Showing posts with label River. Show all posts
Showing posts with label River. Show all posts
Fly Fishing Small Streams
Picture this; you've spent some time hiking into a small stream in the back country. It's early morning, mist is rising and the midges that have been swarming around you are breakfast for the small browns you have come to catch. You quietly walk up to the stream, watching the swirls of rising fish. You tie a nymph onto your leader and step into the water.
A trout skids away from under your feet, its flight sending out warning signals as bright as any neon light. The feeding fish flee in response and you are left with a section of river devoid of all but the midges. Welcome to fly fishing the small stream.
Stop and look before fly fishing the small stream
Before you get into the water stop and look at what is in front of you. This is especially true when approaching the small stream. Trout are well camouflaged, especially when you are looking down into the water. (A good pair of Polaroid glasses helps here.)
I like to make my first cast well back from the waters edge. If there is little cover then I tend to use a long leader and lay the line on the riverbank, allowing only the leader to enter the water, as close to the near bank as possible. That way, if there are any fish lying close under the bank, I will have given them first look at my fly.
Reading the water of the small stream
The waters of the small stream are like those of any river, just on a smaller scale. The fish will be in the same types of water that they would be in if you were fishing any trout stream. When you are fly fishing the small stream, look for those areas that provide the fish with their need for protection from predators, relief from fast flowing currents, and access to food.
Fishing the pocket water
I like to use dry flies when fly fishing pocket water in a small stream. The fish will usually be holding out of the main current but close enough to grab any food that comes floating by, and a drifting fly is often too tempting to resist.
Often it is not necessary to match the fly closely to whatever is hatching. Instead I like to fish a fly that is visible enough for me to see in fast moving water. Something like a light elk hair caddis works well. When the strike comes I can see it and I catch more fish this way than missing the strike by using a less visible, hatch matching fly.
Fly fishing the small stream usually requires a more sensitive approach and a finesse that is not necessary in larger rivers. Experience and practice are the great tellers here. Ability to read the water is more critical as the fish are often more easily spooked than their big water cousins. But when you make your way home at the end of a successful fishing day in the back country you know that the time spent learning to fly fish the small stream has been worthwhile.
About the Author
Dale East is a long time outdoorsman and fly fisher and publisher of Fly Fishing Wyoming
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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Fly Fishing Instruction Courses
If you love to fish, you may have contemplated getting into various types of fishing. You may be considering fly fishing, or bass fly fishing, or even saltwater fly fishing. If you are a seasoned fisherman or woman, you may think that you can teach yourself these new sports. However, fly fishing is not as easy as you might think, and because of this it is important that you get some fly fishing instruction before you embark on your fly fishing experience.
Where To Go
Many community colleges offer non credit courses. These courses include dance, acting, foreign languages, and community service. Some community colleges offer fishing classes or, more specifically, fly fishing instruction classes. If you are serious about becoming a strong fly fisher, you may want to consider taking classes like this from someone who truly knows what he or she is talking about. You will, of course, have to pay a small fee, but you will be paying for real fly fishing instruction. You will have the guarantee that your instructor is trained and is a hired professional. In your fly fishing instruction course you will probably get actual fishing time with your instructor. This can be invaluable to you as your instructor will be able to tell you what you are doing right and if you are doing anything incorrectly.
Finding A Mentor
If you do not have the time or money to take a fly fishing instruction course at your local community college, you should look into finding a fly fishing mentor. If you live in an area where there are many fly fishermen or women, this should not be difficult. Ask someone you know who fly fishes to take you under his or her wing and teach you what he or she knows. You will learn firsthand from someone who has been there and done it many times. This mentor should be able to tell you what, specifically, will work for your area or region, and what rivers, lakes, or other bodies of water are the best places to fly fish.
Why You Should Not Do It Alone
Fly fishing seems like a very mild sport, but the fact is that several people die every year from fly fishing accidents. If you want to learn how to fly fish and be safe while doing it, you need to either take a fly fishing instruction course at your local community college, or find a fly fishing mentor.
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