Reflections from 100 Fly Fishers

Recently, I was featured in a book about fly fishermen (and women!) from around the country called Reflections from 100 Fly Fishers. The book contains a one page "blurb" about each of us. There are some interesting tips and tricks in there, as well as some great short stories. Best of all, the proceeds benefit Casting for Recovery and Project Healing Waters. You can get a copy on Amazon.

Reflections from 100 Fly Fishers is a beautiful collection of fly fishing memories and tips from over 100 top guides and fly fishers from across the globe. All profits support the Casting for Recovery and Project Healing Waters Missions.

Potomac Hunting

Two days on the Potomac and nothing to show. I found more carp yesterday on the Potomac, unfortunately, I only found them once I spooked them off. I didn't find any fish in the "normal" carp holes I fish, but I of course stumbled across them (literally) in places I don't normally see them. I've still yet to see the monsters I saw last summer, but my friend went out yesterday and said he saw one that looked to be approaching 40 inches.

Summer Flows

We are finally seeing some normal summer flows on the Potomac. I decided to check it out to see if I could find any monsters in last year's haunts. I saw one fish in the few hours I was out there, and it wasn't eating and I think I heard it laugh when I took a shot at it anyway. Oh well. At least I caught a few smallmouth. I wish the Potomac was easier to wade so I could cover more ground.

I did poke my head over to the C&O Canal, but didn't fish it. Water levels seem back to relative normal between Lock 7 and 8. Above lock 8 has nothing more than a trickle in it, but I never fish there anyway.

Still seeing abnormal conditions

The canal is still a bit off as of last weekend. Lock 7-8 is still high enough to be using the overflow, and Lock 6-7 is still dirty, but not as bad as last time. The water level there also seems to have dropped by 6 inches to a foot, so a lot of fish holding places were just a hair too shallow. I found a pod of about 15 carp sitting under the overflow discharge at Lock 7, and for fun, threw a fly at them. I got one to eat and landed him, but didn't bother trying for another because the landing process was a disaster. I had to high stick the fly line over a tree that was taller than me holding up the fly line, then I had to fight with the insanely tall bank. If I hadn't just recently bought a net with a retractable 48" handle, I never would have landed him. I got one more on a different section of the lock, with the net again saving me. For the most part, there weren't a ton of feeding fish today. The vast majority of fish I saw were simply relaxing under trees. Everyone once in a very great while, you'll get one of them to eat, but most of the time when you see one hanging out, it's a waste of time to throw at it.

I got a couple great pictures, but I forgot to download them off my camera and won't have access again for a few days. I'll update with those.

Makeshift Strike Indicators

When I found myself with all my strike indicators sitting at home in a situation that required one for success, I thought about how I could improvise. Thinking about the times I accidentally catch a leaf, I remembered how well it floated, but how it made casting hard. I came up with a great way of saving the day of fishing with my makeshift strike indicator. I plucked a blade of grass and tied the grass itself to my leader using an overhand knot. The grass will slide down the leader, so you'll need to have a surgeon's knot (or whatever your favorite knot it) connecting your tippet to give the grass a stopper. Tie your tippet the right length, leave the tag end of your surgeon's knot just a little longer than normal, and you've got a makeshift strike indicator! It's not the most durable, and it won't float back to the surface if you sink it, but grass is nearly unlimited in supply, it won't splash at all, and doesn't impede your casting. In a pinch, it can save the day!

A blade of grass can serve as a makeshift strike indicator in a pinch!

Ingenuity Saves the Day

With the recent rains, every stream in the area is completely blown out. I haven't found a lake/pond/reservoir in the area yet with good wading or shore access to carp spots, so I'm "stuck" fishing the C&O Canal for now. Of course, the canal was chocolate milk. We're talking 6 inches of visibility or less. I could see obvious signs of the carp - silt plumes contrasting with the muddy water - but aside from the occasional fish surfacing for a few seconds, I couldn't see one to save my life. I realized if I wanted to catch a fish, I had to throw an indicator. Of course, I open up my fly box and remember I lost my last indicator in that box last time I was out, and I didn't bring the replacements. I also realize I don't even have so much as a popper or a dry fly to drop my nymph off. Bummed out that I probably wasted a trip, I got desperate and relied on some good old fashioned ingenuity to create a makeshift strike indicator. I grabbed a blade of grass and tied it in a knot above my tippet. I test cast, and it worked. First cast to a fish, I see the twitch of the grass, and boom! I'm on. I popped that one off, though, after a couple minutes. Next fish gets to the net - a nice 6.5 lb well colored fish. The following one breaks me off on a branch. My last fish of the day was a monster. I never saw his whole body - only his tail. This guy went off on a tear and I had no way to slow him down. He zigged around a branch almost immediately and kept pulling line. He zagged again around a second branch. My fly line is completely gone, and I'm dipping deep into my backing. I can see him splashing at the surface almost 100 yards down the canal, wrapping around at least a third branch. I've never had a carp take me that far into backing before. At this point, the fish must have wrapped himself enough times that he could put enough slack to throw the hook, leaving me with the slow, sad process of reeling in 100+ yards of slack backing and line.

A day of frustration

I found myself with a few hours after work on Friday to hit the C&O canal.What a day. I have never had more shots and more fish eat or attempt to eat in such a short period of time. Unfortunately, it was almost all frustration. In the few hours I was out there, I had well over 30 fish come at my fly. I landed one. I had three fish break me off, and I pulled the fly out of the mouth of three more fish's mouths on the hook set. The rest of the fish just annoyed me. They were spooking like crazy just as they were about to eat. I even tried my normal trick of dealing with spooky fish by changing up colors, but it didn't help. Maybe it was something to do with the kids that were running through and lobbing bobbers and heavily weighted worms at every fish they saw. I also ended up with a tiny warmouth that stole my fly from the face of a carp. I've caught plenty of varieties of sunfish in the canal before, but this is the first warmouth.