well, relatively speaking as far as deep and fast. i’m going to be fishing the Guadalupe river next week and would like some tips on casting. the most productive fishing has been had using woolly buggers and nymphs way down low in the water column and the river is flowing at about 700 cfs. i’ve been told to use lead to get the fly down in the feed zone and the last time i fished (when the flow was increased to 1100 cfs unexpectedly) i quickly grew tired of flinging this monstrosity of line, lead, leader, tippet, dropper, and nymph. i’ve determined that i need to just use a flick-and-follow technique instead of normal overhead casting. anyone have suggestions for fishing such a rig? i’ll be using a 6wt/9’/WF6F, and a 3wt/7’/DT3F setup (all i have right now).
take him fishing
[This message has been edited by perfectloop (edited 02 April 2005).]
I hate fishing with all that junk but ya gotta do what ya gotta do…One thing that I do is when your rig has completed it’s drift and is below you, you just face upstream and use a “water load” cast. If it’s sunk real deep then just roll cast the rig up to the surface, then turn to where you want the cast to go and fire it upstream. No backcast required and it keeps your flies in the water more often, plus you don’t have the tired arm at the end of the day. I hope that made sense.
I need a bit more information. What is the water/river like (pools or runs)? How deep? Wadable? Bottom type? Depending on the answers there are several approaches to getting deep.
Regardless you will most likely be handling more weight than for which the 3 wt was built, so go with the 6 wt.
yeah, i resorted to the flinging-without-lifting technique last time i was out there and it worked. this time, we’ll be renting a raft and be able to anchor, so wading is not an issue. we can get to whereever on the water we need to. the base is limestone ledges that form into pools that are, i’d guess, 3-6 feet deep with some riffles. the water seems to have dropped since i’ve been there, so maybe knock a foot or two off that. there is grass in some spots, in other spots it’s slick limestone.
i might try the 3wt if we’re right on top of fish and i don’t have to cast far. i love that little rod.
I do as Flyjunkie does except that I wait for the fly to rise and come close to shore then fling it back up to where I want it. IMHO backcasting should be done only when its the only way…and thats darn seldom. Its done rarely for wets. I think the backcast is for dry flies and the inexperienced wet fly flingers. A soft slow rod helps too. Got an 11 footer but its a 6 wgt. Gotta get one of those Globable Deabers or whatever!
I’ve fished the Guad many times and first of all, you need to be careful, that’s pretty heavy water.
Second, I doubt you’ll want to use the 3 wt. That rod will make if awfully tough to throw the weight you need to get your fly down. If you can find some backeddies and other fairly slack water where you can get close and need to cast delicately, it may be ideal, but not in the main river.
Good advice above, and the 6wt will handle that big stuff better.
The other $.02 that I can add is that you may want to pick up a 7wt SA Mastery or Orvis Wonderline line on ebay or another economical source and overline the rod. The heavier line and techniques above will allow you to load and deliver without overhead and false casting. That is the AK technique for fishing a bead with a fair amount of split shot.
I just fished the Guad. on Sat. and it was running around 650. Wading is definitely more difficult right now, but not impossible if you’re careful. I normally use a 5wt, but switched to my 7wt. this time and it was much better. Like you, I’m tempted to use my 3wt (I bring it anyway), but really you won’t be needing it unless you find some side currents that warrant less weight or something.
I think the 6wt. is ideal for this flow we’re having right now, even a 7 works if you’re chunking large buggers like I was. For casting, I just open up my loop wider and that works fine. I like flyjunky’s suggestions too. You might try a sink tip as well for the deeper holes. Those guys are tight on the bottom!
The fish are feisty right now–you should have a good time. Where are you? I’m in Austin and make it down now and then. Let me know next time you’re this way–I’ve often thought of trying to rent a kayak or something but don’t want to do it alone.
excellent info and advice. i picked up some sink tips of various rates to try along with my fly ammo. it’ll be me on a fly rod versus my buddy on his baitcast or spinner. we’ve got this freindly competition going to see who can land the most fish and it’s been ongoing. we’re (sadly) tied at one a piece but this time the wife/girlfriend are not there to keep us from throwing the heavy punches. he’a at a bar right now watching the game and i just got off work and will be rigging leaders and organizing flys. muwahahahaha…
anyhows… PREAST: we are planning on being at Mountain Breeze at 9:00AM Tuesday April 5 to rent a raft. i don’t know how many people it holds, but if you’re in the area, let me know.