Swinging For Chrome, For Love Of The Steelhead

I have never fished in the Pacific Northwest.  That's a sad statement for me as finding the time and resources to do so is high on my list of adventures.   I read and watch video of Steelhead in that pure and spectacular part of the world and can only imagine what western steel dreams are made from.  Cold and clear, crisp and powerful, those rivers of the North Western United States and South Western Canada, can only be associated to my favorite haunts when I am in pursuit of Salmo Salar.  To me anadromous silver has the deepest angling reward I have experienced.

At the end of October, when the Canadian Atlantic Salmon season draws closed, my attention shifts to Great Lake tributaries and the bright steelhead that start to run in big numbers.  The migration does start earlier but the crowds hitting massive runs of large King Salmon keeps me away until that season leaves but a few dark reminders lurking in the upper reaches.  These rivers, are at times, packed with fisherman. Because of the very diverse angling styles employed, feeling a bit cramped can be a big problem.   Difficult at times, yes, but well worth doing your best to overcome by being calm and not reactive.

I use a number of tactics, depending on conditions, to target these fish.  My first choice is always  to swing with a short two hand rod. Until the water temperature turns very cold I will continue this style.  Using heavier leaders with flowing hair tube flies stands out as the method most aesthetically pleasing and closest to what I believe will be implored when I travel out west.   I load my casts in cramped confines with a extra short Skagit heads and change the tips and poly leaders required to work the pool.  Having the room for this style requires locations that have the fewest number of other anglers.  The lower sections of rivers where the fish are bright and powerful as well as opposite banks from the easier accessed and cramped pools.  Walking longer distances is required and can be rewarded by having areas all to yourself while smiling at the line up on the other shore.

I also have shorter ten and a half to eleven foot switch rods that are through the butt flex style blanks with thin cork handles.  These rods give me the ability to change between light tippet nymphing and short head swinging.  In busy locations that are farther up river,  nymphing techniques works well and these rods become deadly tools.  I have no use for the fast and now today ultra fast action rods.  There is no reason to even have one on the steelhead rivers of New York State and Stealhead Ally in the mid west.  I realized this fact a few years back when I noticed that the center pin anglers were landing far more fish than any other method.  They are using the same tippet in size as well as composition, and only difference is the composite of the rod blank.  I think that if you are using light tippets for nymph or indicator fishing your old fiberglass rod from thirty years ago would be a far better choice.  Long casts are seldom required and your greatest weakness with a fast action rod is the fast action.

There are so many different flies that will attract steelhead.  These fish having the ability to see black and white in a total absence of light and blue with the least light can give us some inkling into fly choice.  Color and contrast seems to be the most important factor for the swing while the size and color with contrast seems to be key factors while nymphing.  Of course flies and colors are river and environment specific but a wide range in bunny leeches and a well stocked collection of stone fly imitations will get you started.  Eggs, Roe, all styles of nymphs, worms, leeches and bait imitations are all used with success. If I had to live with only one fly for swinging it would be a black leech with a chartreuse Eztaz head and one fly for nymphing would be a black stone fly with a chartreuse Eztaz thorax.  You can tie both these flies and just change the color of the Eztaz to blue, pink or red and have all you need on many days.  I also like the same leech fly with a white tail as well as a size 12 Pheasant Tail.

The key factor to Mid Western steal heading is to go.  By far the best and most rewarding fresh water angling found east of the Rockies.  Just go, don't listen to the talk about crowds and problems.  Just go, be a mild mannered angler and have a blast hooking some of the strongest, craziest and fastest fish alive.

Two Hands On The Beach

An increasing area of Two Hand Casting is in the salt.  Busting shooting head and Scandi Line casts 100 to 130 feet offers the ability to get your fly over a wave set or two. Big Bait style flies can also be cast with ease when using Skagit type lines and casts in tidal locations. The concept result is a simple one. Less false casting means more time stripping your fly in the water.

This class is designed to start with The Modern Continuous Tension Switch Cast and Overhead techniques and end casting 15 foot 9 and 10 weight shooting heads into the moon rise. 

This open location will allow a wide range of styles to be covered at the same time. 

Sunday, September 23, 2012 at the North Beach Bowl,  Hampton, New Hampshire.  Parking is available at the end of Rt. 27 and the bowl is 200 yards to the north. Class will start at 2PM and end at dusk when you are welcome to fish into the night. High tide is at 6:50PM.

$40 Per Caster with 6 Casters maximum.   Your equipment or mine. This is a great opportunity for the first time two hand caster to really understand what to purchase in rods and lines. 

Please reply to William@FlySpoke.com

It's Monday night and I just finished a two hour practice on the beach.  What a spectacular location when the sun is going down.  I worked dominant hand down on switch casts, overhead casts and snap T casts.

Someone was busy at low tide today.  I practiced for an hour.

Structure of the Bowl

Power On, Power Off, Don't Worry It Will All Make Sense

Sometime opportunities come about because you are in a certain moment in time that demands your willingness to say yes. Recognizing those precious moments is the key to forward motion in the endeavor of anything that stirs our passion.  This week I had such an event and my head is still reliving each and every second.  So much happened in these few days that  I'm going to hope that the bushes will remind me of the things forgotten.

What leads to these moments can be direct or some what indirect in nature.  In my case it was very direct.  I have been studying for a crack at the Federation of Fly Fishers Two Hand Casting Certification.  Being on the East Coast, and achieving this goal is made difficult by sheer location.  We are infants in this fine art in comparison to the West Coast steelheaders and European seekers of Salar.   There are but a few Masters to call on for mentoring help.  One of those people is Jim Valle from Wall, New Jersey.  He is the closest THCI Master to my home at 350 miles distance.    I made contact with Jim a number of months ago to ask his assistance to learn how to be a proficient two hand caster and also to teach me what it takes to join the other sixty eight certified Spey casters from around the world.

Jim's teacher was Al Buhr from Oregon.  The all knowing, all seeing, Guru of West Coast style Modern Two Hand Casting.  Al was coming East, the two were giving a three day clinic and I replied to Jim's invitation between the skipped beat of my heart that I would attend.

Let me give you just a bit of background about Jim Valle.  Jim is originally from Paramus New Jersey, a tour in Viet Nam and a trip to the West Coast after service is where he met Al.  Jim started to take the two hand style that he learned and apply it to salt water surf casting.  Being able to clear three wave sets using the out going under tow as anchor is a clear advantage to the fly caster from the beach.  Add to that the use of Skagit style lines and being able to throw four inch long Bunker is something very unique to the two hand world.  To me, the most creative of our kind are the ones that have the ability to make the same tool do two different jobs.  To Jim Valle it flows as if natural.

What Simon Gawesworth is to Atlantic Salmon long belly angling Al Buhr is to finding every steelhead in the river.  Each hiding place will be explored by use of shooting lines and tips and poly leaders of every size and configuration.  Al takes the flat world of single hand casting and offers a very round and fluid technology to the two hand rod.  Motion never stops but is powered up and down as we make each movement with a deliberate tempo.  He believes that the perfect cast is the one that puts his fly in the water more times per day than any other.  He gave me a way to see each cast as a sum of its parts that can be analyzed as if each could take a year.  Like a Tai Chi master slowly performs their deadly moves, so have I learned to move my casting style in such a way.  Liiffffttt, with a grunting skewed face directly into the sweep, removing power at just the right moment with the correct tempo to command our fly to be in that one inch square anchor location required for perfection.  Understanding that the line always follows the tip of the rod  and how the relationship between power and removal of power is the key factor to a quality two hand cast.  I have the determination and knowledge that if I want to change my path all I need is to do so.

As we worked through hand position and transformation of rod to line to fly it became clear that I had entered a new zone of understanding.  I was becoming a better caster by the moment as I did all I could to digest each sermon and fulfill each task with a slow and deliberate dance with my line.  I must have looked a bit foolish as I over exaggerated the rod path while making Bruce Lee sounds.

Getting the feeling of continuous motion has not been easy.  Maybe one in five casts had the almost correct rhythm necessary to move well enough that when I flicked the tip, as Al's mentor, Jim Green would say,  a reasonable size loop was created to target.  By the end of the third day I had the feeling in hand, the hope that I could be successful and my emotions were heightened enough to want to have another three days.  I left our meeting with the positive feeling that I can do this.  I can understand that the flat world has it's place and I cast a single hand rod with the same determination.  I can use this continuous motion to change anything I want at any moment needed to get the end result desired.  I can do this thing we call the Modern Two Hand Style and I can do it well enough now to feel good about myself and continue to seek each and every little nuance that will only come with time and deep thought.

What was that?  Round up from low to high........don't hesitate grasshopper,

Can't be.

Bushes don't talk.  Do they?

Thank you Jim, thank you Al, it was a blast.

William

Timing Is The Key Factor For Atlantic Salmon Success

Most of us have busy lives with responsibilities that dictate the timing of an angling adventure.  Family, work and money are the key culprits.  The timing of the river has it's own beat and we do our best to jump on board as often as possible.  The beginning of August is my timing for visiting the Matane.  Sometimes the river is not in agreement.

Each and every Salmon River has it's own tempo.  Some start very early before spring has taken hold and others wait until the last of October to blossom.  Salar has a way to protect the overall species by spreading out their time at sea as well as in the home river.  This past week I experienced the difference of what a day can do to make or break a trip.  It's not a new happening, but one that has happened again.

To look at this photo it might seem that the 30 salmon sitting in the middle of the pool would be easy to take.  Even though we stayed all the way back on the bank, as stealth as possible, we only received one look.  Dry flies, wet flies, dead drift, stripped, you name it we did it from 4:30 am till 9am.  The pool even looks like there is enough water but what you are looking at is Fosse Le Cage, pool #78 on the River Matane at the lowest level in modern times.  The weather man said it was going to rain but hot and sun filled the day.  The absolute worst weather imaginable to the pêcheur de saumon.

All of the Maritime Providences have been plagued with low and slow water for a good part of the season. The Marimachi has even set it's available hours to 6am to 10am each day. This has been the reality and waiting for rain becomes the game.

On Saturday, we needed to be on the road toward home. You know, that responsibility thing. The rain had started the night before and was filling the river nicely. We made the big mistake to make a last stop at Le Tomogodi and watched one of the local anglers land a 12 pound fish to a size 8 Silver Rat double. The next week is going to be off the charts as at least one thousand new fish will be running the river. The biologists are saying that the mouth of the river was carpeted with fish waiting for their time to ascend the sweet flow.

We wait and have all the knowledge from experience to know when it's right. So if you do not have a schedule to keep and can run today then do so now. Don't wait for this river can run spate and be low and slow in a weeks time. If you arrived there today, August 12, 2012 then your timing is much better than mine.

Chaque année je voyage dans la Rivière Matane, parce que la beauté des terres de la rivière et des personnes ne peut pas correspondre. J'aime être à Rene de Matane et ne peuvent pas attendre pour le moment juste une fois de plus. Merci pour votre hospitalité.

Davy Knot Wars

Of all the search results that get people to my blog, the Davy Knot is constantly number one.  The level of interest in the knot is very high and I have been a proponent for a long time.

When I first did this experiment I used a size 14 hook and 6X tippet.  The Davy Knot was the weakest and then it dawned on me.  The tippet was too small for the hook.  This is why I went for the 5X and the size 14 hook.  The end result of both attempts were exactly the same.  The Double Davy Knot was the clear winner even with the smaller diameter tippet.

I will not be looking any farther into this situation as I am fully convinced of the result.

Watch the Knot Wars video and comment if you have anything to add.

Matapedia Green Butt Dog Micro Tube

I think this fly is screaming for a big salmon on the Matapedia.   

Warren Duncan Green Machine

Fly Tying Tip #129

Jungle Cock Capes come in all qualities possible.  I have seen some that are so bad that I don't understand how it happens.  I have purchased some that are so fine that they stand out as the perfect finishing touch to my work. $150 to $200 is common when you want the better quality.

When you are making a purchase, you want to look at the individual feathers themselves.  Notice the splits and the shape.  Also the luster should be bright with vibrant colors.  You might feel good with a purchase if the look of the feathers could be improved.

If you have some nails that are not up to your standards watch this video and you might be able to save a lot of money.

The Magog Smelt

Hot, Low And Crowded

I fish on rivers that have the same problem each year.  All over New England we have control dams for  holding lake levels that provide constant summer fun and safety yet prove the same result time and time again.  The summer moves forward and the rivers lose their water.  They get Hot, Low And Crowded.

Yesterday, on Independence Day, I went to such a river for the five hours before dark.  I was told the July 4th caddis hatch late in the day was a must experience.  The flow was the lowest so far this year and the water temperature was seventy nine degrees.  Being a resort area, there was little pressure on the river except for a few first timers.  I wasn't surprised what I found.

I started in a run where I had taken a twenty two inch fish a few days before when the flow was twice that of today.  I worked a number of flies and all proved unacceptable.  Some looks but no takers.  Then down to the next rapid and again the same thing.  Splashes and rises but no takers.  Dropping down a tippet size and using a Double Davy knot for assured strength also did not work.  It just had to be that the water was Hot, Low and the fish were packed into small areas that seemed Crowded.

The predicted light show started and the sky opened with substantial down pours.  I fled for the car as the wind picked up and the thunder cracked overhead.  The sound of the early summer leaves being thrashed about is one of those unique sounds of danger that can make the hairs on my arms stand at attention.

As the front passed, I made my way back where I left off.  The rain was substantial enough to color the water a bit yet only decreased the temperature by one degree.  My hope was for that caddis hatch.that had not happened yet.  A few here and there but not what I would call prolific.

First cast with an olive Gary LaFantaine Sparkel Emergent Pupa Dry Fly produced a strong rise but no take.  The second drift put a solid fish on the line and after a sluggish  fight my measure net said eighteen inches.  The warm water was obviously taking a toll on these beautiful fish. A short while later I had another fish of the same size and the evening came to a close.  The hatch never happened.

Most years, this location would be finished for the year weeks ago.  We are always wondering where the fish go.  After coming down from the lake I always thought that when the water started to warm the fish traveled down river.  They vacated to bigger water where cool springs saved their lives.  You know that thing about Rainbows and Salmon being travelers.  Now I am sad to think that they just plain die.

I think that there is a line that I should stop crossing.  This, my thirty sixth day on the fiver since January first should be the last for a while.  That is unless we get some rain soon.

That line is the one that gets to Hot, Low And Crowded just before it gets Hot, Low And Void.

Same Thing Murray

The Pheasant Tail Nymph

There are many versions of this wonderful nymph.  Frank Sawyer's original fly was created to imitate the Baitis family of of May Flies found on the chalk streams of England.  Today, the fly is tied to replicate many different species and works very well in all forms.

Most of my use of this fly is done in the most drab form with only a copper color rib on the abdomen.  I find that it is the most effective was to fish the fly.  One of the ways that I give a bit of life is to use nail polish that has holographic flecks embedded in the liquid.  I put a small amount on top of the wing case to look like the bubbles that are naturally created to assist the nymph to rise to the surface when changing to adult.

For larger species as Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon Broodstock I tie the fly on larger sizes and add some sparkle to the top of the wing case.  Also by using different color dubbing you can add some color.

Simple Pheasant Tail Video
Salmon River Steelhead Pheasant Tail Video

When Routine Is All But Routine, Landlocked Salmon Have A Funny Way Of Fooling You

This past Friday was a very special day angling in the lakes region of New Hampshire.  There is a golden opportunity that happens, but does not occur every year.

The weather, this year, has been at best different.  We had a lower snow pack than usual, high early spring temperatures with very low rain fall and now a cool and rainy late April and May.  Water temperatures are very normal given the weather pattern we have experienced.  What is making this season special is the quantity of dry fly action over the past week.  The salmon have been available in big quantities and can be found in all the usual places.

Friday I had four hours to fish.  I hooked fourteen salmon with the largest at eighteen inches all on Tan Elk Hair Caddis dries.  To me that is exceptional fishing.  This all happened in the first three hours with the forth hour going baron.  I did put on dropper emergers, and I tried leaches, and I switched to different size and color Caddis dry flies.  Time was up and I left scratching my head.

Yesterday, I had a short hour and a half to sample some of the same.  When I arrived, my good friends, Al and Bob were sitting in the truck and they were also scratching their heads wondering why with so many fish boiling and jumping and eating like crazy they only had one fish each for the entire morning.

I looked at the Elk Hairs they were using and saw a difference in the hackle and body.  Mine had ginger color with the tan wing and light olive body.  Would that do the trick?

I like to watch my fly drift with dagger eyes.  I notice every spin, flip, wake, rise in water from a fish taking a look as well as how the fish takes the fly.  Sometimes the only way to get a take is to wait for a fish to feed and put the fly on the ring quickly.  The fish are moving quickly without regard to look and can be fooled with whatever hits the water..  Sometimes you can cast and drift randomly because you are using a perfect match.   Well, I tried it all.  I started to go through the entire collection from tan to black and small to large and with fish rising all around I could not get a take.

Then on one drift I was watching closely and a fish rose to eat three inches from my fly.  There was clearly no adult caddis on the water and sure enough it was a salmon with a bright silver side.

A change was in the air, or in this case in the water.

I switched over to emerger style caddis.  First a Stalcup Medallion and had one fish take as I was stripping back for the next cast.  Then I switched to a Sparkle Pupa with no result.  Then I went to the Woody in size eighteen making slow and short strips.  I looked at the time and knew I only had a half hour left.  Time does melt away when I am fishing.  My time expired and I finished hooking a total of five salmon.  I handed some of the flies to Al and was gone.

So many adult Caddis easily available and the fish were zoning in on small emergers and would only take when they had movement.

I guess none of us like to eat the same thing presented in the same way day after day after day.............

William

Fly Tying Tip #128

For a long time I have been making all sorts of modifications to hooks and Waddington shanks to create a good way to make articulated flies.  Now I am happy to have found  a product from The Flymen Fishing Company that is worth purchasing.

They come in three sizes and can be used hook direct or as stingers.

Below The Suckers

Spring is here and oh what a season it has been.  The Fish Club Crew have been out in force since January first and the numbers of  big fish angled has been the best ever.

Now, that is saying a lot.

Even with the low flows all over New England, the fish are there and what is making a big difference, for me, is the combine experience my friends are sharing.  I have so many options that it is impossible to get to every location right now unless I skip out on work.

One of the events that happens at this time is the migration of large quantities of spawning Catostomids.  Commonly known as Suckers because of their downward facing mouth.  The Rainbow Trout have been in the river on their own migration for a month or more and the Landlocked Salmon have just arrived.  The aroma must be screaming that a big meal is on the way.

One of the most effective forms of lure is the multitude of flies that imitate the roe of the suckers.  Sucker Spawn patterns can be made with a number of materials that are readily available.  For the rivers I fish a pale yellow combination with a tinge of light green or olive seems to work best.  Pearl core braid in combination with light yellow yarn and a sprig of marabou seems to be quite effective.  You can use Sharpie markers to add highlights in red to the under portion of the fly.

I fish these flies no different than any dead drift presentation.  The trout and salmon will move and follow as the water temperatures have been on the rise.

So along with all the other pieces to the puzzle, the Sucker Spawn has a place. A great addition to eggs and leeches as effective springtime flies when the big ones lie below the Suckers.  The window is short and taking advantage of the feast is now.

William

In Pursuit Of Salmo Salar

Angling the day away has it's rewards.  Getting out there makes me feel alive and I love the reflection I go through for days after.  Having a long week end adds a substantially heightened emotion because you can lock into a location and have the time to figure out what is needed for success.  I have also stayed at some very high quality lodges where your every need is taken care of and you and your guide spend the day on private water.  These trips to places like Toms Brook on the Restigouche, Camp Brule, Salmon Lodge and others have been memorable indeed.  A week during the fall season in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia can be spectacular.

The most number of days that I have fished Salmon  in a row has been ten.  I spent these days on some of the most important rivers in Quebec and for a number of those days the locations were legendary.  The rivers included York, Dartmouth, Grande Cascapedia and Matapedia.  If these were the only rivers available to me in the world I could be happy.

Right now there are a number of us who have booked into lodges, won the lotteries for water access on the rivers in Quebec or are using the vast access to public water that is available all through Eastern Canada.  The dates are locked and extending a trip means working with  public pools, seventy two and forty eight hour draws.  The first thing to do, no matter what you have booked now, is to create an information pack of every name, address and phone number that would have relevance.   I have been on more than one adventure when something happens and you must shift gears.  Torrential rains that had trees flowing down the Miramachi, in New Brunswick, once moved my week to Quebec where the rain caused the fishing to explode. You can watch the river flow for a while and go home or move quickly and save the week.  Over time, we all make friends and associates.  That list can be your personal life saver.

When I travel to a certain destination my equipment and fly selection is carefully prepared for the conditions that are expected.  I wait until the last two days before leaving to check the river flow and up coming weather.  I make phone calls to find out the exact situation and then set my gear to match what I have learned.  Then, I pack everything else in a separate bag as you just never know what might be needed.   Extra rods, reels, lines, flies, leaders and cloths.  Rods and reels break and lines wear out.  Having extra gear can save time and money.

Not all trips need to be planned far in advance.  Some of the most memorable have been a reaction to favorable conditions during the shoulder times of the year.  I once called Ron McWhirter, at Camp Brule during September, and being an honest camp owner he said I should not come.  "There are fish in every pool and they are not taking well at all".  I noticed that a reasonable rain was forecast for the next day and decided to go for a three day spur of the moment trip. Fish in every pool is all I needed to hear along with a change in weather.   I was guided on public water of the Petite Cascapedia by Ron's son, Andrew, where we were able to land two fish each day.  I fished both wet and dry fly and had a great time as the freshet had made the fish active.  I was lucky to have read the conditions correctly and just as important is the skill to read the conditions in the opposite direction and not go.  This of course is no easy task.  That time on the Marimachi when the trees were flowing in the chocolate brown current could have been switched from home had I had the proper system in place to know what was expected.

Of course having the ability to make these kind of decisions takes many years of experience as well as the knowledge of many rivers.  Keeping every bit of information written as well as photos of each trip will help you maintain a library.  I scan the old photos to have in my computer and have draws filled with pamphlets and maps.    A great source for information has been the back issues of the Atlantic Salmon Journal.  I have the entire collection back to the very first issue.  The people and conditions change but the basic information that gives you the ability to make decisions does not.

So, this season In Persuit Of Salmo Salar, save and savor the experience as if it were history.  You are building your own personal experience that will give you the ability to make a switch if needed.

William