The Shad are Running and Mayflies are Hatching

I finally made it fishing. On Saturday I headed out to check out the little lake my daughter and I found last week. It was pretty rough going walking the bank and extremely treacherous wading so I only managed about an hour of fishing and saw no sign of a fish. I’ll go back with the float tube when things warm up a bit and give it a thorough going over.

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It was a cold and blustery day with no fish to show for it but it was still a triumph for me. Only a few short months ago I was being admitted to the hospital for heart surgery and remember wondering if I’d ever be able to walk the woods or fish again.
Before getting too braggy, I have to admit I fished an hour and needed a two hour nap afterwards.
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Hey, I’m calling it a win.

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The next day was Sunday and feeling pretty good, I headed out to Elmsdale to see if the shad were in yet. The answer is; they definitely are starting to run. I was rigged for trout fishing and didn’t get close to them but just knowing they are there has me pumped. I’ll go back this weekend with a full sinking line and some shad flies.


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There were a few trout rising here and there to a sporadic hatch of Hendrickson Mayflies. These are a biggish fly; light, opaque, brown or grey with a bit of yellow on the underside of the abdomen. I have never seen them on this particular water before but the trout were not shy about smacking them. I’ll make sure to always have a few in my spring fly box from now on.

That is always the conflict on the Nine Mile or the Shubie; do you rig light for trout or heavy for shad. You can’t really fish them both at once. At least, I have not figured out how to yet.

I walked a good portion of the bank and saw a few shad being caught on darts by the spin fishermen. Didn’t see many fly fishers and no hook-ups on the fly.

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Yahoo, the lying season is upon us.

Fishing the way it is supposed to be?

It has always been my preference to go afoot when fishing; no boat just boots, fly rod and vest. Pure and simple fishing, the way it is supposed to be.

Well, that is my impression of my fishing style. As I organize my equipment for the upcoming season, the reality turns out to be slightly different.

Now it is boots, fly rod, vest and collapsible wading staff. Well, it is actually breathable waders with felt soled wading boots and of course a spare spool with an alternate line in one vest pocket, a digital camera in the other, polarized sunglasses, more boxes of flies than actually fit comfortably in my remaining pockets, too many gadgets to count pinned on my vest, several maps, three year old salmon tags and a mass of what once might have been a chocolate bar in the vest’s back pouch, too many tippet spools in crazy weights, several store bought leaders- well past their best before date, a rusty cigar cutter, emergency matches, a whistle and so on...

It is all apparently necessary because the only thing I actually removed from the vest was the old salmon tags.

In a pinch, the chocolate bar may still be edible.

The Myth of the Long Cast

 We all do it, especially if the fishing is slow.

We stop fishing and start casting. I mean really driving it out there. We still keep up the pretense. We watch the drift with eagle-like intensity and carefully retrieve with just the right action but as soon as we have enough line-in-hand for a good double haul, zoom!

We wing it out there, sending another long cast looping through the air, just because we can.

It is fun. It is usually the exact wrong thing to do but we all still do it, especially if someone is watching.

The fact that any fly-fisherman worth his salt who witnesses the exhibition invariably mutters under his breath, “What’s that idiot up to?” does not seem to inhibit us in the least.

 

 I have often been on both sides of that scenario at different times on the same day.

Casting is a pleasure. Even when you begin to understand the mechanics of the thing, it still seems a little miraculous.



Here is my experience with the practicality of the long cast.

Most of the trout I have brought to hand were within twenty-five or thirty feet of me, many much closer. Most of the salmon were within thirty or forty feet of me.

Fishing is about many things but catching is all about line control.

Here is the thing, keep in contact with your fly so that a movement of your rod tip to tighten on a fish does not have to first pick up coils of slack line. That is it. There is no great mystery or secret.

I heard that bit of wisdom from an old guide in my early years of trying to learn to fish. I have spent the past twenty or so trying to get it right.

As you become more skilled with your fly gear your circle of effectiveness will expand from five to ten to twenty yards and more. Most of the trout you catch will still be within twenty-five or thirty feet but you will also be able to reach out and pick off the odd fish foolish enough to show himself within range. Those moments are exceptional and can sure make your day.

Salmon fishing often requires long casts under difficult conditions. Some of the most memorable and spectacular salmon I have connected with were the result of extraordinarily long casts. A long accurate cast is often the difference between, “Fish on” and fishless.

Having written that though, there are many places where I have watched salmon anglers work through a pool I know well, casting long elegant lines a mile past where the salmon were laying.

I have done the same thing and will doubtless do it again. It is hard to resist even when you know better.



A big Nova Scotia salmon taken in the Fall



I should note here that the biggest salmon I have ever caught was a rod length from me when I saw him and and he took with just my leader and about four inches of fly line poking out of the tip. I was wading across the River Phillip and saw him roll on the edge of the fast current above me.








In thinking this ramble over, here is the gist of the opinion I am offering:

The ability to cast a long line will sometimes give you an advantage.
The ability to control your line so that you keep positive contact with your fly will always give you the advantage.

Seeing Fish – Part 2 of Fishing Where the Fish Are

If there is one thing, we all should do when arriving at a fishing spot it is to stop and look. I mean really look. Get a feel for what is going on around you and most importantly in and on the water you are about to fish.

The biggest surprise about fishing is how much of it is visual. When you take the time to study your surroundings you will start seeing fish. The step from seeing more fish to catching more fish is a short one because now you will be fishing where the fish are.

As a youngster starting out, fishing with bobber and worm, I rarely saw fish. I would watch my bobber intently and seek to translate its movements into clues about what the fish were doing but unless caught, they were invisible.

During the first year of trying to learn to fly fish, I started seeing fish. I would notice a rise here and there or a strange motion in the shallows as a trout flashed at a minnow or snatched a hellgrammite.

As I became more proficient with the fly rod, I also became better at spotting fish. The two things seem to go together. It certainly adds an element of fun and challenge. Having seen the subtle bulge of a big trout feeding on emerging nymphs, the same effect happens to the fly angler as happens to the trout. Both key in on their quarry.

Seeing fish is about knowing where to look and what to look for. The reason I began seeing fish when I started fly-fishing was that I was paying attention to what the fish were feeding on.

By studying the insect life around the banks seeking to imitate it, I also began to see the feeding activities of the fish that were preying on the insects. From those observations, certain patterns started to make sense.

For example, if a trout is laying in a particular spot waiting for an insect to blunder into the brook and I notice him because he takes a bug from the surface I will take a moment to think about what makes that spot a good place for him to be lurking. The same characteristics of current speed, available food supply and nearby shelter that makes this a place a trout holds will usually apply anywhere else you find those specific conditions.

Each observation adds to your bag of tricks and your success rate but “fishing where the fish are” is where it all starts.