Bill Kiene semi-retired
05-28-2006, 11:53 AM
This was when I learned the most about trout stream fly fishing because I was relatively new to it and was younger with more time to fish.
Our little group learned how to fly fish the flat water on Fall River and Hat Creek from legend Bob Quigley. In those days we almost never fish under the surface concentrating on the hatches mostly. We learned how to position our selves above the fish, casting down to just above them a few feet then letting the fly slide down to them so they say it first. This was called "down streaming" them.
You needed to have a very good imitation for this type of fly fishing.
Your fly had to be very close to the right size, shape, color and attitude on or in the surface as the naturals. We fished Bob's famous cripples at the onset of a hatch, then his loop wing paraduns during the middle. When every the mayflies came back to the water after they had metamorphosed from the 'dun' to the 'spinner' stage we used Bob's quill bodied spinner patterns for them.
We use longer (8-8 1/2'), soft action #4-5 line weight fly rods in the '70s because graphite just wasn't invented yet. Fenwick, Winston, Scott, Scientific Angler and Fisher where the fiberglass fly rods of choice for "Spring Creek" fishing. Softer fly rods are harder to cast any real distance for most but they really protect the lighter tippets.
We used a floating line for this surface hatch matching and in those days the Cortland 444 Peach line was the King.
We used long 15' leader to 6 or 7x tippet with the smaller flies. Cortland's very small diameter, soft Nylorfi tippet material from France was a big deal in those days.
At the beginning of this era old Hardy, Scientific Angler and Orvis click and pawl fly reels. Some of us actually put counter balances on these old reels and bend the flat spring so the drag was actually lighter for fishing the light tippets for hot wild trout.
I have used this method on all flat moving water ever sense, even big flat pools on freestone streams.
Today I see so many people just using a steady diet of indicator nymphing which is on no way as rewarding for me as fishing to "working fish" in the surface film.
I can image some fly fishers today never fish the surface at all because going "down and dirty" is so effective.
Again, I time most all my fly fishing trips so I can fish on or very near the surface with a full floating fly line.
This is for Steelhead, Bonefish, Tarpon, Snook, Trout in streams and lakes, Black Bass, Dorado, Jacks, Barracudas, Stripers and even Sailfish.
I guess it is because I like fly casting?
Our little group learned how to fly fish the flat water on Fall River and Hat Creek from legend Bob Quigley. In those days we almost never fish under the surface concentrating on the hatches mostly. We learned how to position our selves above the fish, casting down to just above them a few feet then letting the fly slide down to them so they say it first. This was called "down streaming" them.
You needed to have a very good imitation for this type of fly fishing.
Your fly had to be very close to the right size, shape, color and attitude on or in the surface as the naturals. We fished Bob's famous cripples at the onset of a hatch, then his loop wing paraduns during the middle. When every the mayflies came back to the water after they had metamorphosed from the 'dun' to the 'spinner' stage we used Bob's quill bodied spinner patterns for them.
We use longer (8-8 1/2'), soft action #4-5 line weight fly rods in the '70s because graphite just wasn't invented yet. Fenwick, Winston, Scott, Scientific Angler and Fisher where the fiberglass fly rods of choice for "Spring Creek" fishing. Softer fly rods are harder to cast any real distance for most but they really protect the lighter tippets.
We used a floating line for this surface hatch matching and in those days the Cortland 444 Peach line was the King.
We used long 15' leader to 6 or 7x tippet with the smaller flies. Cortland's very small diameter, soft Nylorfi tippet material from France was a big deal in those days.
At the beginning of this era old Hardy, Scientific Angler and Orvis click and pawl fly reels. Some of us actually put counter balances on these old reels and bend the flat spring so the drag was actually lighter for fishing the light tippets for hot wild trout.
I have used this method on all flat moving water ever sense, even big flat pools on freestone streams.
Today I see so many people just using a steady diet of indicator nymphing which is on no way as rewarding for me as fishing to "working fish" in the surface film.
I can image some fly fishers today never fish the surface at all because going "down and dirty" is so effective.
Again, I time most all my fly fishing trips so I can fish on or very near the surface with a full floating fly line.
This is for Steelhead, Bonefish, Tarpon, Snook, Trout in streams and lakes, Black Bass, Dorado, Jacks, Barracudas, Stripers and even Sailfish.
I guess it is because I like fly casting?