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| The
Fly Fishing Enthusiast's Weekly Magazine 'The Fraternity of Fly Fishers' January 11, 2010 - January 18, 2010 Vol. 13 No. 17 |
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| "bait fishing accounts primarily for manuals, while fly-fishing is perhaps the richest of all the blood sports in its exotic celebration of itself." Paul Schullery, Royal Coachman 2007 | This
issue is sponsored by: And Anglers Like You. Thank You. |
Why we are waiting for spring.
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READING AND MAPPING STILLWATERS
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.Well, the Christmas and New Year’s festivities are all wrapped up. The days are still pretty short and the sun sets at about 4:20 in the afternoon. To top it all off, I have some sort of mild flu bug! Cabin fever is setting in at an alarming pace!..
Reading and mapping a lake or pond should be the angler's first step toward successful stillwater fishing. Determine all you can about the physical characteristics of the stillwater, such as shape and surrounding habitat, and note these items on a map of the stillwater. 
There was this guy that I knew many years ago. I say that I knew him, but in reality I was only aware of him. If I ever knew his name I have long since forgotten it, and I doubt that I could pick him out of a photo lineup after all these years. I suspect that we may have spoken less than a dozen times over the years but I was aware when he was not around. He was a loner, not sullen or unfriendly but someone that seemed to enjoy his own company. 
We had a break today in the almost constant rain of the past week. Winter in the Pacific Northwest can be sloughy and messy at its worse, unless it snows. Then all bets are off. The landscape around here is hilly, some bigger than others, but not very flat. Snow and ice make it impossible to function. Oh sure, some folks have snow tires, and even studded ones if they are traveling to ski resorts or making regular trips across one of the big passes - but even those still require chains at the least threat of real snowfall.
It's a decision we make every time we approach the water. You've done it hundreds of times, yet we still struggle with the decision. My first instinct is to match what’s flying around, be it a major hatch, or just some local everyday caddis. No insects seen, no trout rising, my second choice would be an attractor. This is the mental conditioning I received from years of reading trout books and magazines. Your methods of fly selection are probably different then mine, and the method by which you were conditioned may be different then mine. But we all still go through the mental process. How often has your first selection of a pattern been so right that you fished with that pattern all day? A quick browse through my fishing log reveals to me that I switched patterns as many as nine times in one day.
As you know, many freestone streams suffer from excessive thermal problems during the summer and subsequently, few stocked trout survive unless they are able to find cooler waters. My questions center whether it is possible to produce a more thermal tolerant trout.
I find this Smelt pattern to be a good all-rounder and it serves me well. I fish it with a fast jerky retrieve to start with and if I get a follow or two without getting a strike I slow down a bit and give a few little jerks in the retrieve. Usually though the fast retrieve brings a smashing take and the fun is on. 
I thought I'd do something in a little different style this week. This Christmas I was given Helen Shaw's Flies for Fish and Fishermen, a book I've coveted for years. I knew of its existence, but even used, it was always quite pricey. My wife found one that appears to be new, somewhere on-line, and I've been studying away ever since.