The Orvis Guide to Beginning Fly Fishing, page 10
In the cold water of early and late season, look for trout in shallows where the water is warmer than the depths.
Springs coming into a lake will attract trout in both cold and warm water, as springs are warmer than lake water in the early spring and colder during the summer. If springs aren’t obvious, put a thermometer on a long string and take temperatures close to the bottom at various places.
Submerged weed beds hold more insect life than sand or rock bottoms, so look for trout close to aquatic vegetation.
On Secret Pond
PART VII
Warmwater Fly Fishing
77
Flies to use for smallmouth bass in rivers
SMALLMOUTH BASS EAT INSECTS AND BAITFISH JUST LIKE trout, and you can fish for them with your standard trout flies. But that’s not as effective and certainly not as much fun as getting them to chase bigger bugs. A smallmouth’s number one prey is crayfish; thus any streamer with lots of action and stuff wiggling at all angles to look like the claws and legs of a crayfish will drive them wild. Bead-Head Woolly Buggers with rubber legs,Yellow Muddler Minnows, and patterns with rabbit strips all appeal to smallmouths. Throw in a few patterns that look more like a baitfish, such as a Clouser Minnow or a White Zonker, and you’ll have the streamers covered.
The Woolly Bugger is one of the best flies for river smallmouths.
Another favorite smallmouth food is the hellgrammite, a large black larva of the dobsonfly.A black Woolly Bugger or large black stonefly nymph with rubber legs will do for them. Fish these dead drift, with or without a strike indicator, especially on days when smallmouths aren’t aggressive and inclined to chase streamers.
Don’t rule out surface poppers, though. Smallmouths will investigate small bass bugs, often hanging back for a full minute before smashing them, but there is nothing more thrilling than catching a frisky smallmouth bass on a bug. Even if you come upon a smallmouth sipping delicate mayflies on the surface, you can often convince it to go for a bigger mouthful and inhale a bass bug that is ten times the size of the mayflies it’s eating. And there is no better surface bug for smallmouths than the cone-shaped chartreuse popper with rubber legs known as a Sneaky Pete.
Small Mouth Bass
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How to find a bass and panfish pond close to home
IT’S SILLY TO WAIT FOR A TRIP TO MONTANA OR ALASKA to enjoy some fly fishing. Anglers who have fished throughout the world still thrill to the dawn rise of a largemouth bass to a popper in a suburban golf course pond. And the many species of sunfish swirl eagerly to small poppers and regulation trout flies, making you feel like a hero. I would be willing to bet there is a pond within five miles of your house that holds some bass and panfish, no matter where you live. Even the ponds in Central Park are packed with eager bass and panfish just waiting to inhale a fly.
Chances are you won’t have to travel far to find a pond filled with bass or sunfish.
Here’s how to find one: Pick the pond closest to your house that is reasonably accessible. (“No fishing” signs on golf course ponds are only meant to be obeyed during the day, and dawn raids on these places will evoke thrills you forgot when you reached puberty.) When spring flowers begin to bloom (this might be March in Florida or May in North Dakota), begin scouting the shoreline for saucer-shaped nests made by bass and panfish as they clean a place on the bottom prior to laying eggs. The spots typically show up as a light spot or a clean area of gravel in an otherwise muddy bottom. Now you know fish live there. Catching them is simply a matter of trying a small surface bug or a size 10 Hare’s Ear Nymph.
After spawning is over in a few weeks, the fish will stay close to the shallows, but in midsummer they might spend most of their time deeper, in the middle of the pond. But don’t worry. They still come close to shore to feed at dawn and dusk, when you can sneak in without getting caught.
Small Fry - Largemouth Bass
79
How to find bass in a pond or lake
YOU CAN CATCH LARGEMOUTH AND SMALLMOUTH BASS anywhere the Bassmaster folks can catch them with conventional tackle, but you probably won’t bother, because catching bass with a fly sometimes involves fishing a sinking line in twenty feet of water. Most of us prefer to catch our bass on the surface or close to it, where we can fish a floating line. Casting and picking up a floating line is a pleasure instead of a chore. Bass ambush their prey, so when fishing for them in shallow water you will seldom find them far from dense weed beds, logjams, piles of big rocks, or docks. Largemouths prefer dense mats of lily pads, cattails, and other aquatic weeds, and they will be in the weeds, not just close to them. A weedless fly helps. Sometimes they won’t move more than a few inches from their ambush point, so you should cast right into the nasty stuff. Smallmouths prefer rocky bottoms. Look for them close to submerged logs and large boulders, especially close to a place where shallow water quickly drops off into the depths.
80
How to fish a bass bug
WHETHER FISHING FOR LARGEMOUTH BASS, SMALLMOUTH bass, or sunfish, you should begin by fishing a surface bug slowly. Slow enough that you get impatient. Bass are infinitely more patient than you. The natural tendency is to cast the bug and begin moving it as soon as it hits the water, like something trying to get away. Bass prefer prey that is struggling, and most animals that struggle twitch a few times, then rest motionless.
So cast your bug and don’t move it. Strip in enough line to come tight to the fly but not enough to move it. Then wait until all the rings around the fly disappear. Don’t worry about a bass losing interest, as they often approach potential prey and eyeball it for a full minute before making a decision. Time and again, a bass will wait until everything gets quiet and then suddenly pounce on a fly that is totally motionless. After you’ve waited so long you can’t stand it, give the fly a single twitch. Move it about an inch. Then wait again. Continue this way until the fly is close enough to pick up for another cast.
This twitch-and-wait strategy is by far the most productive way to fish a bug, but if it doesn’t work, by all means try others. If the water is deep, sometimes three or four abrupt twitches followed by a long pause bring bass up from deeper water when they hear the commotion. You can also try a steady retrieve, where you keep the fly moving and never let it pause. Experiment until you find the right formula, and it will work for you throughout the day.
A deer hair mouse and a cork popper, two very popular bugs for largemouth bass
81
How to fish a bass streamer
LARGEMOUTH BASS SELDOM CHASE A FLY AGGRESSIVELY as they are ambushers—sprinters, and not long-distance runners.When you fish a sinking bass fly, move it slowly and steadily, and when presenting a subsurface fly to bass try to position your cast so that nearly your entire retrieve moves the fly along near cover. In other words, if a big log sticks out into a lakeshore, don’t make a cast at 90 degrees to the log, because only the first foot or so of your retrieve will be appealing to bass lying in ambush. Instead, position yourself so that your fly will swim along parallel to the log, presenting a tasty morsel to a lurking bass throughout its progress.
Get that streamer in the middle of the thick stuff, too, not just along the edges. Cast your streamer right into the lily pads, drawing it over the surface of the pads, letting it sink into the holes between them. Even with a weedless fly you’ll get frequent snags, but if your fly is not in deep cover it won’t be fishing where largemouths feed.
Smallmouth bass are found more often amongst rocks and logs than weeds, so here you should try to fish your fly so that it rides just above piles of large rocks on the bottom, or off rocky points and cliffs. A weighted fly like a Clouser Minnow is deadly on smallmouths, and these heavy flies should be fished with a strip and then a pause that lets the fly sink. Smallmouths usually pounce on a fly that is sinking or just beginning to rise after it has sunk, so watch your line for any twitch or pause because a big smallmouth may have just inhaled your fly.
Typical subsurface streamers used for bass
82
Picking the right leader for warmwater fly fishing
BASS ARE NOT LEADER-SHY, AND EVEN A FLY LINE LANDING on top of one seldom spooks it. For largemouth bass, the leader should be as heavy as you can find, and if you can get the leader through the eye of the fly you’ve gone as light as you need to. Big bass flies are very wind-resistant, and a short, stiff leader helps turn them over, so a leader of between six and seven and a half feet long with a breaking strength of fifteen to twenty pounds is about right.You’ll appreciate that heavy leader when yanking a big largemouth out of aquatic salad, too. Smallmouths live in clear water and are slightly spookier than largemouths, so a nine-foot leader that breaks at twelve pounds will straighten the smaller flies used for them and will land even a world-record smallmouth with ease.
Musky Moon
83
When and how to catch carp on a fly
CARP CAN THRIVE IN ALL KINDS OF WATERS, FROM LARGER trout streams to the most polluted urban lakes. Although some consider them to be pests, carp are highly prized in Asian and European countries and were originally introduced into North America as a food fish. Fly fishers have discovered that carp are stronger fighters than many celebrated gamefish, and are just as difficult to catch as a spring creek trout or a tropical permit.
Carp are best on a fly rod in spring, when they cruise shallow water to seek warmth, look for mates, and lay eggs. Fishing for carp in deeper water where they can’t be spotted is nearly fruitless, because a successful presentation must put the fly right in front of a carp’s nose. Carp cannot see very well and find much of their food by smell, but they will pounce on an object moving just a few inches away that looks like a crayfish, insect larva, or minnow. However, just because they can’t see well does not mean they are easy to approach. Carp are extremely cautious of vibrations in the water, so sloppy wading, noise from a boat, or the splash of a fly line landing close is a sure way to send a school of them dashing for cover.
Mirror carp
Look for carp in shallow water with a silt or sand bottom, along the edges of weeds. If present, they’ll give themselves away by rolling, waking, and even jumping clear of the water. Try to determine which way a fish is moving and throw a weighted nymph or small streamer two to three feet ahead of the fish so that the sound of the fly and line hitting the water don’t spook the fish. When you think the fish is close to your fly, begin moving it slowly and steadily, close to the bottom, like a crayfish or insect larva that has been dislodged by the rooting carp and is trying to get away. If you feel resistance, set the hook with a long and brisk strip rather than lifting your rod, because if you miss the fish it might follow the fly and give you a second chance.
Don’t be discouraged if you spook many of the fish and if they ignore your fly. Carp may not be pretty and glamorous, but they are some of the smartest, most wary fish in fresh water. The fact that they are so abundant gives you plenty of opportunities to try again!
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Where to find smallmouth bass in a river
BECAUSE SMALLMOUTH BASS ARE NOT AS STREAMLINED AS trout and will pursue and ambush their prey as opposed to lying in the current waiting for food to drift by, they are commonly found in slower water than trout. Look for smallmouths in deep eddies at the heads of pools, in rock piles at the tails of pools, and halfway down large pools, along the deeper bank especially if it is lined with ledge rock, big boulders, or fallen logs. Smallmouths will also lie on the outside edges of weed beds in large, warm rivers, waiting to ambush baitfish that use the weeds for protection.
Smallmouth bass prefer rocky streams and lakes.
PART VIII
Saltwater Fly Fishing
85
How do you catch fish on a fly in the surf?
FLY FISHING IN CRASHING SURF SEEMS AT FIRST TO BE A daunting prospect, but many saltwater gamefish like striped bass, bluefish, sea trout, surf perch, and corbina prey on baitfish and crustaceans that get disoriented and corralled along the shoreline in rough weather. The most important aspect of surf fishing is line control. Tony Stetzko, known as “Striperman” on Cape Cod, specializes in fly fishing the big surf along the National Seashore, and taught me to take a cast and then take three steps backward.You must come tight to your line quickly when fishing the surf; otherwise, the incoming waves put too much slack in your line. Sinking or intermediate weight lines are usually best in the surf. By getting just below the surface currents, you’ll retain a better connection to your fly as the sinking line somewhat counteracts surface turbulence.
When fishing the surf, line control is important. Wearing a stripping basket and taking three steps back after every cast will help.
The best presentation in the waves is to wait for a big wave to break, and then cast your line as far as you can beyond the wave in the slick behind it. This will give you an expanse of relatively calm water to strip your fly through, ensuring that the fish see it better and that your line does not get pushed around by too many waves. Don’t always cast directly into the waves. The tide will usually be moving one direction or another along the beach, so try some casts both “down-tide” and “up-tide” so that your fly runs parallel to the beach, which mimics the behavior of baitfish.
A stripping basket is essential when fishing the surf. You often need to strip line quickly, and if you strip line at your feet it will swirl around your legs and tangle in them, and will also pick up bits of weed and debris. A stripping basket keeps fly line coiled and ready for the next cast.
Finally, when landing a big fish in the surf, play it close to the surf line and then hold it in place until the next big wave. Just before a big wave breaks over the fish, walk backward quickly and use the power of the wave to roll your fish up onto the beach, where it will be left sideways in shallow water, ready for you to dash to it before the next big wave breaks. And when admiring your fish or holding it up for others to see, remember—never turn your back to a wave!
86
Which tide is best for saltwater fly fishing?
THERE IS NO “BEST” TIDE FOR SALTWATER FLY FISHING, AS the right tide to fish varies with each location. When fishing beaches or estuaries, the first stage of the tide, when water reverses direction and begins to move, is usually best, but I know of some places when the last hour of an incoming or outgoing tide offers the best fishing.
In general, an outgoing tide is best on the outside of an estuary or tidal marsh, where it hits bigger water, because baitfish and crustaceans from the food-rich shallows get washed into deeper water, where bigger fish lie in ambush. On an incoming tide, fish move with the rising water back inside estuaries when more water allows them to cruise food-rich areas, so on a rising tide you may find more gamefish up inside a tidal marsh or salt pond.
Estuary
On most shallow sand and coral flats the best fishing is on an incoming tide. The rising water exposes productive feeding areas that have been inaccessible to the fish, as shallow water always hosts more baitfish and crustaceans than deep water. And when sight fishing on the flats, the fish are a lot easier to spot in skinny water than they are when the flat is covered with four of five feet of water. High tide is difficult for flats fishing, as the fish are not concentrated on deeper, narrower channels and can be almost anywhere, plus they’re difficult to spot. The best advice at high tide is to fish very close to the shoreline or up against coral heads or in the mangroves. On a falling tide, fish don’t feed as aggressively and are often just migrating back to deeper water, but if you can find the channels they use to move into the depths you may be able to induce them to feed.
Shallow sand and coral flats
87
How to get started with redfish and sea trout on the fly
SMALL SEA TROUT AND YOUNG REDFISH OR “PUPPY DRUM” are some of the easiest fish to catch on a fly from New Jersey south to Florida on the Atlantic Coast and along the entire Gulf Coast. These fish are always hungry, relatively easy to please, and stay in shallow water throughout the season—although during strong winter cold fronts they may move to deeper holes until the water warms. Thus they are perfect fish to hone your technique and build up some confidence for saltwater fly fishing.
Both species are found in shallow water, from one to four feet deep, and are especially common over weed beds and above oyster bars. Any kind of discontinuity in the shoreline—whether a creek mouth, dock, jetty, or point—will attract them, but they can also be found along beaches on a sandy bottom. The best fly for both species is a Clouser Minnow in bright colors like chartreuse or orange, but any fly from one to three inches long that imitates baitfish, shrimp, or crabs will interest them.
Redfish and Sea Trout
Because they typically run from one to four pounds, there is a natural tendency to use a light 6- or 7-weight fly rod for small sea trout and redfish. However, the best flies for these species are weighted, and you’ll often encounter wind along the shore, so if you’re starting out, an 8- or even 9-weight rod is a better choice. Besides, in the fall and early winter you may encounter larger “bull” redfish of twenty or thirty pounds in the same shallow water, and if you do you’ll be happy you have the heavier rod.
