Using "I" lines and full floaters when the water temps are down.

**Charlie Bisharat** · 01-26-2009, 10:06 PM

I wanted to share some ideas formed over the last few seasons. I get a bit bummed out when water temps in my favorite striper haunts get in the 44 to 47 range.So I have been playing around with "I" lines and full floating lines in recent years as a way to fish cold water effectively.

A good "I" line like the Rio outbound short can give a fisherman a lot of options when the water is cold.You can change leader length and the weight or lack of weight in your fly to fish the whole water colum very effectively.
With a long leader and a weighted clouser for example you can slowly strip and tease fish in water to about 12 feet or so 8 feet is optimum for me as I am an impatient guy. I know that Captain Mike Costello has been doing a lot of this with incredible success over the last several years.
Shortening the leader for shallower water will allow the same effectiveness.You can fish the shallower stuff with an unweighted fly very effectively as well. When needing moderate weight in the fly I will often use a polycarbonate rattle as my weighting system.Over the years a rattle has proven very effective for me.

In very shallow water, 2 to 4 feet I often use a floating line and a longer leader so as to be able to hover the fly for as long as possible. I will alter the weight used in the fly so that it stays where I want for as long as it takes to get the fish to eat.A few things to consider,if you find fish in the shallower water they are typically there for the right reason, they want to eat.

About flies for the colder water, I really like flies that move, slide, breath etc.I feel like movement is king in cold water.When a fish has some time to study a fly before deciding to snack it down ,it needs to look alive.When fishing slowly because of the cold water this is most often the case. This year it is especially true because of the extremely clear water throughout the delta and river systems.

I am hoping that some of these ideas are helpful to some of you and please understand that these are just my opinions and experiences and I am no expert at any of it.

Cheers Chas

**Phil Synhorst** · 01-27-2009, 09:35 AM

Thanks Charlie, that's good info for me. I just started tinkering with Bass and Striper last year, hopefully I'll be able to do more this year.

**Bill Kiene semi-retired** · 01-27-2009, 08:23 PM

Actually our Delta is "tide water" which has some similarities to the lower Russian River.

The top of tide water is furthest area upstream on a river that is still effected by the ocean tides.

I believe the Pacific ocean's tide actually effects the flow of the Lower American River as it enters the Sacramento River in Sacramento, California.

Years ago the best local salmon trollers in the fall would time their fishing according to the tides at the mouth of the American River.

**Darian** · 01-28-2009, 12:16 AM

Hi Charlie,.... I'm curious about what you would consider a long leader for shallow water fishing....

**Charlie Bisharat** · 01-28-2009, 03:37 PM

Darian,

An 8 to 12 foot leader is what I would consider pretty long.Subsurface fishing I generally use a 4 to 5 ft section of straight 20 # maxima on a T- 14 set up.

You have a few things to consider when fishing this way.Here they are in order of importance as I see it.Water temps, water clarity,water depth , and fly weight.I would then adjust the leader for whatever keeps the fly in the "zone" the longest. For example. With a water temp of 42 to 45 degrees ( which would have fish fairly lethargic)and 5 ft of visability and 8 feet of depth I would do a 6 to 7 ft leader on a lightly weighted fly. The object would be to stay 4 feet down give or take and tease the fly along. Your fly would be seen readily from any fish above , below and 5 ft either way not to mention what fish might be attracted to a fly that has a loud rattle.The 10 foot section of water that you just retreived your fly through was fished thoroughly.In my mind they weren't there.

I do think some experimentation is good for a guy to do so that you start to formulate what works for your fishing style.I find it toughest to be patient and really swim the fly slowly. So it is way better for me to do this in 4 to 6 ft of water than 20 feet of water wondering if the arches on the screen are stripers first of all and second of all why the hell they won't grab my fly. That has me grinding my teeth before I know it.

Give it a go and see what you discover. Best Chas

**Trout Nut** · 01-29-2009, 12:29 AM

Nice post Charlie. Thanks for the info!

Robert Johnson, Jr.

**Darian** · 01-29-2009, 10:14 AM

Thanks Charlie,.... This is a great thread....

**mikenewman** · 01-29-2009, 11:36 AM

Hi Charlie

This sort of takes me back to my fly fishing roots in the UK - fishing teams of nymphs for reservoir trout. Same principle: generally a floating line and leader approximately twice the depth of the water you were fishing. I'd fish up to a 18' leader with a slow figure of eight hand twist retrieve and use a countdown technique until the feeding zone was located. (Yeah, I know it's easier with a tethered indicator but I hate the damn things!) Obviously you are using bigger flies for stripers so the sink rate and retrieve is faster.

My question is why do you only talk about this technique for winter and cold temps? Given the shallow water around Franks and Mildred and all the various flats, wouldn't this be a viable technique at any time? My question, as a relative newbie, is why does lead core seem to totally dominate subsurface presentation on the Delta - it doesn't on the East Coast. Is it simply down to visibility factors? I keep promising myself a series of trips where I leave the T14 at home but I haven't got the willpower!

Cheers

Mike

**Charlie Bisharat** · 01-29-2009, 10:26 PM

Mike,

T- 14 and set ups just like it are the norm for most folks who fish stripers in the delta. The basic reason for this is it is a very effective way to fish and the lines are relatively easy to cast in comparison to most floating and intermediate lines.(outside of the new Rio outbound short lines which are easy to throw in both floating and intermediate)

When water temps cool off the T-14 gets the fly to the bottom too fast with the demands of the slower retreive speeds that go along with the really cold water.T-14 is still the best option even in the dead of winter and cold water temps for really deep fish sulking in 20 plus feet of water.I just don't possess the patience for that type of fishing.

I do fish T-14 and other heavy sinking lines but I am really finding that shallow water is where it is at for me personally.Floating lines with top water flies and intermediate lines and waking or neutrally boyant flies have been my focus with warmer water and then the combinations discribed in my first post are the norm when the cold water happens .

I like the shallow water for one big reason. When you find fish there they are in the process of hunting.They are crusing a weedbed , tule line, or rip rap wall hoping to see some baitfish make a wrong move.That is when they need to see your fly.For me it is a fun exciting way to fish and it has been a very productive method for me. I have caught more and bigger fish with this mind set.Most of my better fish have been on top water flies but I have had good success because I do a lot of full blown topwater fishing.

I hope this helps . Cheers Chas