3 Ways to Keep Your Fly Up

Want to know a good problem to have?

Catching so many fish that you’re struggling to keep your fly afloat.

While that might sound a little bit like humble bragging, it is something that happens to all anglers from time to time. The reality is that it can be problematic. If you’re catching a lot of fish, but you’re spending an inordinate amount of time messing with a sinking fly, you’re missing out on even more fish.

Whether you are hitting an amazing hatch on a spring creek or running up a mountain blue line, you want your fly to be the best tool for all the trout feeding with reckless abandon. I’ve put together a list of three concepts, with seven “tips” total, to think about to keep your fly high, dry, and appetizing for the fish.

It starts with the right fly, prepared the best way, fished with a little forethought:

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Rusty Flybox: Brookies

Brook Trout…

And people think that the leaves are pretty in autumn!

Maybe it is good that the fall colors of brookies are our little secret, otherwise every blue line and back trail would be littered with trout peepers. As it is, the deeper you get into the woods the more brilliant your surroundings and your fish become.

There are so many things to say about my favorite fish. But since it is Friday, and since I’ve said so much already, I figured I’d share a few brook trout focused pieces from the Casting Across archives. Click on the picture or the title to read something about these amazing little char.

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Run to the Fish

Left: trail mode, Right: fishing ready

I like trail running. I like fly fishing.

I have a limited amount of time to do anything like either of those things.

Not all pursuits are flexible enough to combine, but trail running and fly fishing can be seamlessly combined in such a way that you’re not really compromising on either.

Most recently I ran four miles into the New Hampshire woods. Not only did I get a great workout, but a few other interesting things happened. As I went further up the mountains the water temperatures dropped significantly. With each mile, I saw less and less people. At the end of the day I had been able to fly fish, see so much wilderness, and put in some serious trail miles. And I caught a lot of trout.

Check out three reasons why you should give running to the fish a shot, and some tips on preparing for such an outing, below:

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Laboring Today, Fly Fishing Yesterday

Good old Labor Day. A day off to celebrate other days off.

I know  that is a gross misrepresentation… kind of…

For me, there will be work today. I’ll be laboriously reading, writing, and – completely unrelated – assembling IKEA furniture.  Don’t worry, I took yesterday afternoon off (to fish). And I’m taking tomorrow morning off (to fish).

Consequently, I’m taking it easy on the Casting Across front so I can get my labor on. That doesn’t mean I’m leaving you high and dry. I’ve got some good things for you, regardless of the intensity of your individual industry.

Here are three quick things:

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Waiting Decades for a Trout

“I know protecting them is important,” I said, “but what is fishing for greenbacks like?”

“They’re beautiful, special fish that live in amazing places,” he said, smiling. “They aren’t the only cutthroats that need to be protected, but their story is special.”

I had a lot of questions for the late Dr. Robert Behnke in the short amount of time we spent together. Completely aware that most people don’t want to talk work while not working, I still peppered him with various inquiries about trout. He didn’t seem to mind. I assume that when you are the world’s leading expert on salmonids, your office hours don’t end once you leave the classroom.

Greenback cutthroat trout have been squarely in the center of American fly fishing culture for decades. The story of the greenbacks is too lengthy to go into detail here, and much has been written regarding these special fish. Their supposed extinction, “discovery,” rediscovery, and conservation have been at the forefront of trout-centric causes for my entire life.

Consequently, I’ve always wanted to catch one.

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Mentally Moving on in Fly Fishing

You’d think that it would be easy to write about fly fishing in a new place, for a new fish, for the first time. There is a lot to say about the particularities of the species – how it looks, how it acts, how it is the same or different than other fish like it. One strain of cutthroat trout is different than another, which are still dissimilar from rainbows… and quite different from brookies. And, of course, that’s just talking about trout (and char).

It should be simple to describe the endless contrasts that exist between fly fishing out west and on the east coast. It isn’t just Rocky Mountains vs. Appalachians. The rocks, the trees, and the bugs make for completely unique experiences even before you cast a fly.

There seems to be a progression:

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Cutting in from Vacation

I’m currently in the middle of a family vacation / cutthroat expedition.

(Note: the backslash above represents an immense chasm.)

But I have an amazing wife, and she’s humored me as I’ve driven, run, and climbed about the Rocky Mountains in search of native fish.

More content from the trip will be coming in the following weeks. For now, I wanted to share a few articles about cutthroats in general, greenbacks in particular, and population conservation.

Read what I’ve been reading below:

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Fly Fishing Podcasts Worth Listening To, part IX

Fly fishing can define an experience, a personality, an event, a place.

Listening to the voices of those who see such things through the lens of fly fishing can be captivating. If you fish, you’re hearing something in your own language. Hearing them can make you think, push you to do something, or just pass the time – but regardless, you’ll get it.

Today I’ve picked four podcasts that I’ve enjoyed. Moreover, I’ve picked four episodes that are really about the aforementioned details. You’ll hear conversations and interviews that aren’t just about fly fishing. They are about  an experience, a personality, an event, and a place.

Here are four podcast episodes that I think are worth listening to:

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Why the Release is as Important as the Catch

Picture yourself hooking, fighting, and landing a fish. It could be a trout, a bass, or a bonefish. Regardless of your quarry, put yourself in that moment immediately after it has been unhooked. Things could play out in a few different ways:

  • You could bonk it on the head and eat it later.
  • It might flop out of your hands and disappear.
  • You could place it back in the water and allow it to swim away.

Given the right circumstances, the first option isn’t awful. Brookies in the Rockies, hatchery steelhead, and fat panfish are delicious. By and large, fly fishers aren’t eating their catches. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with it, but the what and where usually make it prohibitive.

The second course of action is immensely dissatisfying. Especially if it is a good fish, losing it prematurely in the angling process takes something away from the experience. It is good that the fish has the vitality to release itself. Ultimately, that is what catch and release is all about. So why does an escaping fish elicit groans and hand-wringing?

Because there are still vestigial remnants of fishing’s bloodsport ancestry.

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