Unconventional Fly Fishing Techniques

While at this years Trout Festival I had the opportunity to visit with Bob Shanks who is the author of Around the Next Bend. Bob is a working encyclopedia when it comes to fly fishing. What intrigues me about this guy is his simplicity to the sport. He fishes with fly rods and reels that are priced far below the top of the line equipment. A lot of his accessories such as line, nets, waders, and smaller items are all bought at bargain prices. The title of this post Unconventional Fly Fishing Techniques certainly applies to Bob. He shared a few of those techniques with all of us last Saturday.

1.     He never uses a knot or loop to connect his leader to his fly line.  Bob’s technique is dipping ¾” of his fly line into fingernail polish remover to remove the coating on the fly line to make it more flexible---next you would insert a tiny pin and onto a larger pin into the end of the fly line to open it wide enough to insert your leader butt end which is cut at an angle into the ¾” fly line end with the leader end being coated with super glue. Squeeze the fly/leader lines together for at least 30 seconds and you have a knotless fly line leader connection that will stand the test of a 5 lb. brown. I actually tried to pull the prototype apart Bob provided for all of us at the Festival and no one broke it apart. Your line travels through your guides much faster when using this type connection. I will be trying this technique.

2.     Clean your fly line with any detergent and warm water at least every other fishing trip. This will enable the line to flow through the guides much easier. It will also make for a smoother line pick-up from the water surface. Cleaner fly will increase the life of the line.

3.     Wear hip waders, not only for the added comfort in the summer months, but hip waders are cheaper than chest waders. One seldom wears in water waist deep.

4.     Seldom make 30 ft. cast, to a target, instead merely wade the extra 10 ft. to place your fly at 20 ft. instead. You are much more accurate at 20 ft. as oppose to 30 ft.

His presentation ended with a handout asking one question; which trout species would you rather pursue a brown or rainbow and tell why? There were some interesting answers given and discussed. I will end this post by asking the same question---Which trout species would you rather pursue a brown or rainbow and tell why?  

Another Successful Trout Fest in the Books

A beautiful cool fall Saturday welcomed in this years Trout Fest which was held at the RiversideFly Shop, located on the banks of the Sipsey River. The event was sponsored by the Sipsey Trout Unlimited Chapter 639. This years Festival was loaded with activities, such as dry fly casting, door prizes, raffles, guest speakers, casting tutorials, children’s activities, casting competition, exhibits, fly tying, and striper-on-fly-forum. It was a fun event for the young and old, male and female and most of all a way to meet and greet avid fly fishermen and women. The event was to raise money for the big trout project that the Sipsey Trout Unlimited Chapter 639 has sponsored for the past couple of years. Last year’s goal was to raise 1500.00 which was met and this year’s goal reached that number and more. It is so rewarding to see so many fly fisherman turn out to support this cause.

I have to commend the guys in charge of smoking the pork and spare rids for lunch, it had to be some of the best pull pork I have tasted in a long time. Everyone else present agreed the meal was outstanding. The big smoker was smoking long before the crowd showed up.

Everyone attending could sign up here for a 10.00 ticket that was good for lunch and a chance to win the 10 ft. Nucanoe Frontier Hybird Kayak, worth 1,049.00. Notice the round plastic containers on the table, the lids were labeled with the name of each item to be raffled off.  One could buy 5.00 tickets for a chance to win any of the raffled items which was given away after lunch.

A lot of 10.00 tickets were sold to win this item. The individual who won the Nucanoe told me that his present canoe was on its last run, so winning the Nucanoe was a welcome addition for him.

The Bristol Bay Retreat in King Salmon, Alaska was another fantastic prize for the right ticket holder. A 10.00 raffle ticket would get you a chance to win this trip for two valued at 6500.00. A lot of tickets were sold for this trip of a lifetime.  

This was another item that got a lot of attention and sold a lot of 10.00 tickets; the Kamado Joe Ceramic Grill and Smoker, valued at 849.99. Other items that were raffled off were: Measure nets with rubber bag in three different sizes, pair of Korkers guide boots, Echo Edge fly rod, dry, nymph, and streamer fly boxes, 2 spools of Air-Flo fly line, Guideline Sunglasses, Guided Drift Boat Trip down the Sipsey Fork, and a Wading Guide trip for two from Riverside Fly Shop.

A number of fly tiers were available tying patterns used on and beyond the Sipsey. Joe Tremblay from Huntsville Alabama demonstrated some really nice dry and nymph patterns. He is a member of the Tennessevalleyflyfisher.org organization. Another excellent fly tier was Ted Crona who was from Scottsboro, Alabama. He demonstrated some really nice streamer patterns. His email address is tedcrona@yahoo.com

An array of streamers, dries, and nymphs were on display.

Local fly tier Steve Fletcher owner of Fletcher’s Flies was on hand to tie some of the popular patterns used on the Sipsey. Visit his website to see a variety of flies he ties and fishes with.

There were a number of kids participating in the casting competition.

This lady told me that she and her husband both fly fish and have been on a number of guided float trips in Tennessee. She was competing in the distance cast. The winner of this competition hit 72 ft.

 
Lunch begin with a line waiting for some of the pull pork, cole slaw, pork and beans, bread, and choice of drink. As stated earlier, the food for this years Fest was awesome!!!

Lifetime fly angler and author Bob Shanks was on hand to share with everyone his unconventional fly fishing techniques part II. He was at the Trout Derby back in the spring to present techniques I. Bob has fished in Idaho, Colorado, and Montana for years casting for rainbow and brown trout. He has spent the last 20 years during the summer months in Montana fishing all of the well known streams and rivers. The information he shared with everyone was priceless.

Around the Next Bend is a collection of stories and techniques that Bob has written to help one become a better fly fisherman. The book sold out at Trout Fest Saturday. A lot of Bob’s 70 years of fly fishing has gone into this book. He will be 84 in a couple of months and still fishing astounding!!

 

Legionary fly rod/reel, magazine contributor and fly casting expert Ted Calvert gave a demonstration on “Striper-on-the-Fly.” The casting skills he demonstrated were amazing. He guides on Smith Lake chasing the big stripers using his 8/9 wt. fly rod. He fishes streamers in the 4 to 6” lengths, using the big heavy bass bug line. 30 lb. stripers are not unusual for him to land using the fly rod. 

A tremendous amount of work went into this year’s festival, which produced a great turnout from the locals and many from outside the county and state. The money raised will ensure the stocking of many 20” rainbow and above for the coming year. Congratulations are in order to The Sipsey Trout Unlimited Chapter 639 and Randy and Brandon owners of Riverside for another successful year with Trout Fest. Hope to see everyone back for next years event.

 

 

 

  
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Moth or Muddler Either Pattern Will Produce Savage Hits

I came across one of my favorite early spring patterns this weekend, while selecting flies for my fly swap. It is the Muddler Minnow or what I like to call a glorified moth.  It seems each year I discover a new fly as most all of us do when fishing tends to get slow with your traditional fly patterns. I find the more I fly fish the more I like to experiment with other fly patterns. The pattern doesn’t have to match any hatch or be an insect the fish are hitting that particular time of day or year. It can simply be an attractor to get the attention of the fish. Like most flies the moth, which is what I will it, is that type of a pattern. It is that in your face fly that seems to drive fish nuts when nothing else will get a hit. I started fishing this pattern late last spring and into the July on Smith Lake and had tremendous success with it. My first intentions was to use it to land some monster bluegill in the gin clear water of Smith Lake, but I found out it was an awesome bass fly as well. The reactions from the spots in the lake were amazing. My next quest for this little jewel is the tailrace to see if I can get some rainbow interested. It would be an excellent fly to use in the fast ripples there. Floatant is a must when fishing this fly, because it possesses a big bushy body, which can soak up moisture fast in the form of getting water logged quickly. This fly is not hard to find it is in most fly shops and easily found on the net. The following image proves it worth!!

This beautiful spot inhaled the Moth on one of my early morning outings at Smith Lake early April this year. The action took place in the back of a nook area. I cast the fly right against the edge of some rocks, and  saw the wake before the fish ever took the fly, and knew I was in for a hit. This fish exploded on the fly and the fight was on. I landed it using my 9 ft. 5 wt.

Another spot which was taken by the Moth last year in the first part of July. 

These two bull bluegills were the victim of the Moth. I landed numbers of bluegills from Smith and the smaller lake Walker using the Moth. The 5 wt. was used to land both of these fish.

What I love about this fly is the light presentation one can achieve when casting on a smooth silk water surface. It doesn’t scare or spook the fish on days when the fish are on edge and not in the mood to hit anything. I actually purchased all the above Moths from our local Wal-mart, which has a small fly section set up in the sporting goods department. Today’s post will be the first in a series of reports I will be doing from time to time on flies I think will increase your fish catch ratio. I hope some of you guys will feature a fly you think is a winner in some of your future post as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Become a Blogger Fly Swap Fiend!!

I was reading through my blog roll the other day and read a post by Rick at Brookfield Angler concerning his Sculpin flies up for swap. I really go fired up about this pattern and in the process came up with an idea for all us fly fishing bloggers to acquire more flies. I know most of us have more flies than we will use in our lifetime but there is always that new and innovative pattern that we all must have to complete our fly arsenal.

So why not conduct a fly swap once a month. Each blogger sometimes during the month would post a number of flies he or she would like to swap. It could be as many as four or more or could even be one pattern. If someone is not interested in the flies from that particular post that month then they may be interested in next months flies. In other words it wouldn’t hurt anyone feelings if no one wanted to swap that month.

These are the flies I have up for swap this month. Keep in mind one does not have to swap for all four flies. The Brown Hackle Peacock

Comparing the Different Size Pelcian Boats for Added Room and Comfort

 I did a post a couple of years ago about my second go-to boat used to fish small ponds and larger streams such as the Caney Fork in Tennessee. The boat I am referring to is my little 8 ft.Pelican boat that Academy Sports and Dick’s Sporting Goods sells. There are other outlets that sell this boat, but most have the boat priced above market price. In fact, Bass Pro has this boat priced 100.00 above Academy Sports? This size boat is perfect for one fisherman and all the tackle but when another individual is added it becomes a little too crowded. So I have been searching the net for something larger, and I think I have found the perfect solution to the crowded quarters in the boat. Pelican not only makes the 8 ft. but they also have a 10 ft. version.

This is the 10 ft. version, which has more compartments and 1 ½ ft. more floor space and has the handy fold-down seats. I know I am going to be dealing with more weight when it comes to handling this boat versus the 8 ft. This boat weighs in at 131 lbs. compared to the 8 ft. which weighs in at 95 lbs. I feel I could handle the added 36 lbs. because I am only lifting the one end of the boat up to slide into the back of my truck. I think it would be different if I was pulling or trying to carry this boat some distance. As my Grandson gets older I am going to need a bigger boat to carry him and his Dad in a boat that is really stable and floats high in the water. This boat will do just that, especially floating streams and a large tailrace. I am going to make a trip to our local Academy Sports in Birmingham soon to actually see the boat up close and even lift it before I make my final decision. It always good to plan ahead for the upcoming season. 

Pops and Grandson Bryson on an Afternoon Bluegill Fishing Trip

This past Wednesday my Grandson Bryson and I made a trip to a local pond near our house to fish for some fall bluegill using his spin cast and the red worms he and I dug up in our back yard. As always Bryson was anxious to go with his Pops and see if he could catch a fish for his Uncle JJ. I have found out when I carry Bryson fishing that the trip always evolves around a theme. The last trip was naming the worms and even deciding to carry one home, and not let the fish eat him. Well, today’s theme was catching a fish for his Uncle JJ; which eventually lead to catching a fish for his Dad, Mom, and his sister Laelyn. I have to say this little guy has an imagination way beyond his years. I am sorry to say I can’t show you guys any pictures for this trip, because I accidentally erased all of them except the one below. Bryson did catch the most bluegill he has ever landed with his Pops and even lost a bass that broke his line. All total we counted around 15 bluegills and the lost bass at the end of the afternoon.

 This is one of the many bluegills Bryson landed while spending the afternoon with his Pops. This may be our last trip for this year because the weather is getting cooler, but we have the spring and summer next year to look forward to.