Fly Blog

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com A significant influence in casting distance for fly fishermen is wind resistance.  Since casting a fly line is like unfurling a rolled up carpet, the resistance presented by air is primarily on the front edge of the curl or what fly fishermen call the loop.  The fatter the loop the more surface area that has to cut through the air.

The amount of resistance presented by the fly line is represented in the equation 1/2CpAv^2 where C is the drag coefficient, A is the frontal area, p is the density of air and v is the velocity of the fly line. Let’s look at each component separately.

The velocity of the line is a major factor and the faster you cast the more resistance.  Even worse the drag increases as the square of the velocity.  On the other hand the velocity is what gives you distance.  The only way to counteract this is to cast a heavier line at a slower speed.  The heavier line will have more forward momentum than the lighter line giving it more reserve for fighting the air drag and the slower speed will reduce the air drag.  This is why heavier fly lines cast further than lighter ones.

The drag cofficient for a fly line is in the range of 1 to about 1.3 at sea level.  At higher elevations the drag coefficient goes down.  The drag coefficient is dependent on how slick the surface of your fly line is.  Therefore, the first thing to do is keep you fly line clean and free of debris or other particles.  They will increase the drag significantly.  Second thing is to find out from the fly line manufacturer what the drag coefficient of their particular line is.  Some manufacturers promote their lines as having low drag.  Selecting the best fly line can have an impact on this and it can make a difference, especially in lighter lines.

The frontal area of the line can be reduced by picking a fly line that has a thinner diameter than a competing fly line.  Find out from the manufacturer what the diameter of the line is before you buy it and get one with a narrow diameter (but watch out that you maintain fly line bouyancy when making this comparison).  The biggest thing to watch out for with surface area is fly casting technique.

Fishing with a tight loop significantly reduces the surface area of the cast compared to an open loop.  There are many books on casting tight loops so I am not going to go into it in detail.  The main things are to keep the tip of your rod traveling in a straight line and not in an arc.  It is the arc that puts the open loop into the line.  To cast a straight line, keep your wrist stationary and cast using primarily your forearm.  Keep your hand high up around ear level.  If you try to cast with your hand lower it becomes near impossible to maintain the straight line and you are more likely to put a hook through your eye than if you keep the rod tip higher.

In summary, get a heavier line if you want to cast further, get a narrow diameter line that has a superior (lower) drag coefficient, and cast in a straight line with a tight loop.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Fly lines taper from a thicker section (called the belly) to a thinner section.  The thicker section of the line is usually made of braided mono filament nylon.  The braids are surrounded by hollow spheres that help the line float or by solid dense spheres that help the line sink, depending on whether the line is a sinking line or a floating line.  The line tapers to a smaller (typically) mono filament section on either end.  The reason it tapers is primarily two: 1) the line needs to be connected to a smaller diameter leader and 2) the line needs to turn over properly during a cast.  It is this second reason that is the primary reason for the taper and THE reason for the design of the taper (length, rate of taper, etc).

When a fly line is cast over the water, the fly line basically unfurls in front of you.  The line is shooting forward but at the same time it is stopping. Think of a point on the fly line that is 10 ft from the tip of your rod.  As you stop your rod during the forward cast, the line starts to travel beyond the tip of your rod, unfurling as it goes.  That point 10 feet out on the line will whiz past you until it reaches 10 feet out at which point it will come to an abrupt stop.  The energy in the line at that point can either go into bending your rod forward or it can be moved up the line to help the next length of line unfurl.  Both things will happen but you want to maximize the energy transferred back into the line.

If the line didn’t taper but instead went directly from fat to thin almost all the energy would go back into the rod.  A good taper will move most of the energy out into the end of the line and into the leader.  This will give you good turnover (turnover is what fly fishermen call the unfurling of the line), longer distance, and a fully straightened line (rather than a coil of leader!).

The taper on the end of the fly line toward the reel end is less important as you will not normally have enough line out to expose this end during a cast.  This is definitely true when casting a level line (LL) or double taper (DT) line as these lines usually have an 80 or 90 f00t long belly.  It is usually the case on weight forward line where the belly is 40 or 45 feet long.  If you false cast with the running line on a weight forward line exposed you may get some help from the rear taper but the reality is that the running line is not really designed to turn over during a cast.  You are better off to hone your casting skills to shoot more line through the guides during the cast than have that much line in the air during a back cast.

Despite the name ‘weight forward’, a weight forward (WF) line does not move the weight forward on the line.  Line density is the same as a double taper line.  The only difference between the two is the length of the belly.  As mention previously a WF line is perhaps 40 or 45 ft long followed by another 40 or so feet of thin ‘running line’ compared to a DT line that may be 90 feet long with no running line. The reality is that both of these lines (as long as you are not exposing the running line during the cast) will cast identically.  Where they will differ is in shooting the line.

Because the DT has a longer belly it is going to weigh more and have more friction, against the rod guides, than running line while shooting.  The result is that your cast will be shorter with the DT line.  Which may lead you to wonder why use DT line at all?

The biggest reason for DT line is that it can save you money.  Once your line is warn and nicked with rock abrasions, you can flip the DT line over and use the other end of the line.  Since the bulk of your casts are probably less than 50 ft, the back half of the line is probably in pretty good shape and you can just about double the life of your fly line.  The choice is yours and may be dependent on the size of the rivers you are fishing and your skills at casting.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com The fly line performs the same function that a weighted lure in spin casting performs. It provides the weight needed to pull running line through the guides and get the fly to the fish. The structure of the line has a lot to do with how a rod casts.

Characteristics of a fly line include its weight, length, diameter, and taper. All of these things impact both how you cast and how far you can cast a fly.

The line weight needs to be matched to the rod flex. Rods are elastic, bending like a spring, up to a certain point (let’s call it Ymax) after which they become inelastic. At this point the rod has absorbed Emax amount of energy, which is then released back into the line during the forward cast. In an ideal casting situation the rod becomes fully loaded with Emax amount of energy without being stressed beyond Ymax.

The energy the rod can absorb is defined by the equation Emax=1/2K(Ymax)^2 where K is the spring constant for the rod. The heavier the rod, the higher the spring constant. From Fly Casting Fundamentals -The Fly Rod blog, we know that the amount of energy stored in the fly line is 1/2mv^2 where m is the mass of the fly line and v is the velocity of the line at its maximum velocity in the backcast.  When the rod is bent to Ymax, the two energies are equal: 1/2K(Ymax)^2=1/2mv^2. By convention in the industry, m refers to the weight of the first 30 feet of fly line in the air. If we rearrange this equation we see that m=K(Ymax/v)^2.  K and Ymax can be directly measured on a specific rod.  But manufacturers are obliged to use their judgement as to what they feel is the appropriate velocity of the line!

Line velocity is dependent primarily on the skill of the caster. A sophisticated caster with a really good double haul is going to cast with a higher velocity than a less skilled caster. So, a rod weight specification is going to be determined by what skill level of caster the manufacturer is designing for.

For example, based on the above equation, a 5% drop in casting velocity increases the ideal line weight of a fly rod by 10% or about 2/3’s of a fly rod weight unit.  It is entirely possible that you go into a fly shop, test a nice Sage Z-axis 5wt rod with a 5wt line and decide you don’t like it and had you tested it with a 6wt line you might have found it ideal.

So, what you must know is that the rod weight specification is the rod manufacturer’s opinion about the rod and their assumption about the level of skill of the caster that will be using the rod.  The line weight that matches the rod for you may be different from the specification.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com This blog is a follow on blog in a series on fly casting technique and fundamentals. The last blog posted on this is on what makes fly casting what it is .  You can view it at http://www.flycatcherinc.com/flyblog/?p=81 The fly rod is basically a leaf spring with a single leaf (think car suspension or horse buggy). The idea is to load the spring (stretch it) and then let the spring unload, pulling the fly line with it. The fly fisherman’s job is to effectively load the spring, aim it, and let the spring unload shooting the line (There is more to it but this is fundamentally the goal). The heavier the weight of the rod (weight is a numerical numbering system for rods), the stronger the spring and the more energy it will hold when stretched.

When you back cast a fly line, you are accelerating the line behind you putting (kinetic) energy into the line. As the fly rod bends backward the fly line decelerates transferring its energy into bending the rod. The maximum amount of energy you can transfer is equal to or less than the amount of kinetic energy you put into the fly line by throwing it behind you. The total amount of energy you can get into the fly line is equal to 1/2 times the mass of the fly line times its velocity squared (1/2mv^2). The bigger the mass (of the fly line and fly) and the faster you throw it the more energy goes into it. Therefore, you can put more energy into the rod by using a heavier line or throwing it faster.

Forget about the idea of using a heavier line to get more energy because the speed of the forward cast is going to be in direct proportion to the mass you are throwing. In other words, you will put more energy in the line but you will need the same additional amount of energy in the forward throw to get the line moving. It is a zero sum game.

Where you will get additional energy that will move the line further is a) using the energy in the line most efficiently and b) increasing the fly line velocity.

There are several aspects to moving the line faster:

• You need to accelerate smoothly through the cast. If you move faster at the beginning of the cast and slow a bit part way through, the line is going to slow down in the back half of the cast. Start slower, accelerate rapidly and come to a sharp stop at the end of the cast.

• Use a longer fishing rod! You are moving the rod through an arc. The length of the arc grows as the length of the fly rod grows. If you completed a forward cast in two seconds with a 6ft rod and completed a forward cast in two seconds with a 10 ft rod, the 10 ft rod’s fly line will be moving more than two and one half times faster! This is one reason people use spey rods that are 13 to 15 feet long on big water.

• Do a single or double haul. A double haul is where you pull on the fly line during the forward and backward cast to increase its velocity. This will augment the power the rod flex is contributing to the line. (Note: the back haul is only going to help your casting distance if the rod would not be fully loaded without doing it. Otherwise it is a waste.)

• Use a fast taper rod. The taper of the rod is how much of the rod flexes when it is bent. A rod that is a fast taper might load fully in 3 feet of bend where a slow rod might load in 4 feet of bend. It may be possible to maximize the spring of the rod and accelerate beyond that point with a fast taper rod, while it might take the entire casting arc to fully load the slower taper rod.

There is but one way to move the line more efficiently:

• Start your forward cast right when the fly line straightens out behind you. This comes with practice and is more difficult to do with a fast taper rod than a slow taper rod. There is no short cut on this. Only practice will make you better. Just like a golfer practices his or her putts, you have to practice casting.

• If you start your forward cast before the line has straightened here are the conditions. The rod has not fully flexed and the ’spring’ has not fully extended so it has less energy built into it to help with the forward motion. Second, the line that is still moving backward and away (the tail) from you still has energy. You start your forward cast but the energy in the line moving backward is subtracted from the energy you are putting into the forward cast. Additionally, you are only pulling part of the line forward and that line has less mass than the full line so the energy build up (1/2mv^2) is less. The tail snaps backward (likely snapping off your fly), followed by a forward snap that moves the tail of the line even faster than the rest of the line and you wind up with a coiled bundle of tippet and leader settling on the river.

• If you start your forward cast after the fly line has straightened out, the flexed rod will start to spring back. The energy you had built up will be lost unless you can move the rod forward fast enough to put the spring back in the rod. The faster the rod, the quicker this is going to happen, making casting timing on a fast rod more critical than a slower rod. If you can’t accelerate the rod forward fast enough to catch up with the sprung spring and reload it, the fly line will shoot past you in an uncontrolled manner and end up in a pile around your feet.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com

For some time I’ve wanted to delve into the uniqueness of fly casting and help break down some myths and confusion about the entire system of delivering a fly to a fish (rod, reel, fly line, leader, tippet, and fisherman). I am going to dedicate a number of daily blogs to this topic over the next while so as to build a thorough explanation of what is going on when you go about fly casting. So here is installment number 1:

The fundamental objective of casting using a fly rod, reel and fly is to present a meal to a trout (or other fish) in a way that the meal imitates nature in both look and action. Furthermore, the meal has to be delivered to the fish in such a way as to not scare the fish with other things going on (like lines slapping the water).

To make all this work, the fly (the meal) has to be lightweight (usually) and on a very thin piece of transparent fishing line (the tippet) that can settle gently to the water surface. The fly is not of sufficient weight to conquer wind resistance and drag 40′ of fishing line with it. In spin casting, there is no such problem. The lure is weighted and attached to a thin, lightweight mono filament fishing line. The rod is swung and the energy transfer to the weighted lure that then pulls out the lightweight fishing line.

The solution in fly fishing is to put weight into the fly line itself so that it is of sufficient weight to overcome wind resistance and drag the fly and fishing line with it to get the distance you need. One might ask, “why not just put a weight on the end of some fishing line and drop a 15′ leader off the end of that and sling it like you were spin casting?”. The answer is that (beyond the fact that the weight is going to make a big splash and potentially scare fish) the fly needs to drop as far away from the weight as possible (15′ in the case of this 15′ leader). If the described setup were used the weight would go sailing and hit the water, the leader with the fly on it would get dragged behind the weight, and the whole mess would end up in a coiled pile around the weight. Not a pretty situation.

The solution is to control the distribution of energy along the fishing line so that is works for you to place the fly as gently on the water as possible and as far away from the fly line as it can get.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Pocket water is a run of water that is marked by fast water, boulders and rocks. The rocks are sufficient that the water currents are highly varied with rock created seams overlapping from rock to rock.

At first, pocket water may appear to be a terrible place for a trout to lie. Indeed trout living in pocket water are bound to be insect eaters as their minnow eating brethren will find it too difficult to navigate the rapid waters search for fish and crustaceans.

To find the trout, look for bubble lines that indicate a ‘food conveyor belt’. Fish the inside (slow side) seam. Trout can hold in the slower water picking off food that is channeled trough along the seam.

Eliminate standing waves and white water. The water is moving too fast, turbulence is too great, and trout would have difficulty spotting food or predators. Look for slicks among the fast water. Pass over slicks that indicate swirling currents that change direction constantly. The water conditions are too unpredictable for trout to hold. Find the slicks with good unidirectional flow. Fish the head and the tail of the slick along with the seams on either side.

Fishing pocket water can be challenging because the complex nature of the currents and the plethora of obstacles in the way. Part of the fun of fishing these areas is the difficulty in assessing approach. Often times a long rod is the way to go. It will let you, at times, high stick the situation perhaps at times even allowing you to drop your fly in without having your fly line touch the water.

Lot’s of fly fishermen overlook pocket water and see it as just another obstacle to cross to get to the next pool. Next time your out fishing take the time to step back and survey a stretch of pocket water. Analyze it thoroughly and plan out a series of attacks. You’ll enjoy the challenge. I do.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Recently I wrote about the different kinds of water you are likely to run into fly fishing out on the river (see http://www.flycatcherinc.com/flyblog/?p=77). One type of water is flats. These are ’slower moving water, gradual change in elevation…like through a meadow’. Because flats are flat, they tend to suffer from a lack of rocks for shelter from predation and from the food supply created by riffles (see http://www.flycatcherinc.com/flyblog/?p=78).

Rule number 1: look to the riffles. You can bet that any riffles that do exist will be drawing trout. The difference about riffles on flats versus riffle runs on faster water is that the trout will position themselves downstream in the slower water just below the riffles. Here they take advantage of nymphs being swept down the current without having to fight the faster riffle water.

Rule number 2: In a paucity of rocks look to the banks for fish holding water. Look especially to bends in the river. Look for undercuts on the outside edge of the bend. In a fast run it is usually the inside of the curve in the seam where you will most likely find trout. In the flats the situation is different. The outside edge of the bend is more likely to have been eroded by storm creating undercuts. In a fast current such an undercut might be unlikely to hold a trout because of the velocity of the current. In the slower meandering flat water, the undercut looks like good protection, the current is slow enough to provide holding water, and the flow of insects is likely to be ideal in such a spot.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com To most fly fishermen a riffle is just a good place to cross a river but to the experienced fishermen it is much more. Most riffles are too shallow and too fast to be good trout holding water. Riffles are the places where insects live. Shallow enough for the sun to reach the bottom, algae has a chance to form and become food for nymphs. Riffles are holding water for the fingerlings to live without much worry of predation from their parents. But riffles can be much more to the experienced eye of a fly fisherman.

Riffles are water where the turbulence caused by the rocky bed reaches the surface creating the ‘riffle’. But riffle water can also hold depressions of deeper water that can form good holding water for trout. Look at the riffle water and find slicks where the water is glassy or less disturbed than the surrounding water. Look for areas where the water color changes to a distinctly darker color from the surrounding water. This too indicates deeper water. These pockets of depression form good potential spots for trout.

If the shoreline is open and exposed look for pockets closer to the middle of the run as the trout is more likely to feel secure from land based predators. If the shoreline has heavy growth and forestation look for pockets near the bank as there are likely to be logs and brush that can form a protective spot to which the trout can run.

The nice thing about fishing out pockets in riffle water is that the riffles form great protection for hiding you from the fish so the approach is easier. The disturbed water forms good cover to hide your casting mistakes and presentation faux paux. The riffle water forms a nice uniform flow making it easier to control your line and hit your target without drag on the fly. And because the current is fast the trout has less time to inspect your fly before tasting it.

You won’t always find a trout hiding in a pocket but when you do you have a good chance for a hook up.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com  I met Phil through a friend at a local Starbucks.  Nice chap, he was and better yet Phil turned out to be a fly fisherman.  So, it wasn’t long before Phil and I hit the water together heading for the north fork of the Skykomish searching for winter Steelhead.  I knew the river well but Phil had never been steelheading and so it was I suggested to Phil some excellent holding water just below a riffle run along the left bank.   Looking a little hesistant, Phil headed out and so did I.   Looking back as I walked down to one of my favorite spots I turned and found Phil off the mark by a good 100 ft.  Turns out Phil wasn’t sure what a riffle was or where it stopped.  And I suspect he is not alone.  So, I am going to take some time to talk about different kinds of water, what they are, and how fish use them.  Today all I want to do is build the vocabulary of reading a river.  So, here goes a primer on river reading:

Run – an area of the river where it changes elevation rapidly

Pool - an area between runs where the water pools in a basin or flat area and has a distinct entrance (the head), a middle (the holding area), and an exit (the tail) .

There are a three main types of runs on a river:

Riffle – fast moving water, rapid change in elevation, relatively shallow, carpeted with fine stone or gravel

Chute - fast moving water, rapid change in elevation, narrow channel, deep water

Flat – slower moving water, gradual change in elevation…like through a meadow

A riffle or chute run that is marked by a large number of large rocks and  boulders ( from the size of a turtle up  to Cadillac Eldorado) has the additional distinction of being called pocket water. Pocket water is characterized by a wide variation in water speed caused by intersecting flow patterns of nearby boulders.

Usually in pocket water you will see a variety of structures.  A standing wave  is a distinct rise and fall in water level (a wave) that holds its position over time and is caused by a sub-surface boulder.  White water is water that is so turbulent it is churning air through it causing it to go white.   A slick is a area of glassy water in the middle of a run that is caused by a depression in the bottom of the river below the slick.  X  A bubble line is  literally a line of bubbles caused by the varying flow velocities concentrating surface objects (bugs, sticks, debris, and bubbles)  into a narrow stream.

Runs also have other distinct characteristics.  A seam is where slower moving water caused by a shallower bottom meets up with the main channel of the river that is moving faster.  A whirlpool current is where a bend in the river actually causes the water to form a circular flow like a whirlpool.  The water in the whirlpool flow back upstream.  A tributary is where on river enters and joins a second river.  Often a pool is formed at the intersection and is commonly referred to as a junction pool.

In my next series of blogs I want to talk about these different kinds of water and what they mean to finding fish in a river.  Now that the terminology is set it will be easy to move on.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com One of my customers emailed me yesterday asking how to apply a manufacturer’s decal onto the rod blank to make it look good. He had put a coat of Flex Coat on the rod before applying the decal and he was telling me how bad it looked. He wanted to know if there was a better way to do it. I figured there may be others of you out there that might have the same question, so here was my answer.

Put the decal on the rod before you apply wrap finish. Try not to handle the sticky side with you fingers (or at least try to minimize that) as the oils from your fingers can wind up showing through. I like to use a metal. Once the decal sticks to the rod it is difficult to reposition it without creasing it and creating a milky spot. I find that its good to have way to align the label straight so repositioning is not needed. Put some masking tape down the rod to act as a guide to align the long edge of the label. That way it will be on straight the first time. Start with the middle of the label and press outward so you don’t have any bubbles or folds that will show through the epoxy. Press it down well, smoothing as you go. This will get any residual bubbles out from under the decal. The decal should pretty much go clear without leaving marks. Cover it with wrap finish. It will definitely take two coats and quite possibly a third coat to keep the decal edges from showing.

This approach has worked very well on all the major brand blanks I use and sell: Loomis, St Croix, etc… The only exception is Batson whose decals are of a bit lower quality and tend to show no matter what. If you are not wedded to it, I would pass up putting the decal on when doing a Batson rod.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Getting out into the back country to virgin water on streams lined with willows is a fisherman’s dream come true. But most people are not aware of the factors involvement in choosing a rod for a situation like this.

For our purposes here, we’ll call a small stream any moving body of water with the following characteristics: you can cast across easily you can wade it usually in hip boots its much to small for boats most of its structure is exposed to view

Rod weight selection will depend on the size fish you are gunning for. Some small streams harbor significantly large fish, but in general you are going to be going after 6 to 10 inchers on these types of streams. The ultimate choice of the rod weight has a lot to do with the size fish you’ll be after.

A very light weight, say 2 weight rod, is going to give you the feel of the fight with these smaller fish. With the lighter line size and weight it will let you do a more delicate presentation to the fish. But if you do hook a large trout your rod is going to be underpowered and you run the risk of tiring the trout to the point of exhaustion by the time you land it. You will very likely kill it. You may also wind up breaking your rod tip on such a fight. Not a good situation. Hook set is another problem with a 2wt rod. The rod is going to do little to help you set the hook. If you do go this light make sure that your hooks are barbless and are properly sharpened.

Another issue is the rod’s ability to cast. For the most part casting is not a substantial issue since most fishing will be flipping, dropping, or roll casting. Wind may very well play a part in casting however and a 4 weight is going hold up better into the wind than a 2 weight allowing you to get to the fish.

As you can see varying conditions are going to alter what forms the ideal rod weight. The choice is yours but a 3 or 4 weight might provide the best all-around rod.

There are advocates for short 6 to 7 ft rods and there are advocates for longer 9ft rods. It will really depend upon the stream structure. Streams with lots of structure, undercuts, and impediments are going to favor the shorter rods. Streams that are open, have pocket water, and varying flows are going to favor longer rods. With the longer rod it will possible to high stick the water avoiding mending problems that may not be surmountable any other way.

With rod action there are again advocates on both sides of this one. Slow or medium action rods are going to give you a bit more dynamic range: that is the ability to do delicate presentations at a short as well as a longer distance. Faster rods are going to be a bit harder to accurately cast on shorter casts. Of course, the faster action rods are going to give you a leg up on the hook set, especially if you go with a very light weight rod.

Bottom line is that like in all fly fishing varying conditions are going to dictate different ideal rods. The more rods you have the better able you are to adapt. On the other hand you can get a utility rod that will work in a wide variety of conditions. My take if you are in the latter category is to get an 8 or 8′6″ 3 or 4 weight rod with a medium to medium fast action. But, then again, that’s just me.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com

Reel seats are interesting devices. They range in price from perhaps $10 to $60 or even more. One might question why it would make sense to put that much money into a reel seat if an inexpensive one would do the job. Let’s take a look.

The reel seat is the device that holds the reel on to the rod. Selection of a reel seat has more to do with aesthetics than anything else, with a couple of exceptions. A decent reel seat will hold the reel in place as well as a top of the line reel seat.

Reel seats come with aluminum, titanium, graphite or wood arbors (the shaft section of the reel seat). Wood arbor reel seats are mainly used in freshwater fishing as the wood (unless varnished and cared for) does not stand up well to saltwater. Aluminum reel seats need to be anodized to avoid pitting and corrosion. Titanium reel seats have the lightness of aluminum with added hardness and resistance to scratches and dings.

Wood arbor reel seats use metal hardware (called a skeleton) to secure the reel in place. Less expensive reel seats use anodized aluminum skeletons. The best reel seats use jeweler’s grade nickel silver skeletons.

Reel seats come in uplocking and downlocking models. The difference is that uplocking reel seats lock the reel in tight against the grip while downlocking reel seats lock the reel tight against the butt. The significance of this is that the weight of the reel is shifted about an inch toward or away from the center of the rod, shifting the center of balance. The objective is to locate the center of balance of the rod directly underneath the hand when on the grip. This provides the least amount of fatigue. Most uplocking reel seats are recessed into the grip moving them even further up the rod.

A lighter reel is most likely best served with a downlocking reel seat, while a heaver reel is most likely best served by a uplocking reel seat. In fact, cigar grips are typically to narrow to accept the recess required by most uplocking reel seats.

Reels are held in place by a pair of ‘hoods’ that slide over the reel feet. One hood is fixed, while the other hood travels (uplocking/downlocking). The traveling hood is held over the reel foot with a knurled, threaded ring that screws the hood up tight. Better reel seats have machined threads that have a fine pitch (number of threads per inch) while less expensive reel seats are stamped and have a coarser pitch.

The threaded ring is kept from unscrewing by its friction against the traveling hood. Better reel seats keep the ring from working loose by having a secondary ring behind the first ring that can be tightened up against the first ring acting like a lock nut. Some have a rubber O-ring between the two rings that adds additional friction keeping the assembly from slipping altogether. The best reel seats do not require a second locking ring because they use a very fine thread pitch to keep the ring from working loose.

Finally, reel seats come with either a blunt butt and end-cap or with a fighting butt. A fighting butt is an additional appendage on the bottom of the reel seat that provides a cork (typically) knobbed foot that assists the angler in fighting the fish. Fighting butts are found only on heavier weight rods and make a lot of sense for rods 8 weight and above.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Fly fishing line variations include color, length, weight, shape, and density.

Coding standards for fly lines were developed by the American Fishing and Tackle Manufacturers Association (AFTMA) in 1961. These standards deal with line weight, shape and density.

Line weight refers to the weight of the first 30 feet of the fly line. The weight designations are non-linear and relate to a measured weight system as follows:

Note that even the heaviest line is lighter than a two sheets of newspaper! Note also that the difference between any two fly line weights is less than 1/10th of an ounce.

AFTMA also specifies line shape. Shapes include level (L), double taper (DT), weight forward (WF) and single taper (ST) which is also called shooting taper or shooting head.

Finally AFTMA specifies line density codes. Floating lines are designated (F), sinking lines (S), and partially sinking lines are intermediate (I). Some intermediate lines are designed with removable tips that have varying sink rates.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com I recently reported on the best way to connect a fly line to a leader and what kind of knots to use on both the fly line and on the leader. Today I want to explain how to tie this knot. Many leaders come already knotted these days but not always. And what do you do if you break a loop and need to reconfigure it? As I reported before, one of the best knots to use to tie a loop in the butt end of a leader is a Perfection Loop.

This knot is easy to tie once you get the hang of it.

First thing you do is form a loop in the line with the tag end wrapped behind the standing line from left to right:

Form a second loop with the tag end passing the line in front of the first loop moving from right to left and then behind the first loop in passing it from left to right:

Pass the tag end between the two loops from right to left:

Pull the second formed loop up through the first loop:

Tighten up the loop by pulling on the tag end. Trim the tag off.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Ever hang up a knot on your fly line guides? Wish that wouldn’t happen? Here is a simple way to overcome the problem.

A simple way to keep your knots from hanging up on rod guides is to seal them with a coating that is water resistant, lightweight, and flexible. One of the best, tried and true solutions is PLIOBOND. Maybe the only drawback of Pliobond is that because it’s base is rubber, it is tan in color and so is not necessarily good for leader to tippet connections (but why do those anyway?).  PLIOBOND has been around for over 30 years and is still the preferred method of smoothing out knots.

Why PLIOBOND?

Your knot will break before the glue fails

It forms a flexible bond that remains flexible and won’t crack

It is effective over a wide temperature range

It is resistant to water absorption

It is fungus resistant

The base of PLIOBOND is synthetic rubber

The solvent used in PLIOBOND is methyl ethyl ketone…

Methyl ethyl ketone breaks down in the atmosphere in a day or less and does not bio-accumulate

PLIOBOND is produced by Ashland Chemical and is packaged and marketed by the W.J. Ruscoe Company, Akron, Ohio.  Some people have reported that it is difficult to find in stores.  If you find that to be true I have decided to stock it on my web site for your convenience.  Go to:

www.flycatcherinc.com/level1/fly_fishing_accessories/pliobond.php

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Fresh water rainbow trout (not to be confused with the anadromous steelhead which is the identical fish that differs only in that it migrates from saltwater to fresh to spawn) are the most widely reared fish in the world having been introduced in over 50 countries over the past century. Rainbow trout are member of the same genus as Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus with the specific name of mykiss.

Rainbows originated in landlocked and migratory forms from northern Mexico to Alaska on the east side of the Pacific and from northern Kamchatka to the Russian/Chinese frontier on the western side. From there they were acclimatized to central and eastern United States, followed by Europe and then all five continents. They acclimatized particularly well in New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Argentina, as many a fly fisher will attest to.

Rainbow trout are more adaptable than Brown trout which is one reason for the excellent acclimatization. Rainbows continue to feed in water temperatures of up to 73 degrees F and can survive upwards of 77 F. They also differ in that they continue to feed on insects even when large and feed during the day.

Rainbows are distinctive in that they have dark spots on their heads, backs, bellies and across their dorsal and caudal fins and a pink streak from the gill cover to the caudal fin. Rainbow’s typically vary from blue or green through yellow-green to brown. They grow to between 12 and 36 inches. The largest rainbow caught was over 43 lbs and 47″ long.

Rainbows are reported to have extremely good sense of hearing and smell. They are also near sighted and have a range reported to be about 20 ft. With their eye positioning they are capable of seeing in cone shape the covers almost 360 degrees with a blind spot only directly behind them.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com A streamer is a type of wet fly that can be used to mimic injured baitfish, such as minnows or menhaden. Streamers are not always imitations of real baitfish; in many situations they are attractors. Examples of attractors are wooley bugger, marabou muddler, and mickey finn.

Bait fish imitations fall into bottom hugging varieties and those that live in the column. Bottom huggers include sculpins and darters. Column fish include chubs, shiners, dace, and other minnows. Most bottom huggers tend to match the color of the bottom of the river. Most column baitfish have pale bellies, top uppers, and some reflective characteristics to their sides. Examples of imitators are black ghost, matukas, and zonkers.

===Presentation===
As with any fly fishing, you can doing targeted fishing or blind fishing with a streamer.

To blind fish a streamer you’ll want to work methodically and efficiently. To present a streamer, cast it across and downstream. Mend the line upstream picking up about half the line that is out. Your fly will sink in the current while moving downstream. Depending on the speed of the current, your angle of attack, and your casting distance you may have to mend more than once to keep your fly deep.

Once the slack in the line is taken up your fly will begin to accelerate across the current and move toward the surface. Follow the fly with your rod tip low and close to the water. At the point the fly starts to swing is the strike zone, when a fish is likely to take your fly.

If a strike doesn’t occur let the fly settle directly downstream on a tight line. The current will keep the fly active. Let it sit for minute and then strip a foot or two. Wait a few seconds and let the line slide back out. Tip your rod to one side and strip again pulling the fly to one side using the same technique. Do the same thing tipping the rod the other direction.

Work the water two or three times. Move downstream a few feet and repeat the process with a fresh piece of water.

It is also possible to combined downstream fishing with upstream fishing. Weight your streamer with split shot at the hook eye. Cast upstream and strip line to maintain a tight line as the fly comes downstream. Once it comes level with you, you can either reel in and cast again or you can flip your rod, mend upstream and let the fly follow through for a classic downstream swing.

Of course if you have good holding water you’ll want to target specific likely spots. To target fish with a streamer, shoot the streamer to a point one to two feet in front of the target zone. The distance in front of the zone you want to select will depend on the depth you want to achieve. Give the streamer time to sink to depth, a second or two. Start stripping. The goal is to tease the fish and make him react quickly without time to observe and think.

by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com One of the best ways to tie a fly line to leader is to use a loop to loop connection. Indeed, many fly fishing leaders come preformed with a loop connection on the butt. A loop to loop connection lets you change out leaders quickly to change weight, length or switch from floating to sinking leaders on the river.

To make a loop to loop connection double over the fly fishing line into a loop and secure it with two six turn nail knots next to each other. On 6 weight or lighter fly line use 8 lb test monofilament. on 7 to 9 weight fly line use 10 lb test mono filament for the nail knot (to see how to tie a nail knot go to www.flycatcherinc.com/flywiki) . Put a loop in the butt end of the fly line with a small perfection loop.

To form the connection, slip the fly line end through the loop in the leader. Feed the tip end of the leader through the loop in the fly line and pull the leader through. Snug up the loops so that they form a square knot. If either loop flips back on itself, the connection is called a girth knot and the connection will fail under little strain. Make sure the connection forms a square knot!

loop to loop connection in a square knot configuration