Fishing Techniques from the Fly Fishing Traditions Blog

This page will share articles and specific Fishing Techniques from the Fly Fishing Traditions Blog

Yuba Spey Clinic

Last winter, in November, I took part in a Spey Clinic on the Lower Yuba River with Ryan Miller and Adrian Putsey. It was a warm and clear fall day, which was spectacular. I’m talking about the weather and could use the same expression for the clinic. I guess I could also use the words, informative, enthusiastic, fun, enlightening.

Ryan and Adrian covered the nuts and bolts of “switch” and spey casting from top to bottom. They really did not leave a stone un-turned. There were, I believe, 9 participants of which half were newbies, including myself, and the rest more experienced. The split us into two groups based on our experience and “schooled us”.

They spent time in a classroom type setting and talked us through the gear, rigging, and fishing strategies associated with “swinging flies” with switch and spey rods. They spent time on the water showing us and teaching us various casts. The basic roll cast, double spey cast, snap T, and the switch cast. . .

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Spey Casting – Shooting Heads and Versileader Tips

On my last article regarding rigging a spey rod, I had mentioned that I’d get back to the “Rio Versileaders”. The Versileaders are mini heads that extend from the main body of the “Scandi” or “Skagit” heads. They have a butt section of monofiliment that you can then extend with additional tippet to your fly or flies.

The Rio Spey Versileaders come in 6 ft (1.8 m), 10 ft (3 m) and 15 ft (4.5 m) leaders with a high tenacity nylon core. VersiLeaders feature an ultra smooth welded loop in the butt end making it easy to connect to the fly line.

Ryan Miller pointed out that Rio sells a wallet with either 10 foot or 15 foot Versileaders that cover sink rates from 1.5 ips Inches per second) to 7.0 ips. If you purchase that you are pretty much good to go with any of your integrated, scandi or skagit heads. Just pick which rate (ips) you want, add it to your integrated line or head and you’re fishin’. He also pointed out that with a Sage Z-axis 11 ft. 6 weight switch used with my Altlantic Salmon and Steelhead line that I’d want to stay on the heaveier end of the spectrum, probably an 5.6 ips or a 7.0 ips. on the Lower Yuba which is my home river. . .

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When in Doubt – Set the Hook

If you are like me, when I first started nymphing with indicators and shot, I would always be asking myself, “is that a hit or the bottom”? Unfortunately most of the time all I did was ask and not react.

Trout fishing legend, Jack Dennis, took an underwater camera into a local stream to discover what really happens when anglers made presentations to fish beneath the surface.

Among his more revealing discoveries: Anglers failed to detect 40 percent of the strikes they received using conventional nymphing techniques, particularly with indicators. That’s right 40 percent!

What was his conclusion? The problem was too much slack in the line. Dennis found that fish feeding actively on a vast array of insects floating past their noses seldom moved much; rather, they simply held their position and opened and closed their mouths. In such situations, anglers generally failed to realize when a trout had taken the artificial fly. . .

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Water Load Casting a Deep Nymphing Rigg

When nymphing from a drift boat you are typically casting multiple flies with shot. On the Lower Yuba River which often has good water clarity you also need to add the element of stealth. This means that you often need to be able to cast your nymphing rigg at least 2 rod lengths and more from the boat. This may seem daunting to some. By using a water loading casting technique you will be able to improve your ability to achieve these distances with less tangling when casting shot and multiple flies. We were fishing one day and my son Zack looked at me with a huge smile and a tangled mess of tippet and flies and said, “Look dad, I’ve got a bigger rat’s nest then grandpa.” Using a water load cast can help this from happening. . .

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Watch Out for Depressions

When you are fishing out of a drift boat or a raft on an even flow of water. How do you know where to place your flies. This tip is about how to find structure in an even-flowing river.

Here’s some advise about Depressions. We’re not talking about your piece of mind, we’re talking about the structure of the waters surface. We’re looking for bathtubs. In what appears to be an even-flowing river, look for holes in the surface. Cavities in the riverbed that form a resting place out of the main flow are echoed on the surface as slight depressions. . .

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Watch for Trout Parts

If you’re scouting your favorite stream or creek and are looking for holding trout, it is sometimes difficult to pick out a whole fish sitting there waiting for your presentation unless the water is calm and flat and has spring creek clarity. This is because trout are masters of camouflage. Instead, look for “trout parts” of the whole fish, the movement of a fin, the gentle waggle of a tail, the quick flash of a silver belly or, more even more exciting the white opening and closing of the opening and closing of the mouth of a trout taking nymphs. . .

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Add a BB

The Difference between a good fisherman and a great one is often no more than a BB

This tip is a big one for all of us who spend a lot of time nymphing – change your weight before you change your fly.
One BB at a Time

On some of our local Northern California rivers like the Lower Sacramento and sometimes on the Lower Yuba we will find ourselves amongst many other boats and anglers. . .

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Bounce Nymphing

“Bounce Nymphing” is another technique that will enable you to keep in contact with the bottom and keep a tight line to your flies. The rigging method is a variation of a tight line rigging method. I have a friend, John, who I fished the Upper Sacramento River with, and I watched as he vacuumed a run right in front of my eyes. He was using a very tight line and kept most of his fly line off the water. As I’ve since discovered he was “Bounce Nymphing”.

I came across an article in “Fly Fisherman” magazine, written by Larry Tullis. I’ll give you a dose of his medicine. . .

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Rigging and Fishing Soft hackles

When summer comes around here in Northern California and the caddis get busy I look forward to fishing soft hackles and emergers. This means I can forget about worrying about a dead drift presentation for a while. Well, sort of anyway.

I look forward to heading down to the Lower Yuba River in the late afternoon, usually about 5:30 or so and fishing until dusk. What I’ll look for is a run that is below an active, semi-bouncy riffle with a run below it that has depth of 4 to 6 feet. If it has a distinct dropoff at the bottom of the riffle that’s even better. . .

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Mending Your Fly Line

What does “mend” mean? Well… let’s look at a fishing situation, imagine you’re standing knee deep in your favorite stream. You make an upstream presentation, your fly land softly, starts floating back towards you and then all of a sudden in starts skating the currents. Opps, Forgot to mend the line.

The term “mend” or “mending” is simply the act of moving the fly line during the drift, to create a specific presentation of the fly to the fish.

With that said, mending the fly line will have an effect on how the fly rides in the water. Learning when, where, how to mend and what the mend does for the presentation of the fly are all keys to becoming a successful fly fisher.

Standing alongside an experienced angler (maybe, hiring an educational oriented guide?) who talks you through when and how to mend is one of the best ways to learn. Mending expertise doesn’t come overnight, but a little time on the water with someone knowledgeable is a great start.

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Let the Current Do the Dirty Work

When wading on the Lower Yuba and nymphing with indicators and multiple shot, banging out false casts with a nymphing rigg can lead to more time spent untangling than fishing.

Instead of picking up and false casting let the current do the dirty work. This technique works for beginners as well as seasoned veterans and will enable both to make accurate casts, avoid tangles and catch fish.

Next time you’re out fishing try this; Continued. . .

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Nymphing and Current Speed

Current Speed – When rigging up and selecting flies for nymphing a river you need to consider the type of bug you are targeting and the current speed of the water. Current speed is one of the most important things to keep in mind when selecting and fishing a nymph pattern

Most nymphs generally live under rocks near oxygenated water – water with a steady current. When water conditions are high with faster flows, nymphs get pulled from the rocks in which they live. When the nymphs are ready to hatch they swim to the surface or crawl out onto land. In either cases, the “heavy flows and water”, means faster current, which will sweep the nymphs downstream.

Think of the nymphs being drug down stream as silt. The heavier the silt, the faster it settles in the water. As the current speed slows, the nymphs will either swim to the surface and hatch out or fall back to the bottom and crawl under a rock and find a new home. Continued. . .

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Swinging Flies with a Trout Rod

When trout fishing, the environment is an ever-changing world and versatility in fishing methods is advantageous to the success of an angler.

One of the many techniques that we use to target trout in the lower Yuba River is to swing flies. For our purposes for right know we’ll assume you’re fishing with an all around 6 weight trout rod. For those of you fishing with a 5 weight rod don’t worry it’ll still work. We’ll get into used a larger switch rod for swinging flies another day.

When wade fishing is available, swing flies can be very effective for hunting up bigger fish using a streamer pattern, or larger soft hackles on a sink tip.

Unlike some nymphing techniques or dry fly fishing where there are advantages to start from below and work up a run, when swinging you start in at the top of the run and work down, so don’t allow your fishing buddies to drop below you and start nymphing.

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Nymphing a Run or a Riffle Corner

Runs and Riffle Corners

On the Lower Yuba River you will find many runs that are prime targets for holding fish. These are portions of the river that flow with an even depth from 4 to 8 feet deep. You will also encounter riffle corners at the base of a riffle. This is a v-shaped slot that if you’re looking up stream you will see the soft spot right at the top of the vee. This spot and the soft water downstream of it are one of the prime spots for fish to hold and feed as the nymphs get pushed down the riffles and into these soft side waters. This is especially true if there have been hatches in the days prior.

The first rule when fishing a run or a riffle corner is not to step into the water, before you have “cleared it”. You must fish the runs and riffle corners from the bank or you’ll likely be stepping on fish. You what to use the “Borger Shotgun Method” and thoroughly cover the water before you step into it.

So, let’s go through how to do it!

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Fishing a Dropoff with a Downstream Presentation

Fishing a Drop-Off with a Downstream Presentation

When wading on the Lower Yuba and nymphing you will sometimes encounter drop offs at the base of the riffles

Next time you’re out fishing try this;

Rigging

 Rigg up with a large thingamabobber at about 1 1/4 times the depth of the water in the the run directly below the dropoff.

 Use enough weight to get the flies down but not hanging up constantly.


 Place yourself in a position that is about 15 feet or so above the dropoff.


 This method is for fishing the dropoff with a downstream presentation and you will be in direct contact with your flies for most of the drift.


 If a fish takes, your indicator will shoot away from you and then you will feel the take.

A variation of this method can be effective when caddis and mayflies are hatching out of the riffles.

So Here’s How to Do It.

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Fishing a Drop-Off with an Upstream Presentation

When wading on the Lower Yuba and nymphing you will sometimes encounter drop offs at the base of the riffles with a run directly below it. This is another very effective presentation technique, when you have a riffle that transitions into a run right at the base of the riffle. This method also works well when the depth of the water you are standing in is deeper and it is hard to wade very deep. This is very effective when mayflies are coming off in the riffles.

Next time you’re out fishing try this nymphing method;

This is another very effective presentation technique for fishing the base of a riffle.

 Rigg with a standard Indicator Nymphing Set-up

 Start from a position ankle deep and work your way deeper after using the “Shotgun” technique of covering the water closest to you.

So this is how it works

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Nymphing a Run or a Riffle Corner

I’m doing a series of articles talking about useful techniques for fishing the Lower Yuba River and really for anywhere your fishing passions take you. This one is about nymphing a run or a riffle corner.

On the Lower Yuba River you will find many runs that are prime targets for holding fish. These are portions of the river that flow with an even depth from 4 to 8 feet deep. You will also encounter riffle corners at the base of a riffle. This is a v-shaped slot that if you’re looking up stream you will see the soft spot right at the top of the vee. This spot and the soft water downstream of it are one of the prime spots for fish to hold and feed as the nymphs get pushed down the riffles and into these soft side waters. This is especially true if there have been hatches in the days prior.

The first rule when fishing a run or a riffle corner is not to step into the water, before you have “cleared it”. You must fish the runs and riffle corners from the bank or you’ll likely be stepping on fish. You what to use the “Borger Shotgun Method” and thoroughly cover the water before you step into it.

So, let’s go through how to do it. . .

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Nymphing Techniques on the Lower Yuba River – The Riffles

I’m getting ready to help out with a Gold Country Fly Fishers’ club techniques clinic on the Lower Yuba River. Being it’s February, we’ll be focusing mainly on nymphing techniques and with nymphing it all starts with an indicator a big plunk of lead and mending.

With that said, the techniques you employ depend on the water type, depth and speed of the current. So let’s attempt to break it down a little bit. Let’s start by looking at one of the different water types you will encounter when walking and wading the Lower Yuba River and start with riffles.

Riffles

You will find riffles, which are the bug factories of the river, spaced at intervals as you move up and down the river. The riffles are almost always directly below tailouts from the runs above them. The water in the riffles are usually the places where the current speed is the greatest. In general the midst of the riffles are not the most productive or desirable places for fish to hold or to present your flies. The edges and pockets are the exception to this, especially when steelhead are moving through or the resident rainbows are staged in the holding spots when caddis, mayfly, or stonefly hatches are happening or the bugs of are participating in their daily drownstream seasonal drift.

So let’s look at the three main components of the riffles that are of importance to the fly fisher. (1) The edges and pockets at the main body of the riffle. (2) the drop off at the base of the riffle, and (3) What I consider the most important section of the riffle where the riffle transitions from the riffle to the run below.

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