We
often have clients who battle to catch fish despite using good equipment.
Anglers often forget that at the end of the day the difference between
the guys who have caught fish, and the ones who didn’t is not the
equipment you use or the distance of the cast. Most often it is something
which you were not aware purely out of inexperience. Next time when
you’re on the water and things aren’t going your way, keep the following
in mind.
Choose the correct fly
Most
commercially tied flies are of a poor quality, they are often stiff
and lifeless. Next time before selecting a fly make sure the fly has
a lot of movement. This is often attained by using soft materials
like marabou. The movement will give the fly a more natural look in
the water, which is a lot more appealing to a fish than a stiff and
lifeless fly. Also make sure that the fly is not overdressed. An overdressed
bulky looking fly usually has very little natural movement.
Keep
in mind that you don’t need a lot of movement in all flies. As a rule
of thumb flies that are fished in very fast water usually don’t need
a lot of movement, seeing that the fly is moving so fast in the current
all ready, and the fish wont have time to inspect it closely. If you
are going to fish a fly very slowly in stillwater, movement becomes
critical as it will give the fly a more natural appearance. Also remember
that small tightly dressed flies sink faster than big wind/water resistant
flies.
Sharpen fly fishing hooks
Always
make sure that you’re hooks are sharp. There is nothing as frustrating
as having a fish eat your fly but not being able to set the hook because
it was blunt. This goes for salt as well as freshwater fishing. On
a river like the Vaal which is very rocky your flies will often get
snagged up on rocks. The soft point of the small freshwater hooks
bend very easily in these conditions, making hookups virtually impossible.
Make sure you check your hook points regularly and keep them sharp.
Terminal fly fishing tackle
Make
sure that you are using a balanced outfit, meaning the correct line
weight and size reel for your rod. If you are not sure if you’re tackle
is balanced bring it to the shop and we’ll have a look at it for you.
Using
the correct leader and tippet is one of the most important factors
for constantly catching fish. If the water is dirty or you are using
a sinking line you can use a shorter leader, in dirty water it will
make casting easier, and when using a sinking line it help you to
be in more direct contact with the fly. Often when using sinking lines
the fly line sink with a belly. The main part or body of the line
sinks to the desired depth, because the leader doesn’t have the same
density as the fly line it sinks a lot slower, causing the tip of
the fly line not to sink as fast, resulting in the line sinking in
the belly shape. This belly shape makes picking up subtle takes very
difficult. Using a shorter leader will help to eliminate this problem.
In
extremely clear or shallow water where the fish are usually a lot
more spooky, the exact opposite comes into play. Use a longer leader
and a finer tippet. This will help you to present the fly to the fish
without spooking him with the fly line. If your fishing in very fast
water and want your fly to sink deeper try a longer tipper, also keep
in mind that the thinner the diameter of the tippet, the faster it
will sink.
When
selecting your tippet always use the heaviest tippet the fish will
allow, this will help you to land the fish quicker, which will enhance
his chances of being successfully releasing.
Fly Fishing Care: Polarized sunglasses
Never
fish without polarized sunglasses. There are two reasons for this,
the first being that when your fishing in relatively clear water you’re
chance of seeing the fishing is greatly enhanced. The second and more
important is that it protects you eyes from flies. The last thing
you need is to loose an eye due to a fly being stuck in it.
My
preference is for yellow lenses. The yellow lenses enhances contrast,
making your chances of spotting fish even greater, and you can where
them almost into darkness unlike gray lenses.
Local
knowledge
Local
knowledge is often the difference between catching something and going
home fishless. If you’re fishing a venue for the first time speak
to some of the local anglers before hand, they will steer you in the
correct direction and can save you hours of frustration.
Tying
and fishing tecniques for big poppers
(by
Gerhard Laubscher)
It
is common knowledge among the more experienced saltwater fly fishers
that a large popper is just the right medicine for big kingfish. No
big kingfish can resist striking a noisy popper fished on the surface
with a rapid retrieve.
Knowing
this very well, and having seen the destructive strikes of kingfish
and other game fish on these surface flies over the years, I was still
reluctant to use them. On to many occasion have I had the water exploding
behind my popper with a big fish desperately trying to get hold of
it, only to result in no hook-up. I decided that I would much rather
cast a subsurface fly where my hook-up rate is far higher. Last weekend
of Benguerra Island, in Mozambique's Bazaruto Archipelago this changed.
I
have been toying around with the idea of using a sliding head in-front
of a streamer (as done by many other anglers), but always thought
it to be a waste, throwing a popper and a deceiver/clouser just didn't
make sense. The fly alone is wind resistant, surely you don't need
a popper as well. It would make much more sense to use a loose swinging
popper tail behind a big foam head. The head lies deeper in the water,
resulting in a bigger pop, and the tail, hangs in the water at an
angle, so the fish doesn't have to strike it of the surface, (which
normally results in missed strikes). Another big advantage of the
free-swinging tail is that you don't lose any of the hook gape to
a big popper head slided over the hook shank.
These
poppers worked like a charm in the area known as "Kingfish Alley",
a channel between the southern tip of Bazaruto Island and the northern
point of Benguerra Island. Every strike resulted in a hook-up, and
all the fish hooked in this manner were successfully landed and released.
Building fly fishing poppers
I
took a couple of 4/0 hooks and tied a standard popper tail onto them,
long white buck tail- two batches with flashabou in-between. To add
a bit of colour I wrapped a couple of red saddle hackles around the
front of the hook just before tying the fly off. This tail has very
little wind resistance, making it a dream to cast.
Connecting
the head to the tail
Make
a hole in the middle of the of the popper head where you can slide
the tippet through. Tie the popper tail to the tippet using a non-sliding
loop knot like a perfection loop or Texan-twist, the loop should be
about 1cm long. Take the popper head and slide it down the tippet
over the knot so that the knot is inside the popper head, the tail
should now be right up against the popper head and still be able to
swing freely.
Casting big fly fishing poppers.
A
popper is a big wind resistant fly as those who have casted them will
know well. In order to cast the popper as effectively as possible
one uses a heavy fly line (10-12). You can even use one line weight
heavier than the designated weight of your rod. Your rod will not
overload, the wind resistant popper slows your casting stroke down
often resulting in the rod not loading properly. By "upping" the rod
one-line weight you compensate for this, resulting in the rod loading
as it should. (Under normal circumstances, even when using poppers
like these, I still prefer to use the designated line weight).
Whichever
line you decide to use you are gong to have to slow down your casting
stroke, the popper is very wind resistant and moves slowly. If you
are going to "force" your cast by trying to get to a high line speed,
you are not going to load the rod and you're cast is going to go nowhere.
If you are lucky enough to have a bit of wind behind you, use it to
your advantage by opening the loop on your final forward cast. The
open loop will be picked up by the wind, and your fly will be carried
those extra couple of feet.
Retrieving the popper.
When
I retrieve a popper I want it to make as big a noise as possible.
I keep the rod under my arm and use a two-handed retrieve. I give
the line a hard pull with my one hand, the popper usually jumps forward,
and sometimes you get a bit of slack in the line, with my other hand
I give the popper a slower shorter to strip to tighten the line until
I can feel resistance from the popper before I give it another sharp
jerk with my other hand.
Note:
for the duration of stay on Benguerra Island we were the guests of
Marlin Lodge, a lodge that I can definitely recommend to anyone. The
fishing around these islands are superb and even though we were there
when the fishing was considered to be "not very good" we caught a
variety of species, including giant kingfish, green-spot kingfish,
yellow-spot kingfish, bludger kingfish, big-eye kingfish, salad fish,
bonito and a couple of big queen mackerel. If you are interested in
doing a trip to these islands please do not hesitate to contact me.
We
often have clients who battle to catch fish despite using good equipment.
Anglers often forget that at the end of the day the difference between
the guys who have caught fish, and the ones who didn’t is not the
equipment you use or the distance of the cast. Most often it is something
which you were not aware purely out of inexperience. Next time when
you’re on the water and things aren’t going your way, keep the following
in mind.
It
is common knowledge among the more experienced saltwater fly fishers
that a large popper is just the right medicine for big kingfish. No
big kingfish can resist striking a noisy popper fished on the surface
with a rapid retrieve.
I
have been toying around with the idea of using a sliding head in-front
of a streamer (as done by many other anglers), but always thought
it to be a waste, throwing a popper and a deceiver/clouser just didn't
make sense. The fly alone is wind resistant, surely you don't need
a popper as well. It would make much more sense to use a loose swinging
popper tail behind a big foam head. The head lies deeper in the water,
resulting in a bigger pop, and the tail, hangs in the water at an
angle, so the fish doesn't have to strike it of the surface, (which
normally results in missed strikes). Another big advantage of the
free-swinging tail is that you don't lose any of the hook gape to
a big popper head slided over the hook shank. 
I
took a couple of 4/0 hooks and tied a standard popper tail onto them,
long white buck tail- two batches with flashabou in-between. To add
a bit of colour I wrapped a couple of red saddle hackles around the
front of the hook just before tying the fly off. This tail has very
little wind resistance, making it a dream to cast. 
Make
a hole in the middle of the of the popper head where you can slide
the tippet through. Tie the popper tail to the tippet using a non-sliding
loop knot like a perfection loop or Texan-twist, the loop should be
about 1cm long. Take the popper head and slide it down the tippet
over the knot so that the knot is inside the popper head, the tail
should now be right up against the popper head and still be able to
swing freely.