Trouts Fly Fishing

Trout’s Fly Fishing | by Ouzel Media

The guys over at Ouzel Media put together this video short for us.  Thanks guys, came out great!

North Platte River Report | compliments of Michael Gracie

"You’re standing forty feet apart, hitting a lot of doubles. So often in fact that you can no longer be bothered with pulling out a second net."

Enough said, and thanks for sharing.  Click here to read the rest of the adventures of Luke Bever and Michael Gracie...

Pulp Fly | coming April 1, 2012

Authors and Contributors:

Matt Dun

Bob White

Davin Ebanks

Michael Gracie

Alex Landeen

Bjorn Stomsness

Alex Cerveniak

Ralph Bartholdt

Bruce Smithhammer

Matt Smythe

Peter Mcdonald

Available April 1st, 2012

Airflo Ridge Clear Tropical Fly Line Review | by Louis Cahill

There hasn't been a lot of new and inovative products to come about in the fly line category since the debut of the Sharkskin Fly Line by Scientific Angler a few years back.  Ultimately, there is only so much you can do to change the taper, color or make-up of a fly line to make the fly fishing industry go "WOW".  This is particularly true in that no many new fly lines actually aid the angler in catching fish.  All of this changed in 2012 with the debut of the Airflo Ridge Clear Tropical Fly Line.  The name says it all, CLEAR!  Anglers have long looked for the ideal fly line color to deal with the wary fish that prowl the flats of the globe, and most companies have looked past the ideal color... no color.  Yet not many fly line companies can achieve this new look, as the make-up and manufacturing process that goes into their fly lines won't allow it.  Yet through Airflo's patented PVC Free fly lines, they have been able to dial in this technology, and make one of the stealthiest salt water fly lines available.  

Now we have unfortunatally been unable to test this new line, so we're not going to BS you into thinking we know what we're talking about.  I am uber physced about this line, and you can bet the farm it will be on my reels next time I'm being poled along the flats, but I know only as much as the Airflo catologue and my rep has told me.  Which is why we have looked to Louis Cahill of Gink and Gasoline for a little "on the water" perspective on this line.  

"On a recent tarpon trip I had the chance to fish one of Airflo’s Clear Floating Tropical Ridge lines. I was prepared to either love it or hate it and to be honest I got a little bit of both. I fished it for two days and here’s what I learned.

THE POSITIVES:

Stealth: I’ve always been skeptical of clear lines. It’s long been my belief that what fish see is the shadow of the line or the disturbance it creates on the surface and that a bad cast will spook fish no matter what line your using. I was surprised to find I was wrong. The first day fishing the clear line was bright and very calm. Landing an eleven weight line softly on a day like that is crucial. I’ll be honest, I made a few bad casts. Casts that should have spooked fish but didn’t. In this area the Airflow really delivered. It’s a great stealth line.

Castability: All in all the line casts very well. It loaded my Thomas and Thomas eleven weight Helix very nicely. It turned over easily and was easy to land softly. It shot well, as promised, handled the wind nicely and, after some work (more on this later) had very little memory and laid out nicely on the deck. No complaints casting this line.

Low Stretch: One of the things I generally don’t like about clear lines is they all seem stretchy to me. A stretchy line is the kiss of death when tarpon fishing. A tarpon’s mouth is so tough you really need some authority to get a good hook set. I expected this line to be a problem, but it wasn’t. The hookups I missed were on me, not the line."

read the rest of this review...

Well there you have it, straight from the bloggers mouth.  New technology is fun, particularly when it helps in catching fish.  A big thanks to Mr. Cahill for the review.

Time to Leave Spawning Trout Alone | from The Wading Room

It's spring, which means our rainbow trout friends are entering their annual spawn, so it's time for us to remind you all of our ethical obligation as anglers when it comes to fishing for spawing trout... DO NOT DO IT!  I know, I know, you really want that bad ass photo of you with a big trout, and what does it really hurt to grab that fish off their red for a quick picture.  Well let me put it to you this way, would you want me to come by your house, and rip you out of bed while you're getting down with your lady or man friend?  I don't think so. So please show the trouts the same respect, feel free to watch this awesome display of nature, but don't fish to spawning trout.  If you need any more insight or pursuation on this matter, Arlo Townsend (bad ass fishing guide and a Simms Guide Ambassador) offers his professional insight on this matter.  Take it away Arlo:

"As the shoulder seasons emerge and climates gradually shift, the behavior of trout in our rivers and streams begins to focus on one thing…spawning. Successful reproduction is the life goal of a trout. Annual successful spawns are an integral part of our future trout populations. Trout are fragile creatures, especially during mating routines. The more we understand about what trout go through in order to make future baby trout, the more effective we can be in protecting our fish resources.Rainbow and cutthroat trout generally spawn in the spring (March-May) as the days grow longer and water temperatures increase to the optimum spawning range. Brown trout spawn in the fall (Oct.-Dec) when water temperatures drop into their ideal range.

Spawning chores overrun the trout’s daily schedule. Females spend days sculpting redds in areas of river where finer substrate occurs. This adds stress by placing the trout in shallow, dangerous water where predators can easily spot them. Rocks and gravel must be cleaned of egg-suffocating silt, while dune-shaped indentions are built along the river bottom to give their eggs a safe, oxygenated, and stationary resting place amidst the current. Female trout use their bodies and fins to sculpt these redds. This strips the trout’s protective slime layer away from its body and leaves the trout susceptible to fungal infections."

read the rest of this post...

We thank Arlo for taking the time to put together this piece.  This is an important issue to all anglers (fly or general tackle), as the livelihood of this species will directly effect the quality of fishing available to future generations.