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Post by Texastroutfisher on Jan 11, 2020 16:17:33 GMT -6
So often I see discussions on here about flies, equipment, river conditions and so on. Here is my question, what are the little things y'all consider to be the difference makers between being a fly fisherman and a good fly fisherman? You know, the little details that can be over looked and easily forgotten about.
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Post by turfdawg on Jan 11, 2020 17:50:16 GMT -6
Don’t really know because I’m still learning but unless there is a “feeding frenzy “ going on a good drift and getting to the bottom is very important
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Post by oldguy on Jan 11, 2020 18:29:33 GMT -6
I understand your question but I don't believe there is an answer to it. Perhaps the one thing that would come close would be experience. The ones that fish the most catch the most and can seem to catch when no one else is. The more you fish the better you can recognize things that help put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Roger
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Post by huntnfish2much on Jan 11, 2020 20:22:17 GMT -6
I understand your question but I don't believe there is an answer to it. Perhaps the one thing that would come close would be experience. The ones that fish the most catch the most and can seem to catch when no one else is. The more you fish the better you can recognize things that help put the pieces of the puzzle together. Roger Roger, I agree with you 100 percent. One thing I have to add is practice and sharing knowledge like we all used to when we’d all get together at the park to practice casting and have our little competitions. There is a saying that ‘Practice Makes Perfect’, but another saying goes a step further ‘Perfect Practice Makes Perfect’. Continually making the same bad mistakes engrains the bad habits into muscle memory. There were SO many guys that shared info and hands-on instruction during those meetings, a person couldn’t help but become a better angler. JR
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Post by golferjeff on Jan 11, 2020 20:23:04 GMT -6
Depth. Knowing when to beat the crowds or go somewhere else.
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Post by sulross on Jan 13, 2020 8:21:24 GMT -6
I will try to not be vague, but give you a few small things that have made a difference for me. I'm a teacher and can't help but think that knowledge is meant to be shared. I don't consider myself an expert, but have put in my fair share of time learning and still work hard to do so continuously. So, looking back to when I started and what things impacted my fishing in big ways, or got me into what I considered the next step of finding success when I couldn't find it previously, here are a few tidbits that helped. None of this applies to Euro-nymphing; I will let the guys who fish that method answer for that. Here are a few things that helped me:
1. Mending the line. If I had to select one thing that separates the novice from the advanced fly fisherman it might very well be this. It's more frequent and bold than I would have imagined as a novice.
2. Depth of presentation. I was so scared to go deeper because flies were expensive and I didn't want to lose them. Once I got tired of not catching fish, I experimented with this more and "found" fish I was missing.
3. Paying attention to the water. I watch it continuously for signs - what the current is doing in different areas, fish rising, structure, etc... Often, before I even cast a fly I will watch the water for 5-10 minutes and see what it can show me.
4. Fish/cast closer to your body than you think. As a beginner, we most often are false casting out past 10 feet. You miss a lot of fish that are within that distance. Start close and work out, then hit close again.
5. Look at what bugs are in the water, flying around, and under rocks.
6. Try what the fly shop, or others, tell you has been working, but if it doesn't produce, be bold and try something else. What this entails is that you might be changing flies much more frequently than a novice might expect, especially if that person has history fishing traditional.
7. Let your drifts finish completely.
Good luck and hope this might score you a little success somewhere on the water!
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Post by FlyAndStream on Jan 22, 2020 0:03:04 GMT -6
Some of the biggest things I see while fishing Beavers Bend, or anywhere, is: - Move your feet and cover more water, these fish don't often spook easy. I see people stand in EH fishing the same three spots for 6 hours. dainw jokes that some people must have concrete boots, I agree.
- Limit the number of drifts in one spot to 4 before changing flies, depth, or moving a couple steps away.
- Break a run into a grid: and limit casts to inside seam, soft pockets, outside seam, hydrologic cushions, slack water, etc.
- Use split-shot to get your flies down! Many times the fish are feeding only on bottom.
- Manage for better drifts: people often ask me "What are they eating?" I tell them "A decent drift man!" 🤣
- Change flies often: until you've gathered knowledge about what works and when.
- Don't be afraid to re-rig: I might re-rig 5 times during 12 casts, especially if I'm sight fishing.
- Try new things: for instance, when my leader runs short, I force myself to tie on a 3" streamer and re-fish the water I just fished. Often times picking up fish I missed prior. Also, I catch more fish at BB dead drifting a streamer than I do stripping it.
- Take that bobber off: unless it's a really wide deep slow pool take that bobber off and high-stick it, or tie on a decent euro leader and learn how to feel and see a take. Why? Surface current and drag is way faster on top than on bottom.
- Hire a guide: 25 years ago I went on my only guided trip, it was on the Deschutes fishing for Steelhead. You can learn 10 years worth of experience if you hire the right guide and listen intently. I would also recommend asking the guide to fish many of the runs just to watch how they fish it. Then go try to replicate those things you learned. On the LMF breeden3 is that guide.
Hope that helps!
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Post by Texastroutfisher on Jan 22, 2020 7:23:11 GMT -6
Thanks for the input everyone. Definitely learning some things from this and have been reminded of things I have let slide. My son and I fished with Trey and learned a lot on that trip. We have also taken up euro nymphing and are having some limited success with that.
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Post by freebird on Jan 22, 2020 15:05:03 GMT -6
Some of the biggest things I see while fishing Beavers Bend, or anywhere, is:
- Move your feet and cover more water, these fish don't often spook easy. I see people stand in EH fishing the same three spots for 6 hours. dainw jokes that some people must have concrete boots, I agree.
- Limit the number of drifts in one spot to 4 before changing flies, depth, or moving a couple steps away.
- Break a run into a grid: and limit casts to inside seam, soft pockets, outside seam, hydrologic cushions, slack water, etc.
- Use split-shot to get your flies down! Many times the fish are feeding only on bottom.
- Manage for better drifts: people often ask me "What are they eating?" I tell them "A decent drift man!" 🤣
- Change flies often: until you've gathered knowledge about what works and when.
- Don't be afraid to re-rig: I might re-rig 5 times during 12 casts, especially if I'm sight fishing.
- Try new things: for instance, when my leader runs short, I force myself to tie on a 3" streamer and re-fish the water I just fished. Often times picking up fish I missed prior. Also, I catch more fish at BB dead drifting a streamer than I do stripping it.
- Take that bobber off: unless it's a really wide deep slow pool take that bobber off and high-stick it, or tie on a decent euro leader and learn how to feel and see a take. Why? Surface current and drag is way faster on top than on bottom.
- Hire a guide: 25 years ago I went on my only guided trip, it was on the Deschutes fishing for Steelhead. You can learn 10 years worth of experience if you hire the right guide and listen intently. I would also recommend asking the guide to fish many of the runs just to watch how they fish it. Then go try to replicate those things you learned. On the LMF breeden3 is that guide.
Hope that helps!Nice man!! I'm stealing #8 next time I run into a short leader. Great idea!
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