Delta 5-18-08

[Tony P]

Mike,
I apologize to you for taking your post wrong & accusing you of taking offense to my post.

As has already been acknowledged, the first presentation gives the highest likelihood of drawing a strike. Repeated presentations to the same window will act on the law of diminishing returns. Looking at Mike's photo, to present 15+ times would, to my mind, be flogging a sick horse. To present 15+ times right after a sharpshooting young buck like Hairstacker has just had a shot would mean that the horse was pretty much dead

This is where I agree & disagree. Yes, your first cast (If placed well) will give you the highest likelihood of drawing a strike but I have proven to myself & many others that have fished with me over the years that repeated casts to the same target does pay off handsomely. I'm not saying that you have to do it everyday 15 times to each target, I let the fish & fishing conditions dictate how I will present my fly & if I think multiple casts to an area are warranted. When I make a cast to a promising spot where I think a fish should be I will hit it pretty hard with multiple casts trying to aggravate the fish into attacking my offering out of anger. More times than not when you do get that fish to strike after flogging the area with multiple casts the fish is usually a larger fish on the average. Try it you might be surprised what happens.

Tony P

[mikenewman]

Tony

Ok, I'll give it a go. (Maybe I'll trade in my Minn Kota for an anchor )

To be honest I am sometimes conscious that I could benefit from slowing down my approach.(At least it would give me time out to take a pee, now and again!)
You talk about the importance of boat positioning and KD about covering the area with efficiency and precision but I find this is so often easier said than done:-
As a right hander, fishing from the bow of a center consol, I have to keep the berm I'm fishing on the left side of the boat.
If there's any sort of current running, I ideally need to keep the boat facing into it.
The wind/current combination will often dictate the troll speed in order to keep a steady heading.
I try to minimize throttle variations in the interest of stealth.
I need to keep a minimum distance from the target for stealth and to have room to work the line.
Etc.etc.etc.

What I'm driving at is that I guess the real key is less to do with competence with a fly rod (which has to be a given) and more to do with mastering the mechanics of the approach.

Any tips from Delta veterans on the Zen Golden Rules of boat control gratefully accepted.

Cheers

Mike

[Hairstacker]

Tony - I certainly respect your experience-level, and I will give it a go as well.

Reminds me of when Richard on this board told us he often employs a really fast, ripping retrieve with his deerhair divers. After seeing the size of the bass he was catching, I tried it on a number of occasions and ended up having a blast, with bass falling all over themselves trying to hit the fly multiple times on a single retrieve as it ripped away from them. That retrieve is now a permanent part of the arsenal.

Mike - you make a great point. While it's true we're out there trying to hit pie-sized targets regardless of how big the retrieve window is, we are also doing it from a moving craft.

Sometimes, by the time I approach the end of a retrieve, my inflatable pool loung. . . uh, kayak has almost turned a half-circle. I really have to account for how my kayak will react to the currents on a given tidal movement and it often has a big influence on my approach. I may end up covering a slough from one end rather than the other just because it's an incoming vs. an outgoing tide, for example. This decision also has strategic implications because then I have to have a plan for where to go next.

Or, if it's windy, I may end up having to cast perpendicular to a weedline rather than parallel. I may even end up parked on weedbeds and moving incrementally for each cast just to nullify some of the effect of the wind.

I guess it didn't really occur to me that you would have similar issues in a boat with a trolling motor -- I thought you guys had it easy.

[Tony P]

mikenewman

Nothing beats time on the water to improve your boat control & fishing skills as the learning process never ends. With that said from the sounds of it you have the basics of boat control down & not seeing how your boat is set up makes it hard to give any advice on fine tuning your approach. Some things to think about if you haven't already done so is to use a stripping bucket or basket, Short accurate casts ( I either use a under hand or side arm cast), use a push pole, & try to keep your trolling motor on a constant speed instead hitting the on/off switch. Running your motor at a constant speed rather than turn it on & off will spook less fish. If your fishing with a buddy fish through the area like you would normally do but when you come to a prime target take turns keeping the boat in position while the other casts to that target.

Hairstacker

Your in a whole other situation with your Yacht & you seem to have it down by getting into the weeds so you can make your cast without worrying about drifting around in those crazy swirling currents. This can really work to your advantage by positioning yourself to make casts where the guys in boats don't usually go. One great example is to position yourself tight to the bank & fish parallel to the bank in that magic lane between the bank & the weed line.

Tony P

[mikenewman]

I thought you guys had it easy.

Mike

You have no idea: it's hell out there in a boat! Last time I went out it was so rough I spilt a Bloody Mary all over my new Gucci deck loafers! Still, at least I don't have to worry about a gust picking me up and tossing me over the levy wall into a field

Tony

Don't get me wrong: I ain't complaining! As KD says about the Delta, "it ain't lake fishing". It's the dynamics and challenges of the place that i love

Cheers

Mike

[Scott V]

In order to solve this; which way might be better, I think that everyone should take me fishing on a different day and I can then be a non-bias judge to which style has the better opportunity of catching bigger and more bass.

[Jay Murakoshi]

Keep the bass discussion going, I'm getting pumped up. I'm looking toward a couple of days shad fishing and then going after bass.

The group hooked into a lot of bass today. As they were running around the water, they were crowing "cocka, doodle dooooo
Lot's of small roosters from 4 to 8lbs. Some guys stayed on them all morning and ended up with at least 25 fish.
The West winds were blowing again this morning but not as hard as yesterday morning. It layed down around 10am.

A old group out in the morning and a new group in the afternoon. 4 more weeks to go.

Keep the bass and shad reports heading my way

Jay