Fly fishing with chironomids is one of the most effective techniques for stillwater fly fishing. This type of fly fishing often doesn’t evoke images of high testosterone hundred-yard casts and ripping giant seven-inch streamers into the mouth of a toothy brown trout. Don’t be fooled though. The fish that are willing to eat these millions of aquatic insects are almost always no less mean and toothy. Sometimes big trout want a large steak, while at other times they prefer popcorn or M&Ms. It’s up to you to be skilled enough to adapt to their moods and food opportunities. The tactics used to fish these smallish stillwater patterns require skill and patience, but they will pay off with not only trout, but other species. In this first of a two-part series, we discuss the fundamentals and fine-tuning of chironomid fly fishing. In part 2, we discuss some of the more advanced techniques with chironomids. The information in these podcasts will help you in any stillwater situation, including warm-water environments, and are a hugely important arrow in your fly fishing quiver.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: FLY FISHING WITH CHIRONOMIDS

 

• Midge/Chironomids are everywhere within most fisheries.
• They make up a huge portion of the biomass.
• Always look for active fish near the surface because active fish are very often feeding fish.
• Spend around 15-30 minutes in one place before moving.
• When fish feed on chironomids, they often congregate.
• Phil believes that the response to chironomids is Pavlovian, meaning that the fish will take midge/chironomid imitations even when the naturals are not present.

CHIRONOMID LIFE CYCLE: LARVA

• Chironomids have a complete metamorphosis: larva, pupa, and adult.
• The larva is often called the bloodworm because many retain hemoglobin which turns them red.
• The larva can be 100 to 200 feet down and in oxygen-depleted areas where detritus is present.
• Many larvae are free-living, but many also construct tubes along the mud-water interface along the bottom.
• You find the larvae in muddy bottoms as well as over weedbeds.
• To begin with, start near the bottom when imitating the larval stage or concentrate near the weedbeds that they may be using.
• Think about currents and wind and how they may be pushing dislodged larva toward the surface.
• Time of season and day are important for the larval form: low-light periods, early in the season, early in the morning, summer when fish have moved into deeper water, and late fall when other food sources are less available.

CHIRONOMID LIFE CYCLE: PUPA

• The pupa is exposed during its entire stage, so it becomes particularly important for trout and other fish.
• Apolysis is the separation of the shuck, which traps gas between the shuck and adult inside causing the pupa to be very shiny.
• Pupa often stage for days, suspending just above the bottom in dense clouds. As the pupa elevate toward the surface trout will follow them through the different levels of the water column.

CHIRONOMID LIFE CYCLE: ADULT

• Mornings and evenings are normally the best times to experiment with adult patterns.

TARGETING SPECIFIC WATER LEVELS

 

• Identify major areas that are likely habitat.
• Identify areas that are active with chironomids through signs. This is “the Field of Dreams” idea; if the conditions are right, the fish will eventually be there.
  • Moving fish
  • Other anglers having success
  • Pupal shucks
  • Adults flying around
• Begin to experiment with various depths through different presentations.
  • Indicators have two advantages: depth control and variable speeds on retrieve.

FLY SELECTION

 

• Flies should be at least a little different from the naturals to attract attention to your patterns.
• Small differences can make a huge difference in success.
• Size, color, aggressiveness of retrieve all work together.
• The longer adult chironomids are alive, often the darker they will become.
• Throughout the hatch, there is a gradual down-sizing, so if you see #12 adults, the pupae may be #10, etc.
• Often larger flies may help you to stand out in the hoard of midge in the water.
• Start from dark to light (black to chrome).
  • Black with a red rib works everywhere.

SOME TOP FLY PATTERNS

 

• Patterns featuring white beads, such as Chan’s Chironomid Pupa, are great for turbid and slightly stained water, but fish will often shy away from the stark white beadhead patterns in really clear water.
• Phil’s Black Sally is great for clearer water situations when patterns featuring white beads seem too overt.
• Chromies in lots of different variations can be very effective.
• The collaborator is a good all-round pattern.
• Attractors like Chan’s Beadhead Chironomid Bomber can the ticket at times.

PRESENTATION

 

• Depth and retrieve are the most important steps to get right (it always trumps pattern).
• Use double fly rigs when possible.
• Speed of retrieve can vary from dead-drift to rise and fall of the chironomid pattern when using indicator rigs.
• With light winds, cast against the wind and let it drift your chironomids back toward you, almost as if you were in a river.
• Attention to detail is critical, particularly when it comes to depth and speed.

RIGGING

 

Lines

• Lines for close in and short casts of awkward indicator rigs
  • Rio’s Extreme Indicator
  • Rio’s Trout/Salmon

Leaders and Rigging

• Rio Indicator leader
• Barrel Swivel #12, #14, #16
• 2 feet from swivel to point fly
• If necessary, add fluorocarbon tippet from the 10 foot leader to the swivel to extend the depth.
• Another option is to add a full level leader (10 to 13 feet of level 1x to 3x) to the swivel.

Double Rigs

• Sliding dropper
• You can do a similar setup with a bloodknot or a triple surgeons knot.
• He prefers the sliding dropper to flies that are dropper style, i.e., tied from the point fly.

LINKS AND RESOURCES FOR THE PODCAST

Phil’s Website: Fly Craft Angling

Phil’s Email Address: [email protected]

Phil and Brian’s Stillwater Store

Brian Chan’s website

YouTube Channel

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Fly fishing with chironomids is a great fly fishing skill in itself, but you can also take these ideas and skills into other areas of your fly fishing, primarily when fishing for trout, Great Lakes steelhead and browns, and many different warm-water species. As far as stillwater fly fishing is concerned, chironomids are hugely important in most bodies of water, and because they are so prolific, trout will at times key on these and ignore nearly all other food sources. Fly fishing with chironomids is not for everyone, but if you prefer catching lots of big trout to going for a boat ride, then give them a try when it’s obvious that you need to be fishing them. If you have any questions about indicators or anything else having to do with chironomids and fly fishing, feel free to ask a question in the comments below. Good luck!

The post FLY FISHING WITH CHIRONOMIDS PART 1 WITH PHIL ROWLEY [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

Musky fly fishing has become so popular that it is almost common to find someone in your fly fishing circle who fly fishes for muskies almost exclusively. The payoff with musky on the fly is a toothy fish with arguably the biggest appetite of any species taken on a fly, pound for pound. There are a lot of barriers that get in the way of success, when it comes to fly fishing for muskies. The scarcity of fish, the huge flies, accessing where muskies live, and even handling the fish once it has been caught are all challenges for most fly anglers. To aid in your musky fly fishing, there are a handful of anglers who really know as much as any angler in the world. Rick Kustich is one of these anglers, and he brings decades of experience in musky fly fishing. His new book is now the standard for musky fly fishing and is filled with lots of musky knowledge. In this podcast, he discusses all things musky and, particularly, how to tackle specific types of water.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: MUSKY FLY FISHING

BASICS OF HUNTING MUSKIES WITH A FLY

• Have proper expectations when fishing for muskies.
• In general, practice weight training and exercise regularly, practice your casting, and possibly use a two-handed rod to be able to keep yourself on the water with as much comfort as possible.
• Use follows and other musky encounters as victories and as valuable knowledge for the next time you’re out. Learn from these experiences.
• Muskies are at the top of the food chain, have a swagger, and are quite curious.
• Triggering fish is incredibly important, particularly at the boat.

FINDING ACTIVE MUSKIES

• Timing is hugely important for finding active muskies since they eat larger meals most of the time, so they don’t have to eat as often.
• Moon rises and sets are prime times for musky.
• Rick’s go-to method is to fish prime spots, trying to find the most aggressive fish.
• Possibly fish those prime spots multiple times per day.
• At key times, like when muskies pod up in the winter, you can spend a lot of time on these particular places, even anchoring here.
• Bait is critical to finding muskies, and the bait are attracted to places like weedbeds, i.e., cover/structure where the food chain can thrive.
• Visual food-chain activity in general is really important too.
• Musky “prime lies” with depth and cover/structure are great places to spend your efforts.

FLIES FOR MUSKY FLY FISHING

• Small flies are often good early in the season (post spawn).
• Begin with natural colors in clear water and in general. Then experiment after this.
• Action is hugely important. Kick/walk-the-dog action is a must.
• Multiple shanks and a larger head help achieve great fly action.
• Rick often begins with 10 to 12 inch flies.
• Use smaller flies if the fish aren’t committing.
• Use smaller, less wind resistant flies when you are tired.

AT THE BOAT

• Water temperature dictates retrieve speed as much, if not more, than prey items.
• Getting fish to lock in is critical to converting fish at the boat.
• Retrieve right up to the shock tippet/wire knot at the rod.
• Rick retrieves his fly with his rod tip about two feet under the water before he goes into his figure eight.
• Rick uses 2 to 4 figure eights, and maybe even 6, if the fish are coming in lazy.
• He often just does a big oval with wide turns for his “figure eight.”
• Give the fish a side profile with the fly.
• He speeds up the fly going into his figure eight.
• The turn is very important, and he speeds up on the turn.

DEEP-WATER POOLS

• Use the proper sink tip.
• Possibly use a weighted fly if there is current.
• Count down the tip so that you’re in the bottom third of the pool.
• Possibly slow down the retrieve to keep the fly down.
• Concentrate on unique structural and cover features of the pool.

DROP-OFFS AND BOULDERS

• Rick fishes from shallow into deep water.
• Boulders are important for creating soft water, particularly in current, which is hugely important for muskies.

REEFS

• Reefs are drop offs/humps with their own ecosystem.
• Similar to drop offs in that he casts to the deep water.

SANDY BAYS AND BARS

• Early in the season, smaller flies are normally effective.
• Lead the fish a lot in sight fishing scenarios.

MAN-MADE STRUCTURES

• Dams and breakwalls are almost always very good places to try.

WEEDBEDS AND WEED EDGES

• Possibly the most productive cover/structure to find muskies.
• Whenever you find weeds, fish them.
• If you encounter heavy weed growth, concentrate on the edges by deep water.
• Thick weedbeds with water over them to around 6 to 10 feet can be extremely productive.
• Also, pockets in thick weedbeds can be great too.

TIMBER AND BRUSH

• Always give timber and brush good coverage.
• Make multiple casts at different positions, and don’t cast to the same spot multiple times.
• It is incredibly important for small to medium sized rivers, but should always be a focal point.
• Fallen logs are great places for muskies.

LINKS AND RESOURCES FOR THE PODCAST

Rick’s Website

Rick’s Book

Blane Chocklett

Nick Pionessa

Different Fly Actions

Musky fly fishing is an extreme form of fly fishing. With advancements in gear and in musky fly fishing tactics, we are more capable of catching muskies on the fly than ever before. Many, many muskies on the fly over 50 inches have come to hand, with the current world record measuring in at 57 inches. You yourself may be an unsuspecting victim of the musky bug, when, after hours of launching wet socks, you experience that first musky on the fly. That one musky might be enough for you, but then again, “normal” fly fishing life may have just ceased, and you may now count yourself as one of the ever increasing obsessive musky bums. If you’ve already done this, you know where you stand full well. Either way, life is better than ever when fly fishing for muskies.

The post MUSKY FLY FISHING: THE HUNT with RICK KUSTICH [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

The bull redfish, “bull reds,” of Louisiana have occupied some of the most exciting fly fishing videos to date.  These leviathans are the stuff of dreams, and every fall and winter, we see countless pictures of these humongous beasts scattered throughout the social media feeds.  The Louisiana marsh and beyond is an amazingly unique fishery, but nothing in fishing is a sure thing.  Weather can destroy any saltwater trip.  Many variables go into making any trip a successful one.  In this episode, Meredith McCord shares her knowledge and gives us detailed suggestions on how to plan a trip to Louisiana for bull redfish.  She will really help you avoid problems and make any fly fishing travel to Louisiana a much more pleasurable one.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: PLANNING A TRIP FOR LOUISIANA BULL REDFISH

• Major areas of Louisiana: Chandeleur Islands, the Biloxi Marsh, Empire, Buras, Venice, the area surrounding Houma
• When planning a trip for Louisiana bull reds, remember that the weather and water clarity are everything!

SEASONS AND A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO BOOKING TRIPS

• The fishing in Louisiana for redfish of all sizes is excellent year-round.
• The bull red season is September to early March, normally, but this can change a bit, depending on the weather.
• The best “popper season,” in Meredith’s opinion, is September to October .
• Early part of the season is “a little” more predictable as far as the weather and water clarity is concerned.
• The latter part of the season, which is often overlooked due to winter storms, will often produce some of the largest fish of the season.
• Book at least four days of fishing, and plan on the possibility that half of those days may be lost to the weather.

SOME PLACES SHE LIKES TO STAY

• Good central location: Woodland Plantation (see links below)
• Hopedale: The Dogwood Lodge (Southern Way Charters: see links below)
• Venice: Sportsman’s Lodge (Southern Way Charters: see links below)
• Venice: Eric and Moe Newman just opened a place (Journey South Outfitters: see links below)
• Chandeleur Islands: Live aboard charter boats, Southern Way or the Southern Cross (Southern Way Charters: see links below)

SUGGESTIONS ON GETTING AROUND AND STANDARD GEAR EXPECTATIONS

• Rental cars are normally the best solution for local transportation giving you flexibility, but when staying at a lodge, you might be able to just take a taxi from the airport.  However, a rental car is suggested.
• Always talk to your guides to get rod and fly recommendations if you are bringing your own gear.  Backup rods are highly suggested.
• Meredith likes a 9wt and a 10wt for these fish.
• Meredith follows IGFA recommendations and uses 20lb. test.  Some guides will go as high as 40 or 60 lb. test.
• 6 to 9 foot leaders are typical.
• Basics on Louisiana redfish flies.

TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND FOR BULL REDS

• Practice casting from 20 to 50 feet.  Accuracy is most important.
• Be ready!  When you’re talking to your guide, keep your eyes forward looking for fish.
• If your guide changes course suddenly, look at where he is looking, and you may spot the fish before he even says anything.
• Know your clock when on a given guide’s casting deck.
• Make sure that you and your guide agree on what a given casting distance is before you see the fish.
• Don’t let go of your slack line when you cast because you need to have control immediately.

CHOOSING GUIDES AND OUTFITTERS

• Meredith works with Tailwaters Travel, which puts about 400 people in the marsh and specifically with Woodland Plantation, so she recommends Tailwaters and Woodland Plantation, of course.
  • It’s great for a larger group.
  • Great for the ladies in your life, due to comfort and excellent food.
  • Guides are great.
• Shallow Water Expeditions
• Fly Water Expeditions
• Redfish Dynasty
• She recommends getting guides who have been down there for many years and recommends talking to someone who has fished with a particular guide down there.

LINKS AND RESOURCES FOR THE PODCAST

Meredith on Instagram

Meredith on Facebook

Meredith’s Website

[email protected]

Tailwaters Travel

Woodland Plantation

Southern Way Charters

Journey South Outfitters (Venice Lodging)

Redfish Dynasty

Shallow Water Expeditions

Fly Water Expeditions

The allure of those huge bull reds from the marsh is pretty hard to resist.  Fuel is added to the fire with the many amazing videos floating around out there.  The marsh is everything that has been written about it and more.  However, it’s not a sure thing.  A practical approach to these fish will save you time and money and help you to plan the best trip you can for these amazing fish.  Any questions or comments?  Feel free to leave them below.

The post BULL REDFISH ON THE FLY: PLANNING A TRIP TO LOUISIANA WITH MEREDITH MCCORD [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

Musky on the fly has to do with mindset as much as anything.  Dedication, skill, and knowledge all meet at the musky mindset.  How we cover the water, what flies we use, how we tie our flies, and what we consider big all change with a musky mindset.  In this podcast, Chris Willen helps us fine-tune this mindset and shares his approach to muskies.  Chris’s own approach and mindset are grounded in flexibility and attention to detail, and he’ll help you get started or improve your musky game no matter who you are.  So, read the details below and sit back and get ready to change your musky mindset with Chris Willen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: MUSKY ON THE FLY AND A MUSKY MINDSET

BASICS OF A MUSKY MINDSET AND APPROACH

• Knowing each individual fishery is hugely important.  When you fish each body of water, hit key spots as outlined below, and let any musky you move or see guide you in how you focus your attention.
• Flexibility is critical to be consistently successful with musky.
• Patterning fish becomes difficult because of the inherently lower numbers of fish.  Because of this, we can have a game plan, but we should always try extreme differences on any given day.
• At the same time, if we are seeing muskies in lakes or in rivers with electronics or otherwise in one particular piece of structure and/or cover like weedbeds or solid cover (rocks, wood, etc.), then start looking for this particular piece of cover.
• Let the conditions drive your initial game plan: if the water is high, check the banks; if the water is low, concentrate on the deeper stretches of the river, etc.
• Dams are very good spots to check for fish, and you can start here.  Then, you can use the fish’s reactions and location to help you out further down the river.
• Muskies, particularly big ones, will be territorial, so you can often find the same fish holding his spot in the river many times throughout the year.
• Try to eliminate poor water (too shallow or with too high a gradient).  However, look for that one spot within the poor water that might be just big enough to hold a musky.
• Once you have identified some of the best spots within a stretch of river, you may concentrate your efforts on these spots.  The float should be an A-to-Z float, not an A-to-B float.
  • Work the spot with multiple different casts and flies.  Don’t be afraid to fish through the spot multiple times with multiple different presentations.
• Chris likes to target prime pieces of water during a “bite window.”  This normally occurs during particular phases of the moon (majors, minors, etc.).
• Try to approach musky fishing from the mindset of “I learned something about this piece of water,” not “I didn’t catch a musky.”
• Dedication and fishing hard are keys to putting muskies in the boat consistently.
• Also, focusing, particularly when you are at key points, is huge, since you don’t want to blow the one shot you have.

SEASONAL MOVEMENTS FOR MUSKY ON THE FLY

• Late winter/early spring, target staging areas where you will find muskies staging before the spawn (creek mouths, etc.).
• After the spawn, you can target fish in smaller creeks and near these areas.
• Summer, oxygen-producing areas hold more fish (below rapids/riffles).
• Fall, the fish are feeding heavily to build reserves for the winter, including to produce their eggs for the spring.  Focus on prime eating zones: eddies, behind logs, behind rocks, in the deeper pools, and in the couch water.
  • Fishing deeper can be very effective in the fall.  The angler in the back of the boat often has a better chance of getting the musky at this time of year.

MUSKY ON THE FLY AND FLY SELECTION

• Flies need to have “motion without movement.”
• For fly selection, start off with the basic forage fish within the river as a basis for proportion and size.
• Size and how much water the fly is pushing are hugely important for musky.
• Chris has a very flexible approach to fly selection and presentation.  Don’t get stuck in one mindset on a given day.  Since we’re fishing prime pieces of water, we should use multiple different flies and presentations.

SEVEN IMPORTANT FLIES

• B1G Foosa
• Optimus Swine
• Big bucktail style pattern (Game changer, T-Bone musky fly etc.)
• Double Nickel
• Brad Bowen’s Buford Musky Fly
• Brad Bowen’s Optic Minnow Style Fly with epoxy
• Brad Bowen’s River Pig (weighted)

FIGURE EIGHT AND READING FISH

• Adjust your figure eight approach to the musky’s moods.
• If the fish comes in fast and aggressive, move the fly faster to keep that fish excited.
• If the fish comes in slow and methodical, try to tease the fish with the fly, etc.
• Get the fly deep by putting the rod tip into the water.  Chris will actually put his rod and hand into the water at times.
• Make sure to do big turns on your figure eight since musky can’t turn their body sufficiently on narrow turns.
• Also, play with the plane of the figure eight.  This means coming up high and then shooting the fly down, or vice versa, during the figure eight motion.
• Depth and speed are huge triggers on the figure eight.  Normally, you need to change these on all of your turns.
• If you don’t see a fish, do at least two turns, but do three if you can.

LINKS AND RESOURCES FOR THE PODCAST

Chris’s Site

Chris on Facebook

Caney Fork River System in Tennessee

Blane Chocklett

Mike Schultz at Schultz Outfitters

Todd Gregory Hardly Strictly Musky Tournament

Fly vs. Jerk

Tim Fischer

Solunar Theory (Moon Phases)

Eli Berant

Eric Grajewski

Musky on the fly is often about extremes: huge flies, huge hooks, huge teeth, huge fish, huge stretches of fishless hours, and so on.  Each musky on the fly or otherwise is a trophy in itself.  In this way, we need to set ourselves up to catch that one fish.  Remember that your next cast could be to a fish that might make you wet yourself a little, and this will help keep you in a musky mindset.  If you have any questions about musky or Chris Willen, feel free to leave comments below or contact Chris directly.

The post MUSKY MINDSET: MUSKY ON THE FLY WITH CHRIS WILLEN [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

When fly fishing saltwater, there are a dozens of factors that help determine our fly fishing success.  When it comes to flats fishing, there is one factor that is hugely important, tides.  Good guides understand tides and know what the fish do on a given tide in a given area.  However, there are certain tides that are far superior to other tides in a given area and for a specific species of fish.  For example, giant trevally and permit normally need and desire more water, such as with a spring tide.  Knowing this can help us plan our trips when fly fishing saltwater so that we are in the right place with the best tides for a given species.  Having a basic understanding of tides can be a game changer when fishing the salt and will put the odds in your favors.  In this podcast, Scott Heywood discusses how we should think about tides when planning a saltwater fly fishing trip.  Also, a quick correction, both Scott and I were into the podcast and glossed over the fact that Scott said “Gulf of Alaska” for “Gulf of Mexico.”  He, of course, meant to say “Mexico” since the Gulf of Alaska is nowhere near Mexico.  Enjoy the podcast!

KEY TAKEAWAYS: FLY FISHING SALTWATER AND TIDES

• The sun’s and the moon’s gravitational pull determine the type of tide.
• The new moon and the full moon coincide with the spring tides.
• In between the new moon and the full moon, we have the neap tides.
• There are two spring tides and two neap tides per 28-day cycle.
• Spring tides have lower lows and higher highs: greater variance between low and high.
• Neap tides are more uniform but lower in general: lesser variance between low and high.
• There is a huge amount of variables that will affect tide size on a given day or time period: wind, geography, topography of the bottom of the water, nearby bodies of water, weather, and deflection.
• Deflection is the distance an area is away from where the water filters in.
• You can have two lows and two highs in places like the Bahamas, so the particular type of tide is happening twice a day at times.
• Places like the Yucatan can have wide variance in types of tides because of other external factors.  Because of this, you need to consider the tide patterns of a given destination before you plan your trip.
• Tides are hugely important when it comes to fish species.  Certain species, like permit and giant trevally, prefer deeper water while bonefish often prefer shallow flats, so you want to be at your destination when these conditions are present.
• Scott has some really telling examples in the podcast about specific species and destinations and how tides affect them.

LINKS AND RESOURCES FOR THE PODCAST

Angling Destinations

Fly Paper: Scott’s blog

[email protected]

Angling Destinations on Facebook

Scott’s article on bonefish and tides

Nautical software (No longer available)

Helpful site on everything having to do with tides

We can only control so many things when fly fishing saltwater.  No matter how much money we spend on our trip, we still need to work with the tide to help us cast to as many fish as possible.  There’s no need to make it harder on ourselves when we target permit, giant trevally, or any other saltwater species.  To have the best success, we need to go to the best destination with the best conditions during the time that we have available.  This can mean choosing a different location within a given region, for example, in the Bahamas.  When we have a basic understanding of tides, we work with mother nature, and because of this, we will have more chances to do what we love, catch fish in the salt.

The post FLY FISHING SALTWATER: UNDERSTANDING TIDES PUTS THE ODDS IN YOUR FAVOR with SCOTT HEYWOOD [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

Smallmouth bass, particularly for fish seventeen inches and above, are tough to beat as a freshwater fly fishing experience.  The fish are mean and tough.  They live in some of the most beautiful and unique venues of the Unites States and even beyond.  They are greedy, and it’s no surprise to find all sorts of baitfish and crayfish in the mouth of the smallmouth you just brought to hand.  They love to go airborne and bulldog you all at the same time, and you can catch huge amounts of these fish as well.  However, when you want to go after huge smallmouth in rivers, you need to bring you’re A-game.  In this podcast, Mike Schultz lays it all out for us and shares how he targets huge river smallmouth.  See the notes below, including some of Mike’s videos.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: TROPHY RIVER SMALLMOUTH BASS FLY FISHING

• Know your river since many rivers in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan have smallmouth that tend not to migrate as much, but smallmouth bass in Minnesota and Wisconsin can migrate miles.
• In cases where smallmouth bass aren’t migrating as far, you really need to pay attention to the fish’s movement patterns within a stretch of river.
• Use “power fishing” as a way to cover water.
• Remember that smallies are inherently aggressive.
• Pausing the fly is very important for smallmouth bass, whether it’s with surface or subsurface flies.

SEASONS AND SMALLMOUTH BASS LOCATION IN RIVERS

SPRING

• In early spring, think about the 95 and 5 rule: 95% of the fish are going to be in 5% of the water.
• Look for greater depth and a current that is at “smallmouth speed”: steady, even flow, perhaps near eddies or slower water.
• Look for optimal flows for a particular river and good water clarity.

SUMMER

• You need to look for depth, shade, rocks, wood, and other structure.
• Water height and clarity, and focus on structure.
  • When the water is murky, cast to the structure with one to four strips, and then cast the fly back to the structure.
• In clear water when fish may follow but not commit, make sure to strip the second the fly hits the water, but also make sure that your flies are very good and have a wounded baitfish action built in.

FALL

• The fish move back to similar spring habitat, but they are greatly influenced by baitfish migrations.  You need to really choose the right river at this time, and rivers that have shad and other migrations of baitfish should receive the bulk of your attention.

FLIES FOR SMALLMOUTH AND TIPS FOR FISHING THEM

BOTTOM OF THE RIVER

• Red Eyes Leech, S3 Sculpin, and Single Fly Cray.
• Tie with different weights.
• Keep them natural: blacks, tans, olives, browns (flash: gold, copper, and holographic olive).
• Use full sinking intermediate lines.

MIDDLE DEPTHS OF THE RIVER

• Keeled Feather Game Changer and Chicken Changer (can be fished deep too: extend the leader to 8 to 9 feet).
• A couple retrieve options for Game Changers: wounded erratic retrieve or burn ‘em and stop ‘em.

UPPER 1′ TO 3′ OF THE RIVER

• Swingin’ D (Great for working over snags since it will float to the surface).  See video below.

SURFACE

• BoogleBug #4 and #6 (for lower water).
  • Pearly White, Solar Flare (Chartreuse), Yella Fella (Yellow), Electric Damsel (Blue)
• Skitter Shad.
• Terrestrials for low clear water, normally in August to October.
  • Fat Albert #4 (Tan, Yellow, and Pink)
• Umpqua’s Diving Frog (cut off the weed guard, coat belly with Loon UV finish, and coat with Fly-Agra).
• Know your river, and experiment with your retrieves.  Sometimes, particularly in low water, they just want a small pop with a very long pause.  Other times, you need to pop that fly away from them when they come up and don’t commit.  Experiment with the pause.

 

 

GEAR

RODS

• 9′ 7wt. is a great smallmouth bass fly rod.
• 9’ 7wt. Scott Radian
• 9’ 7wt Scott Tidal (more on a budget)
• Clutch React 250 (single piece rod)
• 8’ 4” 8wt Scott Meridian

REELS

• Not as important for smallmouth.
• Mike likes Hatch Finatics.
• Sage 2280
• Ross Evolution LT

LINE

Full Intermediates:

• Scientific Anglers (SA) Sonar Clear Tip (Titan taper)
• RIO Outbound Short (full intermediate): these lines are front loaded, so you might need to buy a #6 for a #7 rod etc.  Cast the line on your rod if you can.
• Advantages of the full intermediates:
  • Direct line to the fish
  • Great tapers and how they cast flies
  • Stays clean

Floating Lines:

• SA Titan Taper (Powerful at relatively close distances)
• RIO Smallmouth Taper (Longer Casts but not quite as powerful)
• SA MPX (Nice casting with more finesse and not quite as much power)

LEADERS

• Handmade leader (30 lb) 2’ (25 lb) 2’ (16 lb) 2’ – 3’: this is for standard water conditions.  He will drop this to about 3’ to 4’ in the summer where he’s casting to targets.
• He likes Hatch fluorocarbon (16, 12 and occasionally 10 for terrestrials) or you can pick up Seaguar InvizX.
• SA bass leader (He’ll cut off the first 18” and attach 16 lb or 12 lb fluorocarbon).

HOOKS

• Gamakatsu Worm Hook
• Partridge Attitude Extra and Attitude Streamer
• Tiemco 600SP
• Daiichi 2546 or Gamakatsu SL11-3H (Weighted flies)

LINKS AND RESOURCES FOR THE PODCAST

[email protected]

Schultz Outfitters: 734-544-1761

Fishhead App

Chris Willen

Blane Chocklett

Mark Sedotti’s Kickin’ Chicken

Keel System

Flymen Fish Spines

In-Fisherman

Smithwick Rogue

Storm Stickbait

Jerkbait

Rebel Pop-R

Tight Lines Fly Fishing Company

Loon UV Clear Finish (thick)

General Tackle’s Influence on Fly Fishing

Smallmouth bass on the fly gets in your blood if you like fish that eat.  Smallmouth bass will hurl themselves into the air trying to smash your popper, or they will sip it down like a breath mint.  Thirteen inch smallmouth will destroy your seven inch fly, and they eat at every level of the water column.  Smallmouth are found throughout the United States, so chances are, you’ve got some smallies living in a river near you.  Once you’ve hooked into a few of the larger versions of these fish, it will be tough to leave these fish alone.  Mike has thousands of days on the water chasing these guys, so follow what he says, and you’ll have a really good chance of hooking a huge river smallmouth on the fly…landing it’s a different story.

The post TROPHY RIVER SMALLMOUTH BASS ON THE FLY & MIKE SCHULTZ [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

The first time a fish took me to my backing was when I was stillwater fly fishing.  I quickly learned that the biggest fish I could go after were going to have some sort of connection to water that wasn’t moving all of the time.  If you look at salmon or steelhead and lake-run brown trout, you see how much bigger these fish are than their stream counterparts.  This also holds true for most fish that you find within rivers.  The biggest fish normally have some sort of stillwater they can use to put on the pounds.  Some of us pursue these fish when they’ve entered the rivers, some of us go after them in their stillwater environments, and some of us do both.  If you want to go for these bruisers in their stillwater versions, you need to master sinking lines and the techniques and mindset that go along with them.  In this podcast, Phil Rowley will help us do that.  If you want to learn more about sinking lines, stillwater fly fishing, or any combination of the two, this podcast is for you.  I know you’re going to learn a ton from Phil, the stillwater master.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: STILLWATER FLY FISHING WITH SINKING LINES

• Fishing stillwaters gives you a lot of peace and quiet, less crowds, big fish, comfortable fishing, and great hatches.
• Sinking lines help you to have a truer horizontal retrieve path.

SINKING LINE FEATURES

• Sinking lines run from intermediate to type VII sinking lines (this is separate from your rod weight).
• The higher the number, the faster the sink rate.
• Clear intermediate sinking lines have largely replaced type II sinking lines.
• The line weight number more or less accords with inches per second, so for example, a type III is about 3 inches per second on the sink rate.
• Non-stretch cores are really an improvement: you get more sensitivity, better casting, and a more responsive experience for hooksets and playing the fish.
• Density compensation: normally with type III to VII lines.  Density compensation means that the tip sinks the fastest, and therefore you have greater sensitivity without a bow in the line.
• Clear intermediates are not density compensated and therefore sink belly first, creating more of a U-shaped profile.  You can use this to tell where the fish are at.  If they hit at first, then this is a sign that the fish are shallow.  Towards the end of the retrieve, the line and flies are at their deepest.  If you get takes during the latter portion of your retrieve, this signifies that the fish are holding deeper.
• For fly fishing lakes in general, a floating line, clear intermediate, and type V sinking line would probably cover your bases, but with just sinking lines, perhaps a clear intermediate, type III, and type VI would do the job with three lines.

LEADERS

• The slower the sink rate, the longer the leader.
• Intermediate and slower sinking leaders: 9 – 12 ft. with fluorocarbon tippet.
• Faster sinking line (type VI or greater) leaders: 3 – 4 ft.   Short 3’ to 4’ leaders aren’t commercially available but can easily be put together by joining two pieces of fluorocarbon.  The connection between the two sections serves as a ‘fusible link’ in the event of a breakoff and protects the welded loop of the fly line.

MOVING THE FLY

• Water temperature dictates retrieve speed as much if not more than prey items.
• He wants trout in about 50 to 65 degree water.
• Slower lines will keep you in the zone longer if you have to use a slower retrieve.
• When the water temp is up or the fish are generally more active, then you can use faster sinking lines.
• He doesn’t use weighted flies most of the time except on a few specific patterns or styles.

FLOATING FLIES WITH FAST-SINKING FLY LINES

• Floating flies with fast sinking lines are great for sparse weed growth and cover and for sight fishing where you might spook fish by casting too closely to them with a slower sinking line.
• The “washing line” is great for tall and heavy weed growth.
  • Intermediate to type III that stays right above the weed line, the point fly is a buoyant fly, and the dropper is not a buoyant fly.

SETTING THE HOOK

• When setting the hook, strip-set when fishing heavier lines.
• The deeper you’re fishing, the harder you set.
• In shallow water with smaller flies, a small strip set or a sweep to the side works well.

GENERAL MINDSET AND APPROACH FOR STILLWATER FLY FISHING WITH SINKING LINES

• Focus on DRP: Depth, Retrieve, and Pattern.
• Rule of 12: divide sink rate of your line into 12, and that tells you how many seconds it takes to sink one foot.  If you need to have it sink ten feet, then times that number by ten.  For example with a type III line: 12/3 = 4 seconds; 4 x 10′ = 40 seconds to get down 10 feet.
• He likes to focus on the 1 to 2 feet above the bottom (if there are weed beds than adjust to the weed bed etc.).
• Finding fish: concentrate on getting to 1 to 2 feet above the bottom (adjust for weeds etc.), concentrate on irregularities and transitions/edges, and keep your eyes open for signs of prey item activity.
• Present the fly with different angles by casting to different positions and fanning out each cast.
• Fish feed into the wind, so use different angles to present the fly with your back to the wind.

FISHING NEW WATER WITH SINKING LINES

• Fishing new water: local knowledge, fishing forums etc., Google Earth (transitions, points, edges, and weed growth.  Deep water nearby is a plus).
• You can use the angle of the shoreline to gauge the water’s depth.
• He normally starts with a slower sinking line, but he uses flies that imitate possibly bigger food sources, or at least active, predator-style food sources, to catch that first fish.  Then, he uses throat pumps to check the fish.
• He uses electronics to find and keep track of fish with way points.
• Phil moves from a site earlier, the slower his has retrieved his fly because the fly has been in the water for a longer time.
• Always look for signs of moving fish.

LINKS AND RESOURCES FOR THE PODCAST

Phil’s Website: Fly Craft Angling

Phil’s Email Address: [email protected]

Phil and Brian’s Stillwater Store

RIO Hover

RIO Aqualux

RIO Camolux

Brian Chan

Loch Style Fly Fishing

Anchor Locks

Way Points with Fish Finders

The Angling Edge: General Tackle Techniques that Advance Stillwater Knowledge

Stillwater fly fishing with sinking lines is a really fun way to catch trout or any other fish for that matter.  The fish get fat and strong with the humongous pantry they have at their disposal that is filled with every type of prey item they might want.  Stillwater fly fishing has its unique challenges though, and if you’re going to be successful at all on a consistent basis, you need to be very familiar with sinking lines, the tactics, and approach that you take with these lines.  If you have any questions or something isn’t clear to you, feel free to leave a comment below.  Now, get out there an fish.

The post STILLWATER FLY FISHING AND SINKING LINES & PHIL ROWLEY [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

When it comes to swinging, the Great Lakes historically have been, and even still are at times, considered by many as mainly a nymphing affair.  This is a mistake.  It’s true that nymphing for steelhead, browns, and salmon is incredibly effective and is more effective than swinging in the majority of situations.  However, in the last 10 to 15 years, swinging Great Lakes steelhead, browns, and salmon has become extremely popular, and many opportunities exist in the Great Lakes for any swinging enthusiast.  Steelhead are the most common swinging target, but within the rivers of the Great Lakes, there are some diverse opportunities to pursue different fish species, such as Atlantic salmon and lake run browns.  The Great Lakes swinging experience offers some unique challenges and a lot of targets, so if you’re a transplant to the Great Lakes region or just getting started with swinging, Jeff Liskay shortens the learning curve for us in this podcast.

 

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: SWINGING GREAT LAKES STEELHEAD, BROWNS, & SALMON

• The diversity of the swinging experience is surpassed by nowhere else in the world and offers different venues and flavors of fishing through Canada and the U.S.
• The different challenges of swinging the Great Lakes keep you coming back and improving.
• Two main types of rivers in the Great Lakes:
  • Run-off rivers: any precipitation blows these rivers out or at least affects their levels, color etc.
  • Ground-fed rivers: stay very clear
• A constant struggle is to find the right water clarity since a rivers water clarity has positives and negatives with respect to swinging.
• You need to pay close attention to the water conditions before you fish anywhere in the Great Lakes.
• Consult the U.S. geological survey site to get real time flows.
• Swinging allows you to fish water that is murkier than normal, so it keeps you in the game longer.
• Also, take very detailed notes and learn from the days on which you are skunked.
• Run-off rivers will actually allow fish to have a resting period when it is blown out and fly anglers can’t fish them, while ground-fed rivers have a tendency to receive constant pressure but are almost always fishable.
• Don’t be afraid to drive to rivers that have the right water conditions.
• Many of the rivers in the Great Lakes aren’t the traditional West Coast style rivers, where it’s a bank-to-bank swing.  Many rivers have much smaller drop-offs and “buckets” that require you to manipulate your line to get the right swing.
• You will often concentrate on hot spots, and the challenge is figuring out how to get your fly into these places.
• In Michigan and sometimes on the Niagara River, watercraft are critical to getting the right presentation.
• You can also use a boat to fish the lower stretches of the river, where it is more or less impossible to wade.  In this technique, you will swing baitfish patterns, and it’s extremely effective.
  • To do this swing, use a light tip or floating line, a weighted fly, and a fairly fast swing.
• Jeff likes to fish the in-between water that people don’t fish a lot, particularly in Michigan.  The water isn’t as productive as some of the traditional pools etc., but the fish are less disturbed.
• The swinging learning curve is greatly lessened because of the nearly year-round opportunities and abundance of fish on the Great Lakes.
• Fall fishing is best in New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.  Both New York and Wisconsin offer brown trout as well as steelhead.
• Winter and early season fishing is great in Ohio and Michigan.
• Spring fishing is pretty good in most Great Lakes states including Ontario, Canada.
• You can extend your swinging season on the Niagara and the St. Marys River since they hold steelhead much later than other venues.
• You also have the option to fish summer-run steelhead on very small venues in Indiana and Illinois.
• You can swing for migrating fish more or less 12 months a year.  The St. Marys gets an Atlantic Salmon run in the middle of summer (June to July), and king salmon start up in August on many venues.
• To catch a steelhead on a dry fly, the fish must be able to see your fly from where it is, and this means fly fishing with clear water conditions.
• The other good time is fishing in warmer water temps, which means fishing in the early fall and late spring.
• Early season means September when salmon and steelhead first start to enter the river system.
• Late season is late spring, say May, when the steelhead return to the Great Lakes.
• The traditional Great Lakes season is fall-winter-spring.
• Downsizing your subsurface fly can be extremely effective, particularly when you are fishing behind people, in smaller venues, or in really clear-water venues.
• For flies, he recommends something with rabbit, tube marabou flies for versatility with stacking, a good weighted Scandi fly, a black wet fly with accents, a caddis fly pattern, and a large foam skater, like a Scopper fly pattern.
• Mixing in some rubber legs etc. can be very effective on the right day.
• Contrast is incredibly important on your flies, and an Ice Dub head is supper effective.
• General flies for particular venues are as follows:
  • St. Marys: #10 Muddler Minnow with Orange thread
  • Michigan and Ohio: Ice Dub swinging pattern and a marabou type fly as well
  • Pennsylvania and New York: smaller patterns do better in most cases
  • Niagara River: white baitfish flies
• Four main rod choices:
  • 5 to 6 weight switch rod for smaller venues and flies
  • 7 weight two-hander as an all-round rod (this is probably the most versatile rod)
  • 8 to 9 weight for heavy flies and tips
  • Single hand rod for dry flies

LINKS AND RESOURCES FOR THE PODCAST

[email protected]

Great Lakes Fly Fishing: Jeff’s Website

Intro to swinging podcast

Real time flows

Fly fishing for Great Lakes steelhead and brown trout

 

If you find yourself in the Great Lakes region, don’t hesitate to look into the rewarding swinging opportunities available to you.  For those who are interested in swinging, multiple different strains of steelhead, monster browns, Atlantic salmon, king salmon, and other salmon species are available to you.  The Great Lakes are not the Pacific Northwest.  The Great Lakes have their own challenges and a diversity that is both enjoyable and ideal in many instances.  The nature of the Great Lakes swinging experience is characterized by adaptation.  This nature breeds versatility and an openness to the approaches used in other parts of the U.S. and beyond.  Feel free to use this podcast to increase your knowledge of the Great Lakes swinging experience, and feel free to bring your own techniques and ideas to this wonderfully diverse fishing environment.

The post SWINGING FOR GREAT LAKES STEELHEAD AND OTHER SALMONIDS & JEFF LISKAY [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

Bonefish are often the first flats fish that anglers encounter, and these same anglers can catch these fish right away with few problems in most parts of the world.  Although these fish are relatively common, they are still incredibly special.  This is especially true for bonefish over ten pounds.  There are a few destinations in the world where you can encounter a double digit bonefish.  A favorite spot of many a legendary fly angler is Andros Island in the Bahamas.  These Big Andros Island bonefish inhabit some of the most beautiful flats in the world, and at the right time, you can have multiple shots at trophy bonefish on a given day.  In this podcast, Capt. Shawn Leadon from the Andros Island Bonefish Club shares some of his experiences with these big fish and fills us in on how to put the odds in our favor for these awesome fish of the flats.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: BIG ANDROS ISLAND BONEFISH

• 1-3 pounds, diet: algae, worms, and soft stuff
• 3-4 pounds, diet: crustaceans such as crabs and shrimp
• 5 pound plus, diet: meat eaters, including minnows such as mojarras
• Big fish don’t swim with the smaller fish as much, and he thinks it’s because the smaller fish are a little more agile and get the food
• Different times of year have different food types: December to March more crustaceans; April to May: worm hatch; summer months: mainly minnows
• He likes the West Side for your best shot at double digits
• April to July, you see the spawning ritual where fish school up and hover
• He recommends 20 lb test breaking strength from a conservation standpoint to get those big bones in as fast as possible
• In his eyes, bonefish aren’t leader shy
• Big flies excite the fish, and whatever size hook you use, make sure that it has bulk
• He also recommends flies with lots of flash (Diamond Braid, Flashabou, and Krystal Flash) and thinks that this flash suggests baitfish characteristics but also that it represents life in the movements of the water
• Heavier pound test allows the fish to be released with less lactic acid buildup.  When fish are fatigued, they will swim up in the water column.  This is a death sentence for the fish.
• A big mistake with trophy bones is getting too excited and not waiting for the guide’s instructions.  The guide can read the fish’s body movements and knows when the fish has taken the fly.
• Time with a guide is important too because you can both be on the same page before anything is even said
• Teamwork between anglers.  The angler not on the deck should be helping the angler on the deck as much as possible.
• Line management is critical, and your buddy is your “line caddy”
• If the first cast is greater than 50 feet, put the fly right on the fish’s head
• On the second cast, if the fish has become aware of the fly from the first cast, put the fly about five feet in front of the fish and beyond it so that you can retrieve into the fish’s path.
• When fighting big fish: don’t crank down the drag (put it at medium) and don’t palm the real
• With a little tug of the tip of your rod, you can move the fish’s head toward you so that it will move towards you.  Once you get the fish to the boat, you can horse the fish in with heavier tippet.

LINKS AND RESOURCES RELATED TO THE PODCAST

Andros Island Bonefish Club

Andros Adventures

Capt. Rupert Leadon

Vanessa Haley’s Study

Mojarra Minnow

Dr. Aaron Adams with Bonefish and Tarpon Trust

Two Part Series on Tippets and Leaders

A three-pound bonefish has the capability to rip anglers to their backing.  Once you start talking about the double-digit fish, you’re going into another realm of power.  These fish have lived through the ospreys, sharks, and barracudas and have probably seen an angler or two.  At the same time, these big fish need to take in many more calories than their smaller counterpart.  Big Andros Island bonefish seem to act as the predators they are.  They get excited with big fly patterns, and they supplement their diets heavily with minnow species in addition to crustaceans.  Heavy tippets and smart approaches to playing these special fish will get the fish in as fast as possible and allow us to release our bonefish with as high a chance as possible to survive and roam the flats.  This will give future generations of anglers the opportunity to cast their fly to a double digit bone, and like Capt. Rupert Leadon, say “Gotcha!”

The post GOTCHA! BIG BONEFISH OF ANDROS ISLAND & CAPT. SHAWN LEADON [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

Trophy carp fly fishing is something that John Bartlett has specialized in for years now, and he is among the top carp fly anglers in the world when it comes to catching trophy carp on the fly.  What makes a trophy carp?  Well, that’s debatable, but we start with the proposition that a trophy carp on the fly is 20 plus pounds for common and mirror carp, which is Mr. Bartlett’s specialty.  You’ll hear firsthand how he approaches pretty much every aspect of carp fishing in multiple venues.  Most of what John does when fly fishing for trophy carp can be applied to fishing for smaller carp as well.  However, he focuses on very specific aspects to target the biggest carp in the system.  If you listen to his suggestions carefully and implement them in your carp fly fishing, you will catch way more and bigger carp on the fly.  I will personally guarantee that!  Enjoy this podcast and article as it is one of the best resources on carp fly fishing that I have ever been a part of.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask away below.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: TROPHY CARP FLY FISHING

• Access to deep water is critical for trophy carp
• Margins next to deep water are big time trophy carp hot spots
• Fist-sized rocks vs gravel seem to hold bigger carp more consistently
• Also, these fist-sized rocks are even more appealing when you’ve got larger boulders around as well
• Absolutely know the primary forage in each body of water you fly fish for carp
• On the Great Lakes, rocky points away from the sand flats, are great places to find active big fish
• Clear water is really important for fly fishing for carp, so if you have murky water, try to find different water first
• Rule 1: Know your forage
• Rule 2: Don’t cast until you can see their head
• Rule 3: Make the fish move, i.e., put the fly so that the carp moves toward your fly, at least a little bit
• Rule 4: To catch more carp, cast to less carp, i.e., the active ones
• Head to tail angle, swimming speed, and swimming direction (consistently straight is normally not good) will tell you which fish is the most receptive
• On the Columbia, you don’t want a fish that is necessarily feeding as much as one that is casting from side to side looking for food
• Post spawn is an amazing time for big carp on the fly
• You can catch carp during the active spawn time (the receptive fish won’t be spawning)
• Your presentation choice is closely tied to the most efficiently caught prey item.  Adjust your presentation and hook-set accordingly.
• Two-fly rigs are extremely effective when the takes are not obvious
• John covers lots of water, looking for the right fish
• Concentrate on one fish, not the group, when casting to a group of fish

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST

Carp on the fly blog

Carp on the fly on Facebook

John’s Instagram account

Fly Carpin

Carp on the Fly: Barry Reynolds

Darce Knobel

Justin Wendy Berrell and his blog

Jim Pankiewicz

Getting started in carp fly fishing can definitely be a challenge.  Consistently catching trophy-sized carp on the fly is the next step in your carp evolution.  If you haven’t started fly fishing for carp yet, then there’s no reason for you to not use the suggestions that John highlights in the podcast.  If you’re a grizzled veteran of carp on the fly, I’ll bet you will still gain a lot of great nuggets in this podcast.  Above all, deep water is key to finding big carp, particularly outside of the spawn cycle.  If this podcast helps you catch some big carp, then let us know in the comments below.  We’d love to hear how the information here helped you out.

The post TROPHY CARP ON THE FLY & JOHN BARTLETT [PODCAST] appeared first on ToFlyFish.

Swinging for steelhead and other salmonids is often thought of as being a tad more complicated than learning the Finnish language or advanced calculus.  The poor fly angler who has started with a single-hand rod sees the two-handed aficionado bombing casts to the other side of the river while simultaneously twirling the line in the air, as if trying to confuse the mayflies buzzing overhead.  The flies have hooks sticking out the back.  The rods are huge and incorporate another hand, and there seems to be some sort of culture surrounding swinging flies.  Nothing makes sense, and nothing seems to invite an angler into the world of swinging flies.  As imaginary or real as some of these things are, you probably already have everything you need to get going with swinging for steelhead or other species.  In this longer podcast and article, you’ll be taken through the basics of swinging with Jeff Liskay.  You’ll learn everything you need to get yourself in the game from someone who really gets it and who wants to make your life as easy as possible.  Really listen to this podcast as there are many little tips that Jeff shares with his vast knowledge of swinging flies.  Below you’ll find info to help you through and to supplement Jeff’s thoughts from the podcast.  Enjoy, and make sure to see Jeff’s swinging the Great Lakes podcast as well! (Special thanks to Chris George for the photo and great guide trip).

WHY SWING FOR STEELHEAD AND OTHER FISH?

• Swinging for steelhead and other fish is a direct link to adrenaline.  You go from direct contact with your fly to feeling the fish kill your fly.
• When you swing flies, you can learn a new casting style, which will improve every aspect of your casting and make you a better caster in general.
• You might as well swing flies because you don’t need to “take the plunge” since you can use any rod that you have to learn the casting techniques.  Nothing’s keeping you back.
• Really rewarding challenge.

SWINGING AS A FLY FISHING TOOL

• Swinging allows you to cover water quickly and thoroughly, and if you incorporate two-handed casting, you can accomplish this with less wear and tear to your casting arm.
• Because you can cover a lot of water, you can discover new water that you might not get to otherwise.
• You can fish your water a day or two before you could nymph fish it.  In other words, you can fish more often and be more versatile as a fly angler.
• When fish are spread throughout a river system, you can locate aggressive fish as quickly as possible.

SWINGING FOR STEELHEAD AND OTHER FISH: THE GENERAL APPROACH

• Swinging flies is separate from your casting style.  You can swing flies with any rod.  You do not need to purchase a two-handed rod to swing flies.
• There are a set of casts that anglers have traditionally used with two-handed rods.  However, you can use singe-handed rods to complete these casts as well.
• With these casting techniques, you can cast long distances with heavy cover in the background.
• With two-handed rods, however, you use your off hand to relieve your casting hand.
• To make a cast with a swing, you will cast out and maintain a tight-line throughout the swing.  The current will push against your line and deliver the fly down to the fish, which is looking upstream.  After, you have executed a cast, you will step downstream and repeat the process.
• Start at the head of the run and cast close but then move out with your casting distance.

SURFACE SWINGING AND SUBSURFACE SWINGING: APPROACH AND TIPS

SURFACE SWINGING

• Going for the most aggressive fish in the system.
• When you swing a fly on the surface, you skate it across, normally producing a v-shape.
• Many people fish a dry slowly and methodically over the surface, and this can produce fish sometimes.
• However, a broadsided swing that moves quite fast will get a bigger commitment from the fish.
• Landing your fly in the fish’s “awareness zone” can be good in some instances.
• However, landing the fly outside of this zone and swinging it into this zone can be even better at times.

SUBSURFACE SWINGING

• Present the fly near, not on the bottom.
• Don’t constantly snag the bottom on your swing.

TYPES OF RODS

SINGLE-HANDED RODS

• Can be very effective on smaller venues.
• You most likely have one already.

SWITCH ROD

• Next step and between 10 to 12 feet in length.
• Use both your other hand or cast with only your dominant hand.

TRUE TWO-HANDER OR A “SPEY” ROD

• Over 12 feet in length.
• Larger venues.
• More power and ability to deliver heavy tips.

BASICS OF THE LINE SETUP

• Reel
• Backing
• Running line (mono filament or fly line)
• Head (the taper and weight of the fly line)
• Tip (with Skagit heads)
• Weighted leader (optionally used with Scandi heads)
• Leader and tippet combination (normally nylon or fluorocarbon)
• Fly

THREE MAIN FLY LINE STYLES, PLUS SWITCH LINES, (FOR TWO-HANDED RODS)

TRADITIONAL

• Long-belly fly lines not as common today.
• Less stripping required to recast.
• Good for larger venues and long casts.

SWITCH LINES

• Used for both nymphing and swinging.
• Can overhead cast.

SCANDINAVIAN (SCANDI)

• Head system with a long front taper.
• Mainly used with touch-and-go type casts.
• Less disturbance in the water, so better for finesse fishing.
• Can overhead cast.
• Doesn’t use tips like the Skagit, but can have a lighter leader system.
• Normally, replace the whole head to switch sink rates.
• Some newer lines have removable tips or “Versi tips” for Scandi heads.  You would interchange the tips instead of changing out full heads.  The biggest plus is that you can carry the tips around in a small pouch.  They are smaller than a full head.

SKAGIT

• Most aggressive tapers and best payload delivery system.
• Uses weighted tips almost always.
• Creates the most disturbance in the water.
• No overhead casting.
• If the Scandi is a Ferrari, this is a beer truck.

UNDERSTANDING TIPS AND LEADERS

LEADER INFORMATION IN GENERAL

• All heads require a nylon/fluorocarbon leader tied directly to the fly.
• Good rule of thumb with tips is if you have a switch rod, use 10 foot tips, and if you have a true two-handed rod, use 12 foot tips.
• With simple nylon/fluorocarbon leaders, use 14″-24” of leader in cold and murky water, but use 4′-5’ in clear and/or warm water.

SCANDI LEADERS (NOT TIPS)

• You can sometimes use weighted leaders with Scandi lines.
• Sinking leaders have “IPS”, which stands for “inches per second”.  This is the sink rate per second.
• With a floating Scandi head without a weighted leader, the total monofilament leader and tippet combination must be at least as long as the rod’s length.

SKAGIT TIPS

• With tips, the weighted line most often has a T on it.  This stands for “tungsten”.  The line is referred to as either T8, T14, T22 etc.  The number refers to grain weight per foot.
• Skagit heads require a tip, which is almost always a sinking tip.
• You can buy premade tips or you can cut tip material to create your own.
• Tips are normally level, but you can also find some specialized tapered tips.
• Level tips will get down evenly and quickest.
• If you’re in a large evenly flowing area, a tapered tip may be best.  This is particularly so when the faster sinking line is towards the back and thickest part and the the front section does not sink as quickly.  This keeps your fly from dragging on the bottom.

FLY TYPES AND BASIC SELECTION FOR SWINGING FLIES

FLY TYPES

• Tube flies and hanger-style/shank flies.
• Hanger/shank flies give you a little more weight with the short shank hook option.
• Advantages of tube flies: stacking, don’t lose your hook, little weight.
• When rigging a hook, you get better hooking percentage when rigging the hook down, but don’t do this when there is wild fish present since you might tongue hook them.

BASIC APPROACH TO CHOOSING FLIES

• Get multiple sizes of flies before getting lots of different flies.
• Smaller flies (2-3 inches) can be very productive.
• Black is extremely versatile for all conditions.
• Get a florescent fly in either pink or orange.
• Have a natural fly in olive, tan, or white.
• You can tie in flash and rip it out if you need to on the water.

MORE DETAILED SWINGING APPROACHES

• When you’re fishing new water, Jeff recommends fishing at a sharper angle to avoid snags and make things a bit easier (your fly will not get as deep the sharper the angle).
• The sharper the angle, the faster and shallower your fly will swim.
• With a sharper downstream angle, the fish sees less profile and mostly just tail.
• With a 90 degree broadside view, the fish sees much more of the fly.
• These are called “tail-first” and “broadside”.
• If fish see a lot of sunlight or the water is dirty, the broadside may be the best option.
• You might try tail-first in the opposite conditions.
• Give fish multiple angles: from one spot, give fish the broadside and the tail-first to see what they want.

HOOK SET

• Don’t do anything.  Let the fish hook itself.
• You can also sweep toward the near bank.
• Do not set the hook like a professional bass fisherman.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Avoid casting too far.  Don’t miss the fish that are under your rod tip.
• Don’t “Auto-mend”.  Think about what you need to fish to on every drift.
• Don’t get discouraged.  If nothing’s happening and you are tired of swinging, then switch to something you’re more comfortable with.

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