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. 🎣
Hey Reader,
How's the fishing been lately? I decided to stick around and fish in town last Friday instead of chasing new water.
It was one of those perfect fall days. I slept in a bit, got a later start, and just soaked it in. Cool and drizzly at first, then the sun came out and warmed things up nicely.
Fishing was a little slow, but I still caught a few nice fish, including one of the chunkiest mountain whitefish I've ever seen. I think I captured some fun footage to share with you in a few weeks.
Here's something that took me way too long to figure out: where you stand matters just as much as how you cast.
Trout face upstream most of the time, watching for food drifting toward them. If you approach from above, they're staring right at you.
Instead, work your way upriver from behind them. I'll often walk downstream to scout, staying well back from the water so I don't spook fish. Then I drop in at the bottom of a section and fish my way back up. This puts more distance between your fly line and the fish. Your leader and tippet reach them first, not your bright-colored line.
Stay low, move quietly, and make sure your flies reach the fish before your line does, or they see you coming.
Watch for back eddies, though. When the current reverses, trout in those spots face downstream but are still pointing "upstream" relative to the flow. Adjust accordingly.
Streamers flip the script. When I'm swinging flies, I work downstream instead. Cast across or slightly down, let the current swing your streamer below you, then take a few steps and repeat. This gives you a smooth, natural presentation and lets you cover water quickly.
Big fish usually eat on the first few casts, so I'd rather fish more spots well than work one run to death. I'm also casting far enough that they don't see me coming.
Fall is a great time to use leech patterns. As water temps drop, trout start feeding more aggressively to bulk up before winter, and they're looking for bigger, higher-calorie meals.
The Pine Squirrel Leech is a solid streamer option this time of year. Its soft, flowing body moves naturally in the water, and that lifelike action often triggers strikes from bigger fish.
Fish it with the downstream swing approach I mentioned above. Cast across the current, let it swing through deep runs and slower pools, then strip it back with short, deliberate pulls. The combination of natural drift and active retrieve can be deadly.
Black is my go-to in most situations, but olive works great too, especially in clearer water.
I've wanted to hunt bull trout in this remote Idaho river for quite some time. After researching the area, I woke up at 4 AM and drove hours into the mountains to fish water I'd never seen before.
The scenery was incredible. The fishing was challenging. And I experienced something unforgettable: a bull trout chased a fish I had hooked all the way into the shallows, just feet from where I was standing. Later, I caught a beautiful bull on a streamer in a deep hole, and those orange spots never get old.
This video shows how I approached the new water, the two-rig system I used to cover different depths, and a few lessons learned along the way, including why you should always check fire conditions before heading into backcountry.
P.S. I just launched Trip Blueprint Sessions.The missing middle ground between a $600 guide and figuring it out alone. 90 minutes to plan your next trip: where to fish, what flies to bring, how to fish it. Only a few spots left at $99 (use code BETA99) before the price goes to $149. Book here​
P.P.S. Don't need help with trip planning? Hit reply and tell me what you're actually struggling with most on the water. I'm building my next offer based on what people need.
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