As most fly fishermen can attest to, cork handles are undoubtedly the most comfortable handles to use when casting. Although there are many types of handles, such as foam and composite, nothing seems to offer the support, durability, and comfort of cork.

However, cork falls subject to a number of unavoidable mishaps throughout use. The two major factors that play into the wearing of cork handles, are moisture, and insect. Contrary to what might be readily accepted, dirt and grime are actually good for your cork handle. This layer not only helps to break in the handle to make it more fitted, but will also create a protective coating over the handle, thereby keeping off termites and other wood-eating insects.

I own a number of cork-handled rods, and recently found small larva living inside the handle. Because of this, I had to cut a section out of the handle, and reconstruct that section, an art that I will explain more about tomorrow. Today, however, I wish to discuss the precautionary measures that can taken to maintain a cork handle, and thereby extend its use.

First, I stated that water was a leading cause of decomposition of cork handles. This is mostly due to the fact that the water can soak into the handle, and actually rot the handle from the inside out. To avoid this, be sure to not store a cork handled rod without first making sure that the handle has dried out. Furthermore, do not store such rods in musty sheds, or other such placed that tend to maintained a humid atmosphere. This leads to the next point.

Be sure to store such rods indoors in a place where bugs will not not be able to get to the cork to eat and lay larva. This is actually more of a problem than people seem to understand. Following proper storing instructions will definitely extend the life of your cork handle, and will allow it to serve you better.

Tags: Cork, Fly Rod, Handle

The U.F.O., Unidentified Floating Object, goes by many names, but is a common fly to almost all fishermen in South America. The U.F.O. is just as it claims: ‘unidentified’. This fly is used as a general imitator; mimicking any large floating bug, such as a beetle, or large ant.

The U.F.O. is particularly successful during the dry seasons, when the rivers, streams, and lakes, tend to have less water than normal, and the temperature of the water warms. During these odd times, when trout seem to almost become dormant, terrestrials generally become a must-have, if you want to fill your creel. The U.F.O. is an extraordinarily useful fly because it can be used as a substitution for almost the entire beetle and ant families.

When fishing with the U.F.O., placement and presentation are key to catching fish. Acting as a terrestrial, the U.F.O. is best if fished across the banks of the streams, preferably under overhanging branches and shrubs.

To better give the illusion that the U.F.O. has fallen from hanging undergrowth, once should present the fly more ‘floatly’ than usual. Generally, when presenting a dry fly, it is recommended that the caster lays the line perfectly parallel with the water, about a foot above the surface, before allowing it to touch down. When fishing the U.F.O., it is important to delay this leveling process, and instead, allow the line to lay out with the line hitting the water just slightly before the fly. This will allow the fly to have the appearance that it is falling, in its own weight to the water. To furthermore present the fly as real, try to keep it from hitting the water with more force than would be natural. This will keep the fly from startling the fish, and causing them to disperse.

Tags: Flies, UFO

The Wild-Eyed Wooly (WEW) is a common fly amongst North American fly fishermen. Due to is versatility and productivity, it has earned its place as one of the best streamers to use when trout fishing in streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds.

The WEW can be used as an imitator of the damsel nymph, which makes this pattern particularly effective on those hot summer days when there seems to be no other hatches rising. The WEW can also be used as a wooly bugger supplement when fishing on those last few cold months of fishing toward the beginning and end of fishing season.

The WEW is most effective in dark, murky areas of rivers, or the outside edges of bends in the river. The reason for fishing this fly on the outsides edges of a turn in the river is because that is where drift wood and leaves will tend to wash ashore in the most abundant amounts. These sticks and leaves sink to the riverbed and rot, creating an ever growing area of black mud where these damsel flies make themselves at home.

When fishing the Wild-Eyed Wooly, it is best to use a quarter turn sweep, and then retrieve it in short smooth bursts of movement, allowing the fly to bounce along the riverbed. It is important to remember to never let the WEW lay dormant for any period of time while in the water. The WEW’s tail and gills, being comprised of black malibu, gives the WEW the realistic appearance of having moving body parts. What you must keep in mind, however, is that on a real damsel nymph, these body parts are almost continuously moving, and therefore, your imitation should keep moving as well, not giving the fish a chance to inspect the fly before making the choice to strike, which they tend to do during the pause directly after the head of the streamer hits the riverbed.

Another important thing to remember is not to back-cast this fly unless it is weighted with lead! I have tried before to back cast this fly in order to achieve a greater distance to fish, and found that if you back cast more than one cast rotation (once back-then forward), the fly becomes to dry that it can take excruciating amounts of time to sink. If you prefer to not roll cast, and enjoy the art of back casting, as do I, you can tie the fly using copper beads for eyes, as opposed to plastic, and add further weight using lead wire. This will allow you to back cast, and still have the WEW sink efficiently.

Tags: Fishing, Flies, WEW

Well, the trip to the Cape was postponed a couple of weeks due to conflicting plans calling me to the mountain regions of Northern New Hampshire. Fortunately, prior to my leaving for this chilly climate, I was able to stumble across a wonderful topic to discuss, the hibernatory habits of freshwater bass.

As you may have noticed, in the early months of fishing season, such as in April, and early May, the streams will be flowing with a variety of trout. Furthermore, while the trout are running, bass seem to remain unseen, and effectively remain out of site. However, when the water levels drop, and the temperature rises, it seems as though spontaneous generation occurs, and bass rule the water of New England streams. Baffled by this strange occurrence, my uncle begged to ask the question, “Where do the bass for the winter;” a question that spurred a very long discussion, and many assumptions on the topic, resulting in a quest to find the truth behind this marvel of nature.

One of the most common responses to the question, was that the bass find their way to the downstream sides of dams, sitting in the warm runoff water. Although this seemed plausible, it still did not explain where the bass relocated during the winter freeze, when ponds are partially drained, and the water ceases to flow over dams. After a long phone conversation with a local, weathered fisherman, the mystery was solved, or so we believe.

The conclusion that was agreed upon, was that bass, like frogs, store enough energy to survive the winter without needed to eat. Furthermore, these bass lay deep in the mud, allowing their bodies to come to the point of almost a coma-state, laying in wait until the warm water returns to revive their lifeless bodies.

Remember, this is just the thoughts of searching men, and, if anyone should have any further insight into the topic, please write me and fill me in!

Tags: bass, freshwater bass, hibernation, trout

In the past I have written about the importance of bamboo rod maintenance and use. Today I would like to take time to point out one more precautionary measure that should never be overlooked when storing a bamboo fly rod.

Although sealed cases are popular among most fishermen, many of us have that special, handcrafted, bamboo rod that we just cannot help but display, whether it be hung from a wall, or stood in a corner, it is important to remember that bamboo bows. If the rod is not properly supported, such as if it is stood in a corner, the tip of the rod will begin to bend, and eventually will hold the curve, compromising the casting of the rod, and making it structurally unstable.

The best way to show off that beautiful rod, is to simply hang the rod for the wall. It is important, however, to make sure that the rod is supported along its entirety, and not simple just at its ends. Furthermore, I have found it most effective to display such rods in their separated pieces; this will completely remove all chances of damaging the rod.

Tags: Bamboo, Rods

I recently received the invitation to go on a short fly fishing excursion in Cape Cod. I, and a handful of other fly fishermen will be literally spending every waking moment on the waters edge. With this trip coming up, I would like to take time discussing one key aspect of salt water fishing.

Because of how vast the ocean is, it can be a difficult task to keep all of your bearings, such as the distance and windage location of your line, and the times of strikes. Furthermore, due to offshore currents it can be very easy to miscalculate how much line you actually have in the water. Most inland fishermen are able to judge the amount of outgoing line by relating it to another distance, such as the width of the stream, or the distance to a specific rock. However, with such vast expanses, there are very few ways to calculate this.

When fishing during daylight hours, it can be very effective to simple take a number of colored, permanent markers, and systematically color code the float line, marking out different lengths of reference. This can be very effective, and will allow you to keep from overextending casts, as well as will keep you from falling short or desired distances. Although this is very effective during the daytime, there is one problem; it is only useful during the daytime.

For night fishing, there is a similar technique, involving thread instead of marker. Simply tie a small piece of thread, or preferable yarn, to the distances of the line. As the line masses through your fingers, it is possible to count how many feet of line you have released into the water. This method is only advised for fast moving fishing, where a disturbance to the flow of the line will not be noticed by the targeted fish. Furthermore, this method may lead to a hindered flow of line from the reel, as the float line may become caught on the yarn markers. If one has a reel large enough that the line is not too constricted, this problem will not occur.

Tags: Fishing, Line, Markers

For the typical, New England, clear water fly fishermen, trout season tends to stretch primarily from opening day, the third Saturday in April, to about late may, into early July, when the temperature begins to rise, and the water levels begin to drop. Although this sad state of affairs has mostly become accepted as typical trout behavior, it can still be disappointing to those fishermen who do not wish to spend their time dreaming of next season’s fish, but rather want to get out and cast their rod. For those fishermen out there, there is hope. If you wanna catch late-season trout, all you have to do is look in the right places.

Just as bass tend to make their way from hiding, and enter to now warm streams, trout tend to find their place in dormancy, seeming to disappear from nature entirely. In reality, trout simple lay low during the heat of the day by avoiding unnecessary exhaustion, primarily by laying still, and not eating.

Furthermore, when fishing for ‘lates,’ it is best to fish under in the shadows of overhanging trees, typically large pines that are growing along the bank. As well as these shadows, there are two other key locations to find trophy lates: in deep holes, and at the deltas of tributary runoffs.

In the late summer, it is not uncommon to find masses of trout sitting at the delta of a tributary, the place where a mountain runoff meets the main stream. It is at these places where very cool water enters, and where fish have a place to lay without being subject to warm water. Also, these runoffs tend to have a very high oxygen level, and therefore are able to support the trout far better that the slower moving body of the stream. It is in these deltas that one can be guaranteed to catch late trout. So, when approaching a stream, keep an eye out for tributary water, keep you distance, and land those lates.

Tags: Fishing, Late, Tributary

As I stated yesterday, the majority of Midwest fly fishing is ‘dark water.’ Although this is true, clear water fishing is a huge industry in other, more mountainous, areas of New Mexico. When traveling through the mountainous regions around Los Alamos, I met up with two men who were preparing to fish a small, clear water, run-off stream. Due to the large pine, and the small meadows of unscathed grass, it seemed as though we were once again in the Appalachian Mountains here in New England.

As the discussion with these two men continued, it became clear that regardless of what coast you are on, or how different of lived we lived being in different areas of the country, we still were able to communicate perfectly on one topic, clear water fishing. These two men used a technique that is very common to use around the east coast as well, called “hopper and dropper.” By utilizing this method, a fisherman has the ability to fish two very different patterns at the same time, more readily appealing to the different desires of different fish.

In the case of “hopper and dropper,” the fisherman ties a hopper pattern, the lead, to the tippet as usual, then, selecting a nymph of some sort, ties short piece of tippet material, about nine inches will do, to the shank of the hopper, then attach the dropper nymph to that tippet. It is important to make sure that your lead fly is always a highly buoyant dry fly, and your dropper is a very non-buoyant nymph or wet fly pattern. It is key to balance the flies appropriately, to ensure that the dropper does not sink the lead, nor should the lead cause the dropper to float unnaturally. This technique will undoubtedly serve you well, and, in some cases will lead to an interesting tale of a ‘double catch.’

Tags: Dropper, Fly, Hopper

I just recently returned from the lovely state of New Mexico where I had the opportunity to spend a few weeks on the Dine’, or more commonly, the Navajo, Reservation. While there, I was able to travel to a number of different streams and rivers, in search of a native that could give me the rundown on fly fishing in those unfamiliar waters. During my visit to the res, it was clear that most of the fishing there was ‘dark-water,’ a term used to describe the overwhelming lack of visiblity into the water. This darkening of the water is primarily caused by an increase in material in the water, such as mud or other fine debris. When speaking with a local Navajo fisherman, I learned that, prior to my arrival on the res, it had rained for a number of days, causing the rivers to rise, and become darkened as a result of the incoming mud from the banks. Although a New England, clearwater fisherman might find these conditions insuffent for fishing, the Navajo man looked forward each year to this time, and for good reason.

Due to the rise is the water levels, as a result of the rainy season, the banks of the rivers become submerged, as do the homes of inumerable mud worms, such as the Tubiflew worm, an aquatic worm that closely resembles the common earthworm, although red in color. The rising water forces these worms from their homes, resulting in a buffet for local trout. Fly fishermen capitalize on this natural occurance using patterns that mimick these worms, such as the San Jaun Worm, discussed earlier on the website.

From speaking with other fishermen along the Rio Grande, I learned that many New Mexican fishermen prefer darkwater fishing due to the fact that the murky waters, coupled with the loud rushing water, make it almost impossible for the trout to see or sense the danger of approaching fishermen, giving the fisherman the upperhand when trying to land ‘the big one.’

Tags: Darkwater, Fishing, New Mexico

This past weekend I had the opportunity to work with a young man who wished to be introduced to fly fishing. Before beginning his first lesson, I set him up with a Pflueger rod and reel kit. The same set that my father bought me when I began fly fishing. Although the package was supposed to include all the lines needed to assemble the rod, I was disappointed to find that there was, in fact, no leader.

Due to my busy schedule, I had my brother run out to the store and buy me a leader. The only problem was that my brother is completely unlearned in all areas of fly fishing. Because of this, he bought me two ‘quick connect’ leaders.

Over the past few years I have seen many developments in these units, and have been very skeptical for a number of reasons. Firstly, I was worried about having such a large piece of plastic in the middle of the line, due to the effects that it could have on casting and stripping. I was worried that it would both distract fish from the fly, and furthermore, cause larger pull marks when retrieving the line. Despite my hesitation, I was actually very impressed with such units as a beginner’s tool.

This small connecter allowed me to quickly, and effectively, attach the leader without dealing with confusing nail knots, and although I was worried, I piece did not affect my casting at all. The unit weighed so little that the fluctuation caused by the interference did not show in the cast. Furthermore, when retrieving the line after a cast, the tapered plastic connecter moved smoothly through the water, resulting in no abnormal water marks.

All in all, I think that such units are a great investment for beginners who are not so confident in their ability to tie reliable knots. They make for a quick way to change out leaders, and, despite what one might believe, I have not found a significant, negative result of using such a tool.

Tags: Fishing, Fly Fishing, Knots