Casting Around the Clock

It’s time to add some presentation casts to your arsenal. The three casts that are the basis of good presentations are the "Wiggle Cast", the "Reach Cast" and the combination of the two, the "Wiggle Reach Cast". We can use these presentation casts to start “Fishing around the Clock”. This is a descriptive term for the ability to present the fly from any angle to a fish in moving water.

Right now on the Lower Yuba River we are starting to get decent hatches of PMD’s. Most of the time you’ll be presenting PMD duns and emergers on water that is at least somewhat smooth. This requires delicate rods, light lines and long leaders. A 5 weight is a good all around choice. Extend your leader to 12 to 15 feet long which includes tippet at least 2 to 4 feet long. Use delicate tippets like 5x. Use a "Duncan Loop" or an "Open Mono Loop Knot" to attach your flies. I like throwing "Double Dries, using a dun pattern and trailing an emerger about 18" or 20" behind. If the fish are really spooky I clip off the trailer.

You will need to present your flies without alarming your prey. You don’t want the fish to scatter from your line, leader and fly sailing over their heads and smacking down onto the water in their cone of vision. To be successful you must put the fly right onto the trout’s feeding lane without alarming them. How do we solve this problem? This is where putting "Fishing around the Clock" really pays off.

The Clock

Think of your position in relation to the trout you are stalking as a position around the clock with the trout in the center (See Illustration Above). You will be somewhere around the outside of the circle at a moderate casting range. Not too close, not too far. There is probably a best place to make your presentation. Your position is critical. The type of presentation cast you will need to make will differ from what position around the clock you are stationed.

Presenting from Downstream

If you‘re in the downward third of the clock 4:00, 5:00, 7:00 & 8 o’clock, you will be making your cast to the trout up and across stream. This will require an slight upstream, “Reach Cast” or more advanced casts, the “Positive or Negative Curve Cast”. We'll get to the Curve Casts at a later time. Using either of these casts will enable the trout to see the fly first, with the leader just seconds after it has decided to take your fly. This is the plan anyway. A word of caution, the downstream position is the hardest to accomplish a delicate presentation over selectively rising trout.

If you’re positioned in the 6 o’clock position this is even harder. You will need to present the fly in such a way that the leader attached to the fly doesn’t land right on the trout's head. As described above, it’s like throwing a small rock on the trout’s head, no good. You need to use a big “Reach Mend” to have the leader angling towards the bank which will enable the fly to be presented first.

Presenting From Directly Across

When you find yourself in a position to present your fly from directly across from the trout, this would be from the 3:00 or the 9:00 position you will want to add the “Reach Cast”. Aim your cast directly at the place you want the fly to land, ideally two to four feet upstream from the trout. As the straight line cast is delivered and starts to unfold towards the target, tip the rod over in the upstream direction and "reach" upstream. This is really an “Aerial Reach Mend”. When the fly lands, follow the drift with the rod tip.  This will keep the fly from dragging and the fly will enter the trout’s window ahead of the leader and line.

Presenting From Upstream

When presenting your fly to trout feeding on mayfly duns and emergers, probably the best position to take on smooth water conditions, is at an angle upstream from the trout. This would be from 1:00, 2:00, 10:00 and 11 o’clock. It definitely works best when you’re off to the side a bit. This is where the “Wiggle Cast” really excels. Aim about two to four feet upstream from the feeding fish. As you deliver the cast wiggle or wobble the rod tip back and forth horizontally as the line lays out. This will result in the line landing on the water in a series of serpentine curves. As the fly floats downstream toward the trout, the curves will feed out for a frag free drift.

Once you've mastered the "Wiggle Cast" you can add the "Reach Wiggle" which is doing both. This works especially well if you have heavier currents between you and the targeted trout. To execute the Reach Wiggle Cast you deliver the forward cast as normal, as the forward cast is furling out toward the target, tip the rod upstream for the reach mend and at the same time add the horizontal wobbles of the tip to add wiggles to the line. This may take a little time to get down, but it is worth the practice.

If the trout refuses the fly on either of these presentation casts, tip your rod toward the side or the bank after it has passed the trout. Let the current swing the fly well away from the trout before you pick up to cast again.

Presenting From Directly Upstream


When presenting the fly from directly upstream from the 12:00 position you typically only get one chance. If the fly is refused the leader and then the line follows and you can’t lift them off the water without spooking the run. You really want to avoid this presentation if possible. If you can't move more to the side and this is your only play, you can use the wiggle cast from this position.

The “Puddle Cast” is more accurate then the Wiggle cast and you may want to try it. The “Puddle Cast” is executed by throwing a high inclining cast on the forward stroke and then immediately dropping the rod tip. This will result in killing the forward momentum of the forward cast and cause it to puddle down to the water in a series of “S” shaped curves. Again if possible, it is best used from the 12:30 to 1:00 or the 11:00 to 11:30 position and only from the 12:00 position if absolutely necessary.


Learn the different presentation casts are when and where to use them and you’ll soon be catching those difficult trout.

The Five Essentials of a Great Fly Cast

A big mistake that many anglers make is that they only practice their casting when they go out fishing. When you have a fly tied on you are concentrating on finding and catching fish not practicing a casting stroke. Fly casting is like golf in that the people that become very good golfers spent a lot of time practicing before they go out and play. It’s the repetition that improves their game. Remember fishing is not called practicing and you must practice your casting stroke before you head out fishing.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

The Five Essentials

There are a number of fairly easy principals that apply to all fly casts. These principals are the same whether you are casting a 4 weight or a 9 weight rod. They all apply to maintaining great casting form and throwing tight loops.

The following 5 Essentials for a Good Cast are the essentials that are taught with the FFF Certified Casting Professional program. Mastering these principals will make you a better fly caster. Remember an efficient cast is the one that delivers that fly to it target with the least amount of energy expended. I like to refer to this as having good form.

There are many benefits to achieving good form including increased accuracy and increased distance. It takes very little effort to increase you distance as long as you have good form. Improved control, gives you the ability to execute achieve more beneficial presentation casts. Also, when an angler casts efficiently, fatigue is reduced as is the potential for strain of your shoulder, forearm and wrist.

Take some time in your weekly routine and find a nice stretch of grass in your yard, school or park and practice these “5 Essentials”. I’d also recommend purchasing the DVD “Casts That Catch Fish” by “On the Fly Productions” and watching it closely. 


Do both and you will soon become a really proficient fly caster and throwing great loops.

Essential #1 – Eliminate Slack

The first essential focuses on keeping slack in your line to a minimum. This means that the line should be kept under tension at all times during the cast. There are many problems associated with slack line. The most common is that the rod won’t begin to load or it will unload prematurely. Another problem with having slack in the system is that some portion of the casting stroke is going to be robbed of efficiency by having to tension up the excess slack line again before attempting to get the rod to load in mid stroke.

An example of managing slack is the simple act of lifting the line off the water. If you start with the rod tip low and you strip out all the slack and tension things up, as soon as you raise the rod up you are starting to load it and accelerate the fly line. This is good! 


Alternately, if you start with your rod tip high with heap of slack on the water in front of you, you have to move the fly rod quite a way to take all that slack out. You’re likely to run out of casting stroke causing the loop to collapse on your head. This is bad!

The elimination of slack is also effected by timing which brings us to “Essential # 2”.

Essential # 2 – Timing

At the beginning and end of each stroke there is a pause just long enough to let the line fully straighten out in the air behind you before you start the stroke in the opposite direction. That pause needs to be directly proportional to the amount of line you have outside the rod tip.

The longer the line you have outside your rod tip, the longer it’s going to take the line to straighten out fully in the air. There is a simple rule or mantra we need to remember.

Long Line = Long Pause

Medium Line = Medium Pause

Short Line = Short Pause

There are a few things you can do to check to see if your timing is correct or not.

Number One. Probably the easiest thing to do is just to look over your shoulder and see the line straightening out behind you. Take a peak as the line unfurls behind you. Watch and wait.

Number Two. If your timing is too short, it’s likely you are going to hear that whip-cracking noise. This is the one where you will be losing flies when you are fishing. You normally are going to hear this on your backcast behind you. If your timing is way too short, you’re going to be introducing a lot of slack into the system, the rod is going to unload and the line is going to collapse in a heap around your ears.

Number Three. Alternatively if your timing is too slow, and you are pausing too long, gravity is going to take over and your line is going to fall to the ground or water behind you. When practicing that’s usually going to mean that you’re going to end up hooking the grass behind you. If you were fishing you’d be snagging the rocks and bushes behind you and you’re going to lose more flies.

What is Right? By contrast you are going to know when you timing is right, when you’ll actually start to feel a little tug on the tip of the fly rod as the taunt line starts to bend and load the rod. A loaded rod is simply a bent rod. The rod bends against the weight and inertia of the fly line.

“Note” Learning to load and unload a fly rod efficiently is probably the single most important aspect of learning to fly cast.

Essential Number Three – The Variable Casting Stroke

The casting stroke can be thought of as the total distance the rod tip moves through during each stroke. This is the path of the rod tip. Think of the distance in a straight line of the rod tip.

The casting arc can be thought of as the angle the rod or the rod butt travels through each stroke. Think of a protractor or a pie of pie.

The total stroke incorporates the sort of piston like movement of your forearm. The backwards and forward movement of the rod is call “translation” (the distance in a straight line). The rotation at either end with the wrist is called “rotation” (base of the casting arc). Those two things combined make up a casting stroke. As mentioned you can think of this casting stroke and visualize it as a piece of pie.

One key to performing really nice loops is to get that rod tip moving in as straight a line as possible. In order to do that you’ve got to employ a casting arc that accommodates the bend you have in the rod. Put another way the longer line you have out the longer your casting arc is going to have to be or a larger piece of pie.

This is a vital concept that you have to get your head around. It’s called the “Variable Casting Stroke”.

For instance a short cast of say 15 feet is going to be performed with a short casting stroke. A small piece of pie. A medium cast of say 30 feet is going to be performed with a medium casting stroke. A medium piece of pie. While a longer cast of say, 45 feet, is going to have a longer casting stroke. A big piece of pie. You hungry yet?

There is a simple rule that ties this all together.

Long Line = Long Stroke

Medium Line = Medium Stroke

Short Line = Short Stroke

Tailing loops result from too narrow a casting arc. Big wide open loops are caused by too wide of a casting stroke.

At this point, it is time to put two of the essentials together. We previously talked about pause and timing.

Short Line + Short Stroke (Small Piece of Pie) + Short pause

Medium Line + Medium Stroke (Medium Piece of Pie) + Medium pause

Long Line + Long Stroke (Big Piece of Pie) + Long Pause

Essential Number 4 – Application of Power

The fourth essential has to do with application of power. The power should be applied smoothly throughout the stroke. By that we mean from the moment you start, right through to the stop, power should be applied smoothly. This is called “constant acceleration”. Start slowly and finish fast.

Think about throwing a dart. You start slow, accelerate to the point you stop and release the dart to the target. If you do it right, bulls eye.

Another good one is to imagine a ripe tomato placed on the tip of your fly rod. If you wanted to throw the tomato forward in front of you would have to accelerate the tip forward slowly and progressively to a stop to fling the tomato forward or the tip would slice through the tomato and end up on your head.

The next question is “How much power do you need to apply?” The answer almost always is, “Just enough power to nicely aerialize the line and allow it to turn over.” No more, no less. Many casters use far too much power in their stroke, and it’s probably one of the most common faults in fly casting. It’s also one of the main causes for tailing loops.

Try taking some power out of your casts and you will greatly improve your loops. Work on “Constant Acceleration or Progressive Power”.

Essential #5 – Straight Line Path

The fifth and last essential is to maintain a straight line path of the rod tip. Remember, the line always follows the rod tip, therefore if you can keep the rod tip traveling in a really nice straight line and employ crisp absolute stops, you’re going to get really nice loops. This Essential #5 is very closely related to essential number 3 which was the “Variable Casting Arc.”

Straight Line Tip Path + Rod Tip Stopped High = Tight Loops

In most cases a tight loop is desirable. A tight loop is much more aerodynamically efficient than a large rounded loop. A tight loop is easier to control and also much more accurate.

Large Convex Tip Path – Large Round Loops

Large open loops are much more difficult to control and are more air and wind resistant. Large rounded loops are created when we scribe a convex arch (an upward arch) with the rod tip.

Tip: If you find yourself getting caught up in the grass behind you, it’s a sure sign that you are dropping your rod tip far too far back on your backcast. Try casting back higher, aiming your cast high up in the sky on the backcast and this should clear this up.

Concave Tip Path = Closed or Tailing Loops

Another path the rod tip can travel is the concave path (up down and up). The concave rod tip path can leads to closed or tailing loops which can end up with tangles and flies hitting the rod.

Stopping the Rod

The stop is the single most important aspect in becoming an expert caster. 


The more efficient and crisper you can make the stops, the more effective and efficient your loops are going to be. The straight line path of the rod tip and a crisp efficient stop is what governs loop shape. The crisper and more complete that you can make the rod stop, the better your loops are going to be.

Although it almost sounds counter intuitive, crisp stops can be achieved without overpowering the cast. Many beginners find this a difficult concept to understand and try to put too much power into the stroke thinking that they are going to get a hard crisp stop by doing so. It just isn’t necessary. 


Practice with the minimum power, maintaining constant acceleration of power and then apply crisp, tight stops and you will get really good loops.

Nuts & Bolts #2 - Water Load Casting

When nymphing from a drift boat you are typically casting multiple flies with shot. On the Lower Yuba River which often has good water clarity you also need to add the element of stealth. This means that you often need to be able to cast your nymphing rigg at least 2 rod lengths and more from the boat. This may seem daunting to some. By using a water loading casting technique you will be able to improve your ability to achieve these distances with less tangling when casting shot and multiple flies. We were fishing one day and my son Zack looked at me with a huge smile and a tangled mess of tippet and flies and said, "Look dad, I've got a bigger rat's nest then grandpa." Using a water load cast can help this from happening.



First I'll describe an indicator rigg setup that has been successful for me on the Lower Yuba River, the Lower Sacramento River, the Klamath River and many rivers in Montana when side drifting from a drift boat or raft.





Indicator Setup -






(a) For most side drifting from a boat I will typically rigg up with an indicator and about 6' to 9' of tippet from the indicator to the shot depending on the depth of the run.





(b) I usually rigg up with a tapered 2x x 10' leader. I prefer to use the tapered leader so I can adjust depth easily.




(c) On the Lower Yuba River and the Lower Sacramento River we have been using a "Thingamabobber", large size, white color. On drop offs and areas that have changing current speed and depth I prefer a "Boles" indicator in blue or green. The flag on the "Boles" allows you to see where your flies are underneath your indicator and will tell you to (1) either raise or lower the indicator, (2) Mend to speed up or slow down the drift, or (3) add or take off shot.

Usually I will choose one or the other and stick with it throughout the day.


Fly Rigging - I'll run three flies under the indicator, each spaced from 12" to 18". The deeper the run the larger the spacing. I use 3x fluorocarbon from the shot to the 1st fly, 4x fluorocarbon from the 1st to the 2nd fly and either 4x or 5x fluorocarbon from the 2nd to the third fly depending on the size of the fly.


Presentation - I believe that the Yuba requires stealth with your presentation and the set-ups for your drift. I usually try to cast my indicator into the desired seam with the length of the cast to be at least 2 rod lengths (18 to 20 feet) from the boat and a lot of times even further than that, closer to 3 rod lengths. (2o to 30 feet). I use a 6 weight 9'6" Sage XP or Z-Axis and it does just fine. Keep mending as required to keep the indicator moving in a straight line downstream.

Water Load Casting Technique


Water Load Casting - When fishing from a drift boat there is typically little concern for getting caught up when backcasting. This does not mean you shouldn't "look" first. The best technique for delivering the indicator, shot and flies and if there are not obstructions for your backcast is to water load your back cast prior to your forward cast.


Back Cast - To set up your backcast. You need to think of the mantra (1) lift (2) look (3) launch. By repeating this mantra you are reminding yourself to;

(1 Lift) - Strip your indicator and flies towards the boat and lift the flies out of the water column until you see them up on the surface and then in one fluid motion;
(2 Look) Take a quick look at the back side to see there are no obstructions behind you.
(3 Launch) Lift the indicator and flies out of the water and start you backcast aiming your rod tip over your shoulder.

The cast should be overhead not side arm (parallel to the water). Think of your rod tip as a paint brush and you are painting the ceiling with it. This is another mantra that come in handy (Paint the Ceiling). Continue with your rod tip and point to landing spot on the backcast. Let the indicator and flies come to rest on the water on the backcast.

Forward Cast - before your flies sink behind you repeat the mantra;

(1 Lift) - Lift the flies back off the water before they sink to water load the forward cast;
(2 Look) - Where you want your flies and indicator to land which will be the seam that you want to fish;
(3 Launch) Start your forward cast over your head just to the side of vertical

Remember to (Paint the Ceiling) with your rod tip on the forward cast over your head or just to the side of vertical.


(4 Delivery) - Deliver the flies and drop your rod tip, make a mend for a dead drift and you're fishin'.



Done! Whew. Not as hard as it may sound.




Using this technique will keep your flies from dropping and forming a tailing loop and will eliminate constant tangles with indicator and flies.



Controlling the Drift


Mending - When side drifting from a drift boat under indicator the idea is to set up a drag free drift. Once the indicator lands, Stack mend the tip of your fly line directly behind the indicator. It is best to try to have about 2 ft. of fly line above the indicator which will help slow down the drift of the indicator. The water at the surface always flows faster than the water where the flies are drifting.



Point your rod tip at the indicator and mend almost constantly to keep the line fairly straight to the indicator. You can actually mend and place small wiggles in the line between the rod tip and the indicator. If your line is flowing faster than the indicator make small upstream mends without moving the indicator. If the line is flowing slower than the indicator make small downstream mends without moving the indicator.




If the whole rigg is just not floating right, start over and reset with another backcast, a water load forward delivery and you're right back at it.





Summary





Utilizing the water load cast is by no means the only way to set up your cast when nymph fishing from a boat but another technique to add to your arsenal. It will help keep your tippet and flies from turning into a rat's nest. I know your guide will appreciate it!

Thanks
I wish to thank Craig Neilson of Shasta Trout for sharing his mantra of "Lift, Look and Launch." You can contact Craig at http://www.shastatrout.com/
I also want to thank Mike Hibbard, a superior guide and friend for the mantra "Paint the Ceiling". You can contact Mike Hibbard on his cell phone at 530-526-5535.

Make a Tradition!
Clay

Techniques - Mending Your Fly Line

What does “mend” mean? Well… let’s look at a fishing situation, imagine you're standing knee deep in your favorite stream. You make an upstream presentation, your fly land softly, starts floating back towards you and then all of a sudden in starts skating the currents. Opps, Forgot to mend the line.

The term “mend” or “mending” is simply the act of moving the fly line during the drift, to create a specific presentation of the fly to the fish.

With that said, mending the fly line will have an effect on how the fly rides in the water. Learning when, where, how to mend and what the mend does for the presentation of the fly are all keys to becoming a successful fly fisher.

Standing alongside an experienced angler (maybe, hiring an educational oriented guide?) who talks you through when and how to mend is one of the best ways to learn. Mending expertise doesn’t come overnight, but a little time on the water with someone knowledgeable is a great start.

Fly Line ‘Belly’ and Mending

Let’s talk about ‘belly’.

Belly can be explained as a downstream arc in the fly line as it floats in the current. Belly can be good or bad, depending on the situation. Think of the fly line as a sail, and the water as the wind. Wind fills the sail and pushes the boat; water fills the belly and pulls the fly.

Belly is Bad when.....

When is belly is bad. You might have noticed when there is belly, in fast water, the current fills the belly until it becomes tight and then begins to pull the upstream portion of the fly line – often dragging the fly out of the zone or streaking it across the surface. If you are nymphing, the fly will not be able to sink enough to give a good presentation. If you are dry fly fishing, the fly will have minimal time to present itself.

In this situation the belly is bad. The fly line must be mended upstream to remove the belly, allowing more time for natural fly presentation. Sometimes the current is so fast that continuous mending is required to allow the fly to drift properly.

Belly is Good When.....

When is belly good? When you need to move your fly, to speed it up, swim it faster or skitter it cross the surface. This is often the case when the current is slow, or at the end of the swing or drift.

Here’s one example. You’re swinging a streamer. It’s halfway through the swing and the current starts to slow. The line stops swinging so the fly stops swimming and begins to sink to the bottom. There is still a lot of water left to fish but not enough current to move the fly. This is where you want to have belly to pull the fly through the last half of the swing.

During your swing, as the fly line begins to slow, mend a downstream belly into the fly line, allowing more water to fill the belly, thus pulling the fly and continuing the swing. This will also work to skitter a dry fly across the surface.

Lets Start Fishin'

Let’s say, for the sake of example, we are mending upstream. You have made your cast across the current and a down stream belly is starting to form. Do not simply flip the rod tip upstream. This is a classic mistake that will only tighten the line, increase the bellydrag and pull the fly towards you and out of the zone. You must first lift the line off the water and then lay the line over.

Every mending situation is different. There are times when you can slowly lift the line and simply lay it back on the water. Other times you need to mend quickly. Imagine your rod is a paint brush. Now using only the rod tip, lift the line and quickly flick paint in the direction you want to mend.

With practice, you will see that when you flick a mend, it will roll down the line. The harder you flick, the farther down the line it rolls. The farther you need to mend, the higher you need to lift the line off the water.

It’s hard to explain on paper so go out and practice. Paint circles and flick paint. Observe the result of the rod tip action and the effect it has on the fly line. The fly line will always follow the rod tip. The wider the circle you paint with the rod tip, the wider the circle the fly line will make.

Concentrate on mending techniques, your flies with drift more naturally and you'll be in contact with a fish more often.

Thanks to www.deneki.com for help with this tip.

Nuts & Bolts #1 - Indicators for Deep Nymphing

12/12/09 - This is the first entry for "Nuts &;Bolts" - Rigging Indicators.

There are many indicators for nymphing available on the market. I'm going to cut to the chase and give my two cents on the on-going debate of "What is the best indicator to use?" I'll clue you into the indicators that I and some of my guide friends have used on our local rivers. As for the local rivers, I am talking about the Lower Yuba River, Feather River, Lower Sacramento River, Trinity River and the Klamath River. I'm really talking about an indicator that has to support a lot of shot and 2 or maybe three flies. This discussion is not about the pinch-on or micro indicators.

The indicators that I typically like to use and will discuss are the;

"Boles Float Rite," the "Thingamabobber" and The Frog's Hair indicators.

The Boles Float Rite
The "Boles Float Rite" Indicator is a made from polypropylene yarn with a swivel in the middle. A stiff polypro "flag" sticks out of the middle. What I like about this indicator is that the post points to where your shot and flies are. If the indicator post is pointing downstream your flies are fishing behind and are being drug downstream. If the indicator post is pointing upstream your flies are racing up in the water column and not fishing at all. If the indicator post is pointing straight up you are fishin'. I've also noticed that when the Boles is fishing right it sort of sucks down into the water column slightly. This indicator is great when fishing dead drifting from a drift boat. You need to mend to attempt keep the fly line straight above the indicator and dead drifting.

The biggest complaint that I've heard about the Boles is that it is harder to adjust depths. The indicators come in a two pack with two rubber bands. You thread your leader through the eye of the swivel, fold the leader back onto itself and then tie a half hitch with the rubber band and then snug up the knot to the swivel. I usually cut the tags of the rubber band short once I snug it up. This is definitely awkward, but you can adjust it, just bring extra rubber bands as they sometimes come loose when you try this adjustment.

The other way to rigg the Boles up, is to tie your butt section straight to the swivel and then tie straight tippet material, 2x or 3x mono, down to your split shot knot. This work great on rivers like the Lower Sacramento where you don't have to be changing depths allot. To change depths you have to shorten or extend the 2x or 3x tippet from the swivel to the split shot knot.

Another point is that you need to treat the Boles with floatant and "Comb" it out before fishing it. A small mustache comb works great, I've even used a toothbrush. Apply the floatant and "tease" out the Poly fibers. A good trick is to use Mucilin Floatant. You can apply this the day before and it seems to keep the "Boles" floating all day long.

The Boles comes in small, medium and large sizes. I like the blue and green colors for stealth

The "Boles Float Rite" is a good one, I like it a lot.


Thingamabobber
The Thingamabobber is a new design in strike indicators from West Water Products.
Its design was inspired by western guides who use small balloons as strike indicators for their buoyancy and sensitivity.
Already a favorite among most of my friends that are guides, the Thingamabobber combines all of the best strike indicator elements in one simple design. It is buoyant, easy to cast, ultra sensitive, durable, and affordable.
The Thingambobber comes in a variety of colors and 1/2", 3/4" and 1” diameters.



The Thingamabobber has all of the best strike indicator elements in one simple design.
• Casts well in any weather condition
• Easy to attach and adjust yet stays in place on your line
• Never sinks and requires no floatant
• Ultra sensitive
• Comes in a variety of colors and sizes
• Durable and affordable
• Highly visible

Frog's Hair Strike Indicators

The Frog Hair Strike Indicators incorporate a quick and easy line threading system that allows for easy adjustments of depth on knotless leaders. As you find the need to adjust depth as you move up or down the river, you simply grab the indicator and slide it into the desired position, lets go, and continues fishing. The Frog's hair indicators can be purchased for re-use or 1 time usage. I personally think the one-use system is a waste and don't understand why they even went there. For the multiple use style you insert a rubber retainer on your leader then the indicator and then a second retainer which enables you to then move the retainers up or down to the desired depth. You can purchase additional retainers as you will have to remove the lower one if you take the indicator off. I really like this one for it's adjustability although if you are using a tapered leader and need to adjust to real shallow depth the indicator has a hard time staying in place. This can be a problem.

Summary


This is a tough one. "Boles," "Thingamabobber," or the "Frog's Hair"? I've been enamored for quite a while by the "Boles Float Rite," but lately I've been reaching into my fish pack and picking out the thingamabobber. I was born in Montana and I guess that it just sounds right. "You betcha, I'm gonna throw on-a thing-a-ma-bobber!"

I guess right now I'm a "Thingamabobber" guy unless I'm having trouble figuring where the heck my flies are in the water column, then I'll switch to a "Boles Float Rite". The "Boles" also works great when your are trying to help people figure out what nymphing is all about and then you can explain to them to watch the post and determine what the flies are doing. The "Frog's Hair" has the easiest adjustability.

So, I guess for me it's a draw. I carry all three. It's more of what I'm trying to accomplish in diferent situations and water types.

General Rigging for Indicators

The rigging diagram above is from the "Boles Float Rite" website. This diagram is the recommended rigging by "Boles Float Rite".

The rigg that I've been schooled on by fish guide, Mike Hibbard, is a little different. Lets talk in general terms and assume that you're using a Boles, Thingamabobber or Frogs hair adjustable, pegged corkie or whatever indicator you prefer. This would be Mike's Lower Sacramento Rigg.

1. Set the indicator about 24" +/- down from the fly line butt.




2. Start will a 9 foot or 10 foot, 2x tapered leader.




3. If you're starting with a tapered leader that has been shortened, extend this down with 2x mono so that you can tie a double surgeons knot or a blood knot 9 ft. below where the indicator is set. This is a good time to note that if you are going from monofiliment to Flurocarbon tippet you need to up size the mono one size, for example 2x mono to 3x fluro.
   


4. This is where you will place your shot. The shot goes above the knot.




5. The tag end from this knot at 9 ft. should extend at least 24" so you can tie your 1st fly at 16" to 18" below the shot. Use 3x fluorocarbon.




6. Tie a 22" piece of 4x fluorocarbon to the hook bend of the 1st fly and tie the 2nd fly 16" to 18" behind the 1st fly.




7. Tie a second 22" piece of 5x fluorocarbon to the hook bend of the 2nd fly and tie a third fly 16" to 18" below the 2nd fly.

This rigging is based upon the 1st fly being the largest the second fly smaller and then the 3rd fly smaller still.

Note.: When working with fluorocarbon and tying two pieces together, use a triple surgeon's knot



You're now good to go. You can then lower the indicator as required in different sections of the river or move it back up.


Thank Mike Hibbard in person at 530-526-5535. Get out on the Lower Sacramento River or the Trinity River with him. He'll show you the ropes. He's taught me!


Make it a tradition!


Clay


You can check out this and additional posts at http://www.flyfishingtraditions.com/

Strategies - Make it a Meal for Midges

Make it a Meal

I came across this tip in the newsletter of Deniki Outdoors. It's about fishing when the midge hatch is on. It was a tip from Dan Stein, and fishing with midges on the Bighorn River in Montana. We have midge hatches and the Lower Yuba trout will key on them sometimes in the winter. Although it is not a blanket hatch like the get in Montana this tip may just help to get a fish on your fly.

The scene is Dan Stein and a friend are fishing and swarms of tiny insects are littering the river’s surface. Every trout in the Bighorn seems to be eating dry flies.

I reach into my fly box and poke around for a size 24 black midge pattern.

“That’s no good,” Dan said. “You won’t see it and the fish won’t eat it.”

Instead of that tiny fly, Dan dipped into his fly box for a size 14 Blue Dun, a fly that looked absolutely nothing like the naturals on the water.

I wondered what in the world he was thinking, and he knew it.

“Just watch,” he said. “Throw that fly upstream from the fish you just saw rising by the bank, and let it drift down.”

I made the cast, and within a split second natural midges started landing on my fly. By the time it floated into the fish’s feeding zone, it was a meatball of swarming insects. Sure enough, the brown trout rose to inhale the meatball fly, and I set the hook.

“You have to make it a meal,” Dan said, smiling. “Why would a fish waste time and energy to suck down one little bitty bug? When the midges are hatching thick, always fish a midge cluster, or use a fly the bugs can cluster on. The more protein a fish sees, the more likely it is to eat.”


If you want more tips like this you can pick up The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing – a new collection of 250 nuggets of fly fishing wisdom from Kirk Deeter and the late, great Charlie Meyers by clicking on the link.

Photo from Deneki Outdoors

2010 Fall Fishing Tips - A Summary

The Fall Lower Yuba Summary

With the pounding we've taken prior to this Thanksgiving week, with snow storms knocking out power, breaking down oak and ornamental trees that still had leaves on them, I guess we can say winter has arrived. I'm sure we'll still see some Indian summer like days in December, but for all intents and purposes the fall is over and we need to look towards winter type conditions when heading out fishing. I thought I'd sort of sum up the 2010 fall fishing here on the Lower Yuba River.

The salmon came in early and in pretty big numbers, so the egg bite was pretty good. I made it out about once a week and so my experiences are based upon that. Some regular guides on the river have felt that it was one on the better fall seasons for the egg bite in a awhile. My experience was that it was a little tougher than last year, but like I said, I'm not out on the river everyday.

My conclusions after fishing the river pretty hard in the fall of 2009 and from this fall are as such.

• I believe that when the salmon are in the system and the resident rainbows are staged behind them, the best fishing happens early in the mornings before the sun really gets high. This is especially true when the water is low running at 900 cfs +/- and gin clear.

• The later the day gets and the more drift boats go down the tougher the fishing gets for fish staged behind the salmon and the river in general. First Down equals best fishing.

• It is my opinion that the fish move into deeper slots or more aerated water for sanctuary as the day gets brighter and with more fishing pressure.

• The above, I believe, holds true unless you get an overcast day. On overcast days the fishing can be consistent and the fish seem to be where you'd think they should be throughout the day.

• Troutbeads are the Bomb, especially if you steal nail polish from your wife or girlfriend, for the troutbeads.

• Don't forget about the bugs. The fish will still eat bugs, collect a sample, match the color and size of what you find, Stones, Caddis and Mayflies. Keep up good principles.

• Don't believe everything you hear at the fly shop, or from your buddies, do your sampling, look to the river to tell you what to do, experiment and keep trying!

Tight Lining

This year I've started stripping off the indicator more often and using less weight and using tight line nymphing techniques in the rollers and shallow runs up to four feet deep. I have more confidence in using straight line casting techniques in the rollers behind the salmon and keeping tight to the flies. Cast on top of the bucket or drop off, using enough shot to tumble the flies down into the bottom of the bucket. If there is not take, pick it up and recast to the next likely spot. This method is of course from a moving drift boat. Using this technique also works just as well when wet wading. Just don't wade in the redds!

When the depth of a run is 2 feet to 6 feet, you can also fish it effectively tight lining, just make sure you put on enough shot. The amount of shot is the key. We have consistently had success in these depths when tight lining, but you must feel the shot bouncing on the bottom from time to time. If not add a BB. If not add another BB. Get the picture.

We picked up the some of the biggest fish of the year using tight line methods in 2 foot or less deep water.

Indicator and Shot Method

I still like to put the indicator right back on as I work the deeper runs that have a consistent depth of 4 feet or more, This is more of a bug bite thing than an egg bite, although the numbers of fish caught using this method in the runs, the eggs still out perform the bug imitations throughout the fall. Dead drift them, mend properly, make sure you've got enough weight on. You've got to get and stay down.

If I don't take the indicator off when fishing tailouts or buckets, I'll straight line cast it and fish it tight line as if the indicator wasn't there, If you do this you have to pick it back up and re-cast to keep it fishing correctly. Sometimes I'll do this if there is a quick tailout or some redds with a deeper run right below it. This is really just being lazy but as you know it's easy to let happen. Theory is one thing.

Typical Rigging

My Fall standard rigg for indicator or tight line nymphing is;

(a) Start with a 3x, 7 1/2 or 9 foot foot leader
(b) Add 18" of 3x tippet and put shot above this knot
(c) Tie on an egg pattern of choice
(d) Add another 18" of 4x tippet tied to the hook bend of the egg and then tie on a bug of choice.
(e) Add another tippet of 5x tied to the hook bend of the 1st bug and then tie on another bug which is usually the smallest one.

The typical sequence goes egg, attractor nymph, usually a caddis, and then an imitative nymph at the end. I'd usually rigg both anglers starting with and egg, one with a Troutbead and one with a Pettis Egg, and 4 different nymphs. Then we'll switch it up if we've found out what the trout wants on any given day.

This leader works for tight lining or indicator nymphing. Just add a Thing-a-ma-bobber.

The Flies

As far as discussing flies, I'm considering the fall starting when the salmon first started showing up this year in August, these were the occasional springer salmon that are in the system. It really seems that as long as there are salmon around, even if they are spawned out or pre-spawning, the trout will eat and look for eggs, much earlier in the season than you might think. For the most part if we see a salmon, an egg goes on. Once an egg goes on in the fall season, it pretty much stays on the whole season in different types, sizes or colors. It's what a guide friend says, "It's Steak and Eggs Time".

The Troutbeads still were the best egg imitation, especially if you take the time to paint them with finger polish. I had good luck using Pettis Eggs early in the season, but the Troutbeads out performed everything for the middle and end of the fall.

In early fall we had real good luck with copper johns, and just about anything black, a black Copper John, Prince of Darkness, AP Black, Hogan's Yuba Pupa, Fox's Poopah, pretty much any standard caddis nymphs in olive etc. We had some exceptional fishing these bugs with an egg as a dropper in the tailouts above the Parks Bar Bridge.

We also had very good luck in the early fall with eggs and the above mentioned nymphs, in areas of the river where the river tailed up in run, from say 8 to 12 feet to 6 feet. The fish would sit right at the bottom of the up lift and be staged for nymphs moving toward the lifting gravel. They would take eggs and bugs about equally.

As the fall progressed we typically used a Troutbead, an olive caddis, and then a mayfly nymph. Pheasant Tails, Hogan's Military May's in Brown and Olive, Hogan's Yuba Pupa, Fox's poopahs in cinnamon and green. We had luck with a Spitfire one day which was a first for me.

When we found that the water was off colored from a recent rain storm we would go, Egg, Rubberleg Stone, and then a nymph of choice. We had some real good days when the visibility was about 4 feet or so. The off color provides a level of stealth that you just don't get with the spring creek clarity of the river flowing at 900 cfs +/-. When the river gets that off color look, try to get out there the fishing. The fishing can be great and typically brings up the adult steelhead, or resident rainbows, whoever's opinion as to what they are, you want to listen to. All I know is that, they are bigger and are fighters. We managed a few of these to the boat and lost some we never got a look at, but that's fishing.

All told, it was a great 2010 fall fishing season with friends, and many stories told, fish caught and lost. Although, as always, work always seems to keep me from getting out as often as I'd like. Maybe that won't be the case next year.

Have fun out there!

Casting Tip - Let the Current do the Dirty Work

When wading on the Lower Yuba and nymphing with indicators and multiple shot, banging out false casts with a nymphing rigg can lead to more time spent untangling than fishing.

Instead of picking up and false casting let the current do the dirty work. This technique works for beginners as well as seasoned veterans and will enable both to make accurate casts, avoid tangles and catch fish.

Next time you’re out fishing try this;

• Stand perpendicular to the current, facing downstream, and toss out your line out in front of you so it feeds out downstream until the desired length is achieved.
• When you have the right amount of line our and the flies are skittering on the surface. With your rod tip pointed at the flies;
• Lift the rod tip slowly up to the 2:00 position and stop. I mean really STOP! Then WAIT!
• Turn and stand roughly parallel with the current, facing across and slightly upstream, look upstream and fix your eyes on the target area upstream you want to cast towards.
• Bring the rod smoothing forward, SNAP IT to a STOP, and aim the cast through your thumb.
• If done correctly the cast will unfurl and your fly or flies will land in the targeted zone..

You're now fishing. The key is the pause. Let the fly line stretch out downstream, let the flies skitter, Lift the tip and stop, set it up, and let it fly.

Let the current be your friend.

Fly Fishing Traditions - Tips - When in Doubt - Set the Hook

If you are like me, when I first started nymphing with indicators and shot, I would always be asking myself, "is that a hit or the bottom"? Unfortunately most of the time all I did was ask and not react.
Trout fishing legend, Jack Dennis, took an underwater camera into a local stream to discover what really happens when anglers made presentations to fish beneath the surface.
Among his more revealing discoveries: Anglers failed to detect 40 percent of the strikes they received using conventional nymphing techniques, particularly with indicators. That's right 40 percent!
What was his conclusion? The problem was too much slack in the line. Dennis found that fish feeding actively on a vast array of insects floating past their noses seldom moved much; rather, they simply held their position and opened and closed their mouths. In such situations, anglers generally failed to realize when a trout had taken the artificial fly.
In feeding situations with fewer insects, when trout drifted up or darted sideways to take the artificial, the line often moved sufficiently for the angler to detect the strike.
His solution was:
(1) To get as close as possible to the fish, eliminating as much loose line as possible.
(2) To heighten your concentration, and set the hook at the slightest pause in the drift. Make the hook set quick and short, keeping the fly down in the target area if you don’t connect.
If you want more tips like this you can pick up The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing – a new collection of 250 nuggets of fly fishing wisdom from Kirk Deeter and the late, great Charlie Meyers by clicking on the link.

Techniques - Nymphing and Current Speed

Current Speed

When rigging up and selecting flies for nymphing a river you need to consider the type of bug you are targeting and the current speed of the water. Current speed is one of the most important things to keep in mind when selecting and fishing a nymph pattern
Most nymphs generally live under rocks near oxygenated water – water with a steady current. When water conditions are high with faster flows, nymphs get pulled from the rocks in which they live. When the nymphs are ready to hatch they swim to the surface or crawl out onto land. In either cases, the “heavy flows and water”, means faster current, which will sweep the nymphs downstream.
Think of the nymphs being drug down stream as silt. The heavier the silt, the faster it settles in the water. As the current speed slows, the nymphs will either swim to the surface and hatch out or fall back to the bottom and crawl under a rock and find a new home..
With this in mind, it makes sense that the bigger nymphs will hatch in heavier water and the smaller nymphs will hatch in slower water.
On the Lower Yuba River there are many different nymphs, primarily, caddis, stoneflies and mayflies.

Stonefly Nymphs

The stonefly nymphs will crawl from the river bottom, out of the water, and hatch out on the rocks, so when fishing a stonefly nymph you should concentrate your fishing close to bottom and the water’s edge where the nymphs are more likely to be. This will require more weight, more than you think, hint. Stonefly nymphs come in a variety of sizes, some of them rather large, so think of them as silt – bigger nymphs in heavier water.

Mayfly Nymphs

The mayfly nymph swims to the surface to emerge. These nymphs range from tiny to small and are more vulnerable to heavy current. The slower the river current, the easier the nymph can swim to the surface to emerge. The faster the current and the deeper the water, the farther downstream the nymphs will emerge on the surface from their lie on the bottom. With this in mind, fish the heavy water with your nymph close to the bottom. if you are seeing the beginnings of a hatch you may find that as the current slows, fish the nymph higher up in the water column, lower your indicator or maybe change to a dry dropper or a emerger, dropper combination.
Caddis Nymphs
The caddis nymphs tend to live in the riffles and the tactics are somewhat a combination of the above two methods. As the caddis tumble downstream they will fall towards the bottom so fish your imitations in the flow at the current seams and deep. If there is no indication of a caddis hatch keep your presentations deep. If you see a caddis hatch progressing you can then change up your rigg to fish the upper levels of the water column with a dry dropper, emerger with dropper or rigg up to swing soft hackles.
Remember, current speed and the type of bug you're targeting can dictate your tactics and rigging methods. Don't get caught rigging up one way and not changing up as conditions dictate. A rigg chance can turn the fishing back on.

Techniques - Tippet Rings for Leaders

I've recently started looking into fishing the Truckee River this fall. It's only a one hour drive from home and an option that I really haven't taken advantage of. Why? I've been concentrating on the Lower Yuba and the Lower Sacramento River. It's sort of funny, I've been working in Truckee for the last 8 years and when I've gotten done working, I want to get the blank out of there. I'm done working there, so now I want to start fishing there. Go Figure. I guess I am nuts. Pass me a shot of scotch, please.

One of the things I've come across, getting ready, is the technique of rigging using braided line and "Tippet Rings". From what I hear, when fishing the Truckee River, the larger browns like to hold in deeper slots amongst boulders and larger rocks. They also like to hold right on the bottom. This results in lots of lost flies and re-tying leaders and sometimes totally re-rigging.

As a remedy to constantly hanging up and changing riggs and losing flies, the local guides have come up with a rigging system to avoid these break-offs by using a modified "Czech Nymphing Rigg".

Here is the basic formula for a Czech Nymphing Rigg

This modified Czech Leader is comprised of 3 basic components.

(1) A short length of 25 lb. or 30 lb. braided leader material. 60" to 72" when tight line nymphing without indicator, or, 72" to 84" if you are planning on using an indicator.

(2) A tippet ring tied to the business end of the braided line.

(3) Monofilament or fluorocarbon tippet down to one or two blood knots with one long tag end to tie on dropper flies.


Note: This formula is used with a very heavily weight middle fly and no split shot.

An optional rigg is to add a short 12" piece of 2x mono and an additional tippet ring to place shot above the second tippet ring. The top two flies would then be tied off blood knots with an extended tag.

Adding Your Droppers

You can add droppers by using a blood knot and leaving one tagg long to tie on the fly or you can use additional Tippet Rings. The advantage of using the tippet rings is that you can use much heavier tippet between the rings to prevent losing your rigg.



Once you extend the tippet from the braided line you will add one or two droppers depending on whether you are fishing two or three flies.

As shown at the photo on the left, you can attach tippet material using fluorocarbon tippet using clinch knots.

So why would you use tippet rings.

(1) So you can transition from larger tippet to smaller tippet.


(2) If your fly gets hung up on the bottom, in the rocks or gets snapped off by a monster brown trout, you may only loose one fly and not your whole rig.





Using this Rigg for Bounce Nymphing

Note: Please verify if this method is legal in the waters you fish.

Is the Bounce Rigg method considered illegal in California? This is still being debated in certain circles. For years many Truckee anglers used this rig and added split shot at the very bottom of the rigg. This enables the angler to bounce the shot and flies right along the bottom as they high stick and lead the flies through the slots.
When rigging for the bounce method, the shot goes on the very end, tie a double overhead knot and place the shot directly above the knot.

The first fly above the shot is tied on a blood knot tagg about 6 to 8 inches above the shot. The second fly is tied on a blood knot tagg about 6 to 8 inches above the first. This rigg typically is tied with two flies.


Czech Leader System available online or at Local Flyshops

The legend of Truckee, Andy Burk, has marketed his Czech Nymphing system through Umpqua, although most of the local Truckee guides tie up their own. This is a complete ready to go system. It is a re-usable three fly leader with one tippet ring and ready to tie on tags for two droppers.




Hope this all makes sense, want to pour me another shot?

Clay

Fly Fishing Traditions- Tips - Tie with Smaller Hooks

I've recently subscribed to an Internet newsletter from Deneki Outdoors, at www.deneki.com It is an informative website with lots of good information. I recently came across an article which talked about hook sizes when fishing for anadromous species such as the steelhead we chase on the Lower Yuba River.
For years the "standard" hook sizes used in the pursuit of anadromous fish on swung flies were pretty darned big, 1/0 and 1 are "steelhead hooks". A lot of streamer patterns available online or in our local fly shops are tied on these large hooks.
In the Pacific Northwest many anglers are starting to use smaller fishing hooks that are quite a bit smaller – 1 and 2 for King Salmon and 2 and 4 for Steelhead. It is reported from these fishermen that a funny thing happened on the way to the smaller hook – they started landing more fish!
The common perception is that a big hook is going to hook deeper and hold more securely. It turns out that, that perception is not often the case. There are some other reasons to fish smaller hooks too.

Try fishing with smaller hooks and your success rate may go up.

Why Smaller Hooks Might Be Better

• You land more fish. The anglers of the Pacific Northwest have discovered that landing rates are higher with smaller hooks. Most modern hooks are extremely strong even in smaller sizes. Smaller hooks tend to bury deeper, particularly in the corner of the jaw. Once a fish has been hooked solidly, smaller hooks with shorter shanks have less leverage to work open a big hole and eventually pop out

• They look better. Smaller hooks are more proportionate to the flies that we normally fish, especially for steelhead. Do the fish care? We’re not sure, but if you want fish a fly that looks good, shouldn't those good looks include the hook?

• They’re easier on the target species. Smaller hooks are less likely to hook eyeballs, backs of tongues, gills, etc. That's important.

• They’re much easier on the non-target species. If you’re fishing for steelhead, chances are you’re going to incidentally hook some trout along the away. The point above is even more true for smaller resident fish – a giant hook can do an awful lot of damage to a beautiful rainbow trout.

So start tying your streamer patterns with smaller hooks and don’t forget to pinch those barbs!

Techniques - The Lower Sacramento River

I'm a technique geek as you've probably come to know. There is a definite technique to hooking playing and landing fish out of a drift boat and especially on the Lower Sacramento River. It's sort of a multi-step deal. I'll take you through it.

Adjust your Drag Properly

Adjusting the drag properly is probably the most important things to do before you start fishing. Having a reel with a good quality drag system is a must! The drag must be set so that when you have your rod tip up at about the 11:30 position it will feed line consistently and with the correct amount of tension. This will take a little experimentation. Set it right and it will enable you to catch fish, set it wrong and you consistently lose fish.

Setting Up and Managing the Drift

When casting your rigg from the drift boat, you typically want to keep at least 2 1/2 rod lengths away from the boat. You need to manage your drift properly. With that said, this means you need to mend either up or down stream depending what the currents are doing between you and the indicator, but the key is don't overdo it. The flies need to drift, not jigg. To do this you've got to let them drift. Set it up and let them ride. Better a little drag than constant jigging from micro managing your drift.

The technique is, cast the flies to the target area, throw a big upstream mend, or preferably a stack mend behind the indicator and let them run. You can manage the line closer to the boat and probably 1/2 way to the indicator, just try not to move the indicator. When it starts dragging to much or too much line gets downstream of the indicator, pick the rigg up re-cast and re-set the drift.

Rod Position During the Drift

Once you've got the drift set up, lower your hands to belly button level and point your rod tip at the indicator. Flip small mends upstream and downstream as necessary during the drift, making sure that you move the indicator as little as possible. Feed or strip in line as necessary to maintain your drift. Most times if you don't feed line occasionally the indicator will start getting very slowly pulled back towards the boat. Micro drag, this is a not good. Again with this said micro drag is better than jigging your flies.

The Set

If the indicator moves, and we're talking sometimes only 1/2 an inch, rotate your wrist up keeping the butt of the rod chest mid high to set. Rotating your wrist up brings the rod tip up vertically but keeps your hands "In the Box". By keeping your hands "In the Box" you can strip immediately if the fish runs towards you. This is all about line handling ability. As we all have probably done. raising your hands above your head with a fish is running towards you leads to many lost fish. Its just darn hard to keep up.

The Fight and Playing the Fish

The cardinal rule when fighting a fish on the Lower Sac and when fishing out of a boat is to keep the rod tip up. The bend of the rod and the drag of your reel is what will enable you to land big fish consistently. The drag needs to be set so that when the rod tip is high at the 11:00 to 11:30 position it will feed line as the tip bends without having to "give in" to the fish. The bend in the rod is your shock absorber that keeps you flies set tight in the trout's mouth and protects your terminal tippet. When you have to lower the rod position either because the drag is set too high or you feel you need to lower it because the fish is off to a big run the fish will win the battle. The fly will slip out or break off. Now this isn't saying you need to battle fish like a statue, its just that a keeping a high rod position is definitely preferable until the fish settles down.

Landing the Fish

Most of the times when fishing a big river like  the Lower Sacramento, you are rigged with an indicator and shot with 2 or 3 flies. The shot can be from 5' to 7 1/2 feet below the indicator. The flies are spaced approximately 18" apart. With 3 flies this can add up something like this.

Indicator to Shot = 7 feet
Shot to first fly = 18"
1st fly to 2nd fly = 18"
2nd fly to 3rd fly = 18"
Total = 11 1/2'

In the event the fish took your bottom fly and you reel up to your fixed indicator you are still 11 1/2 feet away from the fish. This takes a straight up lift with your arms over your head and a long handle on the net. It also takes skill ans some luck.

Summary

I spent a day fishing last week with my son Zack and fly fishing guide Mike Hibbard who showed us how to put all these techniques to the test. With his coaching we had a very respectable landing percentage. With that said you never catch them all.

The Egg Bite - Using Glo Bugs on the Lower Yuba River

It's the last week of September and the salmon have just started moving into the Lower Yuba River system. A few have just started staging and are starting to dig their redds. Resident rainbows and steelhead will soon be staged behind them ready to gobble up protein from stray eggs drifting downstream where they wait. It is almost the time for the "Egg Bite" to ramp up. In this and a following article, I will discuss how to get ready for the "Egg Bite", flies to use, how to rigg them and the techniques to present them.
When the salmon are in the system in seems like the trout and steelhead know it before we do. They just sense the opportunity. When drifting the Lower Yuba I have noticed the trout get on the egg as early as August. There are usually a few "springers" still in the system and the days are starting to get shorter. The fish know its coming.


First a word on Wading Etiquette

For fishermen, fishing the redds creates a dilemma. We'd like to take advantage of the staging of the trout and steelhead, but when fishing with egg patterns, we must stay off the redds. We need to understand that by wading through or on top of the redds we may be destroying the salmon's future offspring. Look before you wade in. If you see bright clean gravel devoid off larger stones, Stay Out! Fish from the shore and cast below spawning salmon to where the trout and steelhead should be. Some people say it's OK to wade the ridges of the redds, but I and many of the guides think it's better not to. It's too easy to push gravel down on top of the salmon's eggs or let the current push you down inside the redd itself. Better safe than sorry.

OK, enough of the sermon, I just stepped off the pedestal.

Egg Patterns

There are basically three main types of eggs patterns (1) Glo Bugs (2) Beads, or (2)Alevin Patterns. The first two are used to imitate the eggs dropped by the salmon and the Alevin is to imitate the hatching fry still attached to the egg, sort of a salmon polliwog. The use of Trout Beads is somewhat controversial, abd has to do with th length that the hook trails behind the egg. I'll get to that in Part 2.

Today in this article, I'm going to focus on "Glo Bugs" and "Pettis" or "Surreal Eggs".

Glo Bugs or Yarn Eggs

You can tie or purchase Glo Bug patterns in a multitude of colors and sizes. They are tied using egg yarn.

The photo shows a box with every color of the rainbow, This is typical in Alaska, not quite as important here in Northern California. I usually carry about 4 or 5 colors in three sizes. Typically from about 6mm to as 10 mm. I'll usually start with a 8mm egg. The fish can get selective to a very specific color and its a game of experimentation to find out which color works on any given day. The newer the eggs the darker in color.




Some of the popular colors are champagne, peach, salmon egg, Shrimp pink and Steelhead Orange. They are available at almost every fly shop around. You can get tying instructions easily on the web. They are easy and fun to tie. Here's a photo showing some examples.





Pettis and Surreal Eggs

My favorite egg pattern is the "Pettis Egg". The Pettis Egg is tied with "Cascade" Egg Yarn. If you are going to tie this pattern buy the "Cascade" egg yarn, you will be disappointed if you don't. This pattern is often sold as a "Surreal Egg" which is the same pattern.

I tie the "Pettis Egg in the following colors with Cascade Egg Yarn. Baby Pink, Salmon, Yellow Roe, Champagne, and Flame. You will need to find a dark red or dark orange bead that the yarn is pulled over. These beads are also available from Cascade. The yarn provides sort of a halo around the dark bead. This is what makes it different and special.

Selecting the Right Color and Size

When trying to select the right color and size of egg to use you need to match the eggs of the Salmon in our Northern California Rivers. Salmon enter our rivers and spawn in seasonal waves. A spawning salmon may dig a redd in November, but there may also be drifting salmon eggs that were laid in the gravel weeks before. The trout will have a preference for a certain stage of the egg.

The only way to pick the right egg imitation is by experimentation, although early on the darker shade typically work well. You should carry lots of different eggs and sizes to cover all possible scenarios. Once you find a working solution, you'll need to stay alert because trout may change their preference during the day or on a different part of the river.

Presentation

You can present eggs in 4 basic ways. (1) Dead drifting in runs under indicator (2) High sticking eggs at pronounced drop offs (3) Tight lining through the redds behind spawning salmon or (4) High sticking in the redds under indicator.


(1) Dead Drifting in Runs Under Indicator


For fishing in runs, I'll rigg up with a deep indicator rigg. I'll tie on a 7 1/2 foot or 9 foot 3x leader and place a large thing-a-ma-bobber about 18 inches down from the end of the flyline. Next, I'll tie a tippet knot about 6 feet down from the indicator to hold my shot. Finally I'll extend a 3x tippet to an egg and then trail the egg with a couple of nymphs. This is my basic deep nymphing rigg that I use all the time. The depth is changed by adding or subtracting tippet or raising or lowering the indicator.

Fish it dead drifted from a boat or from a stationary position from shore. The takes when fishing eggs are seldom subtle. This is opportunistic presentation and the fish in the runs often can't resist an egg dead drifted in the water column.

(2) High Sticking at Pronounced Drop Offs.

For fishing drop offs, you want to rig up with shot and indicator and set your indicator to above 1 1/2 times the depth of the run below the drop off. Use enough shot, more than you think, to get the flies down.

You will first be fishing this rigg on a tight line after making a straight line cast and then transitioning to a deep nymph dead drift presentation and finally holding the line and letting the flies swing up in the current.

Look for areas where there are pronounced drop offs of 3 feet or more. When salmon are in the system and moving up stream they often stop and rest at these drop offs. The resident rainbows and trout will be there with them.

Station yourself just opposite the drop off or slightly down stream from it and cast your flies up above the drop off, the cast wants to be more of a straight line cast. Hold up your rod tip to keep as much line off the water as possible and let the flies drop down into the drop. Don't mend when the flies land, just let them tumble down. Make sure you have enough shot to get the flies down deep. There can be takes right as they drop. Watch you indicator and the tip of your nymph line for any movement. Set at anything suspicious.

Once the flies drift down to just slightly below where you are positioned throw a big upstream mend or a stack mend and feed line downstream keeping a slight hook in you line, like a small "C" , and work the water below you.

Once you have dead drifted the flies as far down as is stll manageable clamp off the line and let the flies swing up in the current. This often brings on a strike. Fish it out until the flies swing below you. Let them hang and then re-cast.

Use the Borger Shot Gun method and methodically cover the water working from closer to farther out.

(3) Tight Lining Through the Redds

When the salmon are staged on the redds the resident rainbows and steelhead will often be waiting directly behind them waiting for stray eggs. Steelhead are know to actually come up and bump the salmon trying to shake loose some eggs. The key is to focus on the area behind the salmon. If you try to run your flies through a pod of salmon you will snag the salmon which is illegal. It's hard, but don't do it.

To rigg for fishing the redds with the tight line method you can shorten up your leader, use less shot and shorten the distance between your flies to about 12 to 14 inches. Often use two eggs of similar or diffeernt colors. Use a small thingamabobber or just use a Rio Nymph Line with the orange tip. Adjust the weight so the flies don't hang up and they just roll them through the redds.

The redds will be a series of rollers with gravel ridges with drops behind them. Position yourself slightly downstream or directly across from the targeted area. Cast to the ridges with a straight line cast, if salmon are not present, and and lead your flies through with your rod tip leading the way. If your indicator or the end of the line moves, set in a downstream direction. If your flies are running into a pod of salmon pick them up and then move downstream and fish behind them. If you do snag a salmon, shake the flies off as fast as you can. The thing is really try not to fishing amongst the salmon.

Back on my soap box. Please don't wade the ridges of the redds and definitely don't walk through them. End of lecture.


(4) Fishing the Redds with Indicator and Shot.

The alternate method for fishing the redds is to use a small indicator and light shot with a single or pair of egg patterns. You need to adjust you indicator so the distance from the indicator to the shot is equal to the depth of the deepest part of the redd. Any deeper and you will just hang up.

The technique is very similar to fishing the drop offs, the redds are basically a series of small drop offs. High stick the flies through the redds with a minimum of line on the water. Pick up if the rigg hangs up and re-cast.

This method works best on longer salmon redds with less ridges.


Summary

Be careful when fishing and wading around redds. The "Egg Bite" can provide some of the most fun and fast fishing the year.



Surreal Eggs from Iydlwilde

Here's some photo of "Surreal Eggs" that are available from Idywilde Flies





Surreal Egg - Shrimp Pink













Surreal Egg - Steelhead Orange













Surreal Egg - Salmon Egg














Surreal Egg - Peachy King














Surreal Egg - Pink Lady