Fifty Fly Fishing Tips
From fish more to fish harder. Here’s the full list of the Troutbitten Fifty Tips series.
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #14 — Tippet Rings — Thank you, tiny circles
“Those tiny rings change everything,” said my father. He stood in the water beside me, looking curiously through his glasses at my little metal circles. “Sure do.” I replied, and I neatly swapped out a double nymph rig for a two streamer rig in about a minute. Dad...
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #13 — Fish with Friends
People are different. We aren’t compatible with everyone else, and I guess we’re not supposed to be. My nature isn’t a great match for some anglers, and that’s obvious as soon as we hit the water. I don’t need to fish with a clone of myself to be happy, but I do need...
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #12 — Use a versatile and general fly rod
Specialized rods are exactly that — special rods for particular circumstances. Such rods make sense when I’m in a boat, where I can easily switch from one rod to another, or if I’m planning a short one-hour trip where I’ll fish only one tactic. However, my day to day...
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #11– Tie your own flies — Here’s why
Every top-notch fly angler I know ties his own flies. The only exceptions are a couple friends who used to sit behind the vise but now have friends who tie custom patterns for them.
Custom. That’s the important word here . . .
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #10 — Mend Less
Many fly anglers are entertained and enamored with the fly line itself. They make loops and curls that hang and fall, watching the line swing and glide through the air. Drawing those shapes and curves is artistic, but it doesn’t do much for good fishing. More than one...
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #9 — Fight Fish Fast
The longer a trout tugs, turns and flips at the end of your line, the greater the chance you’ll lose it. We don’t need a study in probability theory to know this is true. No, we all have enough firsthand stories about the desperate emptiness that accompanies a long...
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #8 — Use the Davy Knot — Here’s why
I hesitate to include the Davy Knot as a tip in this series. There are a bunch of good fishing knots out there. They all work. Everyone has their favorite, and no one wants to be told what to do.
So I won’t tell you to change to the Davy Knot. I’ll just show you why I use it and why I switched to the Davy after I first saw it tied.
I use the Davy Knot because it’s super quick to tie, it wastes no material, and it has a small profile that allows for more movement of the fly . . .
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #7 — Choose lots of fish, or choose big fish — You can’t have both
I’ve often said that my best strategy for catching a big brown trout is to fool a bunch of trout, and one of them will be big. But I don’t believe that so completely anymore.
Let me say, right up front, that I have some friends who seem to accomplish high numbers and big fish in the same day all too often. My buddy, Matt Grobe, kinda tears it up out in Montana. But Matt’s always been a lucky bastard, so let’s just leave it at that.
In all honesty, Matt agrees with the premise that you can’t have both. I just checked. He said yes. So we have his blessing here to continue.
In the last five years I’ve shared the water with Burke a lot too, and I’ve learned some strategies about big fish fishing.
There are some truths, some guiding principles for targeting larger trout, and the list starts like this: #1: Stop trying to catch a bunch of fish . . .
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #6 — Learn by using visible flies
Watching a trout take your fly — it’s one of the most exciting aspects of this game. All fly anglers talk about it. Streamer guys love watching the transient swirl just before a hulking brown crushes the fly. Dry fly guys patiently tie strands of visible flash into...
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #5 — Find Your System
Efficiency is a guiding principle for me on the water, and it runs strong through the pages of Troutbitten. I believe most anglers mismanage their time on the water too often (myself included). Being thoughtful, intentional, and making the decisions that catch more...
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #4 — Fish Familiar Waters
When I was a boy, I dreamed of having a trout stream close enough to walk to. It was my greatest wish. I now have Bellefonte, Pennsylvania’s Spring Creek just a short hike out the back door. It’s a remarkably consistent river, the kind you should never be skunked on —...
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #3 — Fish New Waters
I’m a wanderer. On the water, I’d rather explore a new section of river than visit a familiar one — almost always. There’s excitement and an expectation of the unknown in and around every trout stream. I’ve found too many remarkable things around the bend to expect...