This week’s Trivia Challenge is all about fly fishing in the winter, a time of year that requires a whole different approach. I think it’s a fun one. Click the Read More link below to take it. Good luck!
Fly Fishing
The Orvis Fly-Fishing Blog celebrates a rich angling heritage stretching beyond a century, with timely articles, tips, photos, videos, podcasts, and the latest fly-fishing news. We keep you informed about the things you want to know, from improving your casting technique to the art and science of tying flies.
Early Spring in Montana
It’s now February. According to my calendar, next month will be March, which means that despite the snow and cold temperatures currently slamming most northern states, early-season fly fishing is right around the corner.
Early spring is a time when a lot of Montana guides hit the water hard. Our schedules are pretty wide open, and we’ve been cooped up all winter, so we are more than ready to get after it. So are the fish. Especially the BIG fish. For the most part, they’ve been relatively dormant since the fall, making them hungry and willing to be aggressive. This combination can produce some. . .
Read MoreIn the Loop 02.02.11
Full Circle: Paul Fersen Reads His Story from Gray’s Sporting Journal
Tom Rosenbauer needed a day off and I told him I would be more than happy to read a story I wrote for Gray’s Sporting Journal a few year’s back. The story is about my Grandma Moon who taught me to fish in the ponds of our South Georgia farm and how important it was to pass that simple knowledge to my son Cooper. There is a bit of magic in the simplicity of the cane pole and though far gone from my experience, I brought it back for him. “Full Circle” is a story of generations and the common thread that ties a little boy to the great grandmother he never knew.
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A Striper Season
Surf Fishing 2010 – NYC Edition from Peter Laurelli on Vimeo.
Yesterday, Rob Ceccarini, Fishing Manager at Orvis Manhattan, sent me a link to a video created by one of his customers, Peter Laurelli. Usually, when I get these kinds of emails hailing some “great” video, the video itself is a bit of a letdown—there might be great fish or a cool shot, but. . . Read More
In the Loop 01.31.11
Just in time to rescue many of us from Snowpocalypse-induced cabin fever, the Fly Fishing Film Tour is hitting the road again. Now in its fourth year, the FFFT (or F3T, if you’re cool) will visit more than 80 cities this year, hopefully one near you. Watching videos on the Web is fun, but it’s no substitute for. . .
Read MoreThe Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast: Tom’s Ten Tips on Winter Fly Fishing
Winter fly fishing is beautiful. It’s quiet, the scenery is specatcular and there are not as many people on the water. There are some techniques you have to adopt, though in order to be succesful and have a good time.
First, remember to layer-up. Tim Daughton wrote an excellent post on the topic. Read it here.
Listen to the podcast for the other nine tips.
We have set up a voicemail box here at Orvis for your comments and suggestions for fututre podcasts. If you call, please remember to leave your name and where you are from in case we use your message in the show. The number is 802-362-8800.
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Friday Film Festival 01.28.11
90 minutes from Dave Jensen on Vimeo.
Welcome to another edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Fest, in which we scour the Internets for the best fly-fishing footage available. We kick things off this week with an epic story of man vs. fish, in which an angler works a fish for an hour and half and changes flies more times than. . .
In the Loop 01.25.11
Here is a gorgeous film about Korean carp fishermen, which I think captures everything that’s great about the sport. Despite the fact that the anglers are casting on an urban river right next to a highway, they seem to be lost in the natural world of the current, the insect life, and the fish. After watching this, you’ll have no doubt that fly fishing is an international language. Some of the strikes, . . .
Read MoreSix Tips on Sinking Line – Tom’s Advanced Podcast
In my most recent Podcast, I go into detail on sinking lines, giving you six useful tips. I boiled the tips down here, but to get the most of the Podcast, give my latest episode a listen!
Click the play button below to listen to this episode. Go to orvis.com/podcast to subscribe to future episodes
If you cannot see the podcast player, please click this link to listen.
- When to use a sinking line? In still water when the water is deep and using floating line is not working. Use sinking line to get deeper. In moving water/current, if you’re swinging flies and a floating line is causing the fly to rise and skim along the surface or just under it in water that’s more than a few feet deep, switch to sinking line.
- Don’t worry about what system you’re using. Whatever system you use, practice with it. Get used to how it works. All systems are meant to get fly down deeper than you can with floating line in still water, and keep it there as you strip. In water with current, sinking line is used to get the fly down below the surface and keep it swinging at the same depth.
- In still water, cast as far as you can since you don’t know exactly where the fish are (except that they are down deep) and you want the fly down deep for the entire retrieve. Count down as you would with spin gear, to whatever number you think gets the fly down to where you want it. If you’re getting hung up often, count down a little less. In current, angle cast and use mends to get fly deeper or more shallow. The shallower the water, the more downstream the cast. The deeper the water, the more you cast upstream and mend to get the fly down. Let the fly swing as it passes by you and goes downriver, mend as you go to get it deeper.
- An integrated sink line is often easier to use than a loop-to-loop system and best used when you know you’re going to fish sinking line all day and not change up spools. There are several types to choose from, each detailed in the Podcast.
- Loop-to-loop systems have a place in your arsenal too. Check out the details on the Podcast at 37:45.
- What size and length leader do you use with sinking lines? Often a shorter and heavier leader is in order. The Podcast gives you the specifics.