The Best of Washington Trout & Steelhead
Overnight Packages and Day Trips
Pretty Doe for Scott
Fish where the fish are. If you have changing river conditions, most likely the fish will be moving. Therefore, fishing the heads and tails of the run, as well as transitional buckets makes more sense than fishing the gut of the run. However, if you have lowering and clearing waters, it might be more beneficial to fish the gut of the run as the fish might be sitting down and will find more comfort in the heart of a run.
Fish the right line for the type of water… For example;
->Long even glides that are 3 to 4 feet deep and broad lend themselves to a dual density type line.
->Conversely, specific slots that are narrow are better fished with a standard Skagit head and the correct sink tip.
Fish the proper tip to put your fly in the zone. Often times, at low light, low pressure or ‘up and dirty’ water, the fish will be in shallower than you think. Therefore if you have two anglers, make sure the first one is stepping through at calf deep and swinging into the beach while the second angler steps out to knee deep utilizing a heavier tip.
Fly choice – Who knows, right?
Color – Some would say dark on dark day and bright on bright day
Size – Some would say bigger is better….
Weighted -vs- Unweighted If you are trying to get a fly down quickly in a defined slot then a reasonably weighted fly is a good idea. If you’re trying to swing in to the beach you might use a fly that is unweighted
Suggestions for getting the fly down (in addition to the aforementioned line choice and tip choice) are;
Reach Cast – Utilize an air mend instead of mending after the fly hits the water
Sink step – Step while swinging
Feeding line – Into the swing
Pull back and drop – On the fly hits the water , make a mend and pull back at the same time….then drop that tip to allow sinktime
Couple thoughts on presentation…
->When an angler imparts a large mend in the line and then holds the tip out and above the fly, The fly will travel across the run predominantly facing up stream.Theoretically more subtle.
->When an angler makes his cast and immediately brings his tip toward the beach, the fly will then travel across the run in a broadside fashion. Theoretically more abrupt
I f the river is very clear sometimes, subtle is better and conversely if it is dirty, sometimes abrupt is better.
Cover the water…
If there is 1-2 feet of visibility take 1-2 steps between or during presentation.
If there is 2-3 feet of visibility take 2-3 steps between or during presentation
If there is 3-4 feet of visibility take 3-4 steps between or during presentation
If there is 4-5 feet of visibility take 4-5 steps between or during presentation
Coming soon the Soft J presentation:) Check back:)
