Trout Spotting Tip

by Tony Bishop on June 18, 2011

I was doing some work on my site and came across this little tip in my free to read trout fishing book ‘Fishing Smarter for Trout’ in the chapter on spotting trout.

I was guiding an American client who was a very accomplished angler. We had a successful morning spotting and then fishing to spotted fish. Over the morning I noticed that every time we took a break for one reason or another, he would face away from the direction of the sun and remove his sunglasses for several minutes. In fact I also began to notice that often when we approached a possible lie he would take off his glasses for a few moments and put them back on as we began to search for a fish.

I questioned him about this and he theorised that over time our eyes adjust to take account of the different light characteristics reaching them, because of the sunglasses. He believed that by removing sunglasses regularly, the heightened ability to detect contrast when you first put on Polaroid’s was re-stimulated.

Now, I do not know if there is any scientific basis for his theory, but I tried it. It worked, and still works for me.

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This Is Fly magazine – June August issue

by Tony Bishop on June 17, 2011

In the past I have been pretty scathing about the ‘This is Fly’ magazine. In particular the design and artwork. In my view it was a classic case of form taking over from function, a classic design error and trap. The design was so bad it completely eroded any notion of good readability.

This was a real pity – much of the content was excellent – if you could extract it from the design, layout and artwork distractions and confusion. I gave up reading the magazine it was just all too hard.

But all that has now changed, the June/August edition features a complete design make-over. Readability is now great, and content is now king. As it should be. And the content is still mostly great.

Now a good read.

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Fly fishing without casting – reprise

by Tony Bishop on May 23, 2011

Way back in August 2005 I did a piece on a technique I use when fishing water that makes casting impossible. It is fly fishing without casting. Some think that this is not really fly fishing. You be the judge.

Quotation from the article:

“… You see my view is that fly-fishing is about presenting a fly to a fish that is in the right place and looks edible, the fly that is. If casting on a stretch of water is an exercise in frustration because of the encircling vegetation, and even if you can get a cast away then trying to manoeuvre the fly in front of the fish is nigh on impossible, it is time to be acutely aware of the difference between fly-casting and fly-fishing.

To me, wasting valuable fishing time swearing and cursing each time a hook-up is achieved on a tree, bush or Triffid, just to cast a fly is pointless…”

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A worm – a fly by any other name?

by Tony Bishop on May 22, 2011

A_shky-09[1]There are a number of worm imitations available for fly fishing – and they can produce fish. But for many more-traditional fly fishers, using this kind of fly, or lure, or artificial bait, your name call, will most certainly not get you into fly fishing heaven.

This worm ‘fly’  sold by the venerable Orvis company is called the Skaky Worm.

Here is Orvis’s take on using a worm imitation:

“This is not fly fishing heresy. The fact is trout eat worms and not just the ones we fish with. Worms exist in the stream and imitating a worm with artificial patterns is no different than imitating an insect. If it works, use it.”

So I guess the problem, if there is one, is just what constitutes the difference between a fly and lure. I am happy to produce from the 1000+ fishing quotes page this gem that will clear the matter up once and for all. Or not.

“The artificial, the ‘winged lure’, the ‘feathered Judas’: a fly is a fly is a fly…except when it is a lure.
The terminology is difficult, because fly, as well as referring to the artificial copy of a natural insect, also refers to an artificial copy of a small fish (a ‘lure’).
Therefore all flies are lures, some flies as ‘lures’, and all lures are not ‘flies’.
Another way of putting this is to say that all flies (artificial) are lures (i.e. represent or purport to represent small fish, or leeches, or other non-insecty creatures; and all ‘lures’ are not flies (since they represent fish etc.).”
- C B McCully – A Dictionary of fly-fishing 1992

Everybody clear now? Good. Let’s move on.

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New Zealand Fisher magazine – April issue 2011

by Tony Bishop on May 11, 2011

Yep, I know there is a blizzard of on-line magazines trying to swamp our screens, but this new, New Zealand magazine, on saltwater fishing is looking good.

Quite rightly New Zealand’s trout fishing gets a lot of press, but our saltwater fishing is world class as well.  See the April edition, and previous editions here.

nz-fisher-magazine-april-2011

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Catch Magazine Issue 17 out now

by Tony Bishop on May 2, 2011

catch17

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Pretty accurate hook size chart – if you print it

by Tony Bishop on April 21, 2011

Finding an accurate hook size chart has been difficult, many are wildly inaccurate, even from reputable manufacturers – but at last I found one.

I have just uploaded a PDF document of Tiemco fly and salt water hooks. The sizes appear to be fairly accurate, but only if you print the chart at 100%. Sizes on your screen are not accurate as they are distorted by the pixel setting your screen uses.

The hook styles and shapes do not cover all hooks, but all the basics are there, so it is an excellent overall guide.

For full run-down of hook information see this.

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Dad and Lad fly-fishing at Lake Otamangakau, New Zealand

by Tony Bishop on April 17, 2011

Eddie, the Lad, was out from the UK where he currently lives, so Dad and Lad, the ‘A Team’, of course set up for a bout of fly-fishing in the Taupo region of Central North Island, NZ.

We spent one day of our time together on Lake Otamangakau, up on the volcanic plateau above Taupo. Otamangakau’s trout are rightly renowned for the strength and endurance they exhibit between hook-up and net. That is if you can get the fish to the net. Many become un-hooked fish, departing at flank speed followed by a stream of very naughty language indeed.

The lake also has a deserved reputation for being very reluctant to share its trout with visiting anglers. Most times the fishing verges on hard, often very hard. But put in the ‘hard yards’ as they say, and the rewards are very satisfying.

We fished with Contact Guide Graham Dean, one of the most knowledgeable Guides on Lake Otamangakau’s intricacies. I have fished with Graham before and know when he describes the state  of the fishing, he does not mince words, This day the word was that the fishing was officially ‘hard’, but we left satisfied – a number of good fish always leave a bit of a warm glow.

Eddie with a typical Lake Otamangakau barrel

Eddie shows off a typical Lake O trout, well-rounded and packed with muscle. Most anglers when they first hook-up on on one of these fish will call it for being much bigger.

Eddie with a good sized Lake Otomangakau hen trout

An excellent fish, that really gave Eddie the run-a-round. All the fish we caught were on blood worm imitations twitched very slowly back to the boat,

Dad with good Lake Otomangakau trout

Dad, a.k.a Bish, in incognito mode, with a very nice trout.

For more inormation on Lake Otamangakau see this

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My Oath–it’s pointless swearing at fish

by Tony Bishop on April 5, 2011

A while ago I wrote a light-hearted article for a fishing magazine on the subject of swearing which seems to be deeply embedded in many fishermen. I thought I did  pretty good job, till I read this…

“… what all this hoop-tidoo is leading up to is the uselessness of swearing at fish. Firstly it is rude. Secondly the fish can’t hear you. A good swear is sometimes effective and even therapeutic when it is directed at a tree that has decided that it can’t live without your line; a good swear might even work (though I doubt it) when directed loud enough at a bull that has just come up to make sure you aren’t about to start chatting up one of his cows; but no amount of effing and jeffing (as my old Gran used to call it) will upset, embarrass or discombobulate the fish that has just broken you off and swum off to fight another day.

Now not only is this discourteous to our quarry, it looks and sounds daft. What is a grown man doing shouting rude words at creature with its ears full of water.

My response to such a situation is to sit down, put my head in my hands and try to remember how to breathe.  …”

- Mike Harding (The Rochdale Fluffchucker)– Fly-Fishing and Fly-Tying Magazine(UK)

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New Zealand’s own fishing mag – issue 4 out now

by Tony Bishop on April 4, 2011

flyfishersinc4

The Drop Shot Issue has a cool spread of shots of anglers dropping their fish when posing for a grip and grin. Hamish Murray gives the low down of his trip to Mexico, Rob Vaz tells us about his red head nymphs and Yoshi Nakagawa reviews two new Waterworks Vanquish reels.

Read it here.

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