Tag Archives: fly fishing

Farmington River Report 3/13/15: More fun with streamers

Fished the upper TMA for about 2 1/2 hours today. Streamers again (today’s favorite was a slim profile pattern with a gold bead head, and white and chartreuse marabou).  The usual winter setup: full sink integrated line, three-foot leader, letting the fly sink/swing, then a slow, jerky retrieve. The strike pattern that was established on Tuesday’s outing was present today — a swipe by the trout to stun the fly, then the hit-to-eat. Two fat, healthy, sixteen-inch browns to net. One JR Cuban Alternate Cohiba Robusto and a very happy angler smoking it. The water was up a few inches from the other day, but still clear and cold at 36 degrees. A few midges here and there, and the early grey stones came out about 1pm. Snow pack was less of a walking issue, mostly because of last’s night’s freeze. Still, plenty of anglers out for a weekday in March.

Streamer tip of the week: these big browns aren’t eating on the first strike; rather, they’re smacking the fly to stun it. It feels like more of a bump than a tug. Don’t set the hook. Let the fly sit for a moment, or continue to micro strip. The eating strike will come a moment later.  16%22 late winter brown

Farmington River Report 3/10/14: Big Browns (or nothing at all)

Finally. Weather that doesn’t suck. A schedule that is clear. Yes, dammit, there will be fishing today.

I had been planning this trip since last week. Streamers. That’s what I wanted to fish. And that’s what I had been tying over the past few nights.

My plan was brilliant in its conception: target a pool that has been inaccessible to vehicles (and probably 99.9% of potential anglers) for weeks, if not months. Park the Jeep as close as possible, then schlep through hundreds of yards of water and snow pack, all to be able to present to trout that might not have seen a fly since last year.

Good God, what a hike. So overheated and uber-saturated was I that upon arrival, I actually stripped down to my Under Armour. Cheap thrills for the Canada geese who warily eyeballed me. (And if someone hasn’t yet patented the Upstream Slog/Snow Cover Deep Step In Neoprene Boots Workout, I very well may.) On the way out, I passed another angler who apparently had the same delusions of grandeur as I. “Enjoy the walk,” I hailed him. “Any rewards?” was his response. Nope. Two sticks, three lost flies, and not a touch.

The advantage of being able to tally your weight in fractions of ounces is that you don’t sink up to your knees in snow when you attempt to walk across it.

Dinosaur Bug

Spot B was on the walk out, and it likewise was a blank.

The river was running about 400cfs, clear, and 36 degrees. I wasn’t the only person who thought today would be a good day to fish. But when I emerged from the woods at Spot C, I was all by myself.

Bump. “That was a fish,” I thought. I repeated the cast and strip. Again, bump. Then, whack! I could tell it was a good trout — the big ones often sideswipe the fly as if to stun it, then return for the kill shot. Seventeen inches, typed jaw, heavy black leopard-like spotting. Back to my slow walk downstream. Bump-and-whack again, another brown that made my rod creak as he exerted his will against the tension. One more trout hooked, a younger brother, who decided to scamper off from whence he came as I prepared to net him.

A seventeen-inch Farmington brown, endeavoring for gator status. (Come see me when you reach twenty-plus).

Gator Brown 3:14

We liked this fly today: an impressionistic cone-head soft-hackle in earthy colors I’ve been playing around with. Details  to come.

IMG_2865

Spot D was a blank. Except for that stick. Not a bad fight, but not worthy of release. So I tossed it up onto the bank.

Cheeseburger in wet fly paradise

There’s one sure way to get this presenter in a good mood, and that’s to offer to take him out to dinner before the engagement. And so it was that I found myself last night with several members of the Farmington Valley TU Chapter at the Whinstone Tavern in New Britain, CT, with a lovely medium-rare burger, crisp, tasty fries, crunchy deli pickle slice, and a moderately-hopped IPA. Wonderful!

And so, thank you. Thank you for feeding me. Thank you for being so welcoming. Thank you for finding that most excellent venue. Thank you for your technical support. And thank you for providing me with such a rapt, curious audience. I counted about fifty people. A decent crowned is always a positive.

Overheard last night: “That was the best presentation we’ve ever had.” Such kind words. Speaking of presentation, the trout below took this Magic Fly — fished wet — on a dead drift at the edge of a plunge pool current seam.

Brown PWWwet

Many thanks to The Compleat Angler

Saturday’s tying demo — Soft-Hackles and Fuzzy Nymphs for Steelhead — was a tremendous success. I’m always surprised by the number of people who are willing to come out and watch someone else tie; the fact that it was me who was tying made me smile even more. I think what I like most about these events is the open forum format. It’s an ideal way to talk fishing, fly tying, answer questions, and connect with people on a more personal level. I appreciate the audience that the internet provides, but nothing beats good old-fashioned face-to-face time.

Then there’s the venue. If you’ve never been the Compleat Angler (541 Post Road, Darien, CT) it has a tremendous selection of fly tying materials. I went on a little walkabout through the store after my session, and saw lots of covet-worthy stuff. The staff is great, and Scott, bless him, brought me a turkey sandwich. Man does not live on soft-hackles alone, or: A fed tyer is a happy tyer.

Tying Dave Hall’s Black Crawler. That’s Carol off to the right. She’s been to every one of my demos at CA. Thanks for coming out, everyone.

Tying Black Crawler

My next appearance will be this Wednesday, March 4, at the FVTU Chapter meeting, 7pm, at the Whinstone Tavern at the Stanley golf course in New Britain. “Wet Flies 101.” Hope to see you there.

Speak up about Kensington Hatchery funding

I was forwarded this a few minutes ago. These are the words of Bruce J. Rich, President, CT Fly Fisherman’s Association:

“The deadline for submitting testimony regarding the Public Hearing on DEEP’s budget is Monday March 2, 2015.  Note that “testimony” does not mean you wish to speak.  Testimony can be in written form only and sent via email to (SC’s words: please cut and paste this email address: apptestimony@cga.ct.gov).  
In the Subject Line write: Testimony to Appropriations Comm. for the March 2, 2015 Public Hearing on Hatchery Funding
Note that the committee prefers to receive email testimony as an attachment to the email, preferably in pdf form (although MS Word form should suffice). 
 
Attached is my updated testimony in pdf form which you may use all, or part of, in your message.  Just be sure to replace my name & address with your own.  Note that your message can be very short, but it’s important at this time to get as many people as possible writing to support keeping Kensington Hatchery operational. 
Don’t squawk later, get busy now.”
Here is Bruce’s letter in pdf form: Testimony submitted to March 2
“My great, great grandaddy came from the Kensington Hatchery.”
Streamer Brown 1:15

Rivers of Recovery Fundraiser

As the proud father of a Marine (Bill is also a veteran of Iraq), I wanted to share this with my readers. These are the words of veteran and fly fisher Dan Laffin:

“Hi All, A few of us are throwing together a fundraiser for Rivers Of Recovery at 6:30 on March 9th at the Delamar Hotel in Southport. Rivers of Recovery is a non profit organization that brings veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan fly fishing throughout the country. I think a lot of you know the healing properties of fly fishing and the program has certainly helped me a ton.

We’re going to try and raise funds so we can start a chapter here in CT. We have a great location with so many VA hospitals within a close proximity and we will host vets from our communities on our rivers. There is no charge to attend the fundraiser, but know that anything you donate will directly support local veterans. We’ll have some raffle prizes and a silent auction but being our first year, it will be pretty small.”

Rivers of Recovery E-Flyer

You can read more about Dan’s story in the winter issue of Anglers Journal.

Presenting “Wet Flies 101” Wednesday March 4 at FVTU

First and foremost: the venue has changed. The meeting will be in the large banquet room of the Whinstone Tavern at Stanley Golf Course, 245 Hartford Rd., New Britain, CT. I think doors open at 6:30 and the meeting starts at 7:00. I assume there will be an update on the FVTU website, fvtu.org.

The Program: Wet Flies 101 – The ancient and traditional art of subsurface fly fishing. Wet flies have been taking trout for centuries — and the fish aren’t getting any smarter. More and more anglers are discovering that a wet fly is often the best way to match a hatch. Explore the wonders of the wet fly as we cover basics like wet fly types, leader construction, where to fish wet flies, and how to fish them.

If you want to see the other nineteen slides, you gotta come to the presentation.

Wet Flies 101

Ken Abrames Catches a Big One (a Currentseams exclusive)

The striper grandmaster talks about setting the hook, playing big fish, the effects of pressure, and fear.

Ken Abrames is one of the most revered names in saltwater fly fishing. He is the creator of the modern flatwing streamer, presentation-style flies that can imitate everything from clamworms to menhaden. His books Striper Moon and A Perfect Fish belong on the shelves of anyone who is an aficionado of traditional New England striped bass fly tying and fishing methods. Besides being a world-class angler, Ken is also a rod designer, author, poet, and artist.

I have the good fortune to be able to talk fishing with Ken on a regular basis. He is funny, candid, a good storyteller, and highly experienced. Here is an excerpt from one of our conversations.

Ken Quonny

Currentseams: I remember you once telling me the story of how your father taught you, “You gotta set the hook.”

Ken: I was a little kid, eight or nine years old. We were fishing off Poppasquash Point in Bristol (RI). There were a lot of fish in those days, and very few fishermen. It was a hazy day in May. We were fishing with plugs. I was reeling and popping, and all of a sudden a big fish exploded on my plug. It was like someone had thrown a Volkswagen in the water. And the fish started running like crazy, the rod was bent over, and the reel was screaming. It was like heaven. And the fish just ran and ran and ran – and then he turned to the right and the plug popped out. It was devastating to me. So I started to reel in, and my father looked over at me and said, “You gotta set the hook.”

Currentseams: (laughter)

Ken: It’s so hard to set the hook when a fish is screaming off line. People think they’re hooked up. But the fact of the matter is, you need to set the hook. And if you don’t, as soon as he makes his first turn, it’s over.

Currentseams: That is exactly what happened to me this spring. I had a big striper blow up on a flatwing and I didn’t set the hook. So if you don’t get a good initial hookset, you have nothing to lose by trying to reset during that first run.

Ken: That’s right.

Currentseams: When you first started teaching me, you drilled into me, as a fundamental part of fly fishing for stripers, the practice of hitting that fish multiple times.

Ken: If you hit him three times, sometimes you still lose him. If you hit him four times, sometimes you lose him. If you hit him five times, you won’t lose him.

Currentseams: Tell us what you mean by “hit him.”

Ken: You grab your line, and you punch him. And then you punch him. Even though you think everything is going to come apart, you want to punch him, and punch him, and punch him. You’ve got to hit him at least five times with a very, very sharp hook. And if you have a dull hook, it doesn’t matter how many times you hit him. Because you’re not going to catch him. (laughs)

Currentseams: Talk about a sharp hook being the single most important thing in fishing.

Ken: Well, it is the single most important thing. Because all those things you hear – the fish struck short, the fish were playing, there’s too much bait in the water, those little taps are small fish – those are just excuses people make up because they don’t understand why they’re not hooking up. And the only thing that is necessary is a needle sharp hook. Once you have that, once you feel the pressure of the fish, the hook has already started in.

Currentseams: You’ve also used the phrase, “sticky sharp.”

Ken: Think of the inside of a striper’s mouth as your fingernail. You take a hook and you run it across the back of your thumbnail. If it doesn’t stick in, or stick to your nail like a piece of scotch tape, it’s not sticky sharp. And the same thing will happen inside a fish’s mouth. A hook that isn’t sticky sharp will slide right out.

Currentseams: Let’s talk about those little taps.

Ken: When you feel that little tap, that’s a fish. He just sucked in your fly. If you’re used to casting and retrieving, like with a spinning rod, you expect a big yank. But the fact of the matter is that it is often just a tiny little touch, or even just a change in pressure. And to be aware of that is one of the most important things you can learn. You have to develop it as a skill.

Currentseams: If you’re taking a simple cast-and-retrieve approach to fly fishing, when you feel those little blip hits, and miss the fish, are you just simply pulling the fly out of the fish’s mouth?

Ken: Yep. You are. Fish don’t make mistakes.

Currentseams: Fighting a 30-pound bass is different from fighting a 10-pound bass. Let’s talk about that.

Ken: The first thing is to not be afraid that you’re going to lose the fish. The other thing is to not try to stop him when he runs. Say you’re a sprinter, and you’re running the 100-yard dash. What’s the first thing your body does when the race is over?

Currentseams: You’re exhausted, you hunch over, go limp…

Ken: That’s what the fish does, too. At that moment when the fish reaches the end of his run, that fish is exhausted. Now I know this is true because I have caught so many fish in my life, it’s ridiculous. When I fished commercially for stripers, I would hook a fish, and he would run, and I would run my boat right after him. At the end of the run, the fish would come up near the surface on his side. He was exhausted. It would only take about three minutes. Didn’t make any difference if he was thirty pounds or fifty pounds. You understand?

Currentseams: Yes.

Ken: OK, so now a guy hooks a big fish, it runs like hell, and he wants to stop the fish. And he puts pressure on the fish, and he thinks he’s going to turn it. That’s ridiculous. Take the pressure off the fish and it will stop (laughs knowingly). You have to learn this. Fish don’t read books about what they’re supposed to do and not do. They do all kinds of things besides what I’m saying. When the fish stops running, you reel in nice and steady, keeping the pressure the same, and the fish will come in like a dog on a leash. It’s like you hypnotize him with that steady pressure. If he wants to run again, back off the handle and let him.

Currentseams: Some anglers overplay stripers.

Ken: They don’t put any pressure on the fish because they’re afraid something bad is going to happen. Fear is the deciding factor. As long as you’re afraid, you’re not going to learn anything, and you’re going to make the same mistakes over and over again.

Currentseams: So some things that help you be less afraid are sharp hooks and, would you say, strong leader?

Ken: Oh, absolutely. Throw away all these ideas about fish seeing leaders and all that crap. Some people think I’m speaking heresy, but it’s not heresy. It’s the truth.

Currentseams: I haven’t used anything other than thirty, twenty-five, and twenty-pound Worldwide Sportsman mono for years now.

Ken: Of course. If you’re worried about leaders, you’re going to have a built-in handicap. You’re going to catch a hell of a lot more stripers on thirty pound than you are on eight.

Currentseams: I’ve found very few situations where I felt my leader color or size was the reason I wasn’t catching.

Ken: The leader isn’t an invisible connection. It leads the fly. You’ve got to match the size of the leader to your fly so it will swim right. You want the fly to be presented in a certain way. The leader is about the mechanics of presentation, not invisibility. You know that mono you’re using? That’s the original mono. The first one that was ever made. Do you get it?

Currentseams: I think so.

Ken: They haven’t improved it. But they’ve found millions of ways to sell other different kinds.

Currentseams: Do you keep your drag ratcheted down tight?

Ken: I use my hands. My hands are my drag. I don’t want anything between me and the fish. I just keep my drag tight enough so that the reel doesn’t over spin.

Currentseams: Too many anglers let stripers take them into their backing. I’ve only gone backing with three or four stripers in my life.

Ken: This is a true story. And it was witnessed by two people. I was fishing off Watch Hill in a boat for false albacore with a seven-weight rod and a fifteen pound leader. I hooked a fish, let him run, then held him and held him until the leader popped. So I said, oh, okay. I tied on another fly. Then I caught forty-two albacore. And not one of them got into my backing. Not one. Because I knew exactly how hard to push.

Currentseams: That’s impressive.

Ken: I kept ten of them, and told people they were good to eat – even though everyone says they’re not – and I lied, because I wanted to find out if they were good to eat. Everyone was disappointed (laughs).

Currentseams: (laughter)

Ken: I don’t care about the rules, and about what everybody else does. I always want to find out for myself. I also caught a couple of false albacore that day on my spinning rod. Know what I caught them on?

Currentseams: No, tell me.

Ken: Plastic crawfish with blue claws (laughs).

Currentseams: I have this theory…

Ken: I have no theories. I’m just talking about experience.

Currentseams: …the more line or backing that’s out, the more things can go wrong.

Ken: Well, yeah. The only thing you want to do is break the fish’s spirit.

Currentseams: What about swinging your bent rod from horizon to horizon to keep the fish off balance? I’ve done that with steelhead, and sometimes stripers.

Ken: You can absolutely change the direction of a fish by moving your rod. If you put your rod down close to the water, you let the line cushion your leader. You can change a fish’s direction by backing right off the pressure. If the fish runs downstream, you can dump line into the current, and let it get below the fish. Then all of a sudden the fish feels the pull from downstream, and he’ll start swimming up, dragging that line right behind him. I’ve done that hundreds of times.

Currentseams: That seems counterintuitive: if you take the pressure off the fish, you’ll lose the fish.

Ken: The line in the water will keep it tight.

Currentseams: I get it now, but I worry when a fish runs downstream, then makes an abrupt turn and speeds upstream.

Ken: A fish running upstream means somehow the drag of the line got below him. The fish always goes against the pull. Mmm-hmm.

Currentseams: What are some of the bigger stripers you’ve caught on a fly rod?

Ken: Oh God…I’ve caught a lot of big fish. A lot of people have caught a lot of really big fish on flatwings, because they really are a big fish fly. And they’re castable, and they can imitate anything.

Currentseams: Are there any kind of basic strategies for targeting big fish?

Ken: Well yeah, there are, but you have to learn those things over time. And you can’t be listening to other people.

Currentseams: How about how to fight a big fish?

Ken: You fight the fish from the first guide closest to the reel. The rest of the rod is not important. That angle from that guide is the most power you’re going to get. And you use the rod to dampen that power – if you raise the rod, it lessens the drag and reduces the pressure. Reason can’t fish. You fight the fish with your gut – you don’t play it from your head. Most people have fear in their gut. And fear always comes from an idea.

Currentseams: I still have a certain amount of fear with any big fish, but it doesn’t inhibit me. Since I started resetting the hook like you taught me, I have not lost a striper over 28”.

Ken: Yep.

Currentseams: Sometimes people say to me, “Well, how do you know you haven’t lost one over 28?”

Ken: (laughs) I know what a big one feels like.

Currentseams: Yeah.

Ken: And that’s the truth. Some people just refuse to give up their reason. Everything has to have a cause and an effect. The fact of the matter is that the future is unwritten. You can’t get there by figuring out the past. It’s always now.

Positive waves amidst a seemingly endless winter

Snow. Cold. More snow. More cold. Ditto, ditto, et cetera, et cetera. Stand sure, folks. Spring’s coming. You can see it on the trees — just look at all those buds. If you have forsythia, the stalks are green and the buds are very well-formed, even in this ponderous sub-Arctic snow-making nonsense.

By the numbers, we are just over one week away from March. Eight weeks away from Opening Day (in case you still use that as a marker). Hendricksons will be hot on its heels. And stripers will be on the move well before that.

Hopefully you’re keeping busy doing some reading or tying flies. I’ve just been busy. But I am working on some new material for the site that I hope to have out soon. As always, thanks for reading, and thanks for following currentseams.

Wearin’ of the green. From May last year. IMG_1342

Soft-Hackles and Fuzzy Nymphs for Steelhead tying demo at the Compleat Angler February 28

Hope to see you at the Compleat Angler, 541 Post Road in Darien, Saturday, February 28 from 10am-2pm. Like the title says, steelhead soft-hackles and fuzzy nymphs will be the bill of fare. Many of these patterns cross over neatly into trout fishing, so don’t let the steelhead designation scare you off. This is a tying demo, not a class, so all you need to bring is yourself and some questions if you are so inclined to ask. I will certainly be tying some of the flies that were featured in my “Soft-Hackles for Winter Steelhead” piece in the last issue of American Angler. Till then, stay warm!

The Ginger Spider. Yup. It would be safe to say that I have a thing for the magical material humbly known as ginger Angora goat. Teal flank, too.

Ginger Spider