** Video Appears Below. ** I've been around this game long enough to tell you what hurts anglers the most -- bad habits that change not just an angler's catch rate but their confidence and overall experience. I've also been doing this long enough that I'll be bold...
If you find yourself thinking about hooksets or how to fight and land fish, then you’ve already done something right, because fooling a trout is the hardest thing out there. Burying the hook and bringing the fish to hand is another skill set entirely, and it’s a...
The Troutbitten Podcast is available everywhere that you listen to your podcasts. ** Note ** The Podcast Player, along with links to your favorite players is below. Something electric happens when we hook into the fish of the day, the fish of the season or maybe the...
Rarely do trout fights result in epic battles. Instead, they are short, down and dirty struggles between fish and fishermen. We don’t chase trout for their fight. It’s their selectivity. But yet, the bigger fish might surprise us with their super strength. Combine...
The art of a good trout fight is in taking them to the point where we have more control over their body than they do. Side pressure pulls the trout from its lane. While the fish faces the current and tries to hold a seam, side pressure moves that trout from its comfort zone and forces it to work against the force of our bent fly rod — all while keeping the trout low. And while we never want to play a trout to exhaustion, the art of a good trout fight is in taking them to the point where we have more control over their body than they do.
I had the pleasure of talking shop with Jason Shemchuk of the WadeOutThere podcast. It’s a tactical but casual conversation that digs deep. I probably talked too fast and too often, and I got excited about the material, as usual. But those who know me will tell you that this is about as much DOM as there is anywhere on tape. That’s a tribute to Jason, because he’s easy to talk with and steers an interview with grace . . .
Watching your streamer is fun. It’s educational, and it helps to dial in great action on the fly. But if you’re not careful, you’ll start moving the fly so you can see it instead of moving the fly to attract a trout . . .
A good streamer bite comes with a shot of adrenaline, especially when the strips are fast and aggressive. As we see a wild trout attack the fly, our natural reaction is one of excitement. We set the hook, and all too often we continue the fast and aggressive motions of our retrieve. The trout never has a chance to get back down through the water column, and we mistakenly fight the fish fast and near the surface. Unfortunately, that’s the worst place for a trout, if you want it to stay attached.
It takes about five minutes to feel the flex of a rod and learn the breaking strength of our chosen tippet. And a simple experiment is all that’s needed. Once you’ve tested both the tippet and the rod’s strength, a new confidence follows. Then, when the fish of your dreams shows up, you are ready.
When you know the maximum pressure available from your fly rod and tippet , you can put more pressure on a trout and bring him in quickly . . .
A top-tier river trout is a beast. The inherent nature of a river, with the endless obstacles, rocks, tree parts, current breaks, high gradient runs and undercut banks challenges the angler at every bend. So when you finally hook up with a Whiskey, a new game begins. It’s a match up between trout and fisherman. Who will win that fight?
Bringing a trout to the net requires a series of accurate calculations, thoughtful moves and a good dose of luck. But with a few guiding principles and a bit of experience, you can minimize the luck required and get a good handle on the outcome. One of the best of those principles, is to keep ’em down . . .