tactics

Unlimited Helpful Hints--The Basics

By Oregon Westflyers

As with the Glossary, Hints are available in a more convenient form.

hese tips for better fly fishing were compiled on Westfly's Oregon Board. Many thanks are due to Skip Lynch (Gracies Dad) for compiling these.

 
Hints are organized in sections. Scroll through the whole list, or click on the links below for each section.

1. Basic
2. Advanced
3. Expert
4. Superstitions and Jinxes
5. Gear
6. Fly Tying
7. Advanced Safety
8. Apparel and Fashion
9. Heloise Would Be Proud
10. Zen and the Art of Fly FIshing
11. D'oh!
12. Boating and Camping
13. Domestic Tranquility
14. Stewardship
15. Duh!
16. Miscellany

Basic

--Always keep "the paper" handy in the car!

---Forget the toilet paper. Carry a small package of baby wipes! There is nothing better in the woods; they feel so nice. You can use them to clean other things as well.

---If you're nymphing, always check your hook after disengaging a snag. Often that rock on the bottom will have dulled or bent your hook and, let's face it; you only get so many shots at fish, so you need to make them count.

---That trick of putting the rod tip down underwater to coax a big fish back upstream? It really does work.

---When you keep getting hits but no hook-ups, sharpen your hook.

---Tiny streams often hold some nice fish! Don't overlook the small water.

---Write a checklist and save it in a file on the computer. Print it out and follow it each time you pack for a fishing trip. This is most important if boating or camping is added to the packing equation.

---Keep your fly in the water. Always.

---If you catch a hatchery fish, take the opportunity to snap a bunch of photos. You're going to keep it anyway so you can click away guilt free: you're not harming the resource. You can pose it; take the time you need to get everything just right, etc.

---Always tag a fish immediately if you are keeping it. Keep a lucky pen handy.

---If you keep a steelhead or salmon, gut it right away. Many of these fish have round, tape-worm-like parasites that live in their intestinal cavity. (Lots of times you can see them on the liver.) Once the fish dies, these lovely critters will migrate out into the meat. Of course, cooking kills them, but eeeww, ick! Just gut and get rid of them.

---Make a lousy cast? Follow through anyway. The fly is in the water and there just might be something there to chomp it.

---Lots of flies are great, but there's virtually nothing you can't catch with an Elk Hair Caddis, a Pheasant Tail nymph, a Soft Hackle or a Woolly Bugger.

---When keeping fish to eat, such as a hatchery coast-run salmon or steelhead, the longer they are in the river, the more of their fat reserves are used and the less desirable they are for the BBQ. Just remember that bucks turn dark a lot faster than hens. This is especially true for steelhead (which sometimes never get very dark).

---Take a little time for the basics. Get to the blue gill pond for a ton of fun. Nothing beats the sound of the line ripping off the water when a monster gill takes you fly.

---Don't leave your flies and reels at home.

---Never, ever, ever lay or lean your rod where it can possibly get stepped on, sat on, shut in a car door, etc. (everybody's heard of Mr. Murphy, right?)

---If you must lay your rod down somewhere near your rig, lay it on the hood of your vehicle, not the roof. It is unlikely you'll drive off with the rod on the hood.

---You can use the windshield wiper to hold your rod, even when driving to another fishing spot. Again, it's a lot cheaper than the fancy holders and works almost as well (except in very high winds).

---Keep a can of Fix-A-Flat in the car - 'nuff said.

---Always bring a spare rod. A broken rod is a lot less of a bummer if you can still get in a day of fishing.

---If you just landed a fish after a long fight, replace the tippet. Don't believe that it is o.k. if it "feels" right. What is a couple of feet of tippet and a few seconds not fishing worth if you break off the next one?

---When stringing up your rod, strip more line than is needed off the reel, double your fly line over a foot or so back from the tip and run that through the guides. If the line slips out of your fingers, it won't slip all the way back through you guides. You're also a lot less likely to miss a guide than you are with the leader.

---Having trouble tying that #20 size fly onto your leader? Go to the Dollar Tree and buy a pair of magnifying glasses to keep in your vest. Hey they're only $1, so buy several.

---Don't carry your car keys on you while on the river. Get a magnet storage box or some other way to hide the keys near the car. I have an entire set of keys at the bottom of the White River in Arkansas. Plus, I always tell whoever is fishing with me where the keys are hid in case of an emergency.

---Put your wallet, keys, what have you that can't get wet in a zip lock baggie in your zipper chest pouch of your waders --never lost, never wet

---Always pee before you put on your waders.

---Check your terminal tackle often for wind knots, abrasion, dull hooks, etc --ESPECIALLY when steelhead fishing. I do this whenever I land a fish, get hung-up on a bush or grass, when it's windy, when I get tired of cast, step, cast, step a 1000 times.

---Never go ahead and keep on fishing when you know you have a wind knot in your tippet

--Always, always, wet your knots before pulling them tight. If the knot isn't satisfactory, retie it.

---Clean your lines often. You really should clean your lines as often as once/month (not twice a year like me).

---Keep your license in one place only...

---Always keep your tip at or just under the water while retrieving a fly in stillwater. You'll feel a lot more fish than you would otherwise. Same goes when trolling flies in a boat or tube, keep that tip low! Furthermore, get your tip down and your line taut (i.e. ready to retrieve) as soon as your cast hits the water, so you can feel any bumps while you're line is sinking. The only exception to this is when performing a technique I learned in an article years back by our own Gene Trump: near the end of a retrieve (say, last 10 feet of fly line), slowly raise the rod tip until its sky high, while continuing to retrieve. This will imitate an emerging insect or a fleeing prey, and fish that have been following your fly will often slam it (hard enough that it's not a big deal that you're tip's nowhere near the water). Dumb fish like Atlantic salmon and Kokanee fall for this one the most

---Bring a bottle of water with you on the river. There's nothing worse than seeing all that water and not a drop to drink.

Advanced

--If you are lucky enough to hook a fish that is strong enough to over-power your drag, don't crank it down to its heaviest setting. This is a good way to burn up your drag. Set it so that it won't back-lash/free-spool and palm it for more pressure on the fish.

---Empty your fly box of any flies that you know (from experience) are not your top producers. This crazy-sounding tip will keep you from second guessing your fly choice and keep you concentrating on proven patterns, presentation, and most importantly keep your fly in the water.

--White and/or black are very visible for indicators and fly wings.

---Triple wash your hands after exposure to petroleum products.

---Touch your fly as little as possible to avoid leaving human scents. In fact, some "old timers" used to say that you should wash your nymphs and wetflies with soil to remove the human and solvent (think head cement) scents.

---I have a very sharp little knife I carry when steelheading. Clean the fish on bank and moor it off safely --fresher and lighter to carry back. (Don't forget about it and watch out for osprey).

---I generally only have about three or four fly patterns in my stillwater fly box on any given outing. Those patterns might change around a bit during different times of the year, but I keep my choices to just those that are appropriate for the task.

---Scout the river from as high as possible --climb a tree, or get up the canyon.

---When you catch a hatchery steelhead, introduce it to your priest ("club"), and place it on the bank so you can keep fishing. Make sure it's dead. Also, even dead fish can flop around, so make sure it is positioned where it won't land back in the water (I've seen this spoil many a drooling fisherman's day).

--If you are going to be fishing more than a short stone's throw from your catch, hide it under a bush, log or something so that seagulls and crows won't eat it while your back is turned.

--Scout the river during low water to see those hidden hole and bars in the middle of the river.

---I change my fly after each steelhead, that way I have a tippet that isn't frayed and a bunch of flies that have actually caught steelhead in reserve.

---Don't use your fly keeper ring. Instead, run your leader around the butt section of your reel seat and up to one of you guides. This way the leader will always be out of the tip-top and you'll be ready to cast.

---At the end of the day, loosen the drag on your reel. This applies to spring-and-pawl and disk drag reels, and will save your reel.

---When stripping streamers think to yourself, "I'm a frantic little morsel trying to flee." Don't think it out loud or you'll look like Capt'n Insano.

---If gear guys get too close, play the crazy-card for all its worth!

--When you're fishing a sinking line, play the trout off the line (do not put the line on the reel). This way you can put the same amount of line back in the water when you get back to fishing. This requires a bit more line management to keep you, the trout and your gear from getting tangled.

--Watch where the birds are hanging out in the lake. They make their living catching fish.

--When you're kick trolling, make a lot of turns and strip in line in small jerks.

---Always string your rod before you put on your waders and take it apart before you take off your waders. Keeping an order to your preparation processes keeps you from forgetting things --like rods on the roof of your rig.

Expert

--On your home or primary river, keep a log of steelhead caught when, where, what time of year, what fly, color --even record the water conditions and the weather. Doing this will provide you with a year-to-year data set that's useful at any given time in the run. This is invaluable for mastering your river of choice.

---Wait until you're in the water to tie on a fly. You can't tell from the parking lot what the fish might be feeding on and what the water conditions are like.

--Drop back line when you think a trout is following your fly.

---When lounging at camp waiting for the hatch to start, watch the birds. They know when the hatch is on and start flying around over the water catching bugs.

--Use two flies (the one you think will work best as the trailer) If you start catching almost as many trout on the leading fly it's the fly you want as a trailer, putting a different fly on as the leader.

---If you've got a heavy hatch on, pick a fish outside the main feeding lane where there are fewer bugs per fish. Best not to be one fly competing with fifty real bugs. If you've got a light hatch on, pick a back eddy and find the main seam and the one rising fish. You'll get the bigger fish usually with the second situation.

---If you're floating a river in clear-water conditions, get out walk downstream and fish the good spots before you float through them.

--If you're buying the "hot" local fly, be sure to buy more than one. The first one will always end up in a tree or on the bottom of the stream.

---When in a fly shop and the Dude behind the counter is showing you what flies are hot, you'll often find the compartment right next to the one he is pointing at is empty. I usually ask (politely) if that size/color/variant was the hot fly until it ran out. I often get a smile and the reply, "yes it is hot but we're out."

---Back in the days of checkbooks, I learned from a buddy that walking in and laying down your checkbook showed that you were a customer and not just digging for the scoop.

Superstitions and Jinxes

---Never go fishing without your lucky hat

---Get yourself some U of O gear and sing the fight song from your rig to your fishing hole. The steelies will hear it and respond accordingly.

---Never, ever utter a word or phrase that could result in a jinx being visited upon you. Most especially, never, ever, under any circumstances, say something like: "Steelheading is cake."

---Bananas can jinx a boat worse than anything on the planet.

---I never wear white in fresh water and I never wear anything colored in saltwater

---Put on your boots right-foot-first (good luck for that day) and take them off left-foot-first (for good luck the next time I go fishing)

---When packing a shore lunch, always include a jar of green olives

---Never cut your fingernails less than 24 hours before a fishing trip

---Always have polarized sunglasses with you, regardless of the time of day or the weather

---Never, ever under any circumstances refuse to pick up a penny that is heads up --especially if a penny is where you park to go fishing.

---Retire a fly that has hooked and played a steelhead, and doubly true for a fly that has worked on two steelhead.

---Never take a camera with a roll that needs two more pictures taken before development. If you promise yourself that they will only be reserved for fish pictures, the batteries in that camera will die before you catch that fish

---Never promise someone a fish dinner. You'll be stopping at the market --trust the Gorton's fisherman

---If you run over a skunk on the way to the river, just turn around and go home!

---When you have a hatchery steelhead almost to hand, never ever say or even think, "Yummm. That'll go good on the BBQ."

---Never walk under a ladder after you're done casting

Gear

---Buy the forceps with scissors behind the jaws. They clip to your vest and are ever so handy for removing hooks AND cutting line or trimming flies. I've even clipped my way out of a few blackberry thickets.

--For those of us that have the long arm disease, instead of cheap reading glasses, of which I own more than a few pair, I bought lenses that adhere to the inside of your sun glasses. Works great; available at many flyshops.

---Use an old duffel bag as your gear bag or go to a discount store and buy a cheap one. Then keep it packed and ready to go.

---Always carry a hook stone to sharpen hooks that become dulled from bumping rocks or catching too many fish or something.

---When steelheading, don't bother with the expensive tippet in the "X" range (1x,2x,3x), just go get yourself some 10lb & 12lb Maxima. It's all you need.

---If your rod is stuck together, use ice to contract the male end.

---If your rod is stuck and you want it to come apart, just drive home with the tip section sticking out the window. Unfortunately, it works every time

---Clean your guides once in a while; you'd be surprised what goop gets on them.

---Fanny packs are a great way to not have to tote your stuff around on those hot days when a vest just makes you sweat.

---If your fly box gets dunked, set it out in the open to dry as soon as you can. Those hooks will rust fast and nothing's worse (or as expensive) than a box full of rusty flies.

--Berkely Vanish Fluorocarbon will save you a ton of dough.

--Get studded boots.

---Be sure that your tippet spools are fresh. Whether you use mono or flouro, tippet ages --especially when it's exposed to the sun --and gets brittle.

Fly Tying

---When you're twisting ostrich or peacock herl chenille use a strand of Krystal Flash, tinsel, flashabou, etc. instead of mono. Mono is not as forgiving and the flash will add sparkle.

---If electrical work is done on your vehicle and any of the relays are replaced, be sure to ask for the parts. Automotive relays are made of a variety of wires in a number of different sizes and colors. I've found purple and green wire in automotive relays generally has extremely fine copper wiring. As you can use the wiring for ribbing or body material, you might as glean what you can from expensive auto repairs.

--For beginning fly tiers: keep your bodies slim and your tails sparse.

---If you want to remove the fibers from a peacock herl ---so just the quill remains for quill bodies, you can use a hard-quality eraser to strip the fiber off the quill by stroking the herl against the grain.

--Mix Thin in with the Thick.

--Use wire over Floss.

--Tinsel under Floss and Edge Brite or Razor Wrap.

--Use thin (Cement) on the Floss on a steelhead fly after it's finished.

--Krystal Flash can be used as a bubble loop

--If you're having trouble threading your bobbin, it could be that wax from your thread has built up in it. Ream it out with your dubbing needle and try again.

---When threading your bobbin, get the tip of the thread started and you can suck the thread through the rest of the way.

--If you've got bugs eating your fly tying materials, a week in the freezer should take care of it. Then you may want to consider airtight containers to keep bugs out in the future.

Advanced Safety

---If you've got to cross fast water, lock arms with one or two friends for added stability. You'll find you can cross in places you could never ford alone. But, never push it too far. Know your limits, because drowning sucks.

--Carry a book of matches in a watertight container. Get stranded or fall in, you can make a warming fire. I've had to use this one.

---Always carry your whistle with you when you're fishing alone --even when you're on the bank.

---Get a small first aid kit and carry it in your vest.

---Super glue works great as a bandage for little nicks and puncture wounds while you're fishing.

Apparel and Fashion

---Buy good socks. Nothing spoils a good day of fishing faster than blisters or frozen toes.

---Buy a back support (best damn accessory I've ever purchased). This can keep you in the river longer, and keeps you safe and effective by reducing fatigue.

---Always have dry clothing extras

---Hard to have fun when you're cold. Dress for the weather.

---Wear camo or sky blue shirts and hats. Nothing puts fish down faster that a bright colored hat or shirt and of course white is the worst (doesn't really apply to steelheading or bluewater unless you are sight fishing).

---Be prepared to sleep in your clothes.

---Use some Spenco neoprene shoe inserts in the bottom of your wading boots. They'll make your boots more comfortable, and reduce wear on your wader feet. I use the ones with arch support, in a 3/4 length to leave lots of toe room.

---Carry a change of clothes and socks in case you fall in. If you take them with you in a boat or pontoon, put them in a resealable plastic bag to keep them dry. (I use one of those travel bags with a valve that lets you squeeze all the air out to minimize bulk.) In the event of a dunking, they could save you from discomfort at best and hypothermia at worst.

Heloise Would Be Proud

---Carry a spare piece of carpet in your car that you can throw down on the ground to take on and off your waders. It will save you the wear and tear of gravel eating your waders to shreds.

---Use a plastic ice cube tray to store your unused flies. They are inexpensive and stack well.

---To separate sections that are stock together, I found spraying the joint with a 10-second blast of air-in-a-can available in office supply stores works very effectively.

---Use one of those kitty litter plastic pans to stow your dirty wet boots on the way home. They're a lot less expensive that those fancy gear bags and easier to clean (assuming you clean your gear bag).

---Instead of a fancypants leader straightener use a piece of rubber cut from a bicycle inner tube.

---An old Altoids box makes a great poor man's fly box. Just find some 1/4-inch Styrofoam and cut it to fit. Then stick your flies in the foam.

---Cheap marabou-like feathers are on sale at your local craft and party supply stores. You can buy a boa for five bucks, and it appears to be marabou, and comes in all different colors

---Carry a kitchen-size plastic garbage bag in your wading jacket or vest. If you get a leak in your waders at the foot or lower leg section, you can use the garbage bag as an inside liner to contain the moisture until you can fix the leak at home.

---You know those goofy little candles from birthday cakes? Put one in your vest to use on ferrules. It works just as good as bee's wax.

---A very small amount of Chapstick will work as floatant is you're desperate and have no floatant but are carrying Chapstick.

---Carry Velcro in your boat or pontoon. Great for tying down stuff...

Zen and the Art of Fly Fishing

---Always fish with somebody who is better than you. Oh, the things you can learn.

---Watch the Master fish and heed his words when he speaks.

--Always smile while fishing --even when getting skunked. You'll just feel better for it!

---Pick one technique and master it before moving on to something new. All of the really effective fishermen I know are masters of one technique, two at most.

---Take it all in frequently

---Always, during the day and at the end of the day, take time to appreciate the time spent on the stream!

---Take time periodically to just stop once in awhile when fishing to take in all that is around you. Sometimes when fishing we just focus on the 30-80 feet in front of us. Meanwhile, we miss the osprey across the river

---If you only have an afternoon to go fishing, go!

---Sometimes you should ignore what everyone here says and come up with your own hints and techniques.

---Remember, it's better to forget equipment at home than to leave it at streamside!

---Once in a while, tear yourself away from a great hatch to explore more of the river. It's the easiest way to find lesser-known spots that you might want to have in your back pocket, just in case next time all the "good" holes are taken. I seldom can stand to do this, but it always seems to pay off when I do.

---When fishing a run alone and a guy comes down to the bank and ask how's it going, Answer and be as honest as you can and offer all the help you can to him. Why? Because he could be the one friend you've always needed.

--If you not losing flies/gear you're not fishing enough.

---The fishing is usually best on the downwind side of the lake.

---Be courteous

---Be careful

---Find one place that you are the expert on.

--Invite a select few to share in your find. Continue to learn by teaching them the intricacies. Perpetuate the mystique and what makes your spot special by showing off all the non-fishing attributes that it offers (scenic beauty, solitude, remote location, and proximity to other quality fisheries, surrounding area attractions).

--Make your road trips and planning as much an event as the fishing itself.

---Less Internet, more fishes.

D'OH!

---When tying on a new fly, stand in fast water so when you drop the fly before getting it secured to the line you know it has been carried away. This saves you about an hour's worth of sifting through the tall grass or moving around the river stones because you know "it couldn't have gone far".

---Always remove your fly box (the one with all the special flies for the trip) from the chest pocket of your waders before flipping them down over an open outhouse hole.

---When tying a leader on at the truck, before heading down to the river. Try to not shut the door on your one-week-old rod!

---Most important, keep track of your wader straps when squatting.

---If you smoke, don't carry all your cigarettes with you in the river.

---When parking a rig at the take-out, give the two fishermen camping there a couple extra beers. This way, when you float to the take-out and realize that you left your keys in the rig at the PUT-IN, the two fisherman camping at the take-out might let you borrow their brand new Ford F-250 to drive 2 hours roundtrip back to the put-in to get your keys. Or, you could stick a freakin' Hide-A-Key somewhere on your rig or boat

---Bring a hammer that stays with your camping gear in the back of your unlocked pickup canopy. That way, when you switch from a fishing vest to a forward-mounted fanny pack and throw it, along with your sealed up wallet that contains your spare car key, into the front seat along with your major set of keys (because they're in said fanny pack), and lock the truck by habit, you can bust the crap out of the passenger-side fly window and recover everything.

Boating and Camping

--When camping, bring some duct tape to seal up the fly window.

---Bring a satellite phone if you're too @#$%!@*& old to climb the canyon wall to call AAA.

---Never, ever, ever leave a bowline tied to the winch eye of your drift boat unless you think it's cool sitting in the middle of the river 20 feet below the snag that grabbed it!

---Let each and every boat clear the rapid completely before you enter the rapid from above. Reason to me seems obvious --stay safe.

--Jump on open seat posts like they're a fumble.

--Don't expect Ben to run the boat.

Domestic Tranquility

---Make sure your best fishing partner's wife and your wife have something in common to do while the two of you are out fishing. Our wives love to scrapbook together. Afterwards, we meet up for dinner and movies. Imagine getting credit for Quality Time while fishing?

---Tell your wife you will be home 3 hours later than you plan to be.

--Tell your wife (girlfriend) you love her before you leave and when you get back.

---Make sure if you tie in the house that you search long and hard for every hook you may have dropped. Believe me, your wife won't let you here the end of it if she steps on a hook.

---Always be willing to give a kid some flies, but ask their parents first. Kids like to fish but they LOVE to catch!

---Always take a kid fishing and when you do, it's about the kid not you. In the end you will learn something from watching the newbie and answering all the questions, plus you'll see the water in a different light.

Stewardship

---After a good fight from a fish take the time to revive the fish. It's the least you can do.

---Carry a kitchen-sized garbage bag in your vest, and pick up the trash as you move up and down the river. And take five minutes when you're back at your rig, too.

Duh!

---Only thread your own bobbin.

---Keep your capes and necks out of the dog's reach.

--Don't whistle along with the radio when you are tying flies.

--Don't stare at the sun.

---Don't piss into the wind.

---Always buy fluorocarbon tippet.

Miscellany

--Sell your non-producing flies on eBay!

--And that funny little flip out pocket on you waders is for stowing candy bars.

---If you're trying to quit chewing, don't fish with Royal or Gary. They can live for three days straight on nothing but Skoal and Coors Light.

---If you come across folks heading to Burning Man, park the truck and party with them.

---Run a marathon to condition yourself for fishing with PTS or WesH. Bring a five-subject, college-ruled notebook and an extra pencil.

---Super Glue on the bobbin of the guy sitting next to you will bring a laugh. Exlax in the mocha of the guy sitting next to you will make an interesting afternoon for everyone.

--If you take slides and want to use a scanner to digitize them, an easy way to pick them up without leaving fingerprints on the glass is to use a big, school eraser to lift the edge. Lean the slide off to the side so you can grab it.

--When you run across purists who frown on your nymphing but still have to come see what you're catching them on, try this. Jerk: "Oh, I see you got all those fish nymphing. I'm waiting for a hatch, I raised a twenty-incher on a dry this morning and I'm waiting for another hatch." Your reply: "Yeah, I always pretend to be a purist when I'm getting skunked too."

--Store all of your fishing equipment in a deep dark closet. If it has a light, break the bulb or disconnect the switch. Nobody will ever know what you have in there because it's too much trouble for them to get a flashlight

Uploaded 12/25/2005.

Rate This Article

5=tops  3=average  1=low

You must be registered and logged-in to rate an article. How to do this.

Average rating 4.5 by 2 users