FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING OVER £100
FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING OVER £100
January 28, 2020 7 min read
by Dave Southall
When I first started fly fishing I’d arrive at the river or Lake early in the morning & fish till dusk. Furthermore, on my arrival I’d immediately start fishing, believing that unless my fly was in the water there was no chance of catching a fish. My fishing was mechanical & without much thought in those long gone days: I followed the recipes for success that I read in the fishing literature without any real understanding of what I was doing or why I was doing it. Nowadays, in my old age, I fish much shorter hours, usually no more than 4 hour sessions & even whilst at the river or lake I spend much of my time watching & waiting for signs that will tell me what to do. I love my friend Stuart Croft’s sayings, “ You’ve got to let the river invite you in & let nature tell you what to do”.
Many years of experience have taught me when best to time my visits & what tactics to adopt to hopefully optimize my chances of catching the trout & grayling that are my usual quarry. I don’t always get it right but I certainly reduce the odds against failure. So let’s consider a few examples starting at the beginning of the trout season.
Once at the water at what should be the optimum time of day & year for a particular hatch or fall of insects or when conditions are right in some other way it is then sensible to spend some time watching the river or lake. Whilst there are general trends that help us to predict what might happen, such as a hatch of Large Dark Olives around midday in April, there is no guarantee that this will happen: nature is not totally predictable. Many times I have gone to the river with a preconceived game plan only to find that I have had to drastically change my game. Time spent watching what is happening is never wasted. Check out what foods are vulnerable by looking at what is hatching, what insects are in flight & what is trapped in spiders webs (be aware that insects that have aquatic larvae & that those that are in flight or trapped in webs will have emerged earlier, so look for ones that are still alive). Carefully watch the rises of fish; gentle rises suggest something relatively inert is being preyed upon (aphids or other terrestrials trapped in the surface film, spent blue-winged olive spinners, midge pupae prior to emergence, etc.); vigorous rises suggest something that might escape is being predated (sedge pupae swimming in or just below the surface, olive duns about to take off, small fish, corixas, etc.). It is always worth sieving the surface with a fine mesh net to see what is available & check out the bankside vegetation for tiny 5mm long Agapetus adults. “LET NATURE TELL YOU WHAT TO DO!!!!!!”.
Safety
The basics of tackle
Language of casting
Sensory awareness
Fly line weights, lengths & tapers
Rod lengths & weights
Leaders & tippet
Tackle to practise with
How to hold a fly rod
Circles 8's & straights
Remove all slack
Plane of the Cast
Triangle Method
Stance
Overhead Cast
Stop & Drop
Retrieving the Line
High Back Cast
Breaking The Wrist
Shooting the line
Loop Shape
Slipping the Line
Stroke Length
The Forward Delivery
The Shelf
Drift
Drift Versus Breaking the Wrist
Creep
Backslash Forwardslash
Speed Ramp
Body Movement
Intro to the Double Haul
Tackle for the Double Haul
Single Haul
Double Haul
Double Haul Fast Track
Cast Trajectory
Late Haul
Hauling Grip
Double Haul for Accuracy
Line Trays
Offset Alignment Guides
Overhang
The Lift
Pick Up & Lay Down Cast
Roll cast
Energy of a Roll Cast
Intro to Spey Casting
Switch Cast
45 Degree Single Spey
Backhanded Cast
90 Degree Single Spey
90 Degree Snake Roll
45 Degree Snake Roll
90 Degree Double Spey
The Running Mouse
The Silent Spey
45 Degree Double Spey
45 Degree Snap T
90 Degree Snap T
45 Degree Circle Spey
90 Degree Circle Spey
Body Movement
Spey Cast Hauling
Beating Obstructions Spey
Corkscrew Pick Up
Snap Pick Up
Roll Cast Pick Up
Double Spiral Pick Up
Snap Pick Up Variation
Aerial Spey
Cast Stringing