fly fishing how-to

Separating Stuck Rod Joints

There can be a problem that affects all rods with joints, sometimes they just stick and it is the Devil’s own job to separate them.

With the exception of strong surf rods, one of the worst ways to try and unstick the joints is to have a friend grab one side of the joint and you the other side, and pull. It is very hard to keep the rod dead straight and a broken rod at the joint is a common result. Even worse is for you and your friend to try and twist the rod in opposite directions as you pull. Result – same as above. This is especially true of light spinning and fly-fishing rods.

There are two methods that work for me – but I am totally at a loss to know why.

First, put the behind your back, clasp the rod with each hand on either side of the joint and pull apart. I have seen this work, and experienced it myself, on apparently immovable joints.

Second method, and again I do not know why it works, is to pack the joint with a bag of ice or frozen peas for about ten minutes, then pull apart.

Stuck rod joints can be avoided by a couple of quick tips:

  • Before joining the rod give the male joint a good rub down with a cloth to remove dust or fine sand.
  • After cleaning the male spigot rub it a few times up and down the side of your nose. The natural grease imparts a very fine lubricant.

When joining the rod pieces, just seat the two halves firmly together, never force down on the joint. Ramming the two pieces together is a definite ‘no-no’.

And finally, it is a good idea to test that the joint is firm regularly during a fishing session. A loose joint, can lead to a broken rod, because the overlap between the male and female parts becomes too short. This is especially important when fly fishing.

Posted by Tony Bishop in Articles and stories on fishing in general, fly fishing how-to, salt water how-to and tips

10 best ways to break your fly-rod

Over the fifty and more years I have been fishing and sometime guiding I have seen some truly inventive ways of breaking a rod, here are ten of the most common:piontloading

1. Hold the rod tip up to near vertical with the line running down parallel to the rod while trying to net a fish over three or more pounds – it’s called ‘Point Loading”.

2. While walking in to the river, hold the rod with the tip lower than horizontal to the ground – when you trip the rod turns into a javelin, and a four piece into a many more piece.

3. When your fly is snagged, heave back on the rod, with the rod tip behind your head – it’s called Point Loading’, again.

4. When pulling the leader and fly-line out to get ready to cast, pull the line near -parallel to the rod, yes, it’s “Point Loading” again.

5. Lay the rod on the ground, anywhere, anytime, taking a photo, changing a fly, eating a sandwich, staining the bank – you just have to know, you, or your about-to-be ex-friend is going to stand on it. Most effective in long grass.

6. Fail to make sure the rod joints (spigots) are firmly seated. Best outcome, the joint separates – annoying at worst. Worst outcome, the shortened overlap of the joint area breaks – heart break at best.

7. Forgetting to check if the motel has a ceiling fan while you gear up for fishing tomorrow has lead to many a long morose trip home.

8. Strongish breeze, open vehicle door, fly-rod in immediate vicinity – say no more.

9. Hook-up on the blackberries on the back cast again – rod rage – say no more, again.

10. Most spectacular fly-rod demolition? Two words – helicopter blades!

Would love to hear about your rod-breaking experiences.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing, fly fishing gear, fly fishing tips

Avoid back pain and damage from wearing waders

When wrote my post yesterday about my new hip pack which has replaced my fly-fishing vest to help keep back pain under control, I forgot to mention something else my bad back Doctor, (the back is bad, definitely not the Doctor), advised.

He recommends, and remember he is a nutter fisherman like us, that when you are walking to and from the river or or stream, or from pool to pool, or wading in less than waist deep water, unclip your wader straps, and roll the waders down to your wader belt.

He advises that this is especially important if you use neoprene chest waders as the weight can really exert some nasty force on you neck and back muscles and joints. Neoprene waders, wet from wading, even if you are not much more than thigh deep, hold a lot of water and get heavy, bad news for your back as that weight is pulling down on the wader’s straps when you leave the water.

But he also advises unhooking light chest-waders as well as most waders do restrict bending motion and it is this lack of full motion that leads to back pain.

Got to be worth a go – especially if you are a lot younger than this old fart, and before real damage is done.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing, fly fishing gear

A magnetic little tip for finding fumbled flies

There are in this fishing world of ours thousands of hints, tricks, and tips to make things easier or more effective. Most of us I guess read them, say to ourselves, ‘now that is a good idea, I must use that’ – and promptly forget around 99% of them!

Well a couple of months ago I read a tip in a UK fly-fishing magazine that was simplicity in itself, designed to solve a problem that affects us all, sometime or other.

So there I was on a nice piece of water, catching a few nice trout on a new fly I was trialling, till one a bit better than my skills took it away. So I opened my fly box and the other one of the two I tied fell into the grass at my feet. Do you think I could find it – no chance.

Now back to that tip that drifted out of my memory when I was not looking. Simply tie a small but powerful magnet onto a length of string, and when you drop a fly ‘troll’ the magnet around the area where the fly fell. Beautiful – but forgotten. So no magnet, not string, no fly. Bugger.

OK, so just when I needed it, the magnet on a string tip snuck back into my memory. But as I said no magnet, no string. But I finally thought, my landing net is tied to a magnet, that connects to another magnet attached to the loop behind my neck. I detached my net and slowly ‘trolled’ the magnet through the grass at my feet, and a fly attached itself. Actually not my fly but a well trampled previously dropped specimen by someone as clumsy as me.

I can report that I did find my fly – but also have to report that despite the fact it’s brother caught a number of fish, the ‘lost’ fly failed to live up to the promise of the former. Still I did manage to cement the magnet tip into my brain cells, and at my age that is a good capture in itself.

Postscript: If you tie flies, the magnet on a string tip has another use. When you drop a hook on the floor, as you do, especially a carpet covered floor, and more especially the dropped hook is small, a magnet on a string finds the little blighter quickly.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing how-to, fly fishing tips, fly tying

How to Get Started in Saltwater Fly-Fishing

It May Be Easier To Start Than You think.

Saltwater fly-fishing gets a lot of press. An exciting branch of our sport it is too. Marlin on a fly rod -  tuna, sharks and yellowtail kingfish  too. But maybe all these stories of going toe to toe with big game fish on the specialist gear required, rather than encouraging people into this sport, has actually discouraged them?

This may be especially true when many articles talk about complicated leader set-ups and the like. Most of this stuff is about complying with the rules to register record fish. If you are not chasing records, or fishing in a contest, none of these rules apply.

A pair of average kahawai that provided great sport on a fly rod

Here is some good news – just as in all other aspects of fishing – there are horses for courses. Fact is the majority of fishermen have never, and may never, go fishing for big-game fish, whether with big-game fishing gear or on a fly rod.

In fact it is highly likely that the majority of big-game fishermen have never and will never chase big-game fish with a fly rod. Fishing for big-game fish with a fly rod is a specialised branch of a sport that is already specialised.

Salt water fly-fishing is not necessarily about catching big-game fish on fly rods: for most, it is about catching exciting fish like kahawai, trevally, snapper and  smaller  yellowtail kingfish on fly rods.

Here is some even better news – the gear for catching these exciting fish can be the same gear that you could use to catch trout as well.

Here is what you need to chase snapper, kahawai, small kingfish, trevally, and the like in salt water.

[Read full article]

Posted by Tony Bishop in salt water fly fishing

Securely handling trout without causing stress or damage

One of New Zealand’s best known guides, Tony Entwhistle, writing in the New Zealand Fish & Game Magazine, has one of the best descriptions I have read on the proper handling of a trout.

“Securely handling a trout without causing stress or damage is a matter of a gentle touch, not a tight grip.

To pacify a landed trout, simply place a hand vertically in front of its nose to prevent it from swimming forward and fold the palm to cover both eyes. This acts as a mask and immediately calms it down. Trout relax quickly when their eyes are covered.

Next grasp the fish’s tail with the other hand, without excessive force. Some anglers use a piece of stocking for grip, but with good technique this isn’t necessary. Securing a trout needs only gentle pressure between the thumb and forefinger, applied directly over the base of the tail, applied where it joins the body (hypural joint).

Apply pressure top and bottom through the first joints of the forefinger and thumb, rather than along the sides. The mistake is grasping the tail too far forward and using too much hand in doing so. Squeezing hard does not help as the fish slips more easily.

Now test the grip by lifting the fish slightly by the tail, keeping the other hand over the eyes for the moment. If the grip is secure the trout will not slip, but if it does resist grabbing at it with both hands. By quickly slipping a hand in front of the nose, and covering the eyes again, a lot more fish will be saved from premature release.

With a positive grip on the tail it is now possible to begin lifting the trout safely for a photograph or release.

Avoid squeezing the fish around the soft belly area behind the pectoral fins because this causes discomfort and can potentially cause serious damage to internal organs. Instead slide the free hand under the pectoral fins, orientating the hand so that the trout’s head rests along the index finger, with the pectoral fins spread out between thumb and little finger.

The trout will be nicely balanced and the soft tissue in the belly area will no be supporting any weight. Lifting the trout this way, and returning it to the water between photographs minimizes any distress which could reignite its struggles. Turn the fish belly up when removing the hook.

Handle trout gently and with respect and they won’t panic or stress, ensuring their revival for release without damage and a minimum of fuss.”

© Reproduced by permission – ‘New Zealand Fish and Game Magazine’

Posted by Tony Bishop in environment and conservation, fly fishing how-to, trout information

Muddy Waters Yield Trout Bonus

another trout from muddy watersTrout from muddy waters

I have just returned from a week long fishing trip in the central North Island of New Zealand. The fishing was not easy, the river I was concentrated on, the Tauranga-Taupo, was very low and clear. The weather was sunny and mid-Summer hot.

Despite that I managed to keep myself busy catching fish in and around the old and current size limit, 45 & 40cm (18” & 16”).

But last Thursday night, preceded by a torrential rain warning from the met office, the rain duly came down, every bit as heavy as forecast. It rained all night stopping at dawn. The river rose by 4 to 5 feet, and spread itself out as it saw fit.

But by late morning the river dropped 3 feet as fast as it rose, and even though the water was still muddy I decided to try a technique I had used years ago in the same type of situation. I wandered down the bank swinging a Black Woolly Bugger into any little backwater, or under banks, big enough to shelter a fish from the torrent. And I hooked an awful lot of fish. I lost most, if the trout got out into the flood it was all over. Thing was, many of the fish landed were considerably bigger than those I had caught or seen in the preceding days.

Towards the end of the day I ended up at the Cliff Pool armed at last with a camera. Here the river pours straight down, hits the cliff and does a right turn. It is a big pool, in the flood, very big. The force of the flood hitting the cliff produced a big eddy.

I was not expecting much, but dropped a couple of little Caddis nymphs into the eddy, which when they reached the bottom were snaffled. That fish made it into the main current and left me behind.

It seemed that every time I dropped the flies into the correct drift a trout grabbed it. Some I landed – some taught me me who was boss. There must have been many fish stacked up in that backwater. Finally it had to end, darkness and mosquitoes sent me back to my cabin.

The photos show two fish, one around 58cm(23”) & 52cm(21”).

I have just one question to ask myself about this episode – where in hell do all these bigger fish hide when the river is low and clear?

For a new article on fishing after the flood go here.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing how-to, my fishing trips

Trash Flies for Fly Fishing

No, not the flies that gather round your rubbish bags in Summer, but flies to catch fish using items found in trash.

junkcaddis

Fly Fish Magazine has an interesting article on tying flies using  materials rescued from all sorts of discarded stuff that would usually end up in the rubbish tip.

Carolina fly tyer, Brad Sprinkle shows that a bit of creative recycling can be a real asset at the fly tying bench. The fact that it can save a bit of money on materials is a definite bonus as well.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fishing flies, fly tying

Fly-fishing: Setting the Hook

There is a good article on setting the hook in Shallow Water Angler. “Most of us work so hard on our fly-casting fundamentals that closing the deal once a fish takes the fly seems an afterthought. How many times have you heard a fellow fly fisher bemoan a botched hook-set after a perfect presentation or a hair-raising strike? It boils down to poor fundamentals—how you stand, where your rod-tip is, and what you do with your line hand.”

While this story is primarily aimed at saltwater fly-fishing anglers the sections devoted to striking with the rod-tip close to the water and pulling back with the line –hand is great advice for all fly-fishers in fresh or saltwater. I have been a strong advocate for this method of striking.

The one divergence that a fresh water angler may have with that recommended in the article is that the author recommends pointing the rod-tip at the fly, and this is good advice where current is not usually an issue. But in freshwater where currents can bend the line, the rod should be pointed in the direction the line is coming off the rod-tip. If the rod is not pointing in the direction of the line you run the real risk of just lifting slack line off the surface of the water and not setting the hook.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing, fly fishing how-to, salt water fly fishing

New Video: Joan Wulff’s Distance Casting Techniques

Midcurrent has just released the next instalment in Joan Wulff’s casting videos. This one is on distance casting.

“What techniques contribute to better timing and higher line speed? As Joan Wulff shows us this week in "Distance Casting," modifying shoulder and elbow position, shooting line on the back cast, and adding single hauls can easily help further your reach. At the end of the video she also demonstrates a handy trick for creating loops that will not tangle when shooting line while wading.”

You will also learn, as I did, that a ‘single haul’ is not half a ‘double haul’.

Posted by Tony Bishop in Fishing Videos, fly fishing how-to