A Simple Fly Fishing Exercise

Have your back muscles ever hurt after a long day of fly fishing? Mine used to quite often. I would take ibuprofen so I could continue to cast. I would also change my fishing style to not be so aggressive. I would execute shorter casts and perform less mending in the air during the cast and less mending of the line on the water. Rather than lifting my rod to help keep line off the water and to get a longer and better drag free drift I would keep my elbow at my side. I would schedule shorter fishing days because my muscles would hurt after a couple of hours anyway.

I mentioned this back muscle pain to my chiropractor. After checking out my spine and performing some muscle tests he asked me to start doing some shoulder or scapula push-up exercises. I will explain how they are performed. Get down on the floor like you would to do normal push-ups. Rather than bending your arms and bringing your nose to the ground, keep your elbows straight. Let your body drop slightly and bring your shoulder blades close together. Now bring your body up as high as you can. This will bring your shoulder blades far apart. Repeat the process by letting your body drop slightly and bringing your shoulder blades close together and then raising your body causing your back to arch and moving your shoulder blades apart. The chiropractor said to do three repetitions of 10 shoulder push ups four or five times a week. After doing this for a couple of weeks he said to up it to three repetitions of 20. That is what I do now.

I attribute being able to fish aggressively all day long without back pain to this exercise. On five separate week-long trips this past year I was able to fish continuously all day long, all week without the usual pain I would feel.

Streamer Fishing on the First Day of Winter

It was the winter solstice, fall was officially over. It seems like it hasn’t been above freezing since Thanksgiving. But today, it was supposed to hit 36 degrees. With such a heat wave going on I decided it was my chance to get out and do some fly fishing. What’s more, it was overcast and a storm was coming in…perfect.

I put on my heavy fleece socks under my waders. I put on my light fleece jacket with my heavier fleece jacket over it so I could unzip the outer one if I got too hot. I put on my baseball hat, knowing I could put on the hood of my jacket if the wind started blowing. Of course, I put on my polarized sun glasses. Even though it was overcast, with the bright white snow the glasses were needed.

The snow was eight inches deep so I followed in the boot prints that previous fishermen had left. After a few steps I noticed I wasn’t the only one with that idea. There were raccoon footprints inside each of the boot prints. There were also rabbit footprints headed in the other direction. It is sure peaceful and quiet being out on the snow. With snow caked on my felt soled shoes I was very careful climbing the ladder going over the fence to cross the field to the river. There were no other fishermen on the river and no vehicles parked at any of the access points.

At home I had tied on a large streamer that the Trout Bum II fly shop had recommended the previous fall. It is about four inches long, green on back, white on bottom with a red throat – just like a little rainbow. I crimped on a small split shot just above the fly to help it sink.

Casting across stream as close to the far bank as possible I twitched the streamer across stream as the current took it down stream. With this presentation, the streamer’s full silhouette is seen by the trout as the trout face upstream and the fly is pointed across stream. This also allows the fish to hit the intended prey head first with the intention of swallowing the minnow head first. If the fish were to swallow the minnow tail first the gills and fins would get caught in its throat and it would choke.

I headed downstream, recasting every couple of feet. This is a lot faster fishing than the nymph fishing that I usually do. If a large fish is in the area, it will take it. After about fifteen minutes I reached a portion of the stream that had a little side eddy. This side eddy consisted of slower turning water with fast water right next to it. I cast into the eddy within inches of the bank and began stripping in. A fish immediately took the streamer and leaped out of the water. It headed into the fast water and started taking me downstream. After a few minutes I had the fish next to the shore. I put the rod under my arm and lifted the fish onto the snow. It was a nice brown, 18 inches long. On its side it had the most peculiar perfectly round red spots with white halos. The trout lay still while I took a couple of pictures but sure hurried off when I placed it back in the water. What a great start of the winter season.

Winter Fly Fishing

Last winter I was often asked “have you been ice fishing yet?” Most years I do get out on the ice a few times. Fish Lake is my favorite ice fishing destination. But last year I didn’t go ice fishing even once. But, I did go fly fishing every week. The Provo and Weber rivers have great winter fly fishing, especially for white fish.

Perfect days are not the pretty, bright and sunny days, but rather the nice overcast, mostly cloudy, almost ready to rain or snow days. It is nice however, if it is not actually raining - also if it is at least above freezing. Not that it’s too cold to be out on the river, but that the ice on the guides is hard on the fly line and the ice makes it hard to control your line, either to get a drag free drift with a nymph or to strip line with a streamer.

Dressing appropriately is one key to enjoying winter fly fishing. One thing nice about waders is that they keep you dry from your chest down. OK, a second thing is they keep you nice and warm. Make sure you have some good polypropylene, polyester, fleece or nylon pants. Sweat pants work great as long as they are not cotton. I do insist that they have a back pocket for my wallet which contains my fishing license (and driver’s license) and front pockets for keys, cell phone or whatever. Blue jeans are the worst when it comes to keeping you warm and dry. They just hold moisture and keep you cold. Same thing for socks. Thick fleece or wool is my favorite. Remember, no cotton. If it is lightly raining or snowing, make sure you have some rain gear. Keeping dry is critical. If it is windy, keep your ears covered. I usually don’t need gloves and if I’m active my hands stay warm just fine. If your hands are cold, neoprene or fleece gloves work great. You may even be able to get away with fingerless gloves. I’ve got a pair of fleece mittens where the finger section can bend back and become fingerless gloves. I use these if I’m actually ice fishing and not keeping active like I do when fly fishing. Dressing in layers is a good idea. After you get used to the cold, or after walking a bit you may get a little hot and sweaty. I know this happens to me all the time, even on cold winter days. It helps if I can take off or unzip the outer portion of my coat and just keep on the lining or a sweatshirt. Then if you stand still for a while fishing a hole or if the wind picks up, you can zip up or put the outer portion back on. Wearing a hat also helps tremendously.

An important item frequently neglected in winter is polarized sun glasses. Just like in the summer, a good pair of polarized sun glasses is a necessity. I have gotten snow blindness before in a snow storm. My eyes started watering and I couldn’t see a thing. So even if it is snowy, bring your sun glasses. You never know when the sun will shine through and all the snow around really makes things bright.

There are quite a few advantages to fly fishing in the winter. A lot of times you’ll have the stream all to yourself. There are not as many fishermen out in the wintertime. Because of this, the water is usually undisturbed and the fish have not been spooked. You will not have to be on the river bright and early. In fact, the middle of the day when the water has had a chance to warm up a bit is when the fishing is usually best. The fish are more active when the water has warmed a few degrees. This is also when the midges start hatching and the fish take notice of the insect activity. At the same time, don’t leave just because the sun starts going down. I have caught some of my biggest browns in the winter just after the sun goes down.

A Big Fat Fatty - Rainbow on the Weber River

It was a slow day of fishing on the Weber last spring. I was fishing with Paul, who had introduced me to the Weber River Fishing. I had caught a few white fish and still had hopes for a big trout. By now, I was quite a ways upstream, a good 20 minute walk if I hustled and didn’t fish. I had fished the deep portion of a hole without any luck. Anyone who knows me knows I am quite persistent when it comes to fishing. It was getting late in the day and just about time to meet Paul back at the truck for dinner. Of course, I had to do a few more casts. I was fishing a small WD-40 size 20. I fished my way to the shallow downstream end of the pool. Not having any luck in the deep portion I didn’t really have much hope for the shallow portion. Right after mending my line so that the thingamabobber would float drag free, and subsequently the nymph, I had a solid strike. The fish immediately jumped and I knew it wasn’t a white fish. After another jump I could tell it was a good sized rainbow.

A couple of weeks previously in the deeper section of this same hole, I had hooked a good sized brown of about 18 to 20 inches who broke my line after swimming between my legs and heading downstream. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. But I also hadn’t brought a net this time either.

I played this rainbow carefully but wasn’t able to land it on the rock island in the middle of the river and the bank was too steep to land it there. I had no choice but to follow it downstream. I managed to work it into the deep part of a narrow chute of water leading to the next run so it wouldn’t get tangled in the brush hanging down into the river. This section had a bank that wasn’t so high where I hoped I could land it. I brought it next to the grass covered bank. By now the rainbow was getting tired. It was still a good foot deep here with little current so I was able to hold it still with the tight line and with one hand cupped under it, coax it up onto the grassy bank. What a big fat fatty and a gorgeous fish! It had bright pink cheeks, a pink stripe down the side dividing the back with dark green and lots of black spots from the lower half with bright silver and few spots. The fish was shaped like a football. It had a large head indicating its age. With the bright green grass as a backdrop it looked like a scene from a calendar. I put him back into the calm water next to the bank and let it rest a bit. After a moment it swam off and it was my turn to sit a minute on the grassy bank and catch my breath.

Beaverhead River

The River itself: The Beaverhead River is located in Southwest Montana along I-15. It is about a six hour drive from Salt Lake City and the directions are of course, just take I-15 North from Salt Lake until you reach the river. Dillon, Montana is the nearest small town after you reach the river and the river runs right by it. The Beaverhead is a tail-water fishery below Clark Canyon Reservoir. It is a medium sized river and you can wade across it most places. It runs about 300 cfs on average, compared with the Weber at around 100 cfs and the South Fork of the Snake at around 2,000 cfs.

Accommodations: There are some camping spots right below the dam. Dillon has quite a few hotels at reasonable prices. I stayed at The Sundowner Motel the two weeks I went last spring and was quite happy with the accommodations, price and location. Of course, I also just needed a place to sleep and shower, not worrying about entertaining a family. I already mentioned restaurants in my “Sparky’s Garage” post.

Fly Shop: Frontier Anglers is right in Dillon and near the exit to I-15 to head to the river. They have all the latest information about the river, including flow rate and flies to use. They even have their own custom flies for the Beaverhead. These flies worked great for me and even worked well for my home rivers. Frontier Anglers can also line up the shuttle for you.

Big Browns of the Beaverhead River

The brown trout were in the typical holding areas: seams, deep holes, deep undercut banks and under trees. Although I caught a few nice ones above High Bridge, most were caught during the float below High Bridge. Some were in the deepest part of deep pools. In the bends of the river there would frequently be a deep hole that would hold the trout. Other times however, they would be right were the shallow water hit deep water or in the calm water right next to the riffle water. Then at other times, they would be in the shallower riffle water similar to the rainbows. Regardless, they were of good size.

Since the water was off color in this lower section of river, I caught a lot of browns on San Juan Worms. Checking the throat contents using a stomach pump on a few of the browns I caught revealed that they were eating a lot of worms. I also found Crane Fly Larvae and small black May Fly nymphs in the samplings. All the fish seemed healthy and pretty. The browns had beautiful markings with a few bright red spots.

The Strong Fighting Rainbows of the Beaverhead River

Again, the real reason we are interested in the Beaverhead River – the fishing. The Beaverhead has the most consistent fishing for rainbow and brown trout between 18 and 20 inches long of any river or lake I have fished. The large rainbows we caught, besides the big one with the deformed lip that I wrote about in the post “The one that got away” were in the section above High Bridge. These fish were big and fought hard. I had several that I fought for quite a while and then they broke off. You can tell from the pictures that these fish look more like steelhead than resident rainbows. Several fishermen carry large nets in order to land these rainbows. Not the usual nets you see hanging off the back of a vest, but the large nets you use on a big lake with a boat. These fish will take you down river quite a ways, so be prepared to follow them downstream. You are not going to be able to bring them back by reeling them in where they were originally hooked. Better yet, it is best to have a partner who can stand down stream from you and help you net the trout. This trick worked well when I had Alex land a few for me. I wasn’t so lucky on a few others that took off downstream and I wasn’t able to keep up with them. One got me tangled around a log and another had me cross the river four times before he broke free. Fun fishing!

Another thing that was interesting was that these rainbows were not in the river seams, in pockets behind obstacles, in deep holes or in the deep sections near the bank or under trees. They were in fast water of a consistent depth just feeding out in the middle.

We caught the rainbows on pink Ray Charles, pink Bead Head Caddis Pupa, and small green mayfly nymphs and emergers sizes 16 to 20.

Sparky’s Garage

While fishing the Beaverhead River this spring, I inquired about recommended restaurants in Dillon. Tim Tollet from Frontier Anglers mentioned Sparky’s Garage (420 E. Poindexter St.) and Pappa T’s. Then I asked the ladies at the Sundowner Motel and they mentioned the same ones. Sparky’s became my favorite. Their BBQ pulled pork sandwiches were great but they also had excellent sweet potatoes fries and sauce. One evening Tori, Kevin and I ordered and extra side of yet to become world-famous sweet potatoe fries because they were so good. The restaurant, as the name implies, has the theme of a garage. Even the napkins are red oil rags. The lights are in gas cans and the entire restaurant, walls, windows, etc. has old souvenirs or memorabilia of an old age car garage. Sparky’s is right across from the University of Montana Western. Yes, Dillon, MT with a population over 3,000 has a university.

Papa T’s is located in uptown Dillon, the center of town (10 N. Montana St.). The restaurant has long tables and round tables resembling a cultural hall. It has slot machines on the side walls, a juke box with pool tables and video games in the back. Nick and I ordered their chicken fried steak and potatoes. It was very good and filling, great after a long day of fishing.

Buffalo Lodge is located across the highway from Clark Canyon Reservoir and has a wonderful view. The best thing I found to order was a bacon cheese burger, if that says anything about their menu. They did have great trophy mounts of moose, buffalo, elk and of course, trout.

Something Big

Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I hooked something big. Up until then I had caught six or seven white fish and expected this fish to be another. But it barely moved. It swam up enough that I could see a flash right when it struck but then stayed right on the bottom of the river to sulk. I would pull downstream; then upstream and it would only move enough to show it was still hooked. I had never had a fish act like this before. It wouldn’t budge. It also didn’t shake its head so I knew it wasn’t a white fish. It did move upstream a little so I knew it wasn’t just a log. Logs don’t move upstream, just downstream. Finally the line broke. My bad! I pulled too hard. I should have gone after it with the net since it was staying put in about 3 feet of water. And I should not have pulled so hard, but rather keep the line tight and wait to see if it would take off. I’m excited to get back to that same spot and try for it again.

A little later after the sun went down, I caught a medium sized brown of about 13 inches, the first trout of the day. I checked what it was eating with a stomach pump – scuds. Exactly what I had been using and what the huge fish had taken.

The Clinch Knot Dropper

Let’s say your dropper breaks off or you’ve changed flies on your dropper tippet a couple of times and the line is now too short to make one more change. What to do? You could tie on some more tippet material with another double or triple surgeons knot. This has the following downsides: 1) looping through the existing fly and slot through your loops as you tie the knot is a pain and 2) now you are left with an extra knot in your leader which could lead to tangles or weakened line.

Looping a new piece of tippet around the leader just above the knot of the previous dropper using a clinch knot solves this problem. Again, six or seven twists use saliva when tightening and leave a small tag. One advantage this method has is that as the dropper line twists around, the knot moves around with it so less line being twisted together. One disadvantage is that sometimes the knot slips up the line.

Drifting in Style or "The Perfect Oarsman"

I’m fishing the Beaverhead with Kevin and Tori. The river below High Bridge is high and off color, so we are fishing a little upstream. There are a few other fishermen drifting by also hitting the upper river. Well, this one fisherman had the perfect set up. He was fishing in the front, his dog was on the seat in the back and this gorgeous babe in a bikini top was rowing. How would it be?

Three weeks later, I’m drifting the section below High Bridge with Nick and Alex, the water has cleared up and I see the same guy drift by. I yell out to him “what happened to the girl you had rowing with the bikini top? He yells back “oh, you were here a few weeks ago?” The guy rowing yells “he kind of traded down, didn’t he?” I had to laugh. This time he had two dogs in the back. You don’t see this everyday.

The Blood Knot

I rarely use the blood knot. There is one condition in which I use this knot; when both ends of the leaders you want to tie together are tied to something else. For example, one end of the leader is hooked to the fly line and the other end already has two flies and split shot. The double surgeons knot would require you to pull the terminal end of the rig’s flies and weights through a small loop twice. Tying the blood knot avoids this hassle.

The blood knot is tied by wrapping one leader around the other 4 or 5 times and bringing the end back up through where the two originally came together. Then, wrap the other leader around the first 4 or 5 times and bring it back through where the two come together but in the opposite direction from the first. Or, just wrap the two leaders together 8 to 10 times. Pull the two lines slightly apart in the middle and run one end up through the hole and run the other end down through the hole. Add saliva and pull tight. Trim the tag ends or use one for a dropper.

The One That Got Away: The Sequel

Note: If you haven't read the previous post yet, Beaverhead River: The One That Got Away, read it first. This is part 2.

Nick and Alex drove out to Salt Lake from Cincinnati 3 weeks later. Naturally I took them back to the Beaverhead. This time the water was lower and clear. I used a stomach pump on a couple of smaller trout I caught to see what they had been eating. Guess what? Yep, still worms, along with some small black mayfly nymphs and crane fly larvae. So, in accordance with the “match the hatch” theory, I tied on a San Juan Worm again.

I pulled the drift boat over at my favorite stretch again. Near the end of the run, in the middle of the river where the water was deep just starting to get shallower, I hooked a nice fish that immediately started taking out line. I wasn’t having any luck bringing it toward me or to my side of the river so I made my way toward it and waded across the river to try and land it on the far shore. There was a pretty spring entering the river that would be a perfect spot to land a trout.

Lo and behold, it was my old friend from three weeks before, the rainbow with the deformed mouth. He sure looked pretty against the moss and water cress from the natural spring. He measured in at 19 and ¾ inches. What a prize. I was very gentle and careful to give him a good release in some calm quiet water. He slowly swam off and I said goodbye to a favorite fish.