THE BIG ONE

October 19, 2009

Spending time with serious fly fishers is bound to improve one’s fishing. Of course it helps if you actually fish, but you probably know reading about fishing helps in itself. How much better to talk with people who make their living taking other people fishing? Well, in my case I spend a lot of time listening, and I’m convinced I do learn something nearly every time my husband Trav and his nephew Tom discuss fishing.

The last memorable conversation we had before we left Montana had to do with the long-standing argument about which was more important, presentation or imitation. In the not too distant past a real fight could break out between believers on either side. Matching the Hatch of course added fuel to the imitation camp, while casting experts believed a perfect drag-free drift on exactly the right current was more important. The fact is that Tom had fought that battle in person with one of his favorite tiers from the UK who he was guiding on one of the famous Montana spring creeks.

The tier believed the pattern (imitation) is the key. I suppose if I were as famous a tier I would think so too. This gentleman has to match whatever is hatching, or lying on the stream bottom waiting for the right time to become food for the fishes. As it turns out, this person didn’t catch the number of fish he expected, because he couldn’t get past the fact that he did not have exactly the right fly. Oh well. Even when he was told where, exactly where, to drop the fly in the current, he didn’t do it because he ‘thought’ having the right fly would ‘do it.’ Maybe there are times when just the right fly is enough. Many times it has less to do with “just the right fly” and more to do with putting the fly in just the right place.

That takes us to presentation.

Probably the best reading on presentation is a book by that name, Presentation by Gary Borger,. This is not new book, it was first published in 1995; but it still is excellent reading for a long winter. I say that because part of it does not read easily. Read a chapter and chew on it for a while, a day or two at least. Then tackle another chapter. Some parts will having you say, "Oh, that’s why that works!" or "I didn’t know you could do that." Regardless, there is a lot to be learned. My copy is a bit dog-eared and still keep where I can find it easily.

The one thing missed most often by anglers is to be observant. The secret to catching more fish? Observation.

How to catch bigger fish? Observation.

The big secret to successful fly fishing?

Okay, you’ve got me, it’s OBSERVATION.

But what are we looking for? It’s fine to say "observation" but how do we do that?

Start at the beginning. You are going fishing. What kind of a day is it? Clear? Overcast? What is the air temperature? Warm and overcast will produce more insects than a bright clear day. If it is a really warm day the fish will be in the coolest part of the stream, as in the shade or water that is aerated. Riffles have more oxygen than flat water.

As an angler you need to know how to cast, general line management, with the ability to put the fly where you want it to go. If your casting abilities suck, find a place to practice and work on accuracy, then line mending. There are dozen or more specialty casts which you can use to either get the fly where you need it to be, or to mend line to keep your fly from dragging. Learn the different casts - and just for fun, when you see a piece of water figure out which cast it takes to catch a fish.

What are the fish feeding on? You need to figure it out.

Reading the water is extremely important. You need to be able to do that so you know where the fish are and why they are there. How does temperature effect fish distribution? How does current effect distribution? What is cover? There are three major lies of fish; the Sheltering Lie; the Feeding Lie and the Prime Lie. When do fish use these lies?

According to Gary Borger, "There are only two ways to fish a fly: Dead drift or with action. The fly is either allowed to move unrestrained with the flow of the water, or the fly is actively moved by the angler. But because there’s such a broad variety of angling situations (resulting from so many possibly combinations of water, weather, fish, food organisms, currents, casts equipment, etc.), there are more than two techniques with which to achieve dead drift or action with the fly."

Gary Borger has a knack for naming things. He has put names on these various casts which he calls "The Foundation Strategies." Up-current Dead-Drift Tactics; Across-Current Dead-Drift Tactics; Down-Current Dead-Drift Tactics; Bottom-Bouncing Dead-Drift Tactics; Heave and Leave Tactics and Strip/Tease Tactics.

Once you have those mastered, you can advance to what Gary calls "Minor Tactics." Simply put, there is a cast or mend for just about any situation you will encounter.

More on what we should be looking for next time.

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