High Up The Creek

Like many anglers, I have a soft spot for small mountain streams. The solitude, the scenery, and the familiarity of a high-gradient creek are comfortable commonalities that you’ll find across the world. Aside from the difference in riparian foliage, streams I’ve fished from South Carolina to New Hampshire to Colorado all feel very similar and, to a certain degree, approachable. If you’ve fished these waters, you’re well aware that it isn’t difficult to fool some very opportunistic trout. That doesn’t mean that all the fish, particularly the bigger or older ones, are pushovers. But fishing plunge pools can be one of the highest percentage fly fishing ventures out there.

But do you remember the first time you fished a small mountain stream? If your experience was anything like mine, the only facets of the day that you could call high percentage were “parts of the body below the waist that got wet” and “flies left in the trees.” I stumbled and snagged my way through six hours of fishing on a rocky little Virginia creek called the Conway River in the Shenandoah Mountains.

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Angling for a Gift

Black Friday. A day when we eat everything we ate on Thanksgiving, only in one sandwich. It is also a day when door buster-crazed, credit card-wielding Americans frantically spend like their lives depend on it. I suppose the need for calories after such retail battles necessitates a turkey/stuffing/cranberry sauce/gravy hoagie.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for buying Christmas gifts. In fact, I’ve given some specific hints for the angler on your list. However, the personal touch that can make gift giving so special is often lacking these days.

If you are a fly angler, consider taking someone fishing as part of a gift this year. This doesn’t mean they tag along while you fish. Actually take them fishing. It doesn’t matter if you’re not some fishing phenom. Just take them out on the water, show them how to cast, tie their knots for them, and share your appreciation for the sport. If you make them wake up early, buy breakfast. Preferably something with bacon in it.

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Gifts for Fly Fishers (If You Don’t Fly Fish)

Fly fishers are a very particular bunch. The vast majority like what they like, and have what they need. When it comes to giving gifts this puts the non-fly fishing buyer in a quandary. You could ask for a specific list, and then just do the buying for them. Or you can hop on Amazon, type in “fly fishing,” and hope you don’t end up with something they’ll have to pretend they are happy to receive.

Giving gifts is supposed to be fun, meaningful, and thoughtful. Getting it right and seeing the recipient’s reaction of joy and surprise is great. There are some things that you can get a finicky fly fisher if you don’t fly fish and still get that kind of response. I’ve put together a list of some universal, high quality items that nearly every angler would enjoy using. Even in the chance that they already have it, a duplicate would probably be appreciated. Hopefully this will be a helpful way for you to get started shopping… or an opportunity to forward an article to give that certain someone a hint.

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Stained Black Lines

Anthropologists believe that a cave painting in the Czech Republic is the earliest example of a map that we have. The markings seem to represent local mountains, valleys, and rivers. It isn’t hard to understand that for millennia we’ve wanted to do what we can to identify where we are and what is around us. These ancient peoples obviously did what they could to construct something that helped them comprehend their natural surroundings. The features on the map were of the fields and hunting grounds that they depended upon. Although unconfirmed by leading historical cartographers, there was also probably a section of river on the map that is designated as catch and release, fly fishing only.

Regardless of the authenticity of Neolithic special regulation waters, generations of anglers have relied heavily upon maps. There is a lot of water around, and without a map there might be countless hours of fruitless scouting or fishing. Some might find this adventurous or the purest form of experiencing nature. These people might be unemployed or otherwise burdened by too much free time. The rest of us, to one degree or another, utilize maps.

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Before First Light

3:30 AM – The alarm goes off.

3:33 AM – The alarm goes off again. You remember that you don’t have to go to work, but that you get to go fishing. This gives you a performance-enhanced level of energy compared to every other morning, and you get up.

3:40 AM – Getting dressed quietly (as was part of the deal), you convince yourself you won’t need that extra layer. You’re always hot in the afternoon, anyway.

3:41 AM – Opening the garage door, you discover that you do need that extra layer. Your foolish indecision has cost you valuable seconds.

3:45 AM – On the road. Mellow music and the heat are on. You’ve already seen 4 deer, and begin to go through a strategy for when you might encounter one. Slam the brakes? Swerve into the other lane? You think someone told you once that you’re supposed to aim with the corner of your front bumper…

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PSA: No Cruddy Shades

This isn’t meant to be a commercial. Think of it more as a public service announcement. Or, if you’re planning on fishing anytime soon and this applies to you, the cacophonous screeching of the emergency broadcast system.

Don’t fish with cruddy sunglasses.

  • Are your fishing sunglasses not polarized? Fix it, now.
  • Do your fishing sunglasses hurt your nose, ears, face, or – I can’t believe it – eyes? Why, oh why?
  • Are the lenses of your fishing sunglasses so scratched and pitted that wearing them makes every hour of the day look like dusk? Get up and remedy it.

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Under Pressure

Particularly on the east coast, popular fly fishing water gets that way because it is productive. Consequently, going to streams or rivers that provide a high probability of catching many and/or large fish also results in the high probability of fishing with company. Water in populated areas or with special regulations will always result in pressured fish. Pressured fish, and trout specifically, have the reputation of being “smart,” “wary,” or “spooky.”

While approaching such fish might require employing different tactics than trying to catch trout that only see one or two fishermen a year, they aren’t geniuses. Fish have to eat, and even the most battle-tested and hook-scarred granddaddy trout doesn’t have the wherewithal to reject every artificial fly every time. Here are some strategies and general principles that can improve your chances when fishing for pressured fish.

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Looking Downstream

For fly fishermen, “sense of place” is defined as much by rivers as it is by any other cultural or personal aspects. A town might be where an aunt lives, but there is also a stretch of special regulation water close by. Your wife’s favorite antiquing may be in a particular region, but it is also streaked with tiny blue lines on a topographic map. On such a trip your stated mission might be to procure a vintage mirror, but your eyes and heart wander because you’ve chased brook trout in the streams you’re crossing.

Living in an area for a time can create a very strong sense of place, where the personal, professional, and (excuse me) piscatorial come together. We develop home waters. These places fluctuate between serving as the backdrop and starring in the succession of life events and milestones. We fish as a reprieve from stress and burdens, and we fish as a celebration of the occasions that warrant it. Often we fish whenever we can, hours put in on the stream serving as the time between the rest of life.

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The Fish Yips

In baseball, a player that suddenly and unexpectedly loses the ability to perform a routine task (making contact with the ball, a catcher throwing back to the pitcher, etc.) is said to have the “yips.” It is a perfectly wonderful part of baseball, a sport filled with bizarre and nostalgic traditions. However, I think that the yips aren’t limited to the diamond, or even sports.

For example, I’ll chalk up a person driving with their blinker on for miles and miles as being subject to the yips. Or, for that matter, a barista that has to line up the hole on the cap with the seam on the cup. That sort of negligence can only be attributed to some supernatural force like the yips. Personally, I’ve been yipped (yippied? yippled?) on setting the hook.

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Steelhead: Same but Different

The Great Lakes tributary system is a pretty remarkable fishery. Sure, the fish aren’t native and they don’t have an opportunity to run to saltwater. But they are big, fight hard, and are discerning. If west coast steelheading is like filet, then the Great Lakes offer up a hearty burger. It isn’t the same thing, but it definitely does the trick. Even if it is a little greasy.

A lot has been said about the Great Lakes / west coast steelhead issue lately. Some have even questioned the validity of calling lake run fish steelhead. I get that. Words mean things. But these big rainbows are something completely different than the 14” stockers you find in ponds and creeks of the Mid-Atlantic. Plus, the majority of the country’s population is within a good day’s drive from the Great Lakes tribs. It all comes together to create a destination fishery that draws in thousands upon thousands of anglers.
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