FLY FISHING TIPS

CASTING A FLY ROD: 6 ESSENTIALS

There must be a pause at the end of each stroke, which varies in duration with the amount of line beyond the rod tip.

Slack line should be kept to an absolute minimum.

The rod tip must travel in a straight line in order to form the most efficient, least air resistant and to direct the energy from the rod to the fly line to the leader and the fly toward a specific target.

The size of the casting arc and stroke length must vary with the length of line past the rod tip.

Power must be applied in the proper amount at the proper place in the stroke.

Gear and caster must be properly balanced.

PREPARATION FOR FISHING OUTINGS, TRIPS OR COMPETITIONS

I find that I get a lot more out of my fishing time if I am well prepared for the outing. The amount and depth of preparation depends on the duration and importance of a fishing trip. For example if you just walking out the back gate to your home water for an hours fishing then minimal preparation is necessary. If however your heading to a fishing competition or other important outing it pays to prepare properly. This may include:

Get as much information about the water that you can. Speak to people who fish the water regularly including local fishing shops and guides, and go through your own experiences, read fishing articles about the fishery concerned. In particular think about:

size and type of fish
what the target fish eat and do at that time of year
where fish are likely to be
flies, line set ups, retrieves etc that work in that fishery

I have a standard list of items for fishing trips and I modify that to suit the nature of the trip I'm going on. Prior to the trip I put items in a staging area and tick them off the list. I tick them off a second time as I pack them. This way you avoid forgetting something that you need and with a little experience you can avoid carrying to much stuff that you don't need.

Check your gear carefully:

service reels
clean lines
check knots etc
tidy your fly boxes and make sure you have the flies your intelligence tells you that you will need
check your supply of tippet materials
if your taking a boat make sure its serviced (including drogue and seats etc), fuelled up, batteries are sound and you have a charger and extension lead with you etc etc.

Particularly if its a fishing competition with strict times etc. practice being ready at the starting time. Get your body clock used to the early start - you don't want to be "caught short" half way through a fishing session.

AT COMPETITIONS

Have a good time but:

Go to briefings and make appropriate notes - check any thing then and there that you not certain about.

Find someone who is fishing each session and venue that you fish. Get them to watch your back and you watch theirs. eg if they are not at a staging point at an agreed time make sure somebody knows and if time permits chase them up. They will benefit also.

If its a team event make sure you have team discussions whenever possible and give the guns plenty of time and encouragement to spill the beans.

Have an alarm clock and leave plenty of time for your daily preparation (including going to the toilet), meals and to get to staging points, and venues etc.

If you have a gear problem fix it as soon as possible after a session don't leave it to just before the next session. This includes replenishing fly boxes from your reserves.

Make sure that you have wet weather gear, appropriate clothing, sun screen, any medication you may need, snacks and water etc. with you for each session.

Have a boat bag that is waterproof. I can remember fishing a session on Arthur's Lake in Tasmania where it rained the full session. By the time I got to shore all my gear was soaked and I remained cold the full day.

Always take to sessions reserves for important items such as reading glasses, sun glasses, haemostats, clippers, rod and reel.

Avoid too much partying and if your sharing a room make sure you share with somebody that is going to do something similar to you. eg you will be just as tied as you would be if you partied all night, if you don't party all night but are kept up by your room mate being sick etc.

Avoid conflicts and keep your mind on the game.

Make a plan for each session. Think about the different weather conditions, fish activity etc you might encounter and make sure your plan has a starting option for each eventuality.

Always fish to your strengths. eg If your good at across and down fishing but crap at French style fishing don't swap to French style fishing even though its working for others. There is always more than one way to skin a cat.

Particularly for boat sessions - watch what the "top guns" are doing and incorporate their "modus operandi" into your session plan.

FLY FISHING GENERALLY

Keep a record of the fish you catch and include the date, location, fly weather conditions. Its all good information for future fishing outings and new fishing places. Also include a comment column where you can identify things that worked or didn't work as the case may be. eg stripping speed, depths fished, line type, fishing method etc etc.
Its not just pricking fish that is important its landing them. See PLAYING FISH and LANDING FISH.
Think and dress like a hunter.
- Camo clothes
- Remove flashy watches, other jewellery, line clippers, hemostats etc.
- Move slowly taking advantage of cover
- Keep in the shadows if possible
- Don't cast a shadow with your body, rod or line on the water to be fished
- If you can see the fish it may be able to see you - wait for it to turn away
- Be quiet
- Don't wave your rod around
- Limit false casts and don't slap the line and flies on the water unless you mean to.
If you are thinking about changing technique or fly do it straight away.
If other people are catching fish and your not make a change.
If your plan is not working think about what you and others are doing and make any appropriate changes.
Limit false casts - its all air and no hook ups. The more false casts the greater the chance something will go wrong.
Flies:
- One of the things I try to promote is the importance of limiting most if not all of your fly box to just those flies that you are confident work for you, you understand what they can be used to represent, and you know how to fish.
- flies catch more fishermen than fish
- Don't add a fly to your fly box just because you like the look of it. Think about its "FORM & FUNCTION".
- Its important to "LOOK AT A FLY & HOW YOU FISH IT FROM THE FISHES PERSPECTIVE".
- Have flies in different weights. Its important to fish the depth where the fish are.
- Carry black, white, dark olive and red permanent markers. You can change the colour of flies and bead heads if necessary.
Carry and use a range of fly lines and poly leaders so that you can find the depth that fish are holding / feeding at.
If your fishing in a competition know the rules and stick to them.
Keep your hands clean so that you don't transfer fuel, sun screen and other scents to your flies, line and other gear. A good trick is to wash your hands with unscented soap and then to wash them a second time using a hand full of local mud or sand instead of soap.
Be careful not to put any of your gear where it may pick up an undesirable scent. A big trap is to sit in the rear of a boat and strip line into the back where the bilge water may sit or where fuel may have been spilled.

Links to related articles:

LOCH STYLE FLY FISHING TIPS

RIVER FLY FISHING TECHNIQUES

PLAYING & NETTING FISH

KNOTS

Regards,
Chatto