Are You a Perfectionist When it Comes to Fly Fishing???

Do I consider myself a perfectionist? When it comes to fly fishing I would say I am close.  When I am on the water I am always trying to stay in touch with how the fish are reacting. This could be feeding habits, reaction to water levels, water temps, current flow, and hatch patterns. If I am having problems with one or more of these factors, then it really gets my goat if I can’t entice the fish into taking one of my offerings. So I do what most all fishermen do, I keep trying different techniques and patterns until I hit on something that is productive. Sometimes it works and sometimes I come up on the losing end. I always look back on every trip especially the skunked ones and try to analyze why I wasn’t successful and try to come up with a solution that will make the next trip a little more productive. Could those no fish trips be attributed to natural factors, less concentration on my part, dormant fish, or bad cast?
Sometimes I wonder if I am being too hard on myself when one of my casts goes astray. I not only want that cast to be precise but I want it to produce a fish every time the line hits the water. I not only enjoy getting the fish on with that super cast, but I want to make sure I play the fish to the point that one I land it and two that I don’t harm the fish in the process.  Back in the days when I fished in the bass tournaments using the casting rod play was not a factor: then numbers were the winner and the faster you could land the fish the faster you became the winner. I am still the same fisherman I was back in the day but my techniques and methods have changed since I returned to the fly rod. I am still trying to get that perfect presentation on every cast and again if I don’t I am still trying to figure out why what and how I can make it better. Just wondering are any of you guys a perfectionist when it comes to fishing?

Reviewing Nymphing Techniques and Set-ups

My last post dealt with my Nymphing by Numbers videos I got for Christmas. I went back and watched the video again, because I wanted to make sure I really understood some of the segments that were featured. The one segment that really got my attention was the section dealing with weights. The presenter in the video only used a weight to get his flies close to the bottom, not beadheads nymphs. In fact he said he never uses beadheads. He says they lack the action compared to your standard nymph flies. I agree after watching how he used this technique.
In his most used set-up there are two flies involved. One fly which is his anchor fly is tied at the end of the tippet with a weight or weights positioned 14 to 16” above it. He then places a tiny midge or scud 12” above the weight, and last is the indicator. The bottom fly he is using is most always a Stone Fly which is floating up with the weight bumping off the bottom. Hits are about equal on both flies. I know some of you guys have used this set-up and have been successful with it. I for one have not used it, but after seeing how many trout this guy landed with this technique, you can bet I will give it a try. He uses other nymphing set-ups in the video but the weight two fly method is what got my attention. As I stated in the first post, I am still in the learning stages here and anything dealing with improving my nymph fishing I am interested it. I am curious to know your favorite nymphing set-up that seems to never fail you. I will give all set-ups a try.

  

Sorry guys this is the closet I can come to his set-up. Not showing in the image above is the tiny midge he used above the weight in the image, in other words the weight seperated the two flies. I know this is a common set-up in fly fishing. I use the beadhead most of the time instead of the weight.

Gifts You Need and Those You Don't

I know we all get things for Christmas that we really need and of course we all get things that we just don’t use or don’t need. Well I got both but the gift I was pleased with most was my “Nymphing by the Numbers video with Kelly Galloup. This video not only has some excellent information on nymphing but has some added information on dry fly fishing as well. I must confess I am still in the learning process when it comes to nymphing. The different nymphing techniques on this video are easy to understand and the plus is Kelly is actually landing trout in the process.

After watching the segment on dry flies it got me to thinking about my favorite dry fly the Parachute Adams. I know this fly has been used by most all of the fly fisherman out there. I guess the reason the fly is so popular is the white wing post which makes it so easy to see. Another feature is the fact it float really high in the water. The size 14 is my choice because it seems to fit the areas I fish most. I have landed trout on this fly when nothing else would produce. So there you have it with my favorite gift for this year, what was yours? I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Happy New Year!!!!

Merry Christmas to All My Blog Buddies

Guys hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. We as Americans have so much to be thankful for this holiday season. Christmas is that one time we all seem to come together with friends and family. So to all my blog friends out there take care, be safe and watch those calories this weekend. I am looking forward to reading some great posts from all of you in 2012.

Truly Astounding Stunts!!!

Guys I must admit that I am not into Utube videos for a blog post but today is an exception, because when you say amazing this video clip tops all I have seen. One of my fishing buddies emailed me the clip today. He told me that I wouldn’t believe some of the stunts. After viewing it I can’t believe a human being can do some of the things that are shown here. Hope everyone has a great Christmas and Happy New year!!!

Top 10 Reasons Why my Favorite Fishing Hole is Special

Well, Dave has his top ten lists, so it’s time for Bill’s top ten reasons why my favorite fishing hole is special.

1.  The scenery is out of this world, something changes to enhance the beauty every time you are there.

2.  It always brings back some fabulous memories of fishing buddies and  nice fish landed

3. The weather seems to always be perfect when I am there and on the water

4. The water is always clean, clear, and fertile.

5.  I always catch fish there even on the worst days.

6.  My confidence level seems to hit a high when I am in this place

7.  If no lure or pattern is working I can always count on my old stand by lure to produce

8.  An abundance of wildlife is always a bonus

9.  Not a lot of fishing pressure

10. This place simply has that “it factor”

So there you have it. When you are out there on the water this winter, spring summer, and fall; you might think of a few more reasons why you lose sleep over that special place you can’t wait to get to at dawn.

Buying American Made Products--Are You In???

My last post dealt with purchasing some bargain fishing equipment. What I neglected to tell you guys that I was actually looking for Made in America fishing products. I knew I was going to follow up with this post. I did find some catfish bait made in the United States, but the other items were made you guessed it in China. One item was made in Japan. That post got me to thinking about the newscast the ABC Nightly News has been broadcasting for the past couple of months. They have been doing news segments on how one can help create jobs in this country by simply buying American Made Goods. An example of one of their segments recently was to spend 64.00 of your Christmas dollars on American Made products. That 64.00 would produce as many as 200,000 jobs in this country: just think about that. If the general population in this county would spend that amount for Christmas what an impact it could have for the unemployed. After watching the segments I find myself now being more conscious of things my wife and I buy. I am now actually checking to see where the items are made. Of course, a large majority is still made aboard, which in reality is just one of the problems that have caused the deficient problem we are facing now. ---not to mention the gridlock in congress---I checked my fishing tackle recently and found that I have only one fishing rod made in the US which was a crappie pole made in West Point Mississippi. All the rest was made in China. ABC News has been asking the question to the viewing audience are they in when it comes to buying American Made Products; well I am in. My question to all my fishing buddies out there is are you in?  I hope you guys will buy an American made product next time you are at your local outlet store. Who knows some of you might even do a post concerning the product you purchase. BUY AMERICA MADE PRODUCTS!!! 

Making the Case for the Okuma Fly Rod

Every once in while I like to a make an unexpected road trip. My wife was at our daughters today in Tennessee, so I decided I would make a trip to some of the sporting good outlets in Birmingham. My first stop was a place I seldom go which I like to call the overpriced club, Mark’s Outdoors. It has all the usual name brands fishing tackle, but a bit over budget for me. I also made a stop at Dick’s sporting goods, which has some fishing tackle but caters more to the outdoor and sporting goods enthusiast. Of course I stopped by the Bass Pro shop and waded through the crowds. Bass Pro is a great fishing and hunting outlet but I seemed to get somewhat overwhelmed when I am there because of the enormous selection of everything. I finally ended up at Academy Sports. I wasn’t really looking for anything in particular to buy but came across some great deals while I was there. One was an Okuma fly rod 8 ½ ft. 4/5 wt. with medium action. I really like the lightness of this rod, and the rosewood reel seat. The best part was the price, 35.00 clearance. I have used Okuma reels and micro light rods over the years and have never had a problem with their performance. So with that thought in mind I bought the rod. I know I needed another fly rod like a dog needs ticks, but it was such a great deal I just couldn't pass it up. Another item I found was Lake Fork Fishing Shirts by Magellan.  I really like these shirts because of the vents in the back and the large storage pockets and clips hooks on the front. I bought a couple last year and was impressed.  These were 12.00 bucks clearance in the store but 17.00 on the website. I paid 25.00 last year for the same shirt. So I purchased a couple short sleeves. Of course there were all the clearance items on flies, lures, reels, tippets and a host of other items. Academy seems to always have an abundance of clearance items. So to make my point I left there with some shirts, rod, and few flies tippet and a couple of leaders that my wife decided would be Christmas for me, which suited me fine. Sometimes guy’s road trips don’t involved landing fish.