Fishy Fridays by Confident Angler: One fly fishing tip, one fly to try, and one inspirational post to get you fired up to fish this weekend. π£
Hey Reader,
Happy New Year! I hope things are off to a great start for you.
Me? I've been one busy dude lately. That's pretty typical for the holiday season, though. It's been go, go, go for a few weeks now.
And I haven't been fishing anywhere near enough.
It got me thinking about how I sometimes do the same thing on the river.
Cast, let it drift for a second, decide it's not quite right, cast again.
Chasing the perfect drift instead of letting the fly have enough time to just do its thing. It's a good reminder that more effort doesn't always mean more fish.
Fish More, Cast Lessβ The more time your fly spends in the water, the better your chances. Sounds obvious. But there are a couple of ways we cut that time short without realizing it.
First is false casting. I usually do one to three false casts, then my fly is in or on the water. I'm not false casting over and over. If I need more distance, I add a double haul instead of extra false casts.
Maybe the only other time I false cast more is when I'm being lazy and trying to dry out my dry fly in the air. That works for a bit. But honestly, it's better to just use some Easy Dry and floatant.
Second is pulling your fly off the water too early. I can't count how many times I've been surprised by a take at the very end of a drift. Or on what I thought was a bad cast. Fish don't care if your cast was pretty. They care if it looks like food.
Slow down. Make the cast. Let it drift.
πͺ° One Fly to Try This Weekend
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βWD-40 Midge (Size 18-22)β Midges hatch all winter long. When other bugs shut down, these tiny insects keep trout feeding.
The WD-40 is sparse and slim with a bulbous thorax near the head. That little bulge imitates a midge pupa about to hatch. Trout key in on that shape because it means an easy meal.
Fish it as a dropper behind a heavier fly, or under a small indicator in slower water. Tailouts and calm pockets are prime spots. Takes are often subtle. Watch your indicator closely and trust the fly.
πΈ One Inspiring Post
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A 39-inch wild brown trout. Over three feet long. Not stocked, not lake-run. Pure river genetics.
This drone footage from @theflyfishingnation shows the fish cruising after it swallowed a keeper-size brown whole.
They've been chasing this fish for two years. It measured 36 inches back then. Will it crack 40? We'll see. Really cool footage.
P.S. My free Winter Seasonal Guide dropped last week. 12 pages covering flies, trout behavior, and cold water tactics. Not just a list of patterns. A real game plan to help you put more fish in the net all season long.
Here's what my buddy Matt said about itβ¦
"Man, that was a really well put together summary for attacking the winter. Loved that it was more like an illustrated guide as opposed to just a word document. I can tell you put some effort into it. I look forward to applying it to my outings this winter."
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