In early October, a fishing partner and I had an invitation to fish Oregon’s Williamson and Wood Rivers, and afterward we towed my stillwater skiff farther up Highway 97 to visit trophy-trout lakes. Fishing in the Southern Oregon rivers and the clear-water Cascade lakes, one a flooded valley and the others the remnants of a volcanic caldera, was technically demanding. We swung flies on the Williamson and Wood and used the same 6-weight intermediate fly lines and rods for our cast-and-retrieve lake angling. Both demanded long and fine leaders, special flies, and far-reaching accurate casts. I remember Randy Jarvis, our guide and host, thanking us at the end of a day’s fishing for not impaling him with any flies and for being able to cast the distances needed to get good swings that interested fish.
On the long drive home, my partner and I marveled at the scenery and our good fortune and rehashed our trip, which had resulted in exceptionally large wild trophy redbands, brook trout, and brown trout. We realized that what had led to our good fortune was a total fly-fishing package, developed over time. Our armamentarium included flies and hooks, leaders and knots, lines, rods, and reels, plus a healthy and well-conditioned human being positioned in a place where catching a trophy was a possibility. The entire package is designed to present a fly that we hope will entice our quarry.
Flies and Hooks
Of course, we try to present trout with a fly that will catch them, but beyond the mere attractiveness of our flies, we emphasize the quality of the fly and of the hook it’s tied on. Some hooks have roughness or sharp edges where the eye loop bends back and butts against the hook shank. It will cut a leader on one good pull from a fish, and then you wonder why your knot failed. Another weak point can develop when you pinch a barb down while rigging up and the point break offs, rendering that well-crafted fly useless. Cheap hooks are also prone to breaking, as area old flies that have been in your box for years and have become a little rusted from the moisture.
We have come a long way from the Mustad hooks of the 1970s. English hooks such as those made by Partridge were our best bet then, because they didn’t straighten easily. The Japanese raised the bar in hook quality several decades ago with chemical sharpening, and now, hooks that lose their bend under stress aren’t the problem that they once were.
That said, the maverick professional fly tyer who holes up in a Montana cabin in the winter and ties with excellent hooks and materials is a vanishing breed. My fly-tying mentor was André Puyans. He taught proper proportions and insisted on quality hooks and thread and high-quality materials. Many of his lessons related to grading materials and the unique qualities of each . . . elk, deer, moose, muskrat, beaver, mink — and road kill. Why invest time in a fly if it won’t float or sink as intended? Interest in natural materials on the rise again because they impart life to flies and do things that synthetics can’t. Check out Ralph and Lisa Cutter’s “Under the Alders” column, “Natural Imitation Artificial Flies,” in the November/ December 2015 California Fly Fisher.
The point, however, is that if you don’t tie your own flies, buying them can be a crap shoot. Trust your local fly shop; avoid the 50-cent bins. Today, commercial flies are tied offshore in Sri Lanka, China, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea. Twenty years ago, many came from Kenya and other parts of Africa. The industry there was started by British companies such as Fulling Mill, who still have a big share of the European market. All offshore manufacturers, often with contracts with American distributors, tie by the tens of thousands and there are good and bad flies in every batch. High-grade your purchases. Examine each for proper proportions and notice how they perform. Do they fall apart on one fish? Do they sink when they are supposed to? Do the dries float with the hook point down?
Leaders and Knots
Many of my angling friends use leader systems built on a 9-foot commercial tapered leader that may be adequate in its own right or that can be easily extended if a longer or lighter leader is needed. On our Oregon trip, 5X fluorocarbon tippet was necessary in clear waters that held wary fish who have seen plenty of flies and leaders. That leader is attached on the heavy end to a leader butt with a three-turn Blood or Barrel Knot, which is in turn attached to the fly line with a Nail or Needle Nail Knot. Tie these carefully and massage the knot coils so they line up and are even. Another option, now that most lines come with welded loops, is the loop-to-loop connection between a Perfection Loop Knot on the tapered leader and the welded loop.
Both the Nail Knot and Perfection Loop can be a bit bulky and cause problems when they come through the tip-top guide if you’re trying to land a fish with a long leader. The bulge of the knot and the extra resistance it creates can pop a light tippet or break your rod tip when you have a large fish close in during the last stages of netting it. Use several layers of Softex or UV Knot Sense to make that connection as smooth as possible.
What terminal knots should you use? We could argue all night. I happen to use Clinch Knots for fluorocarbon, Improved Clinch Knots for nylon monofilament, Lefty Kreh Loop Knots for many of my streamers and bass flies, and the Triple Surgeon’s Knot for unequal-diameter leader connections. For equal-diameter leader connections, I stick with the Barrel Knot or Blood Knot. The important thing is to tie knots carefully with high-quality leader material, wet them, pull down slowly, and then test the knot. It’s hard to discipline yourself to do all that when fish are rising a short cast away.
My tippets, most often 3X, 4X, or 5X fluorocarbon, are attached with a carefully tied Triple Surgeon’s Knot. It’s easy to get a nicely performing 14-foot leader this way . . . a foot or two of stiffer leader butt, 9 feet of tapered leader, and a step-down tippet of 3 to 4 feet. Trout leaders made of supple material help let smaller flies sit more naturally on the water. My 9-foot 0X 16-pound-test bass leaders have medium-stiff tippet ends that aid in turning over larger flies. As they shorten from repeated fly changes, I add 15-pound or 20-pound fluorocarbon tippet. Remember that tippet material, particularly the lighter tests, deteriorates with age, and this is particularly true with monofilament, which deteriorates more quickly than fluorocarbon. Consider throwing out your 4X, 5X, and 6X tippet spools every year, particularly if stored in a vehicle subject to heat and sunlight. Write the purchase date on your spools. Why so much concern? Most fish are lost on the leader-to-fly and tippet-to-leader knots.
Lines
Your fly line is the magical link that transfers energy generated by you through the rod down the leader and to the fly. Often a new line or a change in line weight or taper will bring out the best in a rod. Fly lines deteriorate with exposure to water, sunlight, dirt, sunblock, and algae. In time, they become rough and will not shoot through the guides well. Concurrently, the tip loses buoyancy and will darken and crack. They need to be replaced periodically, but less often if you religiously clean them and don’t store them wet. A well-cared-for high-end line will get the best out of any rod and angler and is a huge help in making long casts.
Your fly line is attached to Dacron backing with a Nail Knot or a Clinch Knot tied to a loop — better yet by an Albright Knot brushed with Softex or UV Knot Sense. As you use heavier-test leaders, that connection becomes more important. Where are fly lines lost? Most often while trying to get a fly off a snag. Quality lines can cost over $75, and you won’t find a fly shop in the backcountry.
Rods
Rods transfer your kinetic energy into that line. To cast a fly in a tight loop on a 14-foot leader and turn it over properly on a long cast requires a decent rod. Buy the best quality that you can afford and try to test that rod before you buy it. Match that rod to your casting personality. My tennis coach often talked about what happens when someone tries to select the latest and greatest carbon fiber racquets. He said that everybody strokes better with a demo racket, because it focuses their mind on the task at hand. So instead, he chose rackets after he had played awhile with them. It helps to have fished a rod you might want to buy. One way to check out a rod is to book a trip with a respected guide who uses that brand and model and try out the merchandise. Another is to patronize a fly shop that has rods than can be cast with different lines, on or near the premises. However you do it, try them out before investing a lot of money. That rod is like a surgeon’s instrument.
Reels
Much trout fishing and almost all bass and panfish angling with a fly rod doesn’t require reels with mindboggling high prices. As you hunt more and more trophy fish, however, a well-performing drag on a well-machined reel becomes important. There’s a wide range of medium-price-point reels that are smooth on the startup and have good drags. During our fishing on the Williamson and Wood Rivers and East, Crane Prairie, Miller, and Lava Lakes, we hooked large trout that ran and were glad that we had quality reels and smooth drags. Still, even on monsters, it’s rare that you get a fish on the reel. Trying to do so is where many
fish are lost, often in the transition, when there is a moment of slack. Most of us put far more backing on a reel than will ever be needed, but that said, filling the reel with as much backing as possible will allow you to bring in more line with each turn of the reel handle.
Your nonreel hand is actually your drag and line manager. Let the fish put you on the reel. In bonefishing, your partner’s job, when you are on the elevated front deck, is line management. That doesn’t happen in a drift boat or a stillwater skiff. Another point where fish are lost is when a hand or thumb gets in front of a revolving reel handle when a fish runs or surges Pop goes the weasel.
The Angler
Finally, in this survey of the total package for stillwater fly fishing, there is the human element. A weekend, much less a week or more of all-day fly fishing, will tax an angler’s body. It’s not just the physical aspects of casting, but sun and wind exposure and long, back-to-back days that take a toll. I’m readying for a trip to Mexico. Since it’s winter, I try to get outside often and expose myself to wind and sun as much as possible. Winter fishing on the nearby Yuba and Feather Rivers helps. I also do core exercises and lift light weights that strengthen my wrists, arms, and shoulders. Once at your destination, you don’t want to tear a rotator cuff, strain a trapezius, or roll a biceps and ruin the trip. Dehydration may be the biggest enemy of fly fishers. It saps strength and affects judgment. Stay hydrated. And don’t forget the sunblock, sunglasses and hat.
The most important piece of equipment in fly fishing is our minds. I find that errors in judgment come when I’m tired, more so as the years roll buy. On another trip to Mexico, our guides were a bit dismayed when we told them that we wanted more than a one-hour break at midday. Lunch was followed by siesta and time to check our gear from reel to fly and straighten up our tackle bags. That longer rest prepared us for the late afternoon’s fishing. Then we were able to capitalize on prime time, knowing that we had a better chance when and if a monster showed up under our flies.
