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Over the past 100 years, fly fishing has evolved into something of a sophisticated sport. That's unfortunate, as the complexity of the sport has no doubt kept a great many would-be fly fishers from sticking with it long enough, to become comfortable, and eventually proficient. In actuality, it doesn't have to be so complicated. If an angler starts out with even a basic knowledge but continues to learn, his abilities will increase rapidly, and he can become a very good fly fisherman in fairly short order. Just remember, nothing can replace the knowledge gained from spending time on the water. Approach it systematically. First you read a little, then you fish. Then read some more, about yet another strategy or technique, then fish some more to try it out and so on. Let's get started at the basics and go on from there. First, we'll talk basic tackle. (To learn more about tackle, click on our Tackle page.) To lake fish effectively, your going to need a rod of an acceptable line weight and length. A reel in good working order, filled with sinking line (probably a type 2 or 3 sink rate) matched to your rod with sufficient backing to take on the larger than average Trout many lakes contain. A leader of 7 to 9 feet in length tapered to 2 or 3X. Plus an extra spool of 4X tippet material. A box of flies, which would contain fly patterns of streamers, leeches, and a few nymphs. For still water fishing, some good starting choices would be Wooly Buggers, Bunny and Marabou Leeches, Muddler Minnows, and perhaps a few Matuka's. Key colors here for all these would be dark including Olive, Brown and Black. All in sizes 4 to 8. As for nymphs, some good choices would include Hare's Ears, in both natural and Olive. Pheasant Tail Nymphs in natural Brown and Olive. And certainly some soft hackle patterns, such as a Grizzly and Gray, and a Partridge and Olive or Partridge and Brown in both light and dark versions. You'd want these in a bit smaller sizes. Say 12 to 16's. Add in forceps for removing hooks and small split shot for weighting leaders if necessary. Most anglers would eventually want a float tube or kick boat to get out on the water. So in addition to your float tube you'll need stocking foot waders, booties and fins. In waders, I like neoprene of about 3.5 mm. in thickness, not too hot for most summer time trout lakes but warm enough to keep away the shivers. If your prone to over-heating, go with a breathable wader instead as they're much cooler to wear. You'll need some kind of neoprene bootie to go over your wader. I've used them in both zip and Velcro closure and find both acceptable. Thicker booties last longer. Thinner ones fit inside your fins easier. Which brings us to the subject of fins. Many if not most float tube manufacturers also make or supply fins for float tubing. Any and all of them are far superior to the bare foot "scuba diver" variety when it comes to tubing. They are all made to fit nicely over tubing booties or wading shoes. They all have some sort of adjustable strap or laces to make them fit any number of different foot sizes. The higher priced brands have turned up tips to make walking in them safer. Of course a life jacket is always an excellent choice, even if not required by law.
Pontoon-style kick boats which have become popular the last few years are much easier to get into and out of, and now far outnumber float tubes on most lakes. Nearly all have seats or a chair of some sort to sit in. To become water-borne all you do is put on your fins and walk backwards until you are deep enough to be able to sit down and start to kick. It may seem confusing to newcomers, but going through the water in a tube or kick boat is always done backwards. You're fishing out the back of your tube as you go. Either casting or trolling. But because your always heading backwards, care must be taken to be observant as to where your heading so you don't run into someone, or something. Now, as to the actual fishing technique. The easiest method for beginners is to simply troll. Trolling out of a tube is effective, easy and avoids the need to cast. This comes as a great relief to many beginners, who aren't confident in their fly casting skills. Just get your leader and line tip out past the tip top of your fly rod, (something any cast will do) and feed line out as you troll backwards. I like to put out about 30 to 40 feet of line when I'm trolling. If your feeding out line, that would be 20 pulls of line off your reel if your pulling out 18 inches of line at a time. Then you just sit back and kick your fins to move yourself along. When it comes to trolling speed, slow is almost always better than fast. Their are times when fish want a fly moving quickly, but this is much less common than one trolled slow. So start out slowly and increase your speed if you fail to find success. Don't be afraid to experiment with retrieves as you troll. I'll frequently throw in a line pull here and a rod whip there, just to see what might happen. Sometimes what happens is a fierce, savage strike from a fish that's been following your fly, and now is suddenly faced with having to make a decision, about a food morsel that appears to be getting away. As you try different things, remember to make a mental note of what you did if it produces results. Also, run your fly line under your index finger on your rod hand and trap it between your finger and the rod handle. This is important if you want to hook the fish when they strike. If your line is not trapped tightly, the fish will simply pull line off your reel and you'll most likely fail to hook it. When you feel a strike, raise your rod tip to take slack out of the line and set the hook. YOU DON'T HAVE TO JERK BACK. Doing so will only break off your fish. Just take the slack out of the line and the fish will hook itself. It is helpful to releasing fish alive if you learn to land them fairly quickly. You don't have to horse them in. But if you put steady pressure on them, being careful not to exceed the breaking strength of your tippet, most fish will come quickly to the net. A still-lively fish will facilitate a quick release and get you back to fishing. As for nets, the fine quality wood varieties are not always the best choice for float tubing. Left all day in the water, every wood net will eventually start to warp. I suggest buying one with a metal frame and a soft cotton or mesh net bag. These are not always easy to find. Often, you'll find a metal framed net, but the bag will be made of stiff, knotted, nylon. Such nets can kill your fish several days after their release, due to the damage they cause to a Trout's protective skin layer. So you may have to purchase a soft cotton or mesh net bag separately and place it on the metal net frame. A little bit of hassle? Yes, but a small price to pay to protect a Trout you'll perhaps fight another day. There is so much more to successful lake fishing than what I've outlined here. But these are the basics that will get you started off right. Trolling a fly out of a float tube may seem simple but trust me, it's perhaps the most deadly of all lake techniques. And certainly the easiest way to get started. |
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