Oct 10 2008
Get To the Piont
When fly fishing, there are many variables that can drastically affect the outcome and productivity of your day; unfortunately, most fishermen tend to pay close attention only to the major details, such as line, rod, and reel maintenance, however, it is also the little things that can become huge problems.
I am certain that many of us have faced this problem time and time again: you are fishing for a long while, and when you finally about to give up, a beautiful trophy strikes your line. As any fishermen would, your reaction is to set the hook, however, when you lift your rod and draw your line, the hook seems to be pulled out of the fish’s mouth without ever having even scratched the fish.
Although one can simply write a situation like this off by saying the fishermen has bad timing, or the fish had not taken the fly in yet, there is one cause for this problem that can not be avoided, and is typically the reason for such a disappointment: the hook.
When fishing rivers, it is important to understand the the rocks and small pebbles along the bottum of the stream wear away at the soft tips of the hook, thereby making the striking tip blunt and therefor less effective. It is therefor very important to maintane this piont.
Thanks to technology, this can be accoplished by utilizing a number of different mechanical sharpeners, as well as simply using a hand sharpener. Reguardless of the method, it is very important the you remember to get to the piont.
This past week I spent time scouting out, and fishing, a local pond here in northeastern Connecticut. It was my first time fishing this specific body of water, so I met up with the owner of the property to discuss the ins and outs of fishing there. After a few minutes of conversation, he began [...]
Although I enjoy the reliability and strength of my modern graphite, Pfueger rod, there tends to be a great joy in casting my grandfather’s handcrafted split bamboo rod. The rod is a ten and a half foot bamboo rod that he acquired long before I was born. My grandfather passed away before I was old [...]
As we are approaching fishing season, there are certain etiquettes that should be discussed.
One of the most important rules of fly fishing is that a fisherman should never, under any circumstances, ‘cull.’
Culling is the very inconsiderate practice of keeping a trout in a creel, and then, after catching larger trout, returns the spent trout to [...]
Spot fishing is a good technique when you find yourself in a situation where there are a number of visible fish rising. The basic idea is to always be ready for a repositioning of the fly to the place of the most current activity, whether that is along the shore, or toward the mid current [...]
The Usual is a very simple fly to tie, and can easily be accomplished by anyone who is starting to tie flies, due to the fact that it is very forgiving. When I tie the Usual, I prefer to use a #10 Mustad hook. I have found this size to be most efficient when fishing [...]