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The Main Player
Fly rod, reel,
line, and fly are the main
players. The fisher is just a
small part of the entire fly
fishing scene. Without the
proper tools, he might as well
be soaking worms.
A few of the
basics that are often over
looked by the beginning fly
fisher are so basic that the new
fisher often fails. When we
watch a film of a fly fisher on
a pristine water body, it all
looks so easy that we are
eluded. Remember though that
those scenes are created to
impress you. Before you can
succeed, you must have the
proper equipment.
Line, believe it
or not, is the number one piece
of the tackle that will make you
a success at fly fishing or a
flunky. I strongly recommend a
weight forward line. For a few
dollars more, that weight
forward line will sky rocket out
over the water with lighting
speed and distance. Spend those
few extra bucks; the performance
will astound you. Your casts
will be longer with very little
effort.
What is a weight
forward line? Simple. The line
is weighted at the forward few
feet. Outwardly, the line looks
no different than the rest of
the line, but it packs an
unbelievable punch. Get it.
Watch
for Fly Fishing Two. |
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Fly Fishing Two |
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Fly casting has an important
technique to remember: You cast
the line not the fly. Yes, you
cast the line. Difficult as it
might be to understand, if you
can remember this concept,
casting the line is what it is
all about. The fly only rides
along with the cast; it does not
carry the line out as a lure
does in plug casting. The line
does it all.
Distance of the cast most
often is not important. A 20 to
40 foot cast is most often all
you need. Trying to get that 120
foot cast is not necessacaraly
needed. When you try those long
cast, most often you only
succeeded in stirring up the
surface of the water. This
results in chasing the fish
away. They scatter. You are left
with nothing in the area to
attack your fly. Bummer! Go for
the shorter less disturbing
cast. |
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A GETTER FLY
(BUG)
From simple
to less
simple is a
way to look
at a surface
fishing fly.
The simplest
one that I
have
developed is
from
teaching 4-H
young
fishers.
- Remember
that you
will want a
fly that
floats and
that causes
a
disturbance
on the water
- Go to a
store that
sells craft
materials.
Find an
inexpensive
foam backing
that has one
side sticky.
Black is a
basic color.
- Before
you remove
the sticky
side of the
foam, cut
out an oval
shaped body
about 1"
thick and
1/4" wide.
- Punch a
hole into
the middle
of the fly
body about
1/2" from
either end
- Remove
the tape
from the
sticky side
- Push the
eye of the
hook through
the sticky
side (Draw a
picture of
the hook)
- It's best
to have a
hook with a
bent V in
the center-
gather some
leg material
from a
broom, stiff
thread, or
buy some
legs from a
store or
supply
house. This
material is
the item
that will
give your
bug the
surface
action once
it sits on
the water
top and you
twitch the
rod tip.
- Cut the
legs about
2" long
- Place
them
individually
on the
sticky side
of the tape
perpendicular
to the
attached
shank
- Randomly
put drops of
super glue
on the hook
shank
- Press the
two sides of
the sticky
foam
together
having the
hook's eye
through the
non sticky
side of the
body
- Mini
clamps can
be used by
using spring
clothes
pins, press
firmly and
pin
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Under Construction
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"Fly fishing began with
the floating fly, and
has its roots firmly
established in imitating
the fish's food
organisms. Early anglers
saw "spotted" fish
(certainly brown trout)
jumping for insects that
darted back and forth
over the surface
(certainly adult caddis
flies), and dressed
patterns of red wool
that even today, nearly
2,000 years later, would
fool fish. Thus, the
pursuit of dry fly
fishing leads the angler
into the ecology of
aquatic systems, the
fishes being pursued,
and the food items on
which those fishes
feed."
Taken from the histories
of fishing
Special Note:
Ladies have recently
taken an intense
interest in fly fishing.
In fact, in many parts
of the world ladies do
most of the fly tying.
They have incredible
skills in this area.
Go for it ladies. |
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Foaming Bugs -
Hot
The newest and best pounded
surface baits for uptop
feeding panfish, and an
occasional bass, is the newly
popularized foam bug. It just
lays there floating with its 20
or so appetizing, twitching
rubber legs. It is about the
only fly or bug I use with my
fly rod: they are such winners.
Plus, relaxation is the key
here; all you have to do is to
toss out that hot foam and hook,
then give a twitch every few
seconds.
Next time you are on the
water, and you see little rings
appearing on the surface, get
out a foam bug, and then start
to fill the live well with
water.
Note: If you do not
have a fly rod, see the above
article You
Don't Need a Fly Rod to Fly
Fish.
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Bugs, Beetles, and
Spiders
by Jim Porfilio
Ripples are on the still water as the sun is
setting. Soft little burbling and snapping
sounds are present. These are sure signs that
panfish are near shore feeding on the surface of
the water.
At this time of the year many insects have their
hatch resulting in surface food for those fun
pan fish. The pray is easy because it is on top
of water, and that water makes them twitch and
flutter while they become immobile.
Flies can be fished with the standard fly rod or
an ultra light spinning rod. The ultra light
should be rigged using a casting bubble or dime
sized bobber and a three foot trailer line with
a fly attached,
The newer models of surface baits are becoming
less expensive and more appealing because they
are easier to make and are more productive. Many
of the spider models are made with hard rubber
bodies that have rubber spider web thin legs
attached. These legs come to life from the
slightest twitch of the rod tip. They are
dynamite.
As a result of this success, some of us fly
tyers are starting to experiment with soft
sponge bodies also. The softness of the sponge
gives the bug a very natural feel. The legs
still give as much action, and the body gives a
more natural feel when the fish strike,
One type of spider that I am looking forward to
tying is made from, believe it or not, a coffee
bean. Balsa wood, pieces of cork, doweling, or
thin willow branches work well also. The
inexperienced or new fly tier should not
hesitate to give this one a try; you don't even
have to tie, you just glue. You don't even need
to use a vice for this one.
Creating Glued Bugs
1. Take a coffee bean and clean out the
groove on the bottom side. You don't have to
make it deeper; just make it clean enough to
accept the hook shank. Or slice half way through
the wood or cork
.
2. Wind the hook shank with sewing thread so
that the glue will have a rough base to adhere
to.
3. Simply obtain some poster putty at a
stationary section of a store. Then make a
little bead the size of a pea, Place it on the
round side of the coffee bean and attach it to a
clean bench or work top.
4. Then lay in a thick bead of epoxy along
the groove. Place the hook shank into the epoxy
filled bean crack. Hold for a minute and if you
used quick setting epoxy the hook should be in
the position you wanted when the cement hardens.
5. After you have made a number of these, go
back to the first one. The hook should now be
set so that you can attach the legs. Now lay on
another coating of epoxy over the entire bottom
of the bean or wood, the part facing up toward
you.
6. Then become creative as you find materials
for the legs. Bristles from a broom or paint
brush, rubber legs that you purchase from
sporting good stores, deer hair, or any bristly
material are all good materials.
7. Gently press and arrange several stands
into the epoxy with a length extending out on
either end of the body. Experiment on a number
of different bugs with the placement of the legs
sticking out over the sides.
8. After drying, you can trim them to the
length you want them from the body. Think of a
June or palmetto bug, beetle or other bugs of
this nature when you trim.
You have now created your own fishing fly or bug
without knowing how to tie a fly in the
conventional manner. Great.
A tip about using any type of surface bug,
whether it be a spider, popper, or one you have
created is to be extra careful when you remove
the hook from the fish's mouth. This is the
point where most flies are destroyed. The fish
does not destroy them by hitting them. We
destroy them when we remove them. You can easily
end up with a separation of body and hook.
A solution to the problem is to use a forceps
behind the body of the bug. Just grasping the
bend of the hook. This way all the pressure is
put on the shank of the hook rather than the
body. The result is removing the hook with the
body still intact. Even though this method takes
a tad longer than grabbing with the fingers, the
stubbornly embedded hook will come out leaving
the head in place.
Good bugging.
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Northern Pike Flies
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A
New Season
Techniques to brush yourself up on the
first time you take that rod out the season are:
• remembering never to permit your
rod tip extend beyond the11:00 and 2:00 a.m. positions
• avoid trying to make that too long
of a cast
• this is not the time to play Roy
Rogers lassoing on the range
• Try to reacquire that feel for when
the line has fully straightened out behind you on the backcast. This particular
skill is most necessary for successful casts and shooting or THROWING that line
out on the forward cast. The lack of this skill is the one that hampers most
beginners.
• If your fly lands a few feet
from your desired target, in most cases, leave it there and start to retrieve.
Splashing it out of the water and moving it over two feet most often results in
scaring the fish in the area away. Moving it just makes too much nose.
For those wanting to experience the
fun of fly fishing but not having a rod, there is a simple way that works while
you are deciding whether you want to invest in all the fly rod gear. Simply
attach a small bobber to the end of your line. On the other end of the bobber,
tie a three or four foot piece of line. On the end of that line tie your fly.
The average spinning rod will be able to cast that bobber fly combination.
After the bobber hits the water, slowly
retrieve. The fly will very shortly straighten out from the bobber. You can go
one step further and get yourself a clear bubble which many feel the fish do not
see as easily as the standard bobber.
Another way to make this set up is to tie
your fly directly to the end of the line, then attach your bobber three or four
feet up from the fly in a way that prevents it from slipping. Now decide if you
like that kind of fishing. (Work on these last 2 pares)
A final topic of consideration should be
the type and weight of line. The cheapest is the level line. One can then go
into using weighted forward line which is reported to cast easier. When fly
fishing, we are not casting the lure, we are really casting the line.
And finally, how do you attach that
four to six pound mono eight foot leader to your casting line? After years of
frustration using various knots, I've simply gone to buying one of those tiny
little gadgets invented for the purpose. It basically is a minute ring eye with
barbs on the shank that you slip into the center of the line. You use a regular
knot to tie on your leader. The barbs hold the attacher in the center of your
line. It gives you a smoooooth connection.
Good Fishing!
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