Where are the tout !!!!!

[Otter]

WWWWWWWWaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy to cool........... That brought back a lotta memories..........not so much of landing Big Trout (that's been a pretty rare thing for me)........but just the over-all experience..............stalking, and approcah/positioning decisions, and parying and trying to make a perfect cast..........and then playing fish..........WOW!
Tkx!

Thats what its all about Willowhead, the preparation and anticipation of fishing and the memories you take away afterwards are the real rewards, the pleasure last's long after you have left the river.

Never in the history of angling has there been so much access to info, to equipment, to knowledge, techniques, DVD's , youtube....so on and on - YET I come accross so many anglers that are totally bereft of understanding anything such is their meltdown from over exposure to information & commercialism.

While through William I share some snip bits of knowledge that I have garnered over the years I am every bit a beginner so please be kind to me if my techniques are limited or down right stupid.

I hope that as we share Willams little day out at Turners cross that we can have a laugh and that we can be inspired and realise how lucky we all are to share in this wonderful obsession.

[hankaye]

Otter, Howdy;

Bravo!

Otter, spinner of tails, weaver of words ….

Your tellin' of the tail lit my imagination well enough for me to 'see' with my mind's eye as I was reading. Congrat’s.

You must be a Hoot in the pub with a few pints in ya…

Bravo!

hank

[willowhead]

This is my 22nd year fly fishing and i'm still a beginner absolutely..........hope i always will be. It's a lot more fun that way..........not that i have any way to compare it. But that's the good part.....i don't measure my growth by fish caught. That would be stupid......for me. i'm just glad i transcended all that lame mentality of looking at it as a sport almost immediately.
Seems i fish less and less as the years go by.......but that's only been for bout the last 7/8 years or so.....soon to be corrected i pray, (not pary lol).....
Before i began all this tying at shows all over stuff..........i fished a lot more............it's time to go back to that. Funny how things go in cycles........
You mentioned how lucky we are..........i prefere to appreciate it as fortunate.........a matter of semantics perhaps.....but not for me.
GREAT tune, "But Not For Me".....
It is a shame that because the "industry" associated with the so called "sport" has expended so much energy force feeding an entire generation, trying to convince them that size and numbers is what it's all about, (not to metion that house in Montana and the Suburban you gotta have to go with it), we now end up with a can't see the forest for the trees situation. But that's Amerika for ya.
anyway.....thankx very much for the great thread........

[Otter]

Otter, Howdy;

You must be a Hoot in the pub with a few pints in ya…

Bravo!

hank

A pain in the ar.e more like the more pints I have the more I round like an old record playing the same tune over and over and over.

[Otter]

This is my 22nd year fly fishing and i'm still a beginner absolutely..........hope i always will be. It's a lot more fun that way..........not that i have any way to compare it. But that's the good part.....i don't measure my growth by fish caught. That would be stupid......for me. i'm just glad i transcended all that lame mentality of looking at it as a sport almost immediately.
Seems i fish less and less as the years go by.......but that's only been for bout the last 7/8 years or so.....soon to be corrected i pray, (not pary lol).....
Before i began all this tying at shows all over stuff..........i fished a lot more............it's time to go back to that. Funny how things go in cycles........
You mentioned how lucky we are..........i prefere to appreciate it as fortunate.........a matter of semantics perhaps.....but not for me.
GREAT tune, "But Not For Me".....
It is a shame that because the "industry" associated with the so called "sport" has expended so much energy force feeding an entire generation, trying to convince them that size and numbers is what it's all about, (not to metion that house in Montana and the Suburban you gotta have to go with it), we now end up with a can't see the forest for the trees situation. But that's Amerika for ya.
anyway.....thankx very much for the great thread........

Size and numbers from the point of view of greed is obviously not a great thing. However from my point of view they are vital to my enjoyment and I fully accept that your viewpoint, my viewpoint and someone elses may differ immensly.

To catch trout in large numbers from my local fishery consistently demands that you will have learned to find the trout, have learned where they will be at particular times of the day, times of the season. you will have learned their feeding patterns and the behaviour and timing of the hatches. You will have learned the skills to tie flys that work ( and plenty that don't ), you will have managed a reasonable degree of presentation, stealth and attention to detail.
In a nut shell you will have tuned into the river and its inhabitants.

To catch a reasonable number of the better trout will mean taking your skills to a much higher level. Attention to detail and steath will need to be religiously followed, presentation skills must be top drawer and patience is primary and off course a little luck will not go astray.
I do not catch many of the bigger trout but I enjoy the challenges it presents. I love to say to myself, next time or next season.........I'll be ready.

Having said all that I recognise there is probably another and equally enjoyable level, a level where skills, catching or not catching really do not matter, the angler will be tuned into the river in a completely different way and enjoy the pleasures from simply being there.

[William Anderson]

Woo Hoo! That guys having a great time.

Norman, you obviously have achieved a certain level of skill and insight to be able to write with this level of detail and accuracy. It's the thing that I find the most enjoyable about this sport. The challenge of figuring these things out. I don't know anyone who is simply interested in size and numbers. I've also never met anyone who prefers smaller fish to larger. Everyone enjoys this sport in different ways and to each their own.

w

[willowhead]

Both of you have expressed yourselves quite eloquently. Did i spell that right? .....my only pet peeve is the fact that because there are so many trees in the way.........maybe only 5 percent or less of all fly anglers ever become True conservationist.....(what imho "should" be the ultimate goal).......the kind that will sacrifice X number of fishing days on an annual basis to do other, much more important work. And the list of what that work is, is to long to mention here...........surfice it to say, i've heard every excuse in the book, and none of 'em hold water imho.
fishin's fishin'.........DAMN, "and it's deep too" But i would expect (probably a childish whim), that a MUCH larger percentage of fly anglers, would "choose" to lead by example, and do much better than they do in terms of volunteer work on stream, etc.
Have you ever picked up a copy of Fly Fisherman mag. or Rod & Reel, and seen a full spread center of the mag. 6 page story bout conservation?
Thank You.

[Otter]

I agree that many anglers give little back to the river just simply expecting that it and its inhabitants will be there for their pleasure. I think that we all need to achieve a balance in both our fishing and the welfare of the rivers. Any angler that achieves such a balance will I believe find him/her self in a very happy place.

[Otter]

It is with much trepidation that I contemplate taking William and his spiders/flymphs/softhackles up through the riffle. I know you guys are far better versed in the methods and subtleties of this art than I . Were it possible I would leave this chapter blank and pray that some day Mike would return and craft it in a way that any words from me could never do. This however is very unlikely to happen so this novice must put his best foot forward and let William take us softly up the stream.

To be continued

[Otter]

William is not a tackle tart that feasts his eyes on all the latest rods and gadgetry from the magazines and the internet and immediately reaches for the Visa card to satisfy his hunger for possessions. Long ago William took a decision that it would only be purchased if he could not make it himself. And so commenced his love affair with fly tying, rod building, leader making and many other minor items. A few of his rods he had built from blanks and he treasured them immensely as they had his personality firm etched into their construction. Williams’s ambition was to build his own bamboo rod and some day when the gods of time allowed him his indulgence he would do so.

Many anglers become quite Catholic in their tastes, some rigidly only fishing dries, others nymphs, others contemplating no other approach than fishing wets and soft hackles. William though preferred versatility and believed firmly in matching his approach to suit the activities of the trout and the nature of the water in front of him and not in any fanciful notion that the trout should adapt to suit his preferred method. When William seen a review of the latest and greatest nymphing rod his eyes opened wide in awe. A simple idea, a 9ft 6” rod with a small extension that slotted into the butt that could be fitted in between the top two sections, thus lengthening the rod. That’s almost what I need for upstream fishing with nymphs and spiders he thought, why are the best ideas always so simple.

William contemplated this marvellous idea and formulated a plan. After much research and many phone calls he found a rod maker that could take his idea and turn it into a reality for a very reasonable price.
He sent of one of his prized hand made 9ft 6” rods and eagerly awaited the return. Whilst the rod maker was doing his end of the bargain William set about his own task. Taking an old rod tube he cut it back to about 14” in length and reaffixed the lid. He attached a clip to the top that would allow a connection to the D ring on his wading jacket.

Finally the package arrived, his old rod, a new screw in butt of 12”, and 2 new lengths of rod both 12” long.
William assembled the rod, attached the new butt and slotted the two extensions together and fitted them between the two top sections of the rod. Voila, he now had a two handed rod of 12ft 6”, but would it perform.
Tests on the grass were positive though he knew it would take time to come to terms with casting double handed. He marvelled however at the extra control he had over the leader.


William stared at the riffle and decided to make a start. Almost forgetting his new toy he un-slung the short rod case from his back and re-assembled his rod with the extra lengths and new butt added. Standing well back William flicked his cast onto the riffle, raising his mighty new rod, tracking the flies for a few yards , lift and presenting them back out again. He varied his retrieve , sometimes tracking, some times drawing the flies across the stream. Well satisfied he then experimented with the casting, which was closer to a roll cast than an overhead, first seeking accuracy then introducing little mends. Soon his brain had assimilated what was required and his muscles acted in unison to make his chosen cast and mend. Not every cast was perfect but he knew that it would improve with practice. Well pleased William returned to fishing mode and viewed the riffle with the eyes of a well practiced hunter.

To be continued