Things You've Learned This Year

[maxwell]

great posts everyone.. best part about this sport is one can never truly understand and master everything overnight...

 

for me i learned

 

a good idea on what i need spey/doublhanded rods for and what its not practical for

 

fish rise too dries all night long

 

pike feed at night

 

learned some new streams

 

light tippet isnt need when nymphing

 

i still love single handed rods too

 

and a bunch more minor things about bugs, fish behaviour etc..... and much more too go

[bloom]

Couple more to add...

-when fishing trophy lakes (that don't necessarily have the numbers)...go where you see fish. Keep an eye open, and if you see a bay or area where fish are rising, get moving.

-big chironomids always seem to work. Even when the smaller ones are hatching at the end of the season, I still have luck with size 10's and 12's (need to be really good imitations of the ones hatching though). Guess they can't pass by the big meal. Doesn't hurt that they stand out more also.

[bigbowtrout]

I learned how to make a baby.

 

Congrats dude

 

[Hawgstoppah]

SJW. Your wife made it. Doesn't count. That's like u getting out the ingredients for a cake (hehe CAKE yes) and then your wife creating, and baking the cake. No matter how you look at it you didn't make it. LOL

 

Congrats man.

[duanec]

(hehe CAKE yes) .

 

and i learned lots of ff people like cake.

often.

it's a sign...

 

and yes congrats sjw.

[Tungsten]

Some things learned this year ,there are big fish in little wateryour flies dont have to look exactly like the one on the net or the fly shopwhen being creative at the vise tie at least 6make sure your anchor is out before you walk awayon the river you hear Max well before you see him Rusty is not very good at grabbing a fishing rod that is falling out of the boat run off fishing is only good if you like big fishFly Fish Calgary has helped me alot thanks to all..

[Noud]

- DH for trout on the good side of the river is fun...

- Speycasting is fun

- When you go nymphing just tell you're buddy you are not good at nymphing and you will catch more than 30

- The CDC&ELK is a good bobber for a snipe & purple spider

- The CDC&ELK can catch you good numbers of fish even in a mayfly hatch

- Autumn 2010 is a long wait

- Flyfishing is a good way to forget your personal troubles

- Drinking whisky and playing with fire is not good for fleece sweaters

- I love putti

- I realy love putti

- I love both floating putti and sinking putti

- Floating putti is good when you keep forgetting to put on strike indicators before you tie on your nymphs

- When you put a big chunck of sink putti on your leader it goes "ploop" when it hits the water

- There are easy methods for making furled leaders

- The CDC&ELK can catch good numbers of fish anywhere

 

[SilverDoctor]

Always carry water.

I have to much junk in my vest.

I shouldn't fish alone as much.

A dropped fly will never be found.

There is a lot for fishing junk being sold out there.

Rainbows are well named. Browns should be called Jewels.

After 50 years of tying I still enjoy it and learn new things.

A morning on a trout stream will add 20 years to your life.

As you get older the rocks get bigger and the water gets faster.

A sandwich at the bottom of your pack turns into something else.

There are days on the bow when a bottle of scotch is better than a fishing rod.

30" + rainbows don't want to come all the way in for a picture for some reason.

20 minutes spent studying the water is always more productive in the long run than fishing it.

Some of my old bamboo and fiberglass rods and classic reels fish equally as well as "modern" hi tech "better" ones.

I love fly fishing.

 

 

[Guest KnottyGirl]

Two things...

 

Swingin' a fly rod is far better than a spin rod (unless it's extremely windy), even when you're not catching anything.

 

AND...

 

You CAN NOT reason with a two year old.

(SJW, you'll need to know this in a few years, congrats!)

[Jayhad]

How to fly fish, drys, nymphing and now screamers............... oh trout look out next year, my tool box is full

[Castuserraticus]

Emergers rock.

 

My eyes are middle aged. (Do they make size 20 hooks with size 3 eyes?)

[FlashGordon]

holy frig ...learned so much,i have batted a fly rod around for a long time but all i ever knew was dry flies and nothing in entomology.....just throw it out and hope to get a take,knew nothing about proper casting and casting styles and i have the wrist break to prove it,so that being said I won't write out EVERY little thing I have learned

 

I learned a lot about nymphing I think all the basic stuff using weight settin on every twitch etc

...i need to learn how to read hatches on my own and continue to learn more about nymphing respectively ...i think it's the bread and butter of fishing the bow IMO

 

i learned how to spey cast and double spey cast with a triple fly rig mind you!!(thx maxwell) i rarely overhand anymore...playin around with the snake roll cast and the snap tee..i want to learn to double haul and shoot line

and since buying a boat i have learned that when fishing from shore i try to cast to the middle and when fishing from the middle i try to cast to the shore lol ...I hooked a nice bow today and on the cast i think my bottom fly touched grass before falling into the water...

 

when a fish hits a streamer he hits it doin 40

 

i think most importantly i have learned that there is a lot of good people out there ....so many people willing to share facts,ideas and thoughts.....from here on the board to people out on the river handing me a cpl flies that were working for them ....that's pretty cool!!

 

thx and tight lines!!

 

 

 

 

[troutlover]

I learned that:

-sometimes it's o.k to break the "rules" of "how to fly fish"

-Fish will feed until they puke and then feed again.(and other fish will eat that puke another reason for catch and release)

-When it's dark out I'm out.

-No matter how many times i ask my uncle to come to calgary to fish the bow it's not going to happen till i club him stuff him in a sack and bring him here.

-The season isn't long enough to fish all those places i meant to go.

-Getting rid of my wife for five weeks this summer added five years experience to my fishing.

-When your wife gets back from a five week vacation she expects you to give up fishing.

-stay out of the damn water.(till it's been worked)

-it's hard to not fish the bow.

and last i'll tell a story

I had a chance to be in Fish Tales when there was a guy from south africa getting directions to some fishing holes. I got to talking to him and offered to knock off work a little early to take him fishing to one of my favorite spots. He went to fish that day and i picked him up at 3 p.m from the river where he had been fishing all day. I asked him how it went and with a huge grin and in his thick dutch african accent he said "AMAZING!!!!!! it was truly AMAZING!!!! i fished for only five hours and i caught a 14 inch Brown trout!! and i had two other fish on!!!" I didn't know what to say except "AWESOME!!!"..... I mean how many of us would of had that response?.... not me.... that day would have been a bust (as far as numbers go... to be out is always a pleasure). We went to the spot i had planned and just as we got there clouds rolled in and a light drizzle began and things started to cool and a smile came across my face as i saw the migration of tiny BWOs begin. My new friend was very soon into his first bow river rainbow and several large fish after that, sadly as with many new to the bow he had a hard time landing the big fishies, but he was a quick learner and soon was maneuvering fish with side pressure. Again he amazed me with his great attitude even though he had several trophy fish on that day and had lost them he was FILLED with excitement. So most important this year i learned to appreciate the fact that i live 2 min from the bow some of the best trout fishing the planet earth has to offer.

[SanJuanWorm]

wow y'all learned a whole lot more than me.

[alhuger]

Awesome thread. Well, some things I learned this year:

 

1. Better gear does not make a better angler.

2. I need to stop buying more gear, I need time on the water and I cannot buy it.

3. This sport is like constantly drinking from a fire hose. I am always learning more than I can process.

4. People mistreating fish really, really piss me off.

5. People keeping fish (particularly salmon and wild steelhead) in systems that are in trouble piss me off.

6. I need to stop getting pissed off. Nobody (including myself) likes a zealot :>

7. I will probably suck at this for a very long time and I am not sure I care. It's that much fun.

 

 

al

[brewingup]

flyfishing is the only good thing about getting older

catching fish on flies you tied yourself doubles the reward

there's no reason ever to be discouraged while you're out

flyfishing helps you appreciate everything else in life that you should appreciate

scotch is good. (relearned every year up till now and from now on)

cider is good

some of the best fishing exists where other people say it sucks

there's a lot more to learn

[jksnijders]

"So most important this year i learned to appreciate the fact that i live 2 min from the bow some of the best trout fishing the planet earth has to offer."

 

 

Great thread. Absolutely right with that. And almost anywhere else in this province. I have alot of relatives that come from The Netherlands, (perhaps Dutchdryfly and Noud can relate) and when they come here they are absolutely amazed by the amount of space we have for our chosen recreation. I think Holland (....) fits in Alberta 21 times or so. I hunted in an area near Westerbork in Overijssel for Roebuck, and the entire game preserve was about 160 acres or so (if I recall) And that was seen as being a large place. Where I grew up I had a back yard that was bigger than that. Not to mention the space elswehere. I think we take for granted the amount of space and solitude we have at our disposal. Not to mention the calibre of hunting and fishing we have right on our backyard. I think sometimes I take for granted what we have such resources, and I need to stop and think of them accordingly, and understand that what we consider as being a marginal day would be absolutely amazing for someone else. And we are all pretty fortunate to have it as such.

[PGK]

.

[snakeman]

I've learned that I can go a full year without setting foot in the Bow, and never be tempted to do so, and still manage to catch plenty of great fish within 5-40 minutes of my house in Calgary.

[speyghillie]

Things i have learned

It can be sunny and warm in Calgary and -20 the next day

Never let guys know you played golf with pink golf clubs

Never be seen in the newspaper with a single- handed rod, after telling your buddies there rods where for ladies.

fish the fly you are confident with before any other

when fishing ..change is good

I never got to try out my old Trat patterns on the Bow

Dont let the fish know your coming

get a better wading jacket for fishing on the Island

Try not to where my kilt downtown Calgary...... to often

Try and speak english

make more time for fishing

Dapping on the Bow would be a blast.

Stay away from bears.

 

[reevesr1]

Forgot one:

I had the opportunity to watch several people (friends and family) catch their first trout on a fly rod this year. Some of the most fun I've ever had. I need to make sure I take someone new every year.

[birchy]

I learned that I didn't catch as many fish in my second year as my first year.

 

And that it's a lot harder to get out fishing when you have a baby! (Sorry Dave)

[Gil]

Key learnings:

- A hopper dropper can be an extremely effective way to fish. Never gave it sufficent chance previously...

- You can still catch fish in spring runnoff. Work the banks and slow water...

- Can can safely float the river at >220 CMS in early July once the bulk of spring debris has passed. Note: some may disagree...

- Some of the favourite sections of the river this year, I considered poor last year.

- Some of my best holes this year for me are small sections most people don't notice. I found them out of frustration with the high traffic.

 

[Castuserraticus]

wow y'all learned a whole lot more than me.

 

It sounds like you had single-minded focus and were successful at it.

[snakeman]

Forgot one:

I had the opportunity to watch several people (friends and family) catch their first trout on a fly rod this year. Some of the most fun I've ever had. I need to make sure I take someone new every year.

 

Good call!

I got my little sister into a couple on Cataract with a fly rod, and the experience was priceless. It was like reliving the first trout I caught on a fly, a total blast.