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| A nice male, caught in an under-fished location |
Since I took 2019 off from guiding, rarely fished, and largely checked out of what was happening in and around the CT salmon fishing scene, I sort of forgot about how others choose to navigate this fishery. I never forgot how I did things. It came back immediately in 2020. If anything, I found myself thinking more clearly than ever. I fished relatively few flies, but picked them with greater thought. I wasted very little time. If I wanted to use a "novelty fly," I did so on my first pass, when an aggressive salmon would be most likely to take it. If that didn't work, I chose something more "sensible" for the next pass. This fall, the salmon were a little crankier than usual and this season hammered home some important lessons. I know some folks are still struggling to hook up, so I will share a few of these lessons here.
1. Efficiency is KING
Every cast has to count. Every cast has to be your best. Every cast has to fish as perfectly as possible. That doesn't mean that you must be able to cast a country mile, but the ability to do so doesn't hurt. Practice casting, but not while you're fishing. Fishing requires a different type of focus than does casting practice. One will suffer if they are done simultaneously. Practice casting in the wind. Practice casting with obstructions. Practice all of that so, when you're actually FISHING, you are making the most of your time by casting as well as possible. When every cast counts, you'll be fishing as efficiently as possible and you will make the most of your day.
2. Never stop moving
Move all day long. Don't stop. Unless you're working a fish, don't stand in the same spot for more than two casts. Cover as much water as possible. If a pool doesn't produce, get out of there. Unless you find takers, fish as many pools as possible in the course of an outing. Don't forget to try the water on the margins. You just might find your new honey hole.
3. The fly doesn't matter
The fly doesn't really matter. I like to tie, so I have a lot of flies. But I could get by with far fewer. I just need a couple flies for surface fishing, a couple for just under the surface, a couple long and/or heavy tubes, a couple flies for high/dirty water, a fly for low/clear water and a change-of-pace fly or two. Even within that list, I can think of patterns that would do double duty.
4. Choose your fly with care
I know I just said the fly doesn't matter. However, some flies are better suited to this purpose than others, and those are the flies I want to have. For example, when the water gets cold, salmon don't take as hard, don't always turn on the fly, and don't often get hooked in the corner of the jaw. For that reason, I use tube flies with a hook that rides behind the materials. People ask if our salmon eat woolly buggers. Of course they do...but I wouldn't be caught dead using a long tailed fly in 36ยบ water. When the salmon takes soft, I want to make sure he gets 100% of the hook in his mouth since I know hooksets are inherently dicey at this time of year. I have specific flies for specific sets of conditions. When they fish are acting recklessly, anything will work. For the majority of the time, I am looking for a fly that will make the most of the conditions at hand, be it water height, temperature, clarity, the amount of sun of the water, etc.
5. Choose your fly line with care
Like my fly, I choose my line according to conditions. Unless the water is low enough for me to fish a single handed rod and a floating line, I use a short two handed rod and Scandinavian shooting heads. The bulk of my salmon are caught with a floating head, but I have different densities of head at the ready. Need to fish a fly slowly through heavy chop? A fast sinking tip will get your fly down, but the floating head will still be fishing at the same speed as the surface of the water. Fully sinking heads are the best option for slowing the fly down in a situation like this.
6. Look for aggressive fish
This is relative of tip #2. Unless you find a bunch of eager salmon, keep looking for that one aggressive fish. Look for him up and down the river if you have to. Then, once you find and either land or lose him, look for the next aggressive fish. It's ok to spend a little more time on historically productive lies, but don't put all of your eggs into one basket. Keep moving until you find that fish.
7. Don't waste your time in less productive water
Sure, you might see a salmon jump across the river, in the frog water. Just leave it alone. The cruising fish are hard to pin down and hard to hook reliably. Fish the runs and let the spin fishermen take the frog water. Sure, you might not be casting over every single fish in a pool but, chances are, you'll be fishing over those you're more likely to hook and land on a fly. Plus, you can work through moving water much faster than still water, which brings us back to the ever-important tip #2. If you know some reliable frog water spots, that's a different story.
8. Wait until you feel the weight of the salmon to set the hook
This is an oft repeated piece of advice. When fishing subsurface, don't trout set or you'll risk pull the fly from its mouth. Slow down. Set the hook when you feel the fish on. Let the salmon do most of the work for you, then smoothly raise the rod. If you use tube flies, there is no need to drive a thick salmon iron into their jaws with a Jimmy Houstonesque hook set. The exception is when stripping flies....(strip) strike first, (strip) strike hard, no mercy, sir! I often strip with two hands so I can remain in contact with the fly at all times. The worst is when the fish takes at the end of the strip and you run out of line to tighten.
9. The fish moves when it's fighting. Why don't you?
This one should need no further explantation, yet it does...over and over again. The fish is constantly trying to get a better position on you. Why the hell would you stand in one place and let it? After the fish is hooked, as long as it can't be stripped right to hand, reposition yourself to make the fish work for every inch of line it takes. Boxing isn't just punching. It's mostly footwork. Don't stand still and let the fish pummel you. Keep moving and take back the upper hand.
10. Put the wood to 'em!
This is an offshoot of the previous tip. When it comes to fighting larger and/or tougher fish, they will battle to a stalemate if they can. Meanwhile, the hook is getting looser and looser until either you get lucky or the fish does. Put some pressure on that fish. Keep him off balance. Keep pulling the hook into his mouth, not away from his mouth. That's a big one, so I will repeat it. If you're pulling directly upstream on a fish that is directly downstream from you, you will be pulling the fly towards you and away from the fish. By pulling the fly into his mouth, you will be exerting maximum pressure. Then, when he runs, you ease off the pressure. As soon as he stops, put the pressure back on immediately. At some point, either you will end the fight or the fish will. And, if you mess around for too long, you might get lucky, but kill the fish. So play them smart and play them hard.
*BONUS TIPS*
-Never be afraid to experiment. Sometimes it works and becomes a part of your repertoire.
-STAY POSITIVE!! I can't overemphasize this!
-Read books. Read this blog, too. Read anything and everything, regardless of media type. Listen to podcasts. Be an information sponge. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are great, but solid fishing strategy existed long before color photography, videos, etc. Books...they aren't just for geezers and nerds. It takes actual work to write a book. Yes, you will find some that are a bit suspect, but if someone cares enough about salmon fishing to write a book about it, you can probably learn something from it. No one does it for the money.
Feel free to comment below...compliments or criticism, either is fine with me. Add some tips of your own, if you're so inclined. I still have a lot to learn.