Articles in the Category Tactics

Troutbitten Shop Fall Sale ’23 — Leaders, Hats, New Trail Merch, Stickers and More

The Troutbitten Fall Sale ’23 is here, with all leaders, hats and stickers back in the Troutbitten Shop. With this round, we have a few special items to offer, from the Troutbitten and New Trail Brewing company collaboration. There’s a Fish Hard / Drink Beer hat, sticker and t-shirt. The Troutbitten Shop is fully stocked. Hats, leaders, stickers, shirts, hoodies and more are ready to go.

How We Cover Water (with VIDEO)

Here are a few ideas and guiding principles that work for me every day on my rivers. I don’t try to cover everything. I don’t make grids, but I do make plans. I like to stay creative and follow the signs that trout give me. And for my wading approach, I break things down into three simple strategies: the typewriter, the zig zag and following up one lane . . .

Streamer Presentations — Let Them Eat It

“Let them eat it. Don’t take it away from them.” I’ve burned that simple message in my brain. For many years, I focused obsessively on the motion I would give to a streamer, I now focus equally on where and when I will pause it.

Attract them with motion. Then let them eat it. Streamer fishing for trout really is that simple. But the variations within the framework are where artistry arises . . .

VIDEO: Tight Line and Euro Nymphing — The Lift and Lead

The Lift and Lead is a cornerstone concept for advanced tight line nymphing skills.

Lift to allow the fly to fall into place. Lead to stop it from falling and to keep it gliding through the strike zone.

For certain, the lift and lead is an advanced tactic. But if you’re having success on a tight line for a few seasons now, you’re probably already incorporating some of this without knowing it. And by considering both elements, by being deliberate with each part of the lift and lead, control over the course of your flies increases. Efficiency with weight improves.

The path is more predictable. And more trout eat the fly . . .

DIY — Put Your Wet Boots Here

DIY — Put Your Wet Boots Here

When my wading boots dry out I know it’s been too long since I’ve fished. Thankfully, they’re usually wet, so I like to have a good place to store them. Here’s an effective way to transport wet wading boots without draining creek water where you don’t want it.

I use a drawer from a plastic storage bin that I bought for $12 at Wal Mart a decade ago. That’s a small price to pay to keep my wife happy (enough) when I turn family visits into fishing trips by bringing fishing gear along.  She doesn’t want creek juice leaking onto the carpets of the van.  Yes, we have a mini van. No, I won’t try to defend it.  Let’s move on . . .

When fishing for stockies, it may not pay to be ambitious

When fishing for stockies, it may not pay to be ambitious

Brandon barely cut the engine before I jumped out of the truck and into my waders, I strung up lines and laces in no time.

“I’m gonna head upstream past the second flat, into that woodsy section away from the road. When I pick off a few fish up there, I might circle back around to the lower end,” I said to Brandon.

“K. Those are big plans.” he replied flatly.

Brandon spoke again, while staring at the water. “Dom, when fishing for stockies, sometimes it does not pay to be ambitious . . .”

Three Parts of an Ideal Indicator Leader — And One Great Formula

Three Parts of an Ideal Indicator Leader — And One Great Formula

Indicators are often added to our leader as an afterthought — which leads to another compromise. We’re left with a tool that is not well suited for the job. It works, but it could be better.

So for many years I’ve carried a third leader dedicated to indicator nymphing. And built into the leader are three features which are specifically up to the task of floating nymphs under an indy . . .

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #38 — The Fly Line and Leader Need a Target

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #38 — The Fly Line and Leader Need a Target

Look at the water. Your target is two feet on this side of a current seam that’s drawn downstream from the tip of a gravel bar. Three trout are steadily rising within casting distance, lined up and distributed in the riffly, bubbly seam. Golden noses poke through the surface and slurp Blue Winged Olive duns without reservation, with early-season, confident rises and none of the skittish hesitation that you’ll see in a month or two. It’s as if a long winter erased the trout’s memory of all present dangers — of anglers and shadowy herons.

Yes, these trout should be (almost) easy. Your leader is well designed, tapered to a long soft piece of 5X nylon. Your position is downstream. Behind the trout’s vision and just off to the side, you stand in ankle deep water on the soft, inside part of the seam. You mentally process the targets and plan to pick off the most rearward riser because he’s closest to your position. And with luck, you’ll hook him on the first few casts. You’ll set the hook and use his upward momentum to pull him sideways and downstream, away from the top two risers. The other trout will be undisturbed — hopefully.

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #37 — Zoom in and think smaller

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #37 — Zoom in and think smaller

The more time we spend on the water, the better we fish. No news there, right? But why is that? If I don’t fish for a week, it’s not like I’ve lost the skills to get a good drift, nor have I lost lost the ability to read trout water. Shouldn’t it be like riding a bike?

Fishing skills certainly can grow some rust, but after a couple of hours on the river, everything about your game ought to mold back into shape (assuming your layoff wasn’t months long). Because once we’ve learned something in fishing, it stays with us — thankfully though, there’s unlimited potential for refinement.

So still I ask, why? Why do we fish better when we’re out there multiple times each week?

Update | DIY — Bar Boots

Update | DIY — Bar Boots

Bar boots provide amazing traction in most rivers, and they save the wear on your boot soles. This updated version of the do-it-yourself Bar Boots Troutbitten article contains a few more details that I've learned in the last two years. Read Here: DIY - Bar Boots Read...

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Relocation as a Productive Fishing Strategy

Relocation as a Productive Fishing Strategy

** This post is from contributing author, Pat Burke. ** Twenty minutes after I posted the Take Five article, last week, I received this message from my friend, Pat Burke: “Just so you know, I strongly disagree with your post today.” He followed that with a smiley...

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Backcast | Take Five

Backcast | Take Five

Here's one from the Troutbitten archives, an on-the-water story with one of my favorite tips stuck in the middle. Take Five ... The lack of production today is killing me. I’ve looked forward to this trip for weeks: tying flies, scanning maps, reviewing old photos and...

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One Thing at a Time

One Thing at a Time

. . .By focusing on just one thing at a time, I learned each element without the distractions of other tactics. And when I exhausted the variations of one method, I suppose it was something like boredom that suggested I move on to the next thing.

And now, my favorite days on the water are spent adapting, using all the tactics that I’m familiar with to fish whatever way best suits the next piece of water. Changing rigs is second nature to me. It’s not a chore, and I’m no longer confused by the different options.

I think I’m always looking for the next obsession too — the next stage of fly fishing to jump to (or back into) — just to keep things fresh . . .

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