Begginer Help On The Bow

[iwantsfish]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm brand new to FFC and just starting out fly fishing. I used to always spin fish and still do on lakes and ponds, but I've never had luck on rivers and stream and admittedly haven't been much on them yet. I'm looking for any and all advice while I read the great info on the board.

 

I took an intro class before the flood with Hanson Outfitters as a group activity, and came out of it excited with gear (5/6 wt, 4 piece Amundson rod pre-spooled with backing and a floating line). Tied a 3X tippet to it and a 4lb leader and practiced chucking a woolly bugger around early that season. Pretty much learned the equipment a little but not much how to fish with it. Well then the flood came and opportunities to get out and explore dwindled coupled together with a new addition to the family.

 

As my outings to lakes and ponds became scarce, I figured why not try the Bow right in town and pick up the fly rod again. I understand that the learning curve is steep and the Bow needs to be figured out before actually getting bites, so I'm asking for help with the basics...and maybe even some silly questions so that I don't get discouraged after a couple of years without seeing a fish in the Bow.

 

1. Does time of day matter a lot? I've always gone around 8am to about 2pm, basically help out in the morning with the little one and head out shortly after and try to be back after his nap on either a Saturday or Sunday, weather permitting. Should I be going back after dinner? I've never been able to see any fish in the Bow yet, although I might not know what I'm looking for.

 

2. Should I just be concentrating on the seams of fast/slow moving water and stay close to the banks rather than the middle of the river? I've been reading quite a bit on "reading the water" for trout holding spots but the Bow is large and I find it tough to identify areas described.

 

3. Any tips on what I should actually be practicing? I don't have a lot of hours of casting under my belt, so my approach is to wade in a bit, tie on a woolly bugger and cast up and across and practice mending my line as it floats along...then once the bugger floats a while and swings closer to the bank I recast (blindly). Try that 5-10 times and move along. How do i know I'm standing in a decent spot and what to look for?

 

4. If i don't match the hatch, am I essentially wasting my time? I'm not sure if I can do a good enough job of casting and mending a dry to be effective. I stopped at the Fishing Hole during their sale this week and talked to a nice guy that said hoppers should be doing well, and he picked out a few for me to try and practice casting with. I have a small fly box I got at the course a while back with anything from tan colored muddler minnows, black buggers, San Juan worms, elk hairs, pheasant tails and prince nymphs for arsenal but does the Bow need something else entirely?

 

5. Should I be tossing my hooks in tandem rather sticking with single? I tried the last two times I was out and found I create quite a mess of knots when i use two of them, and spend most of my time holding my hooks rather than using them. I just tie onto the bend of the hook and don't use any weights. Any advice on this?

 

6. Lastly, I'm planning to put in a longer day this Saturday or Sunday and if anyone is willing to part some knowledge I would be forever grateful.

 

Thanks and hopefully I will be able to post a successful picture here one day.

 

[relk19]

1. You can catch fish anytime of the day, but they are definitely more active early in the morning, and late in the evening. Many times, I have seen very little fish rise from ~19:00 to 21:00, and then at 21:30, the big boys come closer into shore and start feeding. Makes it real fun when you see them and manage to hook into one.

 

2. The farther you cast, the harder it will be to get a dead drift (for nymph and dry fly fishing). I find you don't need to get out to the middle of the river, just be observant and look for areas where fish are feeding or good holding water.

 

3. There are three main types of fly fishing: Dry, Nymph, and streamer. A wolly bugger is a streamer, and is supposed to imitate leechs and the like. The common method for streamer fishing is to cast straight out from you, or at a little angle downstream, and let the fly sink a little before letting it swing through. You can also strip (pull in) the line if the current isn't strong enough, or you are at a lake. You want to be as close to the bottom as possible, as that is where the fish usually are (not always though).

 

4. Generally, you need to match what the fish are eating. There are many patterns (like the adams fly) that imitate a wide variety of flies (for the adams, that is mayflies). Practice makes perfect with fishing dries though, you just gotta get out there and try and keep that fly as dead drifted as possible. You don't always need to false cast (where you wind up multiple times to get line out), many times you can just take the fly out of the water, load once, and shoot it back out.

 

5. As a beginner, I would recommend one fly to start. Tangles SUCK, especially when you see fish rising and want to cast to them. Until you get better at casting, I would stick with one fly. The more flies on, the better your chance of catching fish, but you have 0% chance of catching fish if you spend your whole time untangling your line.

 

Some excellent teaching videos located here at Orvis, goes over just about everything to do with fly fishing.

 

http://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/video-lessons

 

Keep at it, and things will come together. I was in your boat a year ago after my first year fly fishing, and this year I wound up catching my fair share of Bow river beauties.

[jtaylor]

Also, as a beginner "don't be that guy"

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/flytalk/2012/09/don%E2%80%99t-be-guy-guide-good-fly-fishing-etiquette

[iwantsfish]

Thank you relk19 for taking the time to write all that down and help a guy out. Got me excited to get out there this weekend and keep practicing.

 

And I'm all for etiquette and respect. I'm a firm believer in that "you get what you give". I've encountered a couple individuals and their mess this year that can certainly ruin your day, and I wouldn't want to do that to anyone else trying to relax out there.

 

I think my approach will be to hike as far downstream as I can away from my vehicle and slowly make my way up in the water while on the lookout for fish activity.

 

If I don't see anything on the surface and willing to deal with a tangled mess, is it a good idea to attach a bead head underneath a hopper and use it as an indicator? Or should I just change up to a streamer? Thoughts?

[iwantsfish]

Well, spent almost the whole day out there yesterday and learned quite a bit. No fish or bites to talk about yet but I'm hopeful.

 

I started out at a popular main stretch and practised casting quite a bit, lost a bunch of flies in trees and shrubs I couldn't reach but by the end no tangles or splashing and I didn't snap off any flies which is an improvement.

 

Met a nice guy along the way that must have seen me struggling and offered lots of great advice... Like "chances are there no fish in this particular area" lol and pointed out some potentials close by.

 

In your experience, what would be a minimum depth of a pool or seam before you'd spend a few casts in the Bow?

 

I went to northern fish creek park afterwards and just took a stroll along the bank and saw all the potential spots I read about, even the good old foam line and for the first time ever finally noticed fish eating on the surface and tonnes of blue winged olives, pretty neat as coming from a casting rood I've never paid attention. I was on my way out and didn't have time to fish but I'll try fish creek next time.

 

I'm assuming due to the high pressure there it might be tough, but at least I know the fish are there.

[monger]

One thing to think about regarding depth. Sometimes fish will be in very shallow water( 5-10") if there are lots of bugs around. Usually there is deeper water nearby for them to escape to. Fish in this shallow water tend to be over 17", and they tend to sip bugs very quietly. You really have to watch the water carefully. Sometimes when they are taking emergers all you see is their back because their noses don't even come out of the water. They get excited when you hook them in the skinny water. So watch of disturbances in the water or a funny looking "wave"...sometimes it is a fish.