly’s that I may have tied up like my “stoned hellgrammites”. I have spey flies, streamers, and nymphs of every size and every colour. When I can’t turn the fish on my standard offerings, I start hunting through my boxes to see if I can find them a tastey morsel. There are times when certain colours will get their attention, and other times they are more picky. But generally speaking, if you can get any fly in front of its face, it will inhale the fly.
One of the reasons that stone flies work so well, is that trout and salmon know that these insects eat eggs. So they can be more aggressive to these flies. You can even tie egg sucking stone flies so that the fish get the message. Basically, it is the same principle as egg sucking leeches.
The key for fish that are running (actively moving upstream) is to toss the correct size fly to meet the water clarity conditions. High fast water (in my opinion) requires large flies. They need a chance to see it coming at them, and not think it’s a piece of debris just floating down the stream. Whether it is a large black or purple woolly bugger, a Montana stone, a Kaufmann stone, egg sucking leech or anything else, it has to be large and it has to be dark. Don’t toss a brown fly into brown water, don’t toss a gray fly into gray water. Even a large white woolly bugger will probably catch fish, if you get it in front of them. When they are running, they are very opportunistic feeders, if it is in front of them, they will inhale it. They will not search the river for food. They are on mission to get to holding or spawning spots up river. Yes if there are lots of fish in the river, you will foul some. But if you are tossing out little black nymphs in turbulent water, they fish will never see it.
As conditions clear up, the fly size has to get smaller. When the waster is crystal clear, you have to use your smallest flies.
The other aspect of is the location of the fish. If they are on the bottom avoiding the faster currents above them, then your fly has to be on the bottom. Several times this last week, I told people if they were not catching fish, they need more weight. Two young lads took my words to heart, went to a local bait store, bought some flies and weights and just hammered the fish. Before I told them that, they spent two hours just drifting offerings over the fish without realizing why they were not catching fish.
You need to have sufficient weight to get the fly to the bottom at the beginning of the drift, not at the middle of drift as its floating over the fins. Faster water means more weight, slower water means less weight. I group all of my spilt shots together and adjust them up or down at the conditions require. If you are not catching fish when other people are, you need more weight. You need enough weight so that it slows the fly down enough, so that the fish has a chance to see it. You should be able to feel the weight bounce along the bottom of the river bed. If you have two much weight, it will snag up too often or stop drifting. If you don’t have sufficient weight, you will not feel the bottom at all. Your line should be moving slower than the water that it is drifting through. Sometimes you can achieve the same thing just by using weighed flies.
The distance form the fly to the weights, is equal to the distance from the river bottom to the fishes mouth. If the water is fast and shallow, and the distance is 12” the weights will hit the bottom at the beginning of the drift, but the fly will never get to the bottom. At times, I have had the weights as close as 3”. The fish doesn’t see the weights bouncing down the river (it probably thinks they are pebbles) but what it does see is a tiny morsel floating its way. If the fish are a foot off the bottom, then the weight have to be farther back. If I know there are fish in the hole (because I have seen them move into it) then I just keep adjusting the amount of weight and the distance until I achieve success. If water conditions are clear, and you can see the fly going in front of the fish, but it is shying away from the fly, it is because of the leader. Either put on a lighter test or switch to a fluorocarbon leader.
When the fish are spawning (on the redds) and are in season the most effective fly is a wool fly egg. I have caught dozens of fish on these miracles. They have the size and shape of what the fish are keying in on, and when they try to exhale it, the wool gets caught on there teeth and helps you set the hook. Because the wool egg fly floats, the key is using the right amount of weight so that it drifts down in front of the fish. Once again water speed and depth determine the configuration.
Migratory fish that are holding seek out dark bottomed sections of the river, lumber, undercut banks, the front of pools with rifles when they are feeding, the backs of pools when they are resting, and are generally closer to the bottom where the current is less swift. That way they don’t have to expand a lot of energy to maintain their position. I once pulled a beautiful bow out from behind a half-submerged log. He was sitting behind it waiting for food to come to him. The key for finding fish that are holding is location (structure). There has to be a reason for the fish to be there. Large stretches of flat water with light coloured bottoms do not have fish in them. There are holes on some rivers that are deep enough and have very little current that fish will hold up in when they are resting, but generally they need a current to bring them food. You have to keep these two basic rules in mind when looking for holding fish; 10% of the water holds 90% of the fish and the amount of energy gained from a meal has to be less than the amount of energy expended. You are basically looking for spots that I call restaurants. These are places where a fish can sit comfortably and wait for the food to come to them.
I once got a 20” brown out of the Beaver River by finding a spot like that. The river was about 30’ wide with a small island about 4’ out. The water on the far side of the river had a small ripple to it, but the little channel between the shore and the island spilled into a large hole. Fist cast as the fly drifted over the hole, the trout smacked it. The fish want to be comfortable, to be safe, and to have the food come to them. You need to locate these restaurants, to locate the holding fish. Sometimes the water only has slight ripple to it, but it is flowing over a 6’ deep hole, that is 20’ long. They sit on the bottom waiting for food to drift their way. I once saw a guide, on the same day, from three different rocks pull 3 huge residential browns out of the Grand River, just by dropping a fly in beside a boulder that was sticking out of the water. The fish were sitting in the calmer water, waiting for something worth their while to gulp down.
If you find a spot that looks like it might be holding fish, try it but not for 8 hours. The more water you fish, the better the chances that you are going to come across active fish, or actually see fish in a hole. When fishing structure, and no fish are visible, it is a bit of a lottery. One spot could have the motherload, or they might not be feeding. In the spring of this year, I took a trip of to Shelter Valley in the middle of the week. Fort the most part, the stream was barren of fish (and this is a small creek). I kept working my upstream looking for fish. I eventually found a dog-leg that had a small pool and a dozen trout. Unfortunately, the water was far to clear, and they were far to spookish, so I did not hook or land any, as much as I tried. But by covering a lot of water, by ignoring the sections that would not hold fish, I eventually did find fish. And some days that’s 90% of the problem, you have to find fish to catch them. But these guys had a dark bottom hole, with a decent current, lumber to hide under, and it was the deepest hole on this little creek. Don’t waste your time fishing dead water that won’t hold fish. Look for the structure that is going to deliver food to the hungry fish.
Theories (sort of)
No I am not religious, but I think God created Bass and Pike to apologize for Trout, He created Chinook Salmon for two reasons, the first is so that you appreciate Coho, Pink, and Atlantic more, and the second reason was to protect the fall migratory trout run. He created Muskie to test your wits and sanity. And I am not going to mention why he created Carp.
Fouled fish
When a fish is hooked legally, it will usually pop its head out of the water, and give you a nod that the battle is on. If you feel more side to side action, but it is fluent, you probably have a tail or fin. The best is when it is hooked legally, and is so pissed off, it leaps out the water and scares the crap out of you. It’s one of those fish that you don’t know if you want to land, because it’s fighting so angry. If you are unsure, attempt to land it. If you can clearly see, that it is fouled, the choice is yours to land it, to try and pull the hook out or to snap your line. I usually go with snapping my line, as I have no shortage of flies. Fish that are tailed and fresh, can be next to impossible to land because they don’t tire out. I once saw a guy (who didn’t speak English) tie up a hole for 25 minutes as he attempted to land a huge salmon that he had tailed. And he was using a 6’ rod with 20 lb test. The hook finally straighten, but a lot guys lost a lot of opportunities to catch fish. Trying to land fouled fish is waste of quality fishing time.
Non-traditional baits
I carry in my vest small caddis and egg hooks. I also have a selection of plastic earthworms, power eggs and even some plastic stone flys. Just because you are fly fishing (or bottom bouncing with a spinning rod) does not mean that you have to stick with flys (or bait)
I have even on occasion used earthworms and spawn on my fly rod. I have also seen people turn up rocks looking for stone flys to impale on hook (but not if your are fishing in a live bait restricted zone)
I have also seen people use sponge for trout and salmon. The weirdest thing I ever saw was a guy used black foam. He consistently caught fish because he got it in front of the fish. I’ve seen people use red and pink foam, but never black. And he swears blue nerf ball foam works as well.
One incredible tip
Get an extra set of keys cut for your car and keep them in your wallet. This way if you ever toss your coat in the trunk (and the keys are in it) you are not screwed. On one occasion, after I had opened the trunk, then the car door, I threw the keys on the dash and instinctively locked the door before I closed it. If I had not had the spare, I would have been screwed. In fact just last week I locked them in the trunk. Over 20 years of fishing I have locked the keys in my car at least 10 times. On a trip to the Grand this summer, my buddy needed to get his wallet out of the car, I tossed him the keys, he opened the door, set the keys on the seat, got his wallet, locked and closed the door. Most people would have been calling a tow truck for assistance but I was prepared.
The one guy that I used to fish with all the time, I actually gave him an extra set of key to my car. This way if I was ever in an accident, and he could not get to me, he could drive for help. He did have specific instructions not to fish on his way out, and to go directly for help.
Cell phones are also a good idea for two reasons; if you have problems, you can call for help. And if fishing is prime, you can phone up your buddies and brag. If you are going to be wading with a cell phone, put in a plastic bag. By dipping your phone in the water, it does not allow you to communicate with fish better.
Migratory Fish
I am not going to explain the differences between the fish, the regulations do an incredible job of that. If you don’t know the species and get busted with a fish out of season, well I might see
Browns and Rainbows are the jewels that you are after, words fail to describe the fight that these fish deliver. And the bigger the better. Keep in mind the fish can grow really big.
I would rather land a Pink over a Coho. The small ones think they are 20 pound fish
I would rather catch a Coho over a Chinook, these guys fight
Chinooks are basically bulldogs. Given sufficient room they will run but trapped in small pools they look for fast currents to bury themselves in hoping the hook will dislodge.
And the ultimate fish, if your lucky is the Atlantic salmon.
Regulations
Get them each year, read them, know them. NO IF’s, AND’s or BUT’s. Ignorance is not a defense. Every time a conservation officer seizes equipment, he smiles. And the better the equipment, the larger the smile. I once heard of a guy who took more than his limit. The conservation officer found the fish in his motor home, and since the motor home was used in the offense, they seized it. If you do something stupid, I hope you can afford it.
Conclusion
a) know the water you are fishing
b) know how the weather will affect the water you are fishing
c) know the species you are after
d) know what foods they are going to key in on
e) know where the fish are vertically in the body of the water (bottom of the river or surface feeding)
f) know your equipment (when to cast, when to flip, when to drift, when to strip)
Remember, if it was a sure thing it wouldn’t be called fishing, it would be call a fish market!
And finally, the author of this document in no way in liable for any problems, situation, accident that you inflict on yourself, people you fish with, or other people on the river. This advice is free, not legally binding.
