TIPS FOR STEELHEAD ALLEY AFTER ICE-OUT

Don't stand under that to fish.
Dat will get you kilt!

1. BE SAFE! I know this should go without saying, but it's been a long cold Winter. And it's easy to get caught up in some long anticipated fishing and not be aware of your surroundings.

**There are still large chunks of ice coming down the rivers. They can take your legs right out from under you.

**Don't stand under ice on high banks. They can fall at any time as the weather warms. I watched it happen 5 times yesterday.

**The water is COLD! Water temps at ice-out are about 33 degrees because of melting ice and snow. You are essentially fishing a flowing glass of ice water. If you were to get hit by a big chunk of ice, you are not only going to be injured, your are taking a bath in ice water. And now you might be hurt and hypothermic. If you don't have buddy with you or access to immediate help, that can be a recipe for dead unsure emoticon

He INHALED a single
pink egg

The take away is PAY ATTENTION. Better to miss a fish than not get home smile emoticon

2. The water is COLD. Is there an echo in here? The water temp actually drops at ice-out because of the melting ice and snow. And while steelhead are cold water fish, 33 degree water temperatures do slow them down. So, while that 50 degree air feels good to you, that is not yet what the fish are experiencing.

**Fish slow. Take your time and continue to cover those slower deep Winter holds. Focus on putting your offerings near the bottom and along structure and shelves.

**The bite can be very subtle in these conditions. Pay attention or you'll miss it.

Pink, fl orange, and chartreuse
sucker spawn is essential as
suckers run in early Spring!

3. While steelhead are always a sucker for single eggs and sucker spawn, this is the time for STONE FLY NYMPHS! Tiny black Winter Stone Flies were flying around all afternoon yesterday. The fish you are targeting right after ice-out have been in the system all Winter are currently eating these stone fly nymphs.

**A black stone fly and egg combo is pretty effective during this window. I use #14 black stone fly nymphs. You could absolutely go smaller if the water is clear. Frankly, I use the #14 because even with my trifocals...I can't see to tie on anything smaller wink emoticon Don't get old!

Let's meet on a warmer day next time.

We worked really hard yesterday and picked up 9 steelhead in the ice bath. You can do it. Be safe, slow down, and consider black stone fly nymphs and an egg combo.

If you're struggling, we have a few dates left for the Spring run. Call me. LET'S GO FISHIN'!

COLD FEET!

Winter steelheading goes hand in hand with cold feet.  One of the the things discussed often this time of year is how to keep your feet warm in this cold weather.  Luckily, of all the things I like to discuss about fishing…how to keep your feet warm and healthy is something of which I just happen to be an expert.  And, that expertise is not just from my experience over the years.  I just happen to have an earned doctorate dealing specifically with the medical and surgical care of FEET :-)

You really just need a little understanding and then to keep in mind a couple of simple rules to keep your feet comfortable in cold water.

You have to start with a little understanding of the circulation to the feet.  The feet are the farthest structure in the body from the heart in reference to strong circulation and perfusion.  That is the 1st important thing you have to understand.

When the body starts to get cold, it is going to maintain it’s primary focus on maintaining core temperature before it concerns itself with increasing any blood flow to the feet to keep them warm.  If your core is cold, your brain will actually cause vasoconstriction, or slight slowing of the circulation to the feet and hands to make sure the vital organs stay warm and function properly.  So, the 1st thing you want to do to keep your feet warm is to layer your core correctly to keep it warm so that the body itself does not want to restrict any of that warming blood flow to the feet.

If you understand that basic piece of human physiology, you are off to a good start.  Now that we have the body on our side, we have to take a couple of measures to help the feet stay warm.

First, you have to properly layer the right types of stockings on your feet to keep them warm.  The most important thing you have to lose is COTTON SOCKS.  This type of sock has poor insulation value and holds any moisture from perspiration or leaky waders right against the skin…resulting in heat loss.  So, dump the cotton socks.

The 1st layer of sock I recommend directly against the skin is a knee high stocking made of a microfiber blend that will wick any moisture away from the skin.  I recommend this layer being knee high because you want that sock to wick any moisture up and away from the feet.  A short sock to the level of the ankle cannot get that moisture past the boot, and since all waders leak and your feet will likely sweat some, you want that layer against the skin to be able to wick any moisture up and away.

Now that you have the correct 1st layer, you want to add a bulky insulating 2nd layer that will create insulation value and also be able to wick any moisture as well.  BULKY is the key here.  This layer creates a layer with some air in it to increase the insulation value.  Wool is really optimal here.  I like wool from sheep, but alpaca wool is even better because is seems to be a little stronger and compresses less from walking and boot pressure.  There are also a number of bulky stockings out there now that are blends of wool and microfiber that are viable options.

I also add a 3rd layer.  Several companies out there have thin neoprene stockings.  Now, if you make the neoprene the layer against your skin, it will hold any moisture right there and just result in heat loss…ultimately making your feet cold when fishing in cold water.  BUT, if you make the thin neoprene stocking your outer most layer it will act as an excellent insulator and help keep the warmth you have from escaping so rapidly.  And, if you are using a breathable wader with neoprene stocking feet you are now really helping to increase that insulation value.  

If you have ever been involved in scuba diving in moderately cold water, and you couldn’t use a dry suit, you probably used a farmer John neoprene dive suit.  The value of that type of suit is that it doubles the layers of the neoprene over your core to help keep that body heat you’re generating in around your core.  The same principle can be employed here if you layer correctly.

The second thing you have to consider after layering correctly is NOT compressing or squeezing the foot so tightly with those layers and your wading boot that it actually inhibits the proper circulation to your feet.  So, if you layer correctly, but your wading boots become so tight that it is squeezing the circulation right out of your feet…you have accomplished nothing in keeping your feet warm.  Remember, we layer the core correctly so that the body does not restrict blood flow to the feet, don’t make the layers so tight on the feet that you then restrict blood flow to the feet.

I actually have Winter wading boots that are a size larger than what I wear when I don’t need to layer so much.  If you are going to wade in the icy cold waters during the Winter months, this is something you need to consider.

The last thing to consider is to keep moving throughout the day.  The most important thing anyone can do when they have any kind of circulation issue to the feet is walk and keep the circulation moving.  Now, as a Winter steelheader, you probably know that the fish tend to be in slower pools and you find yourself staying in one spot longer than you might in warmer conditions.  So, make yourself move around some.  Walk to another hole, preferably out of the water to get and keep that circulation moving. 

Keeping your feet warm in the Winter is not as difficult as it may seem if you follow these simple rules.  And keeping your feet warm will keep you on the water longer to enjoy your fishing!

Now that you can keep your feet warm in the cold, let’s take your Winter steelheading to the next level.  Call me.  LET’S GO FISHIN’!

ICY GUIDES?

It's getting cccccold. The main complaint I hear about fly fishing in the cold is icy guides. Sooo, is there a way to cut back on how much ice forms in those guides? Glad you asked!

Certainly use an ice-off paste. Apply it the night before and then reapply as needed through your fishing day.

BUT, is there more to it than that? Remember, your WET line constantly moving through the guides is really what leads to all of that ice. Maybe you could do some things to reduce how much water you pull through those guides to make all of that ice?

You want to maintain good drifts, tight lines, and recast while moving minimal line through the guides. WHAT?

I have several focuses when I'm fishing in the ice box.

1. Do as much roll casting and flipping of your line as you can. By "flipping", I mean water loading your rod at the end of your drift and casting or "flipping" the line back up stream without overhead casting at all.

2. Make good mends to maintain your drifts, BUT instead of pulling line in through the guides to keep "tight" consider managing the line with other methods.

A. High stick, even when indi fishing

B. Take a few steps forward or a few steps backwards to keep from having too much slack line.

3. Keep the rod tip out of the water.

See, you can keep out all of the line you like, make good drifts, cast, and still keep from constantly moving wet line through those guides....until you catch one. But hey, that's worth clearing some ice from the guides at that point!

And last but not least, the less you are running wet line through your guides, the less it is winding on to your reel as well. And that helps prevent that reel from freezing solid and then getting broke off by a trophy fish. Just remember to wind that reel a half rotation or so now and then to make sure it isn't frozen up.

Winter Steelhead trips will refine your game better than any other time of year. As long as the creeks are not frozen...we're fishing. Call me. LET'S GO FISHIN'!

Got My Unicorn Brah!

A memorable day on the creek yesterday!

Simplifying the Great Debate: Fluorocarbon vs. Nylon: INVISIBILITY

I read and hear conversations all of the time debating the advantages & disadvantages of nylon monofilament vs fluorocarbon monofilament for leaders and tippet.  Once again, the real question is:  How much of the stuff you hear/read on this topic is truth versus marketing hype?  Let’s see if we can sort some of this out.

TRUTH:  Fluorocarbon has a closer refractive index to water than that of nylon.

Yes folks this is a cold hard scientific fact.  Refractive index essentially refers to a number indicating  how much the speed of light is reduced in a given medium.  I just got a headache from typing that.  Water has a refractive index of 1.3330.  Fluorocarbon has a refractive index of 1.42.  Nylon monofilament refractive indices range from 1.53-1.62.  BUT, does that really mean fluorocarbon is invisible in water?

MYTH: Fluorocarbon is nearly invisible to fish in water.

Clear back in 2001 a guy named Jeff Thomson wrote an article called, “Mathematical Theory of Fishing Line Visibility”.  Now, I can’t find that this is an actual peer reviewed published article, but I have read the presentation he did on the topic and it is pretty good.  He essentially breaks down how light refraction, reflection, and scatter in water works from a mathematical equation perspective and then applies the properties of water and fluorocarbon in those equations.  It’s painful to read if you do not have a science and research background (and even then, it’s pretty painful).  He ultimately concluded that considering all of the variables involved, in reality, fluorocarbon monofilament is not “invisible” in water.

Anecdotal evidence (a limited selection of examples which support or refute an argument, but which are not supported by scientific or statistical analysis) by many fisherman suggest that, yes fluorocarbon is less visible to fish than nylon monofilament.  So, is this true?  Maybe…

A lot of folks have reported many types of tests to quantify this (non-scientific tests, but interesting nonetheless).  People have put lengths of same diameter nylon and fluorocarbon in glasses of water, aquariums, in lakes and rivers, and looked at them and photographed them.  The majority of those folks report they can’t see a difference between the two.  Of course they all admit they are not fish under water looking at the materials with the naked eyes of fish.

My own anecdotal evidence suggests that in clear water, steelhead most certainly see fluorocarbon monofilament line when it drifts towards them and they move out of the way from the offering (no matter what it is) well in advance of it ever getting to them.  While I cannot write a peer reviewed scientific paper based on my observations, I’m comfortable saying, in gin clear water….fish can see fluorocarbon monofilament line.

YET, I do construct my leaders from and use tippet material made of fluorocarbon.  Why is that if it is not invisible and certainly costs more?  For me it’s simple.  I guide clients with varying degrees of experience.  And fluorocarbon does give me some advantages. 

Fluorocarbon has higher tensile strength at smaller diameters than nylon.  I want to give clients every advantage I can, knowing full well when they are with me they are in the middle of a big learning curve on how to catch steelhead on the fly rod.  So, it is true, fish are less spooked by smaller diameter line and if I can use a smaller diameter line that is stronger to help a client get a fish to hand, it’s a win win. 

Once someone is comfortable with proper presentation of offerings and how to land a big crazy fish on fly gear, many of the reported advantages of fluorocarbon may not be as significant.  From my perspective, I have a very limited amount of time to spend with any given client to cover a ton of material and get some fish in their hands.  In that setting, fluorocarbon limits some of the issues with presentation error and helps a little with not breaking off fish when making common mistakes fighting and landing these big fish. 

From my personal fishing perspective, at the end of the day, hooking fish still comes down to precise PRESENTATION PRESENTATION PRESENTATION.  In my opinion, the visibility of the line plays very little role in whether I hook fish.  And there a a multitude of other ways we spook fish and shut down a bite before we ever get out lines in the water.  In previous articles we have discussed that fish see a lot in an out of the water that does not even relate to line visibility.  And this does not even account for things we do unknowingly that disturb a run before we even get close to it.  We would be hard pressed to narrow why we are not catching fish down to the visibility of the line we use.  But it can be a piece of the overall picture that also should not be neglected.

To me, it’s more of an issue of making the right kind of presentation in low gin clear water than having an invisible line.  For example, swinging an offering down in front of fish presents only the offering to the fish (not the line), where drifting an offering does tend to present the line and offering at the same time.  And in the case of Steelhead Alley steelhead, they get educated to line drifting at them pretty quickly from the moment they enter the tributaries.

I’ll discuss other topics within this specific debate in upcoming articles.  Until then, if you’re gonna be in northeast Ohio or northwest Pennsylvania on business and want to spend a day on the water or you are local and just want to work on some aspect of your steelhead game…call me!  LET’S GO FISHIN’!

Fish Vision: Above the water

What do fish see?  I was asked this question at a steelhead exposition a few weeks back.  My initial answer was, “That is a much broader question than you might think.”  How fish see out of the water, in the water, and how light effects what they see is has been the topic of study for many many many graduate students and other researchers around the world.  It’s a great question.  And if you can have a basic understanding of a few of these concepts, it really can impact your fishing.

Let’s start with: What can fish see above the water?  First, you have to understand that fish live in water and water has very different optical properties than that of air.  Depending on the angle  light hits the water, a calm water surface can reflect up to 80% of the light hitting it.  And in rough water surfaces, there is tremendous variance in the transmission of light no matter what angle the light hits the water. 

That may sound technical, but it matters.  You are already starting to get an idea of why you can easily approach fish in some water and they are very spooky in other waters.  Surface movement of the water and the angle at which light hits the water plays a big role in what fish see out of the water.

The next concept you have to understand is that light bends (or refracts) when it enters the water.  So?  So, that allows each eye of the fish to see a certain area above the water that works in a different way than we normally see things.  Nearly everything a fish sees above the water appears in a circle (more of a cone really).  This circular window is smaller for fish close to the water surface and becomes larger the deeper the fish is in the water.  Outside of the window, the surface of the water appears as a mirror, reflecting the bottom. If the surface is choppy, the mirror effect is reduced.  In rough water this circular window is broken up and light is transmitted through continuously changing patterns. 

Yes there is a lot going on here. But you just need to be aware that fish see in a circle or cone above the water.  The circle is bigger for deeper fish and smaller for shallow fish.  You want to stay out of that cone.  To do this, you need to be back away from the fish and low to the horizon.  And there are other things that can help.  Low light conceals you even more and rougher water is further helpful.  And now you can see why fish in smooth water on a sunny day just scatter as you approach them.  

I tell folks everyday, “Know where the fish should be for the day’s conditions and fish for them in those places.”  Do not get fixated on fish you can see, rather fish the places they should be.  And those are places you cannot normally even see the fish.  Now you better understand why the fish also struggle to see you if you approach them correctly in these places.  That is a combination that makes for a great day on the water.  It also helps you understand how precise things have to be on those occasions when you are sight fishing.

Are you ready to take your steelhead game to the next level.  I can help you with that.  Call me.  LET’S GO FISHIN’!

GUIDE?

guide

n.

   a. One who shows the way by leading, directing, or advising.

   b. One who serves as a model for others, as in a course of conduct.

I tell people all of the time, "In life, you either are a guide or you are not."

Some folks gravitate towards teaching others, no matter what they are doing. That certainly has been the case for me, whether it was coaching wrestling, teaching students & residents, guiding patients, or guiding fly fishing adventures. One either lives to teach or they don't.

I was talking to a young man just getting into the guiding business a few weeks ago. It was a great conversation. He has all of the tools be be a great fishing guide.

Even if you are not a guide, stay with me...it matters to all of us in the end.

The young man was concerned about the actions he had observed in other guides. The first thing I told him was that you cannot control the actions of others. So spending time losing stomach acid over things you cannot control will only make you sick and not help the situation.

Most importantly, we discussed the role of servant leadership. The way to change the world is not to scream, yell, and bully others into your view. In fact, the way to change your world is to lead by example.

I told him we all make mistakes along the way, but what matters is that we pick ourselves up and get better tomorrow from today's failures.

A most important concept for a guide of any type to embrace is that it is NEVER our job to judge clients (or other guides for that matter). Clients come to us with a variety experience and backgrounds. Some have never picked-up a fly rod. Some have traveled the world. Some are just easy to be around. Some are difficult to spend a day with.

Whatever their experiences and attitudes, our job is not to judge them, but to guide them. Our job is to lead the way and find a way to lead them. Our job is to find common ground to reach them and relate to them so that they get out of the day what they need.

Our job is never to compare our experiences and worry about whether we could have caught more fish, handled fish better, or just had a better attitude in general. Our job is to gently lead.

One of the hardest notions to get past as a guide is that the client should meet our expectations. We have to enter every day with only one expectation and that is to meet the clients needs for the day. A client will likely never meet our expectations because they do not have our experience. Spending your day irritated because a client does not know everything you know should leave you considering a different vocation. In saying that, quite often it is important to be able to reset a client's expectations for the conditions of the day as well.

There is a joy in servant leadership. There is nothing better than watching a client start feeling the load of a fly rod and then begin moving line efficiently. It is so satisfying to share a moment with a client when they land that fish they have been after for years. Sharing in someone else's journey is simply satisfying.

As I shared these things with the young man, he said, "You should write this stuff down and share it." I hem and hawed around about it for awhile and decided to do so. While I hope it will help others refine their thoughts on guiding, I hope it will help fishermen in general.

One of the things I see on the water all of the time is fishermen judging other fishermen. We spend way too much time worrying how others fish and if we are better or could have caught "that" fish...when we should really just be enjoying the day. 

My encouragement for the day is live and let live on the stream. No one else on the stream needs to meet your expectations. If they fish a certain way, why do you care? Let them be. There are many ways to catch fish and they are all valid. If folks are doing something illegal, call the local authorities. Otherwise, take a deep breath and enjoy your time on the water. That time is far too limited to be irritated about how others fish or be worried about whether you are a better fisherman.

Now...LET'S GO FISHIN'!