Last Minute Advice

[jordanl]

hey guys, i got the next two days off and im thinking of headed to the soo rapids, looking for atlantics, steelies, and resident rainbows. this will be my first time primarily fishing with a fly rod, and on top of that im hoping to do it with a strike indicator and double nymph rig, i have watched some videos on techniques ect, i think i have the set up understood, my setup is leader as long as my rod, so roughly 8 feet, i have my "thingamobobber" strike indicator and a bobber stop approx double the depth of the first pool i plan on fishing, and i have 2 small bb split shot 12 inches above my first nymph. just wondering if theres anything that you guys can say to help me out and make my tomorrow not a bust, thanks for reading!

[Gnfshn]

Make sure you are tapping bottom and allow your flies to swing up and across at the end of each drift.

Many takes come at the end.

[jordanl]

sounds prettty good, i have a nice 40 foot pool that i can drift, all by myself, my one problem is not pulling out enough line to play with, thanks for the advice though

[iHasFish]

My suggestion is to only use the double nymph rig until you find the depth and what the fish are feeding on in the water and sticking to that. The double rig can be quite cumbersome and annoying to cast all day.

[Icehut]

Don't bother making long casts. The idea behind short-line high-stick bobber nymphing is to keep it close. Trout will reject a fly in 1/3 of a second, so you'd better have razor-sharp reflexes and no slack in the line. Work current seams or foam lines. When in doubt, add moar led. If you're not regularly hanging up, you're not fishing deep enough. Don't try normal casting; at the end of the drift let the current load the rod and just pitch it back upstream. I'd suggest that this bit of water is not the ideal place to learn nymphing, but good luck. I assume you're a strong wader, with cleats and a wading staff.

[jordanl]

Don't bother making long casts. The idea behind short-line high-stick bobber nymphing is to keep it close. Trout will reject a fly in 1/3 of a second, so you'd better have razor-sharp reflexes and no slack in the line. Work current seams or foam lines. When in doubt, add moar led. If you're not regularly hanging up, you're not fishing deep enough. Don't try normal casting; at the end of the drift let the current load the rod and just pitch it back upstream. I'd suggest that this bit of water is not the ideal place to learn nymphing, but good luck. I assume you're a strong wader, with cleats and a wading staff.

thanks for the input, i will be heading out for a late day session, i think today is more of a get comfortable fish rather than a serious session, as for casting, i seen that a lot of guys do what you said, so i keep that in mind when i head out. what kind of water would you recommend if you think the rapids arnt ideal? and as for wading ect, i am a strong wader, however i do not have cleats or a staff, right now im only wading in mid thigh wader to keep safe until i can afford a better set. and also i do not have a staff. when i do cross there theres only one spot i will do that and i take my sweet time, a staff is next on the list, just have to wait for some extra money to be available.

ill also be bringing my float setup on my spinning rod just incase the nymphing thing isnt working out, as we as bringing some rooster tail spinners that i hear do well.

been looking at the live feed of the river all day and looks like the atlantics are making a big push today, http://www.lssu.edu/arl/fishcam.php

seeing schools of 15+ swimming up stream today,

[Craiger]

focus on the tailouts...they seem to stack right on the edge of the there in that river. Heading there next friday for a little swingin action myself...

[Icehut]

New FlyFisher did a decent segment on the rapids.

Tricky wading. Very exciting when you have to chase a fish. Good chance of falling.

Hallowed water, once fished by Hemingway himself. Small nymphs, big indicators.

Hiring a guide, even for a short session, makes things much easier.

To learn flyfishing, I'd suggest any smaller river. Hard to concentrate on the basics when so much energy is going into avoiding drowning.

Lots of nice civilized water in that area.

[jordanl]

New FlyFisher did a decent segment on the rapids.

Tricky wading. Very exciting when you have to chase a fish. Good chance of falling.

Hallowed water, once fished by Hemingway himself. Small nymphs, big indicators.

Hiring a guide, even for a short session, makes things much easier.

To learn flyfishing, I'd suggest any smaller river. Hard to concentrate on the basics when so much energy is going into avoiding drowning.

Lots of nice civilized water in that area.

yeah, bill spicer has done 2 episodes there, one for atlantics and one for pinks, i have watched both many times over, i even took notes:P, im going to be waiting and saving for a better pair of waders though, i would like a pair with cleats before i head back into the rapids, its just to dangerous otherwise, as for guide, i just found a new fly fishing shop over here in the downtown area, im pretty sure they do fly fishing guiding, so im going to head there and inquire about a half day session, just to get comfortable and earn. as for my flies, i have a huge selection of custom ties streamers, buggers and a few mudders, courtesy of my grandpa, i have a small selection of 10+ nymphs, so il have to bulk up on that, i think il be heading to gouais river and fishing the mouth on the fly, i know its abit shallower and has plenty of room to back cast and learn, i did alright fishing the indicator at the rapids, i had the roll cast working pretty well and i had the set up itself working pretty effective, but high sky and a late start left me fishless. i wasnt to dissapointed though, it was just amazing to be in the water,

[Icehut]

If you have decent felt-bottomed boots, you can buy screws to turn them into slip-proof boots.

Don't buy nymphs, they're dead easy to tie. Wrap 'em with lead and keep 'em scruffy and buggy-looking, only need one or two materials to make perfectly serviceable nymphs, and you almost have to cos if you're doing it right you're losing a lot of them.

[jordanl]

If you have decent felt-bottomed boots, you can buy screws to turn them into slip-proof boots.

Don't buy nymphs, they're dead easy to tie. Wrap 'em with lead and keep 'em scruffy and buggy-looking, only need one or two materials to make perfectly serviceable nymphs, and you almost have to cos if you're doing it right you're losing a lot of them.

yeah. i cheaped out and they dont even have felt, they are just rubber boots, so il safe abit and get a better pair, weather it be felt sore or studded, both will be better than what i have. and really eh, iv been looking into starting to tie my own flies, if nymphs are that easy then i might have to consider starting up.. thanks again

[Ola]

don't know about the 'small nymph' thing as all our hits were on sizes 10-12 nymphs although we did try everything else too, and nothing glamorous - beadhead hare's ear nymphs (it was blazing sun so used the old 'bright sun=shiny spoons' theory), hex nymphs and small muddlers (again sizes 10-12 and with very close shaved heads)

a couple were caught on the swing too, as we let the nymphs swing through the end of the drift like a wet fly.

and all fish caught by us and only other fish we saw caught, both days were between 1-4 pm when it was hottest and sunniest. go figure. but they were all holding in fast pools rather than lounging in slower water. we sighted very few fish actually in the slow water sections, probably due to the sun and heat.

as far as wading goes, i just used my ice fishing cleats over my wading boots as my boots are on their last legs (or make that my last legs) worked fine as long as i remembered not to use my heels for leverage.