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Hooking Salmon On The Fly (part 1)

in Articles / Flyfishing Blog / News  by December 14, 2018 8 comments

 

Marko Feltes playing a salmon on the river Moy

HOOKING SALMON ON THE FLY(part 1)

If there is one aspect of salmon fly fishing technique that causes frequent frustration, spoiled holidays, frayed tempers, and missed opportunities then it must be the inability to properly hook the fish that take our flies.  There are many reasons why this lack of what is basically a simple technique should be so prevalent, and one of the main culprits is conflicting information in angling books, or sources such as some internet fishing websites/forums.  Fishing forums are occasionally the source of confusion and unsound advice as some of the persons offering advice in their posts are inexperienced but this does not stop them offering their wisdom to all, even though they may have personally caught few salmon.  The inexperienced contributors to these forums don’t fully realise the inadequacy of their experience and to be fair they probably think that they are helping some other beginner along the way.  The new visitor posting on some of these forums looking for advice will usually get some very good advice from one or more of the really experienced members, but he or she may also get many other replies from novice anglers, so which advice should be taken? .  Well the reality is that he or she will not usually know which advice is good and which is unsound as there will be so many conflicting opinions offered and the good advice often gets lost among all the various contributions.  The old boy’s years ago used to say that one shouldn’t be giving advice on salmon fishing to anyone until they had landed at least five hundred fish and better still to wait until after they had landed a few thousand. When an angler has landed about five hundred salmon you can say that he or she has acquired a reasonable or good level of experience and when that figure increases to a couple of thousand or more then one can be sure that a high level of skill and experience has been achieved.  The key word in all this is experience.  In an earlier article we looked at the creation of a vulnerable prey image as been the most important thing of all, but actual fishing experience built up over a number of years is also very important.

A total beginner can cast his fly haphazardly across the stream and by pure chance actually create a good presentation, and if by chance there happens to be a taking fish near the fly it may rise and take.  Our beginner then strikes immediately, hooking his first salmon eventually landing it, and then fishes on for the rest of the day without another take.  In this case our beginner was lucky that his haphazard presentation still created an attractive image, and that luckily there was a taking fish in the vicinity, with the final bit of luck being that despite striking too soon he still managed to hook his fish.  Let’s put our experienced angler into the same scenario and look at what might happen.  Our experienced angler makes a cast that lands in a similar fashion to our beginners cast and immediately realizes that his line hasn’t lain out on the water as he had planned, but rather than cause extra disturbance through recasting he lets his fly fish around. The salmon rises and takes the fly while our experienced angler doesn’t strike immediately but allows adequate time for the fish to take properly hooking the fish and eventually lands it.  The experienced angler was fully aware that his line had landed in a mess or at a different angle across the stream than he had originally intended but he let his fly fish around as it was still fishing reasonably well.  After getting a take at that angle of presentation the experienced angler had a little review of the situation,and his strategy. Maybe the current here is slightly slower/faster than first calculations suggested, and maybe it might be a good idea to continue with this angle of presentation.  He then proceeds to hook two other salmon in the pool, landing both as his hooking technique had been perfected over many years.  For the beginner luck played a major role, but for the experienced angler it was his well practiced keen observation that allowed him to realize what had actually transpired and to take maximum advantage.

A lot of effort to get into position and hopefully a calm reaction when the fish takes

Luck is of course a factor in salmon fishing, but for experienced anglers the luck that is most important  is to be in the right place at the right time, and when a salmon takes their fly they will successfully hook the majority of them.  Experienced anglers that hook a high percentage of the salmon that take their flies have either been taught a correct hooking procedure or through trial/error, and the heartache of many lost fish have developed a style that definitely does not include any form of rapid lifting or striking as the fish is in the process of taking.  I have used the word process, as this is the best description of what may happen or develop when a salmon takes.  This process maybe over in a split second or it might take anything up to ten seconds to complete, and this is all very normal as salmon can come to take our flies in many different ways.

A salmon may take our fly in a variety of ways such as, take in arcing movement and then continue to circle right or left back downriver from us, take and back directly downstream for a considerable distance before turning, take and then continue forward a little before either turning or just gradually tail back as it returns to the river bed, suck in the fly and hold station whilst shaking its head savagely eventually turning left or right back downriver, Bow wave directly to the fly from some distance and take with a dramatic swirl, among others. With such wide scope for individualistic taking behavior in certain situations it is obvious that no one hooking technique will be one hundred per cent successful all the time, even the correct application of two or three well adapted hooking techniques for various situations when used wisely still wont give us perfection, but then why should it? salmon are wild creatures and we are after all only human.  The real question should be-what hooking technique works best most of the time?

A high rod tip provides a nice shock absorbing droop of fly line

The hooking technique that I use for the vast majority of my fishing is very straightforward and easy to execute.  I was shown this style by the late Tommy Byrne from Swinford when I was teenager and it has worked well for every angler I have passed it on to since.  While my fly is swimming across the river I keep the rod tip well up and by this I mean the rod should be held up at least at 45 degrees if possible.  This creates a drooping curve of fly line from the rod tip to the water acting as a shock absorber against sudden takes and also it acts as a visual indicator of a developing take as the fish pulls line starting to straighten this curve.   We will often see the take with this visual aid even before we start to feel the take at hand.  The actual initial feel of the take at hand can vary from the sensation of the fly line feeling almost imperceptibly slightly heavier right up to the slamming take that warps the rod around and the fish taking line off the reel immediately. The majority of takes start with a tap or a tug, this can follow a variety of sequences such as, tug tug, tug nothing for a couple of seconds then tug tug, three or four fairly evenly spaced tugs that develop into stronger pulls, the important thing is that if we give the fish enough time these tugs will get stronger and start to feel more like really positive pulls rather than taps or relatively gentle tugs. The taps or tugs are caused by the salmon shaking its head as it tries to crush and kill the prey it has captured and as the fish progressively starts to add more full body movement to this killing action the tugs get stronger eventually culminating in the salmon trying to return to its lie.

Dropping the rod tip to a taking fish

When I get the first indication of a take whether it is the line starting to straighten or a tug I drop the rod a little and wait to see what develops.  I hold the rod completely still in this position until I get more tugs and then I drop my rod tip a little more. While these tugs continue to remain fairly gentle I gradually continue gradually dropping my rod tip and only stop dropping the rod when the tugs develop into really strong pulls.  When the fish starts to pull strongly I clamp the fly line while calmly and progressively raising the rod back up to about 45 degrees

At this stage I have the line clamped against the weight of the fish with the rod back up at or slightly above 45 degrees and I hold everything tight for a few seconds to make sure the hook is well embedded.  Our salmon is now hopefully well hooked and we unclamp the fly line, ease off the pressure and play the fish.

A shorter version of the strategy outlined above would be – as we get the first tug drop the rod tip a little, as the tugs gradually get stronger we keep dropping the rod tip in gradual increments, when the tugs change into strong pulls stop dropping the rod tip clamp the line tight for a few seconds as we smoothly raise the rod back up as this sets the hook, then ease off and play the fish.

David Anglis stayed calm during the take, and hooked this nice fish on the Ridge pool River Moy

The main points to remember are – try to keep the rod tip well up as the fly fishes around, drop the rod tip in gradual increments as the tugs get stronger, when the gradually strengthening tugs change to strong pulls where you are really starting to feel the weight of the fish then clamp the line and smoothly raise the rod to set the hook.  I get to see a lot of salmon hooked successfully or lost because of incorrect technique, but one of the most enjoyable hook-ups that I have witnessed in quiet a while happened as Andre Babik was fishing a pool on the Moy a few years ago.  A salmon took Andre’s fly with a tug tug, Andre dropped his rod tip a little in response, but he had to wait about five seconds before he got another single tug and he dropped his rod tip a little more in response, then there was a lapse of about three or four seconds before he started to get a series of gradually stronger tugs, he continued to drop his rod tip a little with each successive tug and when the transition from gradually stronger tugs to strong pulls came he clamped the line and set the hook.  The whole taking sequence took about eight to ten seconds, but Andre had the patience to remain calm and wait to claim his prize.  The real secret is waiting until the tugs change to strong pulls, and as an experiment just hold the sleeve of your shirt with two fingers and have a few tugs, then grasp a good clump of your sleeve with all your fingers clenched tightly and have a few progresively stronger pulls, I hope you will feel the subtle difference between tugs and progressively stronger pulls.

All the best

Paddy

 

 

 

 

Take Command Of The Wind

in Articles / Flyfishing Blog / News  by November 30, 2018 0 comments

 

 Take Command Of The Wind

Just imagine the scene, there is a lovely soft breeze nudging your boat along the reservoir dam and you are occasionally connecting with some quality rainbows as you tease your team of flies back and up into that tantalizing hang position before recasting. What could possibly interfere to spoil your day?  Maybe you are drifting some wild rocky Irish or Scottish shoreline searching for an Atlantic bar of silver, or a wild brownie that will call for a celebratory dram or three in the local, come nightfall. The big spoiler for many fly fishers is strengthening wind conditions that may take them outside their normal casting comfort zone.

Any increase in wind speed makes it incrementally more difficult for us to fully straighten our fly lines behind our drifting boat and when we also factor in the long leaders that are often employed nowadays, then we can be in for some very interesting tangles! .   All these frustrating tangles can spoil our day but worse still is sticking one or more flies into ones person.  Fishing buddies often have a little chuckle when sharing anecdotes about the fly impailing boat partner from hell, secretly known as Vlad! ,  whose fishing technique takes a bit of a nose dive in efficiency anytime the wind gets up.   It’s always good to have a laugh but we need to be fully aware that there is always the danger of errant flies penetrating exposed flesh or gods forbid an unprotected eye.

The stronger the wind becomes the harder we have to work.  Even the resistance of the fly rod blank itself against a stronger wind will lead to extra physical strain not to mention the extra mental concentration needed to maintain the good technique that is required to straighten our line fully behind.  As the wind increases in strength our margin for error reduces dramatically, and this will affect us all, to a lesser or greater degree depending on our experience. Thoughtfully  readjusting our tackle and our fly casting technique will allow us all cope very well indeed with stronger winds and in fact if we get the right balance between tackle and technique we will actually use much less energy casting as the wind increases in strength.

Before we delve into the strategies we can employ on windy days it might be helpful to have a very brief look back at how previous generations of anglers actually fished and how tackle and techniques have evolved to where they are today. When I started traditional wet fly fishing on the Irish Loughs over forty five years ago there were many anglers still fishing the original short line style.  The short line style simply meant that the angler just cast a relatively short length of level fly line and the retrieve was executed by raising the fly rod back up into the vertical position and recast.  Skilled exponents would add wrist flickering and stuttering movements of the rod tip to make their flies come alive, but there was very little or no shooting or retrieving line.  It was very noticeable that some of these fly fishers changed over to roll casting when it got windy.

All through the 70’s and 80’s  fly rods and fly lines were continually being improved and this accelerated the already growing movement towards casting ever longer distances, longer retrieves, different sinking lines, longer leaders, and a whole new array of techniques that became possible because of these advances in tackle.  Compared to forty or fifty years ago we now have a bewildering array of techniques and different fly lines that are normally employed to be used at much further distances from the drifting boat .  Long casting seems to be the norm and when you add in occasional testosterone fuelled competitiveness it can lead to fishing our flies at needlessly excessive distance’s where the actual hooking up on the takes we get, can then prove very difficult indeed.

Why do you almost never see anglers using a basic roll cast anymore as their main delivery system when boat fishing?

There are a few reasons for this. Firstly many of the longer heads on our modern weight forward fly lines when combined with long leaders will have an overall length that makes roll casting difficult because of all the extra water surface tension involved. Because longer fly line heads and leaders make roll casting more difficult, anglers do not believe that roll casting could possibly be an equally efficient and effective alternative to what they see everyone else doing which is always overhead casting.  Most experienced fly casting instructors will tell you that the majority of their fly casting students will fail to have any real interest in practicing their basic roll casting technique but are very enthusiastic to practice normal overhead casting where achieving distance is easier and where they believe that they are making real progress.

 

Is roll casting as equally effective and efficient as standard overhead casting?

When we use our normal fly lines and leader set ups in calm or light breeze conditions , overhead casting is the most efficient and effective approach to take for many anglers.  I believe good roll casting technique when allied to a well-balanced outfit that is designed to make roll casting easy is equally effective and efficient, and when the wind blows up stronger out on the reservoir or lake, roll casting is then by far the best option.  Roll casting on a windy day allows you (if required?) to cast a long distance with absolute minimum effort and with the very important added bonus of never being in any danger from flies swishing past your ears.   As the wind increases in strength it should become easier and easier to present our flies, not more difficult.

Being able to comfortably cope and actually fully enjoy our fishing whenever the wind blows up a little really boils down to getting two main factors successfully sorted out. Number one is using a fly line that really suits roll casting and the second is sharpening up our roll casting technique so that it incorporates a smooth acceleration to a very crisp stop that is aimed in the correct direction.

As a full time guide and fly casting instructor I have had the opportunity to cast with almost every decent rod and fly line that has come onto the market over the years.  As Mr Eastwood might say, some were good, some bad, and some were ugly, but even though I might often have seen some advancements, these were gradual until I tested the Commando Heads from OPST.  It takes something really special about a new product to get experienced fishing guides raving about it.  For me and my guide friends it was the remarkable efficiency and amazingly versatile adaptability of these OPST lines that really caught our full attention.  When clued in fishing guides come across fishing gear that is genuinely innovative and effective their first thoughts are how it will help their clients be more effective, and catch more fish. I initially tested these new Commando heads on a variety of small to medium size salmon rivers and they proved more than capable of handling every possible fishing scenario and performed equally well when used to spey, skagit, or overhead cast. I used them for pike fishing and again they were a revelation, making the fishing so enjoyable and easy.  I just knew that they were also going to perform brilliantly out on the reservoirs and lakes, and so they did.

The OPST Commando is by far the best all round line I have ever used for Lough or reservoir fishing. Depending on line class, these heads are between 12 and 18 feet long and will comfortably cope with the addition of various sinking poly leaders up to 16 feet in length.  The Commando line is a shooting head that can be attached to whatever running line the angler prefers.  I would advise that when Lough or Reservoir fishing it might be best to use normal coated running line (pvc coated like a normal fly line)  because lightweight mono running lines are too adversely affected by being blown around the boat by the wind. Don’t go for a running line that is too thin, running lines that are at the larger diameter end of the scale are easier to handle, easier to strip, easier on the stripping fingers, and slightly heavier which stops them being flapped around in a wind.  Don’t believe advisors that tell you larger diameter running lines will adversely affect the distance you can cast. Remember we are not trying to break the world distance record at the CLA, we are equipping ourselves to fish really effortlessly and effectively while out on the Reservoir or Lough.

Let’s have a look at some possible fishing scenarios. You are out on your favourite reservoir and after trying a few tactics you determine that a team of various nymphs and mini lures fished with a full floating line on a 20 ft+ leader is the best approach to adopt as you drift into a big shallow bay. You start to get a few takes and you are enjoying yourself.  Gradually the wind starts to increase in strength and straightening your fly line fully on the back cast starts to become a struggle and you have already being tapped on your shoulder a few times by your flies as they whiz by you out of control.  You brace yourself to physically put more effort into your back cast but all this is no longer feeling enjoyable.

How can I cope and get back to effortlessly enjoying my day?

Enter the Commando with its substantially shorter head length and its remarkable efficiency when roll casting.  You can still continue to use your 20ft+ leader regardless of wind because you will now be roll casting.  Regardless of wind strength just smoothly bring your rod up into the roll cast position and accelerate smoothly to a crisp stop and release. A few tips, aim your forward roll cast at a much higher angle than normal and by this I mean at least 60 degrees.  The very last part of your forward roll cast just leading into the crisp stop should be a sword like stabbing motion because this will help combat over rotation of your wrist, and really help maintain the high trajectory that is required. If we execute our roll cast effectively then the Commando head will comfortably cast any leader or sinking poly leader that we could wish to employ. By the way, the roll casting tips outlined above will also help experienced anglers to roll cast more effectively with their normal weight forward fly lines, but using the Commando just makes it all so much easier. The photo sequence below shows good roll cast technique incorporating a forward delevery aimed high and a crisp stop.

 

 

We might be enjoying our annual salmon or sea trout fishing holiday somewhere in Ireland or Scotland and find ourselves afloat casting traditional wet flies over rocky shallows.  The ghillie or fishing guide might well have us using a fast intermediate or other faster sinking lines to search the rocky shorelines and all is well until a stronger wind starts to blow down the valley. Why not swop over to a Commando head and maybe a 14 ft fast or superfast poly leader while still retaining the same 12 ft mono leader and team of flies.

Basic roll casting with our Commando head can start out with us just sweeping back and up to either shoulder to facilitate quite a respectable change of direction on the forward delivery if required.  As we practice and gain confidence we can then start to experiment with little single or double spey casts to gives us even wider angle changes. We might even start to use casts like the Perry Poke, to help when fishing our flies really deep. All these different casts can be done in front or slightly to the side of our drifting boat without having to put our flies into the air behind us at all.

We got Vlad a Commando line last season and now he is out fishing everyone!!

Take Command of the wind and enjoy your fishing

All the best

Paddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vulnerable Prey Image (Part 2)

in Articles / Flyfishing Blog / News  by March 19, 2016 0 comments

The Vulnerable Prey Image (Part 2)

In part one we looked at what predators are instinctively programmed to recognise as not only prey, but easy to capture prey. The most gain for the least effort, banking on the sure thing, minimising wasted effort, are the cornerstones on which pike, salmon, and trout approach obtaining food. With the evidence in the photograph of the trout with the fry imitating fly in its mouth, it is not too hard to agree with the Vulnerable Prey Image theory, as it is easy to imagine our predatory trout launching the attack on our fly as we jink, stutter, or maybe wobble it during our retrieve. The application of the theory gets a little harder to visualise, and more complex, when we try to apply it to trout feeding on insects.

 

It’s not so much what this trout saw, as what it thought it saw
The fly is bait fish imitation called a Minky

  In the Vulnerable Prey Image (Part 1) we have looked primarily at predatory behaviour, when fish such as trout and salmon target bait fish, or fry. This involves the predator in actively chasing, and aggressively capturing the prey, but trout are not only aggressive chasers, as their survival demands they be flexible enough to adapt, and maximise their feeding opportunities to include a wide variety of food items.
Trout feeding in rivers often hold their position, and allow the current to bring their food to them. This type of feeding behaviour can probably be best described as static harvesting, or interception. The principals of predatory behaviour are still being adhered to by the trout in this situation, as they are using the energy of the current to bring food to themselves, and are obtaining food for little effort. It is a little harder however, to accept the concepts of predatory behaviour, and the vulnerable prey image, when we try to apply other principals, such as-banking on the sure thing?, easy to capture prey?, why is this food item/nymph/ insect a sure thing?, what is it about this insect that makes it look vulnerable, and easy to capture?, what triggers the trout to target certain flies as they swim over them?, why do small trout seem to target everything that passes over them, but larger trout seem to be more selective? . In trying to come up with answers to these questions, we must take into account that when we present our dry flies to rising trout, we must as a rule try and achieve a drag free float, in other words our fly must swim totally naturally downstream at the same pace as the water current. (The exceptions to this rule would be when imitating some species like caddis/sedges which can often skitter across the current flow) We are now unable to add any physical techniques to enhance the Vulnerable Prey Image of our fly, so we must rely heavily on fly design, and any properties that we can incorporate into that design, to enhance the image of vulnerability.

Frederic Halford, “The Father of Modern Dry Fly Fishing”

Dry flies in all the various styles we have at our disposal today are the product of many years of observations on trout feeding, analysis of trout stomach contents, and the inventiveness of clued in, observant anglers translating all this into new fly designs at the fly tying bench. Frederick Halford was born into a wealthy Jewish family of German ancestry in 1844 in Birmingham, England. He is generally recognised as the father of modern dry fly fishing, and was part of the upper class elite which had privileged access to the best trout fishing on the famous English chalk streams. Halford along with this privileged elite encouraged a very narrow view on what they thought fly fishing should be about, and especially dry fly fishing. The dry fly fished only upstream, and only to trout that were actually rising was the order of the day. This dogmatic, so called purist approach was also held to be the most sporting way to fish for trout and to a certain extent lives on to the present day. Even today we occasionally hear statements like- the dry fly is the pinnacle of sportsmanship, or that it takes more skill to fish dry fly. Mr Halford may have been a little too dogmatic, and elitist, but he did help to start a much more sophisticated approach to tying artificial dry flies, and was one of the first to try and tie exact imitations of the natural insects hatching on the chalk streams. This exact imitation school of dry fly angling eventually widened its scope in later generations to become what is now known as-Matching the Hatch.

 A fully hatched upwing fly also called a fully hatched Dun

The insects Halford was trying to imitate were mostly upwing flies, and it was the fully hatched dun resting on the surface that received all the attention. The almost total disregard for the different stages of emergence of these upwing flies prior to the fully hatched dun stage, was probably the greatest failing of the Halford era, and because this total focus on the fully hatched dun was reinforced in Halfords own books, it became the gospel to follow for other writers, and anglers, even many years after Mr Halford’s death.
Before we continue in our study of the history, development, application, and importance of fly design, as it applies to, and enhances The Vulnerable Prey Image, we might just take a quick look at the reality of why all this stuff is so important. One of the first things that a beginner has to get to grips with is which fly to use, and why.
As our knowledge and experience grows, we start to become more observant about what is really occurring as trout feed in front of us. We start to become aware, and interested in all the various stages in the life cycle of the insects that trout feed on. This study of the life cycles of insects is very interesting in its own right, and we don’t have to get too wrapped up in all the Latin names and terminology, we just need to acquire a reasonable working knowledge of the insects where we fish.
There are many variables involved, with even the most experienced anglers occasionally reading the signals incorrectly, and choose the wrong fly design to match the specific stage of emergence of the natural. You see I have emphasized the term – wrong fly design-, as opposed to saying the wrong fly, because I believe it is the design of the fly and where sits in relation to the water surface film that often makes the difference between success, and failure.

A selection of dry flies for the loughs-but how do we chose which one to use?

Down the years as strict adherence to Halfords doctrine of only concentrating on the exact imitation of the fully hatched dun floating on the water surface started to wane, and observant, thoughtful, anglers became fully aware of the importance of the emerging insect as it struggles to break free of its shuck. They also observed that some of these hatching flies actually died, or were injured during the process, and the term-stillborn emerger was invented along with other various descriptive names, such as, the crippled emerger, or drowned dun. People like Ward, Mottram, Tinbergen, Marinaro, Richards, Swisher, Caucci, Lawrie, and La Fontaine to name just a few, all added to the overall knowledge that we have at our disposal today. The main thrust of which points us in the direction of the importance of the emerging fly/crippled fly/ being at least, if not more important than the dun

 

Dibbling the top dropper fly in the waves of an Irish Lough imitating an insect struggling to hatch or one that has begin battered into the surface by the wind and rain

 

Before we try and answer some of the questions asked earlier in this article. It might be good to have a look at some relevant aspects of trout feeding behavior. Small hungry trout have to learn what is edible and will have a go at almost anything that floats over them. This trial and error feeding routine becomes less prominent as our young trout gradually learns and becomes more competent. Our trout also learn to use their energy wisely when harvesting this food, so as to maintain a positive balance in favor of the energy gained from the food, versus the energy expended in obtaining it. Trout feeding behavior is partly learned along with being partly genetically imprinted from previous generations of successful members of the species. Large trout don’t get large by chasing, or harvesting prey items which are too small, or which are available in insufficient quantities.  They hone in on insects that they know are in trouble, crippled, stuck in the surface film, drowned, struggling to emerge , or are being battered into the water surface through wind ,and rain. All these unfortunate insects will create a particular image of vulnerability, depending on each situation, and it is up to us to provide the correct illusion with our flies/presentation, which might incorporate such triggers as, attached shucks, jumble of tangled legs, wings horizontal in the surface film, among others. Also the flies position on, in, under, or penetrating the surface film is very important.

The artificial fly above is a Klinkhammer invented by Hans van Klinken .  It is one of the best flies ever invented as it suspends the abdomen and thorax of an emerging insect just under the surface film.  A vulnerable time for most insects and in fact we could if we wished, add a shuck or trailing legs to the fly above to make it look even more Vulnerable

Even if we wanted to, we cannot tie an artificial fly that is a perfect copy of a natural fly. Even if we could it would not be a major advantage to us because then our perfect imitation would just look like all the other natural flies when we fish and our perfect imitation would be just one in the crowd. Big trout are often looking for flies that are showing signs of Vulnerability and that means flies that are less than perfect. If you go to any river or lake on any given day during a big hatch you will meet many successful fly fishers who were actually using quite different flies. The reason they were successful was not because they were fishing with perfect imitations of the natural fly, but because they were fishing with imperfect copies of the real insect, but their flies must have had a few good trigger points that portrayed the illusion of Prey that was Vulnerable in some way.

We all have heard of the local fly fisher that catches lots of trout but sometimes the flies they tie don’t look great or as some might say – look scruffy!- well take my advice, and if possible,  politely ask these successful fly fishers for second look into their fly boxes!

 

One of the greatest dry flies ever invented The Grey Duster seen here on the left.

This one has had its hackle clipped underneath to let it fish flush in the surface film, imitating a trapped insect. If the hackle is left as normal (fully wound), then it will fish more on the surface. The fly at the top is a Mc Carthy Buzzer. Extra turns of hackle in this pattern allow it to be fished right on the surface, imitating a female buzzer laying her eggs, and any light breeze will make it tickle about a little, mimicking the swirling action of the female. In calm conditions a gentle stutter of the rod tip will move it just enough to draw attention. The Shipmans Buzzer is our third fly. This fly was designed to represent a buzzer hatching, right in the surface film, a position, and period of emergence that screams vulnerability. If this fly is being fished correctly (well sunk in the film), it should be difficult to see. Some anglers find this inability to see their fly as a handicap, but don’t worry; you just need to sight down along your floating line and imagine approximately where you think your fly should be and you will be right most of the time. Even if you are not exactly accurate in your calculations you will always see the rise! .

 Two great dry fly patterns from my English reservoir days

The top fly is a pattern called Bobs Bits, invented by Bob Worts, and once again it is meant to be fished well sunk in the surface film. The second fly, with its knotted pheasant tail legs trailing back, and down is a Bristol Hopper. A super fly that can represent hatching buzzers, terrestrials, or olives, all we have to do is vary the size, and colour. The simplicity of these hugely successful patterns goes a long way in proving the theory that trout are only looking for 2-3 triggers when targeting insects near the surface. Some of the triggers incorporated into these simple to tie flies are-translucency by using seals fur in the bodies, sparse insect like profile, sparse undercut hackle to let them fish flush in the surface film, knotted legs representing either emergence,, crippled emergence, or pupal shuck, colour matching the hemoglobin that the natural buzzers pump into their wings as they hatch, but most of all it is the design of the fly which allows it to be fished in the insect trap that is the surface film, and creating that Vulnerable Prey Image.

Some of the fly designs that catch more than their fair share of big trout annually

On the right we have a mayfly dun incorporating cdc, and without any hackle underneath, especially good in calm conditions, where delicacy of presentation is crucial. The sedge fly on the left is well hackled, and has a substantial cdc wing, making it a specialised weapon when we want to create the fish attracting vee wake that large natural sedges make as they scurry around, or when swimming strongly for the safety of shore. The design for function being probably more important than, say colour. There are few Vulnerable Prey Images which advertise their presence so openly as sedges furrocking around in the fading light of evening time.
Our last fly is a spent mayfly pattern, with its outstretched wings tied in a final delta shape of total submission. The ultimate in vulnerable design, a fly that the trout knows is dead or dying, and will never escape Trout Heaven !.

The fully hatched dun is of course taken by trout, and it is always wise to have some in your box, but often it takes a heavy hatch before the trout will become totally locked onto them. Most trout that will take a dun imitation will also take an emerger pattern, but trout that are zoned in on pre dun stages, will very often totally ignore the fully hatched fly. There have being many elements on the history of fly design, trout behavior, and general dry fly technique that I have had to omit in this article, but then the main focus was on trying to emphasize the importance of , and the application of the concept that is vulnerability.
All successful dry fly anglers have the same attributes in common, and they are, correct choice of fly design to match what the trout are actually feeding on, delicate, and accurate presentation, along with the ability to accurately gauge what amount of movement to impart to the fly if any .

If you have enjoyed this article please share it with your fishing friends on Facebook.

All the best

Paddy

The Vulnerable Prey Image (Part 1)

in Articles / Flyfishing Blog / News  by March 12, 2016 2 comments

The Vulnerable Prey Image (Part 1)
The big question that I often get asked is – What is the most important thing of all in fly fishing?. In my opinion it’s a close call between fly casting ability and the ability to create a Vulnerable Prey Image. Some anglers maintain that salmon fishing is completely different to trout fishing, and that pike fishing is even further removed again. While I can agree that we may use different flies, lures, rods, reels, lines, when targeting any one particular species, it is the ultimate goal of our fly presentations that we induce a fish to take. All things been equal, and without undermining the importance of all the many variables involved, I believe the single most important thing of all when we present our flies to Salmon, Trout, and Pike is creating a Vulnerable Prey Image

Mother lion had been yawning as she rested in the shade of a tree, watching her half grown cubs unsuccessfully chasing everything that moved until they exhausted themselves, but as soon as this unfortunate Vulnerable Prey Image limped past dragging an injured leg, she was in for the kill immediately. The most gain for the least effort, banking on the sure thing, minimizing wasted effort, that’s the name of the game if you are a predator. When we look at this picture of a lion swooping in for the kill most anglers would have no difficulty imagining a Pike in a similar attack scenario in some weed fringed lake or river. It is when we try to put trout and salmon into this picture that some fly fishers have difficulty in accepting that both trout and salmon are just as voracious, aggressive, and efficient as the lioness in the picture.

This bird is pretending to be injured by dragging its wing along the ground and is successfully enticing a predator (Fox) away from her nest. This just shows how strong an impact that creating an image of vulnerability can have on a predator.

Why is it that Game anglers find difficulty in accepting that salmon and trout are voracious, aggressive killers? One explanation could be that many angling writers down through the years have depicted trout as a highly educated, intelligent species only daintily nibbling down a succession of perfectly formed floating natural dry flies. Added to this we have some salmon angling writers offering no plausible explanation about salmon taking/feeding behaviour in freshwater except to seemingly through their arms up in despair at the mere thought that there could be any real logical explanation . The common reason given for their frustration is that because salmon are scientifically know not to feed in fresh water, and it all must be some huge mystery why salmon ever take our flies at all! . This must be very frustrating and confusing for beginner salmon anglers because depending on where they investigate to obtain a good basic understanding of the sport, they are offered either good sound advice at one end of the scale or some form of mystical wishy washy drivel at the other end, and everything in between. There is a logical reason why salmon, trout and pike take our flies and most of it concerns presenting a Vulnerable Prey Image.

 

The two main types of flies that we use when fly fishing for salmon or trout are small bait fish imitations and insect imitations. When we look at a famous salmon fly like the Gold Willie Gunn and imagine it under water in our favorite pool darting in short spurts as we strip it over the lies we realize that we are really imitating a little fish trying to evade capture. At the same time somewhere in the USA you will have a trout fly fisher fishing a very similar fly called a Mickey Finn in his favorite pool. In fact there is quite a lot of interchanging of bait fish imitating fly patterns between trout and salmon anglers. Many originally trout based imitations such as the zonker/minkie style flies have now been adopted fully into the salmon scene. I remember years ago fishing a falling flood on the river Easkey managing to land four nice fresh fish on a rainbow trout style minky fly. As I was unhooking my fourth fish a man approached me for a chat. As it turned out it was a client who I was going to be guiding the next day. He seemed to be very interested in the fly that I was using and when I showed it to him —well lets just say he nearly fell into the river!. “But it’s a rainbow trout fly” he said, “why would you dream of using such a fly”. His reaction to my choice of fly really brought it home to me that we salmon anglers are often too constrained by tradition and peer pressure to logically asses the prevailing river conditions and fish whatever fly we have at our disposal that gives us the best chance of a fish. That day on the Easkey the water conditions were more suitable for spinning than fly fishing and the only fly in my box that came close to imitating a yellow flying c spinner was a 75mm yellow Minky .

Can you replace the pike in the photo above and imagine a salmon taking a fly in the same situation and for the same reasons.  If you can then you are well on the way to understanding the major part of  salmon taking behavior

Getting back to the Vulnerable Prey Image – what’s the difference between what normal prey look like and what vulnerable prey might look like? . I would think that normal prey try to look as inconspicuous as possible using their camouflage and any available cover when possible. Normal prey likes to blend into the background of their underwater world, and not draw any attention in any way from the local predators. Vulnerable prey are just normal prey that stand out from the crowd. This standing out from the crowd, or if you like, looking different from the norm, is a strong trigger for predators like salmon, trout, and pike to attack. Our poor unfortunate prey may be injured, may have been washed away in a strong current, may have been separated from its shoal and be alone, may be diseased, may be diseased and this may have changed its coloration making it more conspicuous, may have been feeding on insects at the surface over deep water leaving itself vulnerable to an unseen attacker launching from below and I am sure you can think of more. Salmon , trout, and pike all feed on both normal prey and vulnerable prey from a young age but as they grow and their bodies need proportionally more return in nutrition than they are expending in energy accessing this food, then they gradually develop the vital ability to spot weakness and take advantage at every opportunity. In fact salmon, trout, and pike are hot wired to instantly react and attack prey that is displaying symptoms of vulnerability. I suppose you could call it an automatic natural reflex action. Salmon lose their sea teeth before entering fresh water on their homeward journey. If you were to see a salmon with their sea teeth then you would fully realize that they are supreme predators and the next time one comes to your fly you can admire one of natures most lethal and efficient killing machines.

Mr Dave Anglis putting it all together on the Ridge Pool, river Moy

We can incorporate mobile materials such as rabbit or mink fur strips into our salmon flies along with many other modern synthetics to help us make our flies look more alive in the water. Is this necessary? — well in some situations it will be important but lets not forget our Gold Willie Gunn mentioned earlier . Our Gold Willie Gunn is not tied with very mobile materials but still continues to fool salmon every season. This is because it’s what a salmon thinks it sees that really matters and its up to us to manipulate our flies and offer up a Vulnerable Prey Image.

Skilfully presenting a fly that drops back erratically as it enters, and swims across a strong current gives the strong impression of a creature unable to hold its place, and is struggling to survive. This impression of weakness makes the fly look like an easy target for a trout, or salmon. When we fish artificial flies that are supposed to represent prey fish over trout, salmon, and pike there are a variety of things we can do to help create the required illusion of vulnerability. We can incorporate weight in the fly tying process that if positioned near the head of the fly will help to give it an undulating swimming action mimicking the action of a distressed fish. Another way to achieve the same action without adding the weight in the tying process is to add a heavy split shot to the leader just up from the fly. There a variety of plastic lips, discs, vanes, and cones etc that can be added to our flies to make them dive, wobble, pulse, stutter, and if combined with various floating/sinking fly lines, we can then add different styles of retrieve, varying from short strips to full hand over hand, and all the variations in between, helping us to adapt to any given situation. Remember we can also make use of various river currents to control the angle and speed of our flies along with various presentation casts to help mimic the action of Vulnerable Prey.

 

How does the Vulnerable Prey Image apply in this situation?

In the second part of this study we will take a close look at the Vulnerable Prey Image and its relevance to fish feeding on insects.

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All the best

Paddy

 

A Guide To Wading In Salmon Rivers

in Articles / Flyfishing Blog / News  by March 16, 2015 9 comments

         

Remo Schorno hooks a nice fish

A GUIDE TO WADING IN SALMON RIVERS

The main purpose of wading when salmon fishing, is to allow us fish our flies in an effective, lifelike, and controlled way over the salmon lies.  There maybe other reasons why we wade out into rivers such as, crossing over to fish from the opposite bank, providing that we can find a suitably shallow section that allows us to achieve this safely. Trying to assess the water depth or flow rate of pools in rivers that are new to us can be occasionally frustrating, but if we can find the nearest shallow area where we can safely wade at least partially,if not completely across,then this will give us a much better appreciation of the rivers average depth, and water speed. With this information logged in- our brain will subconsciously help us to evaluate/calculate depth, and current speed in other pools on that river. This little exercise might seem very simplistic, and unscientific, but our brains are super computers and with a little practice you will find this invaluable. Other reasons for wading might include such necessities as, playing a fish on a shorter line or when trying to clear our fly/fly line from some obstruction/snag.

Jurgen Van den Hout decided to wade out a little more to get better control while playing a strong running grilse

 

One of the Golden Rules of successful salmon fishing is, never wade into a river unless absolutely necessary, as even stealthy wading causes some disturbance, and this can reduce our chances dramatically.  In most salmon pools it is very likely that there will be some salmon lying on the near side of the main current, and if we wade heedlessly, or unnecessarily down this inside edge, then we run the risk of scaring these fish.This is a very common mistake especially with beginners, as many anglers seem to believe all the fish will be resting on the far side of the river. On big, wide pools it often pays to fish the near side from the bank, and only then returning to the top of the pool to wade in, and cover the fish that maybe lying from mid stream to the far side.  We must try to get our fly to land beyond where the fish is lying, and sometimes it is better not to wade in, or wade in a short distance and cast a long line, rather than to wade deeply casting a shorter line.  Every pool is different, and to err on the side of being over cautious is much wiser, than plunging in straight away, lashing out a long line, especially on pools that we are unfamiliar with.

Lovely glidey fly water on the Moy with easy wading on a shingle bottomed pool. Total relaxation, no danger here, or is there?? see diagram below.

 

Some anglers really enjoy wading, but for many others it is a slow, tiring, and frustrating necessity, but most of all it can be dangerous for anyone who is unable to swim, and quiet often for those that can also.  Wading is a major part of our overall fishing technique; however there are some pitfalls that we must be aware of when working our way down a salmon pool. The first mistake some anglers make is to try and wade to fast leaving themselves very little margin for error.  One consequence of this is when they happen to kick a small boulder on the river bed with the tip of their wading boot losing balance, toppling over downstream; as their overly rapid momentum doesn’t allow them enough time to readjust their balance. Standing up on submerged, or partly submerged rocks is another common recipe for disaster, as often the river currents have gouged out deep holes on the downstream side of these rocks.  Never ever clamber up on rocks while wading as getting back down again especially in a strong current flow can often be a very unnerving experience, with possibly deep water awaiting your next step downstream. Just carefully go around the obstruction and take care if you decide to go around on the outside, as this can also be unexpectedly deep. Those of us who have a poor sense of balance should work our way downstream in a sideways type of fashion, as this ensures that we have our feet placed in a more stable platform against the current, and if we happen to step into a small depression, then it is easy to readjust.  Pools with shingle bottoms should be treated with great caution as it can easily happen that one can find themselves wading out on a shallow shingle spit with deep water all around until the miniature landslide of shelving shingle takes you into deep water with no way back unless you can swim.

  

The angler, unfamiliar with this deep pool, has waded out onto this seemingly shallow shingle spit, and if he continues to wade downstream along the orange line he is going to end up swimming as the steeply sloping shingle gives way underfoot

Deep wading takes a lot of weight off the legs, and so is less tiring, that is providing the current is not too strong. Wading waist deep allows the weight of the lower half of your body to be borne by the water, and one is less likely to fall in because of the extra support gained from the water all round from your waist down.  Most anglers when wading deep show more caution, moving more slowly, and this helps in reducing mishaps, in fact it is probably true to say that we get more tumbles in knee deep water, as the shallower water gives a false sense of security, and we start to speed up too much.  A good little trick that we can use having lost our balance when wading deep is to quickly slap our fly rod down horizontally onto the water surface, and this will give us vital extra support for the split second it takes to regain our balance and footing.

A cold spring day at Oldcastle on East Mayo Anglers Association Water river Moy. Very important to wear extra layers of warm clothes because numb legs and safe wading don’t mix.

Sometimes we can inadvertently wade too deep and because of the extra buoyancy, start to actually sort of bounce along, and this can be a nerve wrecking experience, with probable feelings of panic which we must keep under control, as our life may hang in the balance.  If you find yourself in this situation and cannot swim then, try to bounce in a vertical fashion, all the time aiming yourself towards shore, and hopefully each successive bounce will bring you into shallower water as you make your way diagonally towards shore.  If this fails and you find yourself under water don’t panic, keep your mouth firmly shut, there should be enough air in your lungs and trapped in your clothing to help you back to the surface.  Keep your arms by your side and kick with your feet until your head breaks through the surface, try to float on your back with your arms outstretched, and your feet pointing downstream.   Take a good deep breath to maximise your buoyancy, then relax and breathe as gently as possible to maintain this buoyancy, all the time looking out for a suitably shallow exit point, as you will not be able to get out along a high bank.  After paddling your way into the shallows, don’t be in too much of a hurry to stand up as you will be physically weakened from your ordeal, just get on all fours and carefully and slowly get out of the water. The single most important thing to do when wading in deep and possibly dangerous water is to always wear a life jacket, let this be your number one priority.  Another problem that crops up occasionally is cramp, especially for people who are susceptible to it and have been maybe wearing non breathable waders for a prolonged period during hot weather.  A good antidote to cramp is salt, so for these people it would be wise to carry a few salt tablets in their wading jackets.

 This young angler had a minor mishap, but was wisely wearing his life jacket and after a quick change of clothing was back enjoying his fishing once again

A wading stick is a great asset for those that are a little apprehensive about venturing out in a fast current, and by the way a little fear and respect for fast flowing streams is no bad thing. There are some super hero style waders out there that could do with a little fearfulness, but sooner, or later all these risk takers end up swimming, and hopefully they will survive to learn from their foolishness.  Most wading sticks have lead added at their ends to stabilise them in the water, just check that when purchasing one that there is sufficient lead incorporated, as many of the sticks that I have seen don’t have enough ballast and lay flat in the water instead of standing upright beside the angler.  Care must be taken when attaching cords to our wading sticks. The end of the cord must be attached to the wading stick using a quick release knot/system, because if the fly fisher falls in the cord must break away easily, otherwise there is the very real risk that the wading stick may anchor, or snare its unfortunate victim. Another thing to watch out for when attaching the cord to our body is that we don’t hinder in any way the proper inflation of our life jacket.

A really good way to learn about possible wading dangers in your favorite river is to go on a scouting mission in low water conditions.

 If you are wading in a strong current without a wading staff, and are a little worried, don’t be afraid to wind up your line and use your rod as a makeshift wading stick, this has saved many lives down through the years.  River beds can vary from fine pebbles all the way up to huge boulder strewn death traps, and when choosing wading boots it is important to get ones with felt soles, or felt in combination with metal studs, as these give us maximum grip, but be very aware because these very boots that give us such a good grip on slippery rocks while wading, are absolutely deadly dangerous on wet grass and muddy river side banks. Keep a backup change of clothes in your car along with some towels, and if possible a flask of hot drink. After a wetting in the river don’t be tempted to accept a drink of whisky or brandy from a well meaning friend, as all it will do is lower your body temperature further, leave it until later when all the boys are having a good laugh in the pub!!!

The most important thing to remember is, SAFETY FIRST, at all times. Our families and friends expect nothing less from us.

Tight lines