February 11, 2016Fly Fishing News
Techy Thursdays - Get Down
So today we were on the river and trout were acting like they should on a hot summers day: feeding in the film, moving to terrestrials, you know, the usual.
However come mid day cloud cover moved in and while the occasional fish continued to look up most stayed in the runs, in quite rapid flows. Theres nothing like a fish lifting and eating your tungsten beadhead 2 inches subsurface to make you realise just how deceptive the flow can be. Have no fear.... Check this...
The Problem
Long drifts = bad drag. The romantic notion is to pitch your fly far above the fish to give it plenty of time to sink into the 'bingo zone' and this is all good and well but there are often a few issues with this:
1- the longer the drift, the more currents you have to pull, push & manipulate your line = more drag
2: it actually takes quite sometime for your fly to get down into the strike zone. Think wasted drift, especially when blind fishing.
Conventional flies just may not be the answer...
The Solution
Small, heavy flies. Im not talking the huge, traditional 'bombs' that look like nothing and are rarely eaten, I'm talking small, slim fish taking patterns designed to get down and hook up. Drop a Simons Ugly, Iron Maiden or a Hooligan just ahead of your target and be sure it drops immediately i to fish catching territory, with a generally decent drift.
Fished on their own or trailed by a smaller natural, these are flies to keep in your box. Get Some!