I have a fishing report to log. As Troutbitten turned ten a few weeks ago, I revisited some history within the archives of this website. Nostalgia crept in pretty quickly, and the simple fishing reports were one of the things I promised myself to bring back. So here’s...
** NOTE ** Video Appears Below. Find feeding fish. Look for fishy water. These are the keys to putting trout in the net. But as the seasons change, so do the habits of trout. This film focuses on the shift between late fall to early winter. The brown trout spawn is...
I sat in the passenger seat of Dad’s Chevy pickup, eager with anticipation after forty hours of travel. With a camper in tow, our progress through the Rockies was concluding in a final slow decent into the valley. I’ll never forget the moment I looked down on the...
** NOTE ** Video Appears Below. Find feeding fish. Look for fishy water. These are the keys to putting trout in the net. But as the seasons change, so do the habits of trout. This film focuses on the shift between summer to fall. Every year -- really every season --...
Are trout opportunistic feeders? Sure, but it depends on the opportunity. We choose the fly and decide how to present it. We then pick what water will receive the cast. And to inform those decisions, it’s critical to understand what we’re asking the trout to do.
How big of an ask is it?
And how opportunistic do we expect the trout to be?
Here are a few examples . . .
This video breaks down all of the important things about hook set direction, hook set distance and hook set timing.
Setting the hooks is the most exciting part of the day. For all the time we spend planning, prepping, wading, tying, casting and drifting, it’s all in anticipation of that brief moment when a trout eats the fly. You fooled a trout. So, don’t screw it up. That’s why the hook set matters most. And planning for the hookset, thinking about how a trout might eat the fly and how we will respond, makes all the difference.
There is no good argument for exclusively using split shot under an indicator. There’s also no good argument for exclusively using weighted flies on a tight line rig. I simply fish whatever weight suits the moment. Here’s why . . .
The setup cast keeps you in control on the river. It allows for repositioning and redirecting the line, leader and fly to the next target. The setup cast gives you a chance to regroup and rethink, too. It keeps you in rhythm by keeping you out of trouble and lending new options to an active angler.
For over a decade, my Troutbitten friends and I have fished a small yarn indicator that weighs nothing, is extremely sensitive, versatile, cheap, doesn’t affect the cast, and flat out catches more trout than any other indicator we’ve ever used. What we call “the Dorsey” is a daily-use tool that is integral to our nymphing system. We mount it on a tight line rig or a traditional leader with fly line. It floats like crazy. It signals takes and information about the drift like no other indy we’ve ever used, and it’s an unstoppable fish catcher.
I play the odds. I’ve seen what works best, so I repeat it the most. And I’d rather get two or three good casts against the next log for the next thirty seconds rather than just one cast to the log and twenty five seconds of stripping away from it. This is the mindset of having tight targets, of getting short and effective drifts . . .