Pro Tips

In the accessory-rich world of fly tying there are all manner of whip finish tools. The best whip finish tool is your hand – you can place a whip finish anywhere along the hook shank, and even use it to fashion a ‘needle-less nail knot’ to connect your leader to fly line. And you’ll never have to search for that tool again!

Eyes are an important feature of many fly patterns. Check out a baitfish next time you see one swimming past, and the pupil is usually most prominent. Many pre-painted or stick-on eyes have tiny pupils. Next time, try making them larger for better results.

Stripping baskets are a necessity in a number of fishing situations. They allow you to get maximum casting distance, keep the line from tangling around your feet and keep your lines cleaner. No one basket will do it all, so check them out and find one that suits your style of fishing. What seems cumbersome at first will soon become indispensable.

I’m not afraid to learn from my anglers. One thing I noticed was how well good trout anglers controlled their lines in heavy current. Subsequently I now use reach casts and mends for line control in heavy current. I can dead drift the fly better, and I have no downstream belly in the line. That gives me a better connection with the fly, and a better sink rate with sinking lines. Just remember trout guys we set our hooks with a strip strike-DON'T LIFT THE ROD TILL THE FISH IS HOOKED.
have fun, Capt. Jeff Becker

Life as the Anti-Matcher of Hatch has served me well, and there¡¦s no better time for that philosophy to shine than springtime. Common knowledge, combined with life experience, should tell you that good or bad, the attention always goes to those that opt to be different. I¡¦m a simple man with simple concepts, and doing the opposite, thinking backwards comes naturally to me. Achieving the AMH life style is very simple and requires only one thing, the ability to tap into that unused portion of your mind to see beyond what is right in front of you to your advantage. To our mind this comes naturally if you allow it.

Notice that it doesn¡¦t matter in waht oredr I wirte the ltteers in a wrod, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wtihout any porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe i.e., seeing beyond. Applying that natural talent makes not matching the hatch simple and successful.

The cold water in New Jersey during early spring makes baitfish nearly non-existent. The exception are grass shrimp hatches on the moons-A great hatch and plenty of them, but not on the menu for Bass. Choosing to throw matching shrimp patterns may produce a fish or two, but looking beyond and throwing an imitation of a baitfish that¡¦s not due in for a few months can put you in the game.

Two months out from May in New Jersey „_ peanut bunker „_ crease fly. The crease fly is by far the #1 fly for Stripers, a fly that 98% of anglers will throw when fishing top water on a floating line with an 8 ft. leader. This is a great combo during the summer months but for spring bass the opposite is the call.

Instead of trying to matching the hatch, throw a crease fly on a 350-grain sinking line with a 4¡¦ leader on a 9wt. The result will be that on the retrieve the crease fly is dragged down by the line on the strip and will float towards the surface on the pause (deadly).

Taking this ill logic one step further is to throw that same combination in skinny water (12 inches or less) resulting in the line dragging the bottom, kicking up sand on the strip, and the fly floating up out of the cloud of freshly stirred up sand on the pause. It drives Bass crazy (not mention Lower Florida Keys Bonefish and Tarpon).

Throwing sinking lines may not sound glamorous, but on a 9wt it¡¦s very comfortable especially on those windy days. As a word of caution when using this technique always remember the one factor that trumps all; If you don¡¦t truly believe in what you are throwing you might as well be matching the hatch.

Capt. Bryan DiLeo
Iowa Fortune Guide Service
www.iowafortune.com

IT'S ALL IN THE RETRIEVE
The striped bass is a predator, an eating machine that maims and then devours its prey. Whether fishing Clousers or whistlers for these trophy game fish I ask one thing of my clients: make sure you pause the fly. All my flies are weighted in the front so when we pause them they dive straight down.
When stripers come into a school of bait fish they often stun their prey using their tail or thick bodies. They often circle back around to devour all the crippled baitfish they can find. I always like to vary my stripping retrieves from one to five pulls with pauses from one to several seconds.
Typically the colder the water the longer I pause in between strips. I always like to start my initial retrieve with three or four good pulls on the line. Even in murky water stripers will pick up on this water movement and come to investigate.

Fish Hard, Mike Costello

CASTING THE HEAVY LINES
You've just purchased that casting machine S4 9 Ft. 9 Wt. and now you have to cast a lead core shooting head that weights 375 grains and a huge black over chartreuse whistler fly that is nine inches long and weighs a whopping 110 grains to catch that lunker 30 pound striper lurking in the deep.
Don't panic, you do not need to wear a football helmet and there’s no need to put extra padding around your butt. Take a deep breath and forget all about the 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock dry fly casting stroke. Just load your fly right off the water with one or two easy casting strokes until the shooting head has cleared the tip of the rod. DO NOT LET OUT LINE ON YOUR BACK CAST!
On your final approach use a simple double haul and make sure you open your casting loop on your back cast. A slower back cast helps your timing as the line and fly are going to load a lot quicker than a 4 Wt. line with a size 16 caddis. On your forward cast shoot for the stars and watch as 80 feet of line shoots out of the end of your rod. Even the fish will stand up to applaud!

Planning your trip
Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures is a destination angling booking company that sends hundreds of anglers a year all over the world. Over the years of booking trips and fishing the world ourselves, we have learned one very important lesson about destination trips — especially those that involve international travel to distant waters. The more time you spend preparing for your trip prior to departure, the more you improve your odds for a successful and enjoyable saltwater adventure. If you’re planning any kind of destination adventure, the following thoughts and suggestions will help:


1. Do yourself a favor and create a detailed and well-thought-out gear and equipment list. Save this list and make it your “go-to” reference list whenever you plan a fishing trip that will take you far from home. The lists that we use and send to all of our clients are lists that we have spent years creating and fine-tuning. The lists are designed to ensure that our customers travel with the right type and the right amount of equipment that is applicable and relevant to their destination. Your “Go-To Gear List” list should include the following:
• All fishing equipment and tackle, such as rods, reel, lines, leaders, backup gear, spare spools, etc.
• Personal clothing items such as fishing shirts, warm clothes, rain gear, and head gear.
• Items of a personal nature, such as your toiletries, necessary medication, books, etc.
• The proper documents such as your passport, drivers license, and photo copies of everything.
• Sunscreen and insect repellant – don’t ever leave home without these things!
• Such optional items as binoculars, alarm clock, writing materials and other things.

2. Check your gear prior to leaving on a trip. Don’t wait until you arrive at a distant and remote lodge to discover that your rod tip is missing, your fly line is cracked, or your backing has mildewed and rotted. Preventative maintenance on your gear – before, during and after a trip - will add years to the life of your equipment.

3. Practice your casting prior to leaving for a trip! This is especially applicable if you are heading to the saltwater. Anglers who are proficient on their local trout stream with a 5-weight often times don’t realize that casting a 10-weight into the wind is a different game altogether. Practice casting with your saltwater set-ups prior to your departure. For best results, pick a stormy day at home, and practice casting both into and across the wind. For the best casting preparation, try casting at moving targets as well. That cat that your girlfriend brought home has got to be good for something!

4. Check your passport and travel documents to make sure that everything is valid and up-to-date. Don’t wait until you arrive at the airport to find out that your passport is expired!

5. Whenever a flight is involved, try to carry on your rods, reels, flies, sunglasses, a pair of shorts, sunscreen, and other important items that will allow you to fish for a day or two in the event that your checked luggage is lost or delayed.

6. Make sure that all of your checked and carry-on luggage is labeled with your current ID information. Use luggage tags on the outside, and include identification on the inside as well, in the event that a luggage tag is yanked off or destroyed.

7. Aside from the right rod and reel set-up, polarized sunglasses are perhaps the most important piece of equipment you’ll bring with you. In many situations (especially saltwater!) spotting fish in the saltwater is crucial and can make all the difference in the success of a trip. For this reason, you should buy the very best polarized sunglasses you can. For lenses, light amber or brown will work well in most situations. We prefer sunglasses that shape to our face and block out as much peripheral side and top light as possible. Bring a second pair in case the first one breaks or is lost!

8. If you’re like most anglers, you will probably want to bring your camera gear along with you on the river or in the boat. If so, then you will want to be sure that it is protected at all times. A good waterproof camera bag or hard-sided box is a must, as salt spray and/or water are constant factors. Be sure to bring lots of extra film, extra memory, spare batteries, and a soft lens cloth and solution for cleaning. If you still shoot film or slide film, remember that any film packed inside your checked baggage will be ruined by new baggage screening devices. Carry on your film and camera equipment, and request a hand-check if you have any doubt about the carry-on screening process. If you are shooting slide or print film, then we recommend a “leaded” film pouch that will protect your film from screening devices.


Have a great trip, and know that through the right amount of preparation, planning and practice, you have set yourself up for a successful and enjoyable angling experience!

The Yellowstone is the classic western freestone river and the only major U.S. river to escape damming. It starts in the Teton Wilderness, a stones throw away from the Snake River, flows into Yellowstone Lake, through Yellowstone Park, and cuts through Montana before meeting the Missouri at the Montana - North Dakota border. Over much of its length, it offers great trout fishing. Many of us grew up reading about fishing this blue ribbon water from legendary outdoorsmen like Joe Brooks, Charlie Waterman, Dan Bailey and Lee Wulff, and when you fish it you may be standing in their footprints.
The section above the lake is native cutthroat water and is only accessible on foot, horseback or by boat. Fish from the lake run into the River to spawn and can be abundant during summer months. It is a July 15th opener to protect spawners, and it is a catch and release fishery. Streamer patterns and attractor dries will work well for the hungry post spawn fish. The lake itself offers some fine fishing and opens June 15th. The primary species here is cutthroat, but growing numbers of lake trout have been showing up. Both species can be caught on streamers and leech patterns, such as mohair leeches, Kiwi Muddlers and Buggers. The fish seem to travel in schools along shoreline structure and action can be hot and heavy with periods of lulls. At times of hatches and calm winds, the cutt’s can be caught on callibaetis mayflies and damsels. The lake trout or mackinaw are a non-native species and must to be killed, to prevent their expansion, but you never know if you will catch a fifteen-inch or fifteen-pound specimen.
Below the Lake and through Hayden Valley, the Yellowstone has the look and feel of a large spring creek. Here again many of the fish are lake fish, which have moved into the river to spawn, and it is a July 15th opener. The Fishing Bridge, LeHardy Rapids and Hayden Valley area are closed to fishing, but there is plenty of great water in the area. When it opens, the fish are on the feed to replace calories lost during spawning and most fish are in the fifteen to twenty inch range. Combine this with the abundant hatches of Pale Morning Duns, Yellow Sallies and a variety of caddis, and the angling can be outstanding. Much of the fishing involves spotting fish and casting to them. For a while they can easy, but the fishing will be technical. Match the hatch patterns and emergers or sight nymphing is necessary. At times, ants, beetles and hoppers are productive. Even when the fishing is slow, it’s hard to have a bad time in these beautiful surroundings.
Below Canyon, the backcountry angler can have some great fishing for naïve cutthroats, but some sweat equity is involved. Trails lead into the Grand Canyon and the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone and drop down 1500 to 2500 feet to the River. The hike in is much easier than the hike out. Salmon flies and golden stones will hatch during early to late July. Attractor patterns like Convertibles, Madam X and Chernobyl’s are good searching patterns for these sections of water. As you get down in the Black Canyon, a mix of cutthroats, rainbows, browns, brookies and whitefish can be found. The trip can be done as a long day hike or overnighter. Make sure you carry ample water and gear, and bear spray isn’t a bad idea. For a less vigorous adventure, the bridge near Tower Junction offers access.
The Yellowstone River leaves the Park at Gardner, Montana. From this point down the river can be floated, and except for Gardner whitewater section and Yankee Jim Canyon most of it can be floated in a drift boat. Montana has done a great job of purchasing fishing accesses, which can be used a boat launches or for wade fishing. Camping is available at Loch Leven and Mallards Rest. The section from Gardner through Yankee Jim Canyon is primarily one channel with fast, deep water and has a high proportion of cutthroats. As you move below here, the gradient drops as you enter upper Paradise Valley and you will get some braiding. This fish populations is an even mix of cutt’s, browns and rainbows, and a good portion of the rainbows will be rainbow/cutthroat hybrids. The lower section of Paradise Valley, from Mallard’s Rest down to Livingston, flows at a quicker pace than the upper Valley. The Paradise Valley section is the most popular area, and many of the photos seen in magazines and calendars show this area with its backdrop of the Absorka Mountains. The section through Livingston has the highest population fish in the River, and many of these are 12” to 14” rainbows. Below Livingston, the Yellowstone changes its northerly direction and flows east. Fish populations drop, but the chance for some larger fish is there, and the surroundings are rural ranchlands. The geography changes as well as you leave the mountains and enter the plains. Seventy downstream of Livingston is where the Yellowstone changes from a trout fishery to a warmwater one.
Like all rivers the Yellowstone has its idiosyncrasies. On this river depth is the primary cover and sometimes it seems as if the browns are allergic to wood. Part of the reason for this is the gradual concave bottom of the river with its bowling ball size rock. As fish feel threatened they recede to deeper water in the pool. What seems like subtle changes in depth can be critical to finding fish. Another character of this river is its love/hate personality. One day she is gracious and others a whitefish would be a bonus. Summer hatches on this river can be very regional and one riffle can be alive while others are dead. Never leave a spot with rising trout.
The Yellowstone is open to fishing all year, and except for the dead of winter and runoff offers good options for the angler. In February, as days lengthen and warm, fish will become more active. Nymph fishing is generally the best bet. Look for deep, slow water adjacent to riffles. Trout are still using the insulation of the deeper water and saving energy. Midges will start to appear during this time frame, and with it the chance for dry fly activity. Midge clusters, midge emergers and small parachutes can work well. A midge pupae just a few inches below a dry are good for “bulging” fish. Foam lines and backeddies can get filled with bugs pushed into them by Livingston’s infamous winds. Around this time, rainbows will get more active prior to spawning and can be caught in riffles and runs with attractor nymphs.
March through runoff, which is around the first of May, is one of the best times on the Yellowstone. The midges and nymph fishing continue, but around the end of March and first of April, baetis will show up. These are good size blue wing olives in the #16 - # 18 range. The hatch seems to spread throughout most of the River. With the silver glare on the river, parachute Adams or BWOs with black or hot pink wings help the angler follow the fly. When floating a #14 dry with a smaller beadhead baetis or pheasant tails is a good bet. When wade fishing to a pod of fish, smaller, imitative flies, such as Sparkle Duns, Everything Emergers can be useful. Soft hackles to imitate the active nymphs are also good. Larger March Browns can also be found locally on the River, and look like sailboats compared to the smaller insects.
Around the end of April, the famous Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch will occur. Actually if you are there Mother’s Day, take Mom to dinner because you are too late. This hatch of brachycentrus cased caddis can be amazing. It is usually a mad race between runoff and the hatch. You want it to warm up enough for the bugs to hatch but not so much that the river floods. The number of bugs is astounding, and the fish notice them. The best dry fly fishing is during egg laying, and patterns like Dennis Sparkle Caddis, Peacock Caddis and Sanchez Foam Wing Caddis in #14 or #16 are good flies. At times a Coachman Trude or Midge Convertible are good hi-vis flies that you can pick out from the rafts of naturals. In the mornings a Glass House Caddis pupae of Prince Nymph will fool fish feeding of drifting larvae. Everything Emergers or X-Caddis are perfect for emerging pupae.
Runoff usually ends around mid-July, and depending on the year salmonflies coincide with the rivers clearing. Around Livingston and Paradise Valley fishing rubber leg nymphs is the most productive fishing, while on the upper Valley to Gardner there is more dry fly fishing. Accurate casts into the willows can be more important than the exact fly. Mystery Meat Salmonflies and Rubber Legs Stimulators are good adult imitations. At this same time, golden stones, Yellow Sallies (small golden stones) and caddis are common. In some sections of river the smaller flies will work better, and these hatches will be there long after the salmonflies are gone. Golden StoneX, Sally Stones and Elk Hair Caddis are good patterns. Convertibles can be good attractors as they have many of the attributes of a variety of the assorted bugs. A variety of mayflies hatch on the Yellowstone inn the summer. Overall these are localized hatches and can range from Pale Morning Duns to large Grey and Green Drakes. Parachutes or Wulffs in #16 - #12 are good searching flies.
One of the biggest summer hatches are hoppers. This will start in late July and go through September. With the structure of the River, you need to fish hoppers in different places than you would on other rivers. Two inches from the bank might have the flies in two inches of water. Look at inside corners, tailouts are troughs. Basically, look for holding water with an irregular depth. Sometimes, the best water is nondescript straight-aways and runs, and the best water can be fifteen feet from the bank. Large brown stones, classenia, are also found on the Yellowstone at this time and this may account for some of the midriver fishing. A Foam Wing Hopper or a Parachute Hopper are good imitations of both. Fishing Yuk Bugs, Buggers and Double Bunnies are good for early morning fishing and can bring out some larger specimens.
Fall fishing starts around the middle of September. Baetis perform an encore of the spring hatches, and pools, banks and riffles can be alive the small mayflies. The same patterns and techniques used in the spring will. Brown trout start to become active prior to spawning and the other species seem to put on the feedbag before winter starts. The Brown trout streamer fishing is similar to steelhead fishing. Rig a seven or eight weight rod with a running line and quick sinking shooting head, wade as deep as you dare and throw it as far as you can and cover the water. You will pay your dues, but you have a chance to catch some nice browns. There seems to be a bump in activity around the first of October and the end of the month. Feather streamers, such as Spruce Flies, are the most common patterns. When float fishing, rig a five weight for Blue wings and an eight weight for the junk. Cover the pool first with a dry and then streamer fish it. This is a great time of year with a mix of Indian Summer, snow storms, fall colors and snow covered vistas of the Absorkas.
Around November, fishing becomes tough not because of temperatures, but from wind. Thirty mile an hour winds with seventy-mile gust is a tough fly fishing gig. However, on calmer days midge dry fly fishing and nymphing can be great. Basically, the year ends the way it began.
The Yellowstone offers some varied and great fishing opportunities on the last major undammed river in the US.

Scott Sanchez
PO Box 3738
Jackson WY 83001
307 733 2041
scottsanchezflies@hotmail.com

I tie two epoxy sinking ant patterns, the TransparANT and the Attract-ANT, both of which are carried by Umpqua. They sink very slowly, usually only a few inches below the surface. I often fish them by themselves either to rising fish during a hatch or lightly weighted and with an indicator. What I have found to be a deadly technique with these two patterns is to fish them as a dropper about 12-16 inches behind a big terrestrial pattern like a hopper. I guess the trout see the hopper, come for it and decide to take the ant instead. Works like a charm!

Be sure to check out Harrison's amazing book, titled, Terrestrials

CENTRAL TEXAS BASS FISHING

If you enjoy wade fishing crystal clear streams with healthy populations of native fish and float fishing scenic rivers lined with lush vegetation, I have a wonderful place for you. Some of the waters are spring creeks with abundant aquatic life and dense hatches. There are chances to sight cast almost every day and fish will actively rise to dries, eat nymphs and viciously attack streamers. This isn’t Montana, Wyoming or Idaho; it's central Texas. Texas probably has the best variety of fly-fishing in the United States and the Texas Hill Country is the gem. The Hill Country area is in central Texas east of Interstate 35. San Antonio forms the southern boundary and it extends north almost up to Waco. Although this isn't the Rocky Mountains, the terrain is very rugged and inclined. Numerous gullies and canyons flow through the limestone substrata and beautiful limestone cliffs and bluffs are found along the streams and rivers. If your ideas of the Texas landscape were formed from 1960's western movies, you will be pleasantly surprised. Northern trout fisherman will feel at home on these waters. The central Texas streams offer solitude, incredible fishing and beautiful surroundings.
When I followed my wife from Jackson, Wyoming to Austin, Texas some of my friends worried that my fly rods would collect dust. They couldn’t have been further from the truth. My wife attending graduate school at the University of Texas was a blessing. Austin is centrally located for access to the surrounding Hill Country waters. I was given the opportunity to expand my fishing experiences in a wonderful area and add a few more species to my fish checklist. My friends, Bill and Kay Jones of Dallas, gave me a copy of the late Bud Priddy's Fly Fishing the Texas Hill Country book. This excellent book and The Roads of Texas atlas helped me find some great spots. I also worked for the Austin Angler, which gave me access to a wealth of information. Although I now live in Montana, I still like to travel and fish this area.
This part of the world has large underground aquifers and most of the rivers and streams are partially or completely spring fed. This provides a source of clear water and maintains constant temperatures in the area adjacent to the spring. Damselflies, dragonflies and caddis hatch almost all year long and are found in numerous sizes and colors. Some waters have the large Hexagenia mayflies and terrestrials are common throughout the year. To round out the food chain, we have crawfish and a wide range of baitfish. The biomass in these waters probably exceeds that of most trout tailwaters.
The native Hill Country gamefish include largemouth bass, Guadalupe Bass, a variety of sunfish, channel catfish and Rio Grande Perch. The yellow breast sunfish, which are actually a red breast sunfish, are the predominant river sunfish and they will live and feed in current. Locally, sunfish are called "perch". Some of the popular introduced species are striped bass, white bass, spotted bass and smallmouth bass. Rainbow trout and brown trout are found on the Guadalupe River. This tailwater has a good population of stocked trout and a number of holdovers. The best trout fishing is in winter months. Some of the non-gamefish, such as carp, freshwater drum, buffalo, suckers and gar, can produce some fun fishing also. These fish can be sizeable and are probably the most difficult of the Texas species to catch on a fly. Given the choice of casting to a pound gamefish or a ten-pound "trash fish", I'll aim for the latter.
Stream access varies. Some rivers, such as sections of the Llano, Guadalupe and Colorado have state owned river bottoms and you may wade fish up to the high water mark. Legal access sites are state and local parks, low water crossings, or by paying an access fee at private recreation areas. Camping is available at many state parks. On other rivers, the actually river bottom may be privately owned. These are best fished by floating or fee fishing on a private recreation areas Floating may require portages so canoes, kick boats, or kayaks are the best bets. Good fishing can be had all year, but the best times are March – June and September – November. In the spring, abundant wild flowers such as bluebonnets will carpet the Hill Country and enhance the outdoor experience.

Llano River

This is one of my favorite streams in the world. It's crystal clear with riffles, runs and pools running over the colorful pink granite bottom. There are also areas of pocket water and numerous side channels. At the head of the riffles you will catch Guadalupe bass, in the runs and pocket water yellow breast sunfish, and in the pools and shaded banks largemouths will be present. It has a good population of the native Guadalupe Bass. The Texas State fish lives in current and is similar to a smallmouth in habits. They don’t get very large, but are aggressive, strong and beautiful. He is the cutthroat of the bass world and like the cutthroat is perfectly adapted to his environment. It is a great wade-fishing stream and can crossed at braids, riffles and tailouts. There are many access points. One of my favorite sections is in the town of Llano, a scenic seventy-mile drive from Austin. The city and county parks are excellent access points and the reservoirs provide fishing options. I have also floated the river. This is best left to the adventurous and should only be attempted with adequate flows. A kick boat with oars, canoe or kayaks are the best choices. Invariable you will portage around some rock gardens. The best sections are upstream of Llano and you will need to run your own shuttles.
I fish the Llano with two to four weight rods to take full advantage of the Guadalupe Bass, but largemouth exceeding eight pounds have been caught. You never know when Mr. Big might eat. I once had a sizeable Largemouth try to eat a Guadalupe off of my line. I’ve caught carp, spotted gar and largemouths up to a couple of pounds. Channel catfish and carp can sometimes be found tailing in the riffles as they look for nymphs. Traditional trout nymphs such as hares ears, pheasant tails and squirrel nymphs will work. Very large catfish have been caught in the Llano and I once stung a buffalo that was the size of my thigh. I doubt I would have landed him, but I had to try. I’ve fished some excellent caddis hatches with the pools stacked with rising fish. Madam Xs, Convertibles, Clouser Minnows, woolly buggers, pencil poppers and divers are useful patterns. A night at the historic Dabbs Hotel Bed & Breakfast, a restored turn of the century railroad hotel, and pork chops at the famous Coopers Barbecue are a good addition to any Llano fishing trip. Historically, this area was an important hunting ground for the Commanche Indians.

Blanco River

This limestone stream offers the chance of catching a large river smallmouth. I’ve also caught good largemouth, a variety of sunfish and catfish on the fly. Some of the of the yellow breast sunfish can reach good size. Numerous springs are found throughout the river and adjacent to them is thick aquatic vegetation. Water clarity is exceptional. Sight casting to visible fish can be effective. Deep pools are alternated with faster runs. Rock ledges give the fish cover and ambush points. However, access is limited. Floating this river is the best way to fish it and this should be done with caution and discretion. Area landowners are less than enthusiastic about recreational use of "their river" and the state owns the water but not the river bottom. Also, legal parking areas near low water crossings are not well defined. Wade access can be found at Blanco State Park, Little Arkansas Camp, a private fee area near Wimberly, and at Dudley Johnson Park near Kyle. All these areas also have small reservoirs on them, which have excellent stillwater angling. These spots are under an hours drive from Austin. There are good populations of insects, crawfish and minnows for the predators to feed on. Rubber leg Woolly Buggers, crawfish patterns, Kiwi Muddlers, damselfly nymphs and poppers are effective for the smallmouth, largemouth, spotted bass and sunfish. Joey Linn, an Austin fly fishing guide and photographer, has caught a number of smallmouth over three pounds on this water.


San Marcos River

A spring creek in Texas? The San Marcos bubbles out of the ground at 200 CFS with a constant 70-degree temperature. I’ve watched sunfish sipping Callibaetis mayflies as gently as any trout. Long strands of aquatic vegetation provide habitat for the abundant lifeforms and large Cypress trees form a canopy over the water. The area around the springs, the present City of San Marcos, is one the oldest constantly inhabited sites in the world. Our ancestors knew when they had a good thing. The river can be wade fished in the San Marcos City parks. As you move downstream most of the banks are deep and undercut. This creates wading difficulties, but it is an excellent floating river. You will be able to spot schools of bass and sunfish and watch them come to your fly. All the common bass and sunfish are found in this water with the addition of the Rio Grande Perch. This small cichlid is related to the peacock bass. They are difficult to catch on a fly and are considered a fly rod trophy even though a twelve-inch specimen is a large fish.
There are two excellent five-mile floats between I-35 and the town of Martindale. The Blanco flows into the San Marcos downstream of the city of San Marcos and doubles the flow. The lower float has class 3 rapids which can portaged if you don’t feel adventurous. Canoes and kayaks can be rented at Shady Grove campground in Martindale. They also offer float instructions and shuttles to put in points. I like to fish Madam Xs, Rabbit Charlies, mohair leeches and divers. Bass over five pounds inhabit the water and I once caught a foot long yellow breast sunfish. In hot and cold months, the upper river with its constant temperature will fish better than other central Texas streams.

Colorado River

The largest river in the area starts in west Texas and flows through Austin on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. The reservoirs on the Colorado are home to the white bass and his big brother the striped bass. These fish travel in schools looking for baitfish. A boat is used for this fishing. Chasing stripers busting bait on top is very exciting and you never know what size the fish might be. They could be two pounds or twenty-five pounds. Deceivers, Double Bunnies and Divers will imitate the injured shad. When it is good it’s incredible, but you will have some slow days. More consistent fishing can be had in the tailwaters below the power generating dams. When the dams are generating power, baitfish are forced out with water. This is makes an easy meal for the waiting predators. White bass are the most frequent catch, but stripers will key in on this also. Max Starke Dam or the dam on Lake Buchanan are good spots. Largemouth, Guadalupes and sunfish can be caught during slack water periods. You might also pick up a freshwater black drum or you can cast to carp tailing in the shallows like bonefish. Use caution when wade fishing as the water flows come up quickly and without an alarm sounding. A sinking shooting head is helpful in deeper holes. My Lipstick Minnow, Cypert’s Mylar Minnow and Clouser Minnows are good imitations of the common small baitfish.
The Colorado and tributaries such as the Llano and Perdenales host good spawning runs of white bass in the spring. They feed heavily on the stream minnows. Fishing can be fast and furious. The smaller males move in first. Later, when the females move up, the whites will average between a pound and two pounds. Small #8 bonefish flies or grey Clousers are very effective, but at times my Conehead the Barbarian fly in chartreuse can be deadly. There is also the chance a striper may be in feeding on the white bass. Last year, J.T. VanZandt, an Austin Angler guide, caught striper in the ten-pound range. Colorado Bend State Park, the mouth of the Llano at Lake LBJ and Reimers Ranch on the Perdenales are some of the more productive areas. This is one time when you will have company on the river.
Town Lake in downtown Austin can be fished for largemouth and sunfish. It holds some the bigger largemouth in the region. The perimeter of the lake is a city park with a walking trail or canoes can be rented. Barton Springs, a popular summer swimming hole, flows into Town Lake and it holds a number of fish. They will congregate here in winter months. I caught a redear sunfish during a January cold spell that was the size of this magazine. Above Barton Springs, Barton Creek is paralleled by a green belt hike and bike trail. The flow can intermittent, but I've caught fish in the deeper pools and smaller springs seep life into the creek during low water periods. It is urban backcountry angling. Onion Creek at McKinney State Park is a suburban small stream option.
Downstream of Austin, the river becomes larger, wider and slower as you drop out of the Hill Country. There are some big largemouth here. Trees and deadfall provide excellent habitat for them. The faster riffles and runs hold Guadalupe bass and stripers, white bass, channel catfish and large gar also inhabit the river. Larry Sunderlund of the Austin Angler uses his Montana style drift boat to float the Colorado. There are a number of floats that can be done. A canoe or kickboat can also be used. Traditional bass bugs, poppers, bendbacks and crawfish are good flies.

Tackle

A rod in the four to six weight range is ideal for most of the Hill Country fishing. These will allow you to cast reasonable size bass flies and still have fun with smaller bass and sunfish. Medium action rods are better than fast rods for throwing the wind resistant or weighted flies. A 7-½ foot 2x leader will cover most of your stream fishing. Floating lines will cover most situations, but a Teeny T-130 shooting head is helpful for probing deep pools. I’ll use a seven to nine weight rod for stripers and big bass fishing. A 0x leader is about the smallest I use. Full sinking lines are good for suspended fish in the reservoirs. Along with the before mentioned flies, Rocky Mountain style attractor dry flies, hoppers, trout nymphs and streamers will produce.

Cautions

As with any outdoor adventure there are inherent potential dangers. Flash flood warnings should be taken seriously. The hilly, rocky terrain pours water into ravines during heavy rainstorms. It can come up very quickly. A small creek can become a large river in a short time. Water moccasins and rattlesnakes are part of the area's fauna. I figure if I don't bother them, they won't bother me. Give them a little space and you should be fine. When floating make sure there is an adequate flow. Otherwise, you might be in for a long portage. Also, float with a partner. Some floats are very remote and a companion may save your life.


Austin has excellent air service. Austin is known as the live music capitol of the United States. Nightclubs have great music for people with any type of musical taste and there are frequent indoor and outdoor concerts. Austin restaurants are on par with the music and any style of food is available in good quality. This is a great place to take a non-fishing companion.

There are numerous other streams, rivers and lakes in the area. I highly recommend wetting a line in the fertile waters of central Texas.

The last time she and I fished together I learned a new fishing strategy. I remember because she wore a bikini top in the bow when the sun came out, and I became distracted because that is one of those things I really like, bikini tops in the bow of fishing boats. I also remember this day because she caught more fish than I did, using a technique I had never really considered up until that point. Not one that she had invented, but one passed onto us by the lucky guide oaring the boat down the Snake River, who I suspect was enjoying the bikini as much as I was from the stern.
An outfitter friend had procured a deal for us on a guided trip, where he ate the cost, paid the guide, and we got a deal. I jumped on the offer, thinking how nice it would be to un-tie my own tangles, be the client for a day, and not have to concern myself with artfully constructed compliments on my girlfriend’s casting and tactful suggestions about how to do this or that. That was the guide’s job, and we both felt that her receiving instruction from another guide rather than me would be one of those good things for couples, like going to a marriage counselor, or doing what you do after making up after a bad quarrel.
However, that morning at the ramp I began to reconsider our decision when the guide opened up the one box he had, which was packed with the same fly, in the same color and the same size, all red Chernobyl ants and nothing else. Then he told me how she needed to fish this fly.
“Katherine,” he said, “cast this thing at the bank, then mend it, but I mean big mends, and don’t stop mending it.”
The effect of course was that of a bass popper, and though I secretly doubted it at first, I soon realized that she was catching the hell out of the fish, and that I was becoming increasingly jealous over the fact that this other man’s ploy had worked so well making him look like the hero while her saggy-ass boyfriend sat with a limp rod in the stern, a pupil to his own ignorance.
Regardless, it worked. The large degree of terrestrials on the bank, beetles, hoppers, ants, and the like, would on occasion fall into the water and in a desperate attempt to get out make such a ruckus that the fish had become accustomed to this popping motion, and apparently craved it. While this may not be news to everyone, it was for me, the consummate Colorado-dead-drift nymphs-and-dries-and-everything-else fisherman. I mean really, how often do you see boats working banks by ripping big foam things through the water as if they were floating streamers?
The day ended, and she hammered fish until her arm was sore, and though I had not come up with the witty tactic that had brought so many trout to the net, she assured me later on that I was indeed still her hero.
Life’s lesson number one: When fishing with a significant other…GET A GUIDE! You can be the hero later on, when it counts.
I recalled the popping of the foam the following summer, and tried with minimal success on my home rivers with clients and friends. They all looked at me like I had just asked them to remove their trousers and fish the next bend naked when I suggested they throw larger mends and make that bug move. It didn’t work so well, not like that day on the Snake, so I forgot about it like so many other fishing tricks that I have learned over the years.
I still happened to be with the same wonderful woman, and though we had been too busy to fish together things were going great and as far as I could tell I was still the hero I wanted to be, until that following spring when I told her I would be guiding in Chile next winter. So began the slippery slope of the break up so common to those who have a hard time staying in the country while beautiful significant others wait at home for them. She was not about to wait, and as I eventually learned, had grown quite tired of my angling lust making my four month disappearance to Chile the final straw.
It ended and I became just another single fishing guide that summer. I made attempts at popping the foam, but it brought back more memories than hooked fish, so I again quit this tactic citing emotional reasons. That is until I met my new boss several months later in Patagonia, Chile.
“You do what?” I asked rhetorically.
“Yep, we pop it. And I mean fast. The faster you move that Gypsy King across the surface, the bigger the fish I say.”
And he was right. The first time we went out, he suggested I tie on the big, black foam thing with hair known as Rance’s Gypsy King. I threw it at the bank, and made over exaggerated mends as my now ex-girlfriend had done before, giving the fly an injured limp across the surface.
“No.” My boss said, “Move it faster.”
So I made bigger mends and more of them, and the fly retained its injured limp motion, only quicker now, like an old man in a walker trying to out run a pit bull chasing him down the street. I looked like an idiot.
“No, faster, damn it!” A snarl came from the oars, “Make it kick some water.” And with that he jumped up, snatched the rod and began sweeping setting the foam fly across the surface, which no longer looked like a man in a walker outrunning a pit-bull, but like a Hemi truck running down a pit-bull in a snowy field. That is when the giant brown trout erupted from the clear water in a shotgun style leap, slamming the Hemi truck fly into the air and down its gullet.
Over the season, I analyzed this technique, and found other ways to pop the foam. I was feeling better about my ex-girlfriend, and the popping of the foam, which soon became almost therapeutic, like anything that catches fish. However, it wasn’t just that this pop, pop, pop, caught fish, but unlike the grabs my ex got from the cutthroats on the Snake, these fish absolutely exploded out of the water, launching into the air Shamu style with the foam treat hooked into their lips.
Here, again, I found myself in a terrestrial fishery. But unlike those in rivers in the states know for their hoppers, this one had larger more obnoxious bugs to present. First of all, the lack of aquatic insect life meant that the fish relied more heavily on what came from above. Beetles and hoppers and dragonflies (though I am not sure this exactly falls into the terrestrial class). Second: that many of the beetles and dragonflies didn’t just plop in the water and wiggle their ass. They moved like Cale Yarborough down the speedway. My boss would tell me stories of trout chasing the flying dragonflies as they zipped over the water’s surface, so intent on the moving bug that they would swim through your legs, and eventually you would see the fish explode into the air and eat the dragonfly a foot or more above the surface.
I eventually deduced that the popping of the foam worked so well in Chile because percussion sound travels better in water than in air, so when a fly splats on the water and then raises hell moving across the current, the fish can pick up on that movement, that excitement, perhaps better than a silent string leach moving by.
And in order to create this noisy attraction, I drew upon the lessons I’d learned from the bass pros when fishing top water baits. Lower the rod tip until it almost touches the water, then strip and sweep low, this will drive the buoyant fly down, creating a bigger splash, more noise, and hopefully more fish.
However, it doesn’t work so well on rivers where fish don’t need to chase their food, or when they do it is the plentiful smaller fish stupidly gorging on drowned tricos that they chase. But I have had big looks by big fish on the Yellowstone and the Madison with this same approach, though it seems to work best…well, in Chile. However, this angling ploy serves as a reminder of a more poignant point. That tricks and tactics are products of their environment, they work well in the situations that are most conducive to that particular trick or tactic. So, when learning new schemes to catch the wily trout, don’t just learn the moves, but look at why the moves work, look at the environment around the trick. Or something wise like that.
Which brings me to life lesson number 2: Fish are predators and like things that move. Women, however, don’t.

“Leave the stripping to the girls at Fred’s Lounge- dead drift your wooly buggers”

Well, I guess it’s a little more complicated than that. But, I have never in fifteen years had a new client step in my boat that fully understood how I wanted them to fish a bugger, so I figured this might be a good tip to put in print.

Whenever I mention to a client that I’d like them to try a bugger, I often get that scared, deer in the headlights look, followed by a comment about how they don’t like bugger fishing because it is too much work to be constantly stripping as fast as you can. Over the years, we have developed a technique that is a hybrid between indicator nymph fishing and stripped streamer fishing. Before I get too far into the details, let me explain why it works.

Most of the waters of Western Montana are medium to higher gradient streams with a lot of pocket water. We have a lot of big stoneflies hatches. The stonefly family includes the famous Salmonflies, Golden Stones, Skwallas, and Acrenuria. These stoneflies are all greater than an inch long, and all are on at least a two to five year cycle as nymphs. We also have a lot of sculpins in our rivers. That means that our fish eat stonefly nymphs all year long, and are very accustomed to seeing a big meal come rolling down their feeding lane. The technique I will describe tries to imitate the behavior of both stonefly nymphs and sculpin minnows in the same technique.

Here is my theory…If you see a great seam wrapping around a boulder and extending downstream for 10-20 feet, why would you only keep your fly on (or under) that seam for only one or two feet? With a dry fly you would make you cast and set up your mend so that you could get as long a drift as possible, but most people throw their buggers in and strip them right back out of the feeding lane, and hope that the fish will chase. Granted, fish will charge after a fast stripped fly occasionally, but only when the water temps are right and the stars are properly aligned.

Set Up

I tie my buggers on size 6 and 8, 3x long hooks. Almost always with a single brass bead, some rubber legs (to look like a stonefly) and I usually stack all the hackle just behind the bead, for the tapered look of a sculpin, rather than the usual palmer style. Vary your colors as the dominant stonefly hatches and water color change. Black and orange for Salmonflies, brown and yellow for goldens, etc. Add more color to the fly as the water becomes more turbid.

Rig your leader with about 10” of tipped so that one or two BB size shot can be placed above the knot. I always prefer this to a heavily weighted fly. Place your indicator three to six feet above your fly depending on the depth. I prefer the pinch on foam or corky type indicators, rather than yarn. Yarn does not stay buoyant when repeatedly twitched though the water.

Pocket Water

Let me paint a picture of a typical holding seam near the bank. A boulder, stump, or protruding gravel bar will push out into the current and create a pocket of slower water. The seam (the line between the fast and slow) will extend down from the object until it dissipates, and the water speeds become even again. The slow water directly behind the object will often re-circulate upstream in an eddy. The water just down from the boulder will generally be the deepest part of the seam, and then it will become increasingly shallow as the seam dissipates. The water will also become increasingly shallow as you move closer to the bank. Blocked on two sides by the bank and the boulder, the eddy water will be pushed out against the faster current and be swept back downstream in the “seam.” These seams come in many sizes and scales. Sometimes the entire river will turn around a point and we call that an “inside seam” of the river.

Execution

The simplified explanation of the technique is to let your fly go as slow as possible without hanging up on bottom, while adding life-like action to your fly, and keeping it in the strike zone for as long as possible.

To fully understand it, let’s walk through the ultimate drift in the theoretical pocket described above.

From a straight across position cast your fly near the bank several feet below the boulder. Finish you cast with a high rod tip (creating a bit of slack) so that you can make a large mend upstream. This will tighten your leader and allow your fly to swim with the current upstream in the eddy water. Keep you eyes glued to that indicator and don’t doubt yourself, don’t be afraid to strike!

As the indicators get pushed out near the seam your indicators will slow down and allow your fly to sink (the water direction is about to change.) Now sweep a large mend down over your indicators and allow a little drag to grab your fly line and speed up your fly. Your fly line should be laying straight down the seam in front of your fly. Your fly will be dragged straight down the feeding lane.

Remember that you want your fly to go as slow as possible, so now you need to slow it down. This is achieved by making a series of “kick mends” all the way down the seam. A “kick mend” is a tight mend upstream that tugs at first and then rolls a small loop right up the fly line, usually only as far as the indicators. This kick mend achieves many things all in one smooth motion. First, the tug twitches the indicators downstream, which both straightens your leader (so you can instantly see or feel the take) and bounces the fly up off the bottom (giving action). Second, the tight loop mend instantly gives slack to the indicators and allows you fly to sink again. Repeat all the way down the seam whenever your fly seems to go too fast. If you wish you can tighten up and allow your fly to swing out at the end of your drift.

Rules of Thumb

1) Always keep you indicators down current of your fly (remember eddy currents can move upstream.)
2) Fish will always face into the current.
3) If your fly leads your indicators you will not see the take.
4) Mending up current will let your fly sink.
5) Mending down will speed up you fly and make it rise up.
6) Approach deeper pockets from slightly above, shallow pockets from below.
7) The colder the water temps, the slower the drift.
8) Wherever you mend your line, if you tug, your fly will follow.



The result of this technique is that your fly follows the depth profile of the pocket, stays in the feeding lane, has controlled life-like darting action, yet drifts at an appropriate speed. Give it a try on your home river from early spring until the high water completely settles. And if the fish are off in the mid-summer dog days try it again. PS- it is also deadly for smallies.

Good luck and keep in touch,

Joe

“Double Haul Camp Coffee” AKA “Rotator Cuff Coffee”

Ingredients needed: A little cold water, a lot of centrifugal force, and a splash of faith.

Forget the eggshells, mule spit and all those other secret tricks that are said to settle the grounds in a pot of camp coffee! Get your calisthenics and caffeine at the same time.

1) Throw away that basket thing that comes with the coffee pot
2) Boil 2/3 full pot of fresh spring water
3) Remove from heat at least 30 seconds before adding coffee or you will have a boiling volcano of coffee grounds
4) Add twice as much ground coffee as you would at home.
5) Set pot half-on half-off the burner. The water will “roll” up one side and down the other creating the perfect brewing conditions.
6) Let brew for about five minutes and remove from heat
7) Swing pot by the handle up over your head (quickly) - Use the force, Luke….centrifugal!
8) Hat is recommended to minimize burning in the event of a malfunction, although a large brim will get in the way of swing path.
9) Let sit while you take a couple of Advil, and your shoulder will be ready to cast all day.
10) Grounds will completely settle to the bottom. Just don’t have the last cup.
11) Best enjoyed out of the tin cup you were drinking whiskey out of the night before.