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Spring creek trout: obey the rules
By Clay Riness |
3. DESIGN YOUR OWN LEADERS. Although commercially prepared leaders are appropriate for some fishing situations, a hand-tied leader designed correctly is unbeatable. A leader serves two purposes. First, it separates the heavier fly line from the fly as, over its tapered length, it steps down to a wisp. Second, it delivers the fly to the water. Tying your own leader will allow you to vary its tapering and length almost instantly on stream to achieve more efficient turnover and delivery. At the very least, when fishing dry flies, cut the tippet of a commercially made leader back a couple feet and tie on at least 36 inches of your own tippet material. The fly will land on the water much more delicately. Leader formulas can be found in most books and manuals about basic fly fishing.
4. OBSERVE THE WATER. You don't always have to match the hatch; in fact, most often there won't be a hatch to match. Trout are hungry and opportunistic. Study the water to learn whether the fish are feeding on a lot of the same insects (a hatch) or whether they're just eating anything that's available. Use binoculars to watch the water and the trout. With good binoculars, you'll probably be able to see the insects the trout are eating. If they're feeding on one insect more than the others, capture one and match it with a fly.
5. CHOOSING THE RIGHT FLY. Choosing the right fly pattern is easier when there is a hatch of insects. If the feeding of the trout you're after is random, check the undersides of rocks and inspect aquatic and streamside vegetation to determine the presence of specific aquatic insects or terrestrials. You should be able to make an educated guess as to effective fly patterns after such investigation. If a fly doesn't produce after 50 or so casts, change the pattern.
6. FIND THE RIGHT SPOT. Casting a fly to water that holds not fish is fruitless. If you can't see fish (feeding either on top or under the surface of the water) look for areas that offer protection to fish, including outside bends, undercuts, woody cover, rocks, riffles and deeper runs or holes. If you're fishing a sinking fly, be sure to get your nymph or wet fly down where the trout can see it.
7. PRACTICE CASTING. Even if you know where the trout are, you'll need to get the fly to them. All of us need to practice our casting. You can rent videos on casting, read books on the subject, attend casting clinics or just hang around good fly casters, but nothing helps as much as practice. Cast in your yard or on a pond; just do it.
8. PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING. Knowing how and when to present the fly makes all the difference. Study how your fly lands on the water and how to influence its landing through the cast. Learn also how to change the float or drift of the fly to tactical advantage. For instance tying a long (30 to 40-inch) tippet to your leader will cause the fly to land softly on the water's surface--an advantage when fishing dry flies. Twitching a caddisfly pattern can often incite trout to strike.
Well, before we knew it, my new friend and I had been on the phone for an hour. The conversation had been refreshing and fun and the caller had been courteous and appreciative. And he didn't once ask me to tell him where to catch a big trout. I wouldn't have told him anyway.
Clay Riness' column appears regularly in Midwest Fly Fishing.
The man on the phone introduced himself as a beginning fly angler who had a lust to fish spring creeks. "I just have one question for you," he said, "what are the best tips you can give me about for fishing spring-creek trout?"
He said he assumed that the question would be "right up my alley" and, given the years I've been trout fishing, it was, but the answer no doubt was more complex than he expected.
If you fish long enough, you'll get a lot of advice from other anglers who fancy themselves "experts" It's a good idea to pay attention to it. Most of what I've learned about fly fishing for trout I've learned first-hand and on stream, but I have valued the advice given by friends and strangers alike whose fishing lives have paralleled mine.
Here's what I told the man on the phone--a few of the best tips I've come across on the subject of how to fly fish on spring creeks for trout. Feel free to pass them on.
1. BLEND IN. Almost too fundamental to mention, but what you wear when you fish can make a difference. Since it is believed that trout recognize different colors, it makes sense to wear green against a green background when sneaking up on fish. Most fishing apparel is at least earth-tone, but it can't hurt to wear clothes that blend--such as green, tan or camouflage. And, don't wear a brightly colored hat; it's the first thing trout see when you approach the stream.
2. BE STEALTHY. Ever wonder how a blue heron canget close enough to spear trout with its beak? It because a blue heron is a sneak, a predator. It moves
slowly and carefully and pays attention. Spring-creek anglers should follow suit: Stay low, move quietly, cast a fly to the trout before they know you're there.
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copyright Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine 1999
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