tips for beginers and others # 53 to # 75

by allthegearnoidea Mon Nov 26, 2007 6:50 am

Tip #53: What is Essential Gear?
When it comes to fly fishing there is gear that is essential and gear that is less necessary. Focus on carrying essential gear that focuses on the day of fishing ahead. Listed below is essential gear:

· A good rod that you can rely on.
· A reel.
· A variety of bait that you will be using that day.
· A variety of flies and lures that you will be using that day.
· A first aid kit.
· A rain jacket.
· A hat and sun block.
· Extra clothing that you can wear and take off if you get too hot.
Listed below is non-essential gear:

· A huge tackle box that is filled to the brim with all your lures, baits, and flies.
· Things that you won’t be using on that fishing day, such as the wrong line or reel.

Tip #54: The Size of your Flies
The size of your flies will matter, especially in the spring and fall when there are high waters, at which time you’ll want larger flies than you would be using in the summer months. Summer months bring lower water levels and you can get away with using smaller sized flies. During those months when you’re not fly fishing take the time to tie up different sizes of flies and build up your selection. This will save you time when you are fishing from having to stop and tie a larger or smaller fly.

Tip #55: Fly Fishing for Salmon – Mood Matters
Salmon can be an odd fish to catch since their mood often matters. If they are in a "taking" mood they will accept any lure and bait. However, if they are not in a taking mood they will ignore anything that you dangle in front of them

Tip #56: Fly Fishing for Salmon – When Will they Strike?
When salmon are in the river they won’t be feeding. However, this doesn’t mean that they won’t be striking. For a salmon, striking is a natural behaviour. While the salmon are located in a lake they will be quite predatory and full of aggression. They will continue this behaviour when they enter the river. This is good for you because you get those strikes whether they are feeding or not.
Tip #57: Fly Fishing for Salmon – Keep your Hooks Sharp
The salmon has a very thick jaw so you’ll want to keep your hooks as sharp as possible so that they can penetrate deep.
Tip #58: Fly Fishing for Salmon – Fishing with a Partner
Try fly fishing for salmon with a partner so that you can spot more fish. Take turns fly fishing. One partner will fish while the other one stands on the opposite bank and keeps an eye on the behavior of the salmon and exactly where they are. Make sure that you bring along your polarized glasses.

Tip #59: Fly Fishing for Salmon – Find a Good Hole
Make the effort to find a hole that has plenty of salmon in it. These types of holes can be fished all day.

Tip #60: Fly Fishing for Salmon – Choose Low-Light Days – Cool Water
Salmon like days that have a low-light or cloud cover. On days that are sunny and bright you’ll most likely find salmon congregating away from the brightness in deep holes. It’s those cloudy days that will make the salmon more accessible to you.

Water temperature, and knowing what it is, can play a big role in the success or failure of salmon fishing. You’ll want to invest in a good thermometer so that you can keep track of water temperatures throughout the day. Make sure that you place the thermometer in the same place each time to a depth of anywhere from six inches to three feet below the surface.

Keep a notebook with a record of water temperatures, being sure to update whenever you can. After a few years of recording water temperature in your favorite fishing spot you’ll have a good idea of which patterns are occurring.
Salmon do much better in cooler water. When water temperatures start to rise, salmon go deeper. This is because there is more oxygen in cooler water and salmon need this oxygen to survive. Salmon will be more active in cooler water than warm water so they will be a little more difficult to catch as they fight harder to escape. You’ll want to find a happy medium in water temperature so that the fish aren’t too active but nor are they too hot.
Understanding the water temperature of the water that your fishing can play a big part in knowing what type of rod, reel, and line to use as well as what type of lures and baits you should be using.
Tip #61: Fly Fishing for Salmon – Where to Fish – When to Fish
Salmon like to gather in dark and deep pools where the water is dark and black. You’ll also find them on the cusp of bends at the point where the water starts to get deep. This fish likes water to be fast on the top and slow lower down. The salmon’s behavior during the day will cause it to swim up or down depending on the brightness of the day and the temperature of the water.

There are no right and wrong rules about when to go fishing for salmon. If you only have time to fish on weekends you’ll have to take the weather as it is. This means learning to adapt to all types of weather conditions. For instance, when the weather is particularly windy you’ll have to know which line and reel is best so that you can cast far. You’ll also have to learn how to cast into the wind so that your line casts out far enough. One of the most important things that you need to worry about when it’s windy is your safety. What you normally see on a calm day, such as logs and brush, can be hidden by the waves that the wind creates.

As weather conditions change, you’ll have to learn to change with them or you may never catch those salmon that you’ve been dying to take home.

Tip #62: Fly Fishing for Salmon – Finding the Snags
Since salmon like to congregate in deep holes you can expect there to be snags that are going to grab on to your flies. Before you find yourself loosing too many flies take some time to access the hole before you start fishing. Find a high spot, if you can, and use your polarized glasses to look down into the hole to see if you can spot any snags. Another trick is to use a fly that you don’t mind loosing and sent it into the hole to see what happens.
Tip #63: Fly Fishing for Salmon – Check the Tail End of Pools
Make sure that you check the tail end of pools as well as the neck area. Salmon like to congregate in this area so you’ll usually find more than an abundance of fish.

Tip #64: Fly Fishing for Salmon – Learn to Fish Slowly
One of the big mistakes that beginner fly fishers make is too fish for salmon too quickly. Although effective for trout fishing, salmon need to be fished with more patience.
Tip #65: Fly Fishing for Trout - Using a Shorter Rod
When you’re fishing for trout you should be using a rod that is quite short, such as an 8ft brook rod or a 10ft loch job. You want to make sure that your rod fits the venue that you’re fishing. The one thing that you need to keep in mind is that a short rod is hard to use if you want to gain any distance.

Tip #66: Fly Fishing for Trout – Using a Floating Line
There are many trout fly lines that you can choose from when you’re fishing for this type of fish. Beginner fly fishers should start out with a floating line since it will be much easier for them to manipulate.

Tip #67: Fly Fishing for Trout – Dry Fly or Wet Fly?
Knowing what fly to use is quite simple when it comes to fishing for trout: use a dry fly if the trout are feeding on the surface and use a wet fly if they are feeding below the surface.
Tip #68: Fly Fishing for Trout - When to Change your Fly
If you find that the trout aren’t biting continue to use the same fly for about 15 minutes before you switch to another one. Keep up this pattern until you find a fly that works.

Tip #69: Fly Fishing for Trout – Trout Habits
Trout are easy to predict. Rainbow trout always swim in shoals while the brown trout are more territorial and avoid this pattern. The one big thing to keep in mind when you’re fly fishing for trout is that you usually need to go to them rather than expecting them to come to you.

A quick note on trout habits in lakes: Lakes in higher areas are often much more rocky than lower lying lakes. These types of lakes won’t have a great deal of weed or brush cover. You’ll find rocky lakes a bit tough to fish since the water is too clear and there aren’t a great deal of places for trout to find the cover that they enjoy. If there are any trout in the lake they will most likely be on the large size since they enjoy deeper waters and clear conditions.

Many experienced fly fishers enjoy fishing from the bank of a lake even if they own a boat. One of the first things that you need to do is find the perfect bank. Look for banks that have about a thirty degree slope that runs away from the shoreline. The water in the area should be anywhere from five to fifteen feet deep. If the slope if more than forty-five degrees you’ll have trouble balancing and staying in a stationary position.

Trout are attracted to very gradual slopes and will often stack up in this type of habitat. If there is a bit of vegetation or brush that has been submerged the trout will love the area even more.

When you’re fishing from the bank you’ll want to use spinning tackle. Place the weight about eight to twelve inches away from the hook. The best types of lures to use are spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Avoid using a jig because you’ll find that it gets up much too often. To save yourself the hassle of carrying a tackle box, think about wearing a vest where you can keep all your tackle in convenient pockets.
Tip #70: Fly Fishing for Trout – Releasing your Trout
There will be some trophies that you want to photograph but most times you’ll want to make sure that you don’t handle the trout. Trout are covered in a protective layer of slime and when you touch it you disturb the fine balance of things. Trout can develop a fungus on the areas where you touch, which can kill it. To release the trout all you need to do is release the hook from the mouth and allow it to swim away without touching it. For help in removing the hook you can use forceps or small pliers.
Tip #71: Fly Fishing for Trout – Revive before Releasing
Before you release the trout you need to make sure that it is completely revived beforehand. If the fish has been exhausted it may turn over upside down or roll onto its side. Larger trout will take more time to revive while small fish usually require no reviving at all.

If you need to revive a fish make sure that you hold it so that it is upright. Try to find a flow of water that is quite gentle, just enough so that you can get its gills working and so that it can gain oxygen back from the water. As the fish starts to revive its gills will start to work more and more until it can stay upright in the water. The goal is to allow the trout to swim away without your help.
Tip #72: Fly Fishing for Trout – The Importance of Reading the Stream
When you are able to read the river or stream you increase your chances of catching that trout. Most streams will have a current that creates a pattern that is known as the riffle-run-pool pattern. This pattern will continue to repeat itself over and over again. You’ll find big brown trout in deep pools while the smaller browns and rainbow trout can be found in runs. The riffles will contain small trout during day hours and bigger trout during the morning and evening feeding times.
Many fly fishers overlook streams in favor of lakes or rivers. This, however, can be a big mistake. Streams provide great options for fly fishing, especially those streams that have cool water. Trout seem to enjoy streams since they can live in deep holes that are found just underneath the rapids. They also enjoy hovering beneath undercut banks since the water current here is calmer but still has a flow to it.

Tip #73: Fly Fishing for Trout - Identifying the Riffle
Riffles will have a current that is fast, along with very shallow water. The bottom will be a mixture of rubble, gravel, or boulders. You’ll want to fish riffles during the morning or the evening during feeding periods.
Tip #74: Fly Fishing for Trout – Identifying the Runs
Runs are much deeper than riffles but they have a more moderate current. You’ll most often find runs between the riffles and the pools. The bottom of runs is composed of rubble or small gravel. Runs are great places to find trout at almost any time.
Tip #75: Fly Fishing for Trout – Identifying Pools
Pools will be darker than other areas of the river or stream. They have a much smoother current. The water will be slow moving and deep over a bottom that is composed of sand, small gravel, or silt. You’ll find medium to large trout in pools during the midday.

Fishing for fish in natural lakes can be all the way from good to excellent. The success that you have will often depend on what part of the country the lake is located. For instance, the southern states have natural lakes that are quite shallow.

Many smaller sized natural lakes have a circular shape. You’ll want to focus your fishing strategy close to the shore where there are weeds and rocks. Larger lakes, in particular those lakes in the north, will often have great places for trout to school. This can include islands, weed flows, natural reefs, and deep holes. One thing to keep in mind when it comes to northern natural lakes is that they are often infertile. This means that although the water is very clear it doesn’t contain large amounts of algae or plankton, and thus lack a great deal of oxygen.