I’ve long believed that anglers using different methods can learn much from each other. That’s what Six Things Salt Water Fly Anglers Can Learn From Plug Fisherman, now available at Field & Stream Online, is all about: going to school on anglers who are fishing differently than you. I got the idea from books like Surfcasting Around The Block by Dennis Zambrotta, and Night Tides: The Striper Fishing Legend of Billy The Greek by Michael Cinquemani. Neither book is about fly fishing, but each is loaded with pearls and gems that will help make you a better fly angler.
I’d like to thank Jerry Audet from InDeepOutdoors.com, Dan Wells, and Dennis Zambrotta for sharing their experiences and expertise. I have a lot of respect for these guys and their passion for striped bass.
On this day, we both learned that the bass were scattered and small.
Want to book a date with a big striped bass? Put in on the calendar! Read my most recent piece, Why Making a Tide Calendar for Striper Fishing Will Help You Land More Bass, currently in Field & Stream Online, and you’ll learn how to build a calendar that notes the best times and tides for fishing the striper marks that you love.
I’m hoping to clear up any confusion there might be about email alerts from this website and my Tuesday Night Zoom email list. They are two different things. If you sign up for email alerts from this website — and I hope you have, since it’s the best way to stay current with currentseams — you received an email alert about this post. Those emails are generated by WordPress, and they have nothing to do with my Tuesday Night Zoom list. (On a separate note, I understand that in some rare cases people can’t get that system to work for them, and for that I’m sorry, especially since there’s nothing I can do about it; it’s a WordPress issue.)
The Tuesday Night Zoom email list is something I create and send out from my email account. If you’re NOT signed up for that list, all you need to do is send a request to swculton@yahoo.com and I’ll put you on. If you’re not getting those Zoom emails, please check your spam folder.
Hope this was helpful. Now, how about a random fishing pic from the archives?
Cam with a bonnie trout from a Scottish loch. This was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in a driving rainstorm (check out the surface of the water).
During last night’s Zoom we talked about Cased Caddis being an important food item for trout this time of year. Here’s a dirt-simple pattern you can try. If you don’t use a bead, just make the body longer before you add the green wormy head. If you wanted to underweight the fly with heavy wire, that’s another option. Have at it, and catch ’em up!
Culton’s Simple Cased Caddis
Hook: 2x strong, 2x-3x long, size 10-14
Tail: Brownish mottled game bird feather fibers
Body: Underweighted with heavy wire (optional); pheasant tail fibers ribbed with copper wire
Last week I made the decision to fish a small stream. My logic was sound. First, I had no interest in dealing with what would surely be a crowded Farmington River. Second, due to some arcane fishing regulations, I wouldn’t be able to fish this brook until early April. Finally, and perhaps most of all, I wanted to see what was going on. Here’s what I found out.
Up solitude! Not another angler for miles. My introvert shone through.
What a workout — no need to do a treadmill cardio session later. I had not planned (foolish on my part) for shin deep virgin snow. I was perspiring gallons after a hundred yards of snow/bushwhacking.
On days like this one (upper 30s, bright sun) you never know what you’re going to get. With all the snowpack, there was certainly going to be a significant melting event. Would that influx of cold water kill the bite? It’s happened before. On this day, sunshine held the trump card. I saw midges and small stoneflies everywhere, and even witnessed char taking emergers in the film.
Lesson re-learned: be careful where you walk. Shelf ice, of course, is never to be trusted. But also be wary of snow pack that hides dangers like this. A step on solid footing, then one through the snow and into the void. Thankfully, no damage, but (if you’ll pardon the expression) you get my drift.
In 90 minutes, I pricked six fish. A few of them were repeat offenders who could not get their mouth around the hook. After a couple of attempts, I let them be. For me, it’s all about fooling the fish.
Since my goal was searching (rather than catching), I stayed with a bushy dry the entire time. I was very surprised at the number of customers. The fish have started to wander from their winter lies, and I did my best business in shallower glides and riffles. Of course, that makes sense given the method — you wouldn’t expect to draw dry fly strikes from fish hanging on the bottom of deeper pools. But 60 days ago those fish were not even present in the shallower water.
The transition from late winter to early spring often means hard times for the erstwhile trout angler. This Currentseams Tuesday Night Zoom will focus on some of the conditions and bugs you may encounter, and how to best unlock those pesky salmo jaws. If you haven’t been getting the Zoom links — I send them out Tuesday late afternoon — please check your spam box. If you’re sending a request to get on the list, please don’t wait until 7:45 p.m. Tuesday night…I won’t be checking my email that late. Thanks!
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