. Part 3 of the book review is actually from the last two parts of the book. Part 3 from the book is Hatches and Seasons. You'll find tips on determining what fly to use in a situation to advice on weather and competing outdoor sports (Boom! Boom!). Part 4 is Travel, Destinations and Species Other Than Trout. Leaving home to go fishing in the vast outdoors has different conditions to consider, such as extra equipment and dangerous wildlife.I have to be honest in that as a novice, my knowledge of these topics is even less that in the previous two posts about this book. So if I seem to disagree with a piece of advice, you might be better off going with the advice from the book.
Let's dive in...
HATCHES AND SEASONS
What Trout See
When matching an insect, consider the belly color rather than the back color—the belly is what the trout see (at least on the floating adults). Most insects are either a shade of olivish brown or light cream/yellow on their undersides, and if you carry imitations in these two major colors, in the right size and profile, you can match most mayflies.
This makes perfect sense to me. The whole point of matching an insect is to make your lure look as much like the insect as possible. So why would you try to get a fish to bite an orange cricket? Or a purple bumblebee? They may look interesting to you, and may serve as good indicators or agitators, but a fish is probably not going to think they're food.
Watch The Birds
Birds such as waxwings and swallows (and a host of others) get active when bugs hatch. Even when you can’t see them, bugs may be present if you see the birds dipping and darting in the air.
I've never seen this, but it makes sense to me.
Unmatch The Hatch
If the surface is covered with aquatic insects, sometimes you need to use something different like a Royal Wulff, Parachute Adams, or beetle to draw the trout’s attention. It should be about the same size as the naturals.
This kind of goes against the piece of advice at the top. But think of it this way, at a Cardinals game what will you notice first in a crowd red and white jerseys, the obnoxious Cubs fan...
Terrestrial Tactics
Size down your hoppers. Fly shops sell a lot of large hopper patterns, but naturals come in all sizes and smaller patterns may surprise fish.
Again, makes sense. I actually bought two sizes of hoppers for a trip this weekend. I'll send out a tweet about which the fish liked.
Sink any terrestrial with split shot or tie some weighted one ahead of time. Trout are suckers for sunken hoppers, inchworms, and ants.
Something else I'll try this weekend...
See The Shade
Seek out and fish in the shade—whether entire pools, or shaded spots in a particular pool. Don’t spend too much time on water baking in the sun. Bridges are always a good bet.
Even if this doesn't help you catch fish, I'd rather not catch fish in the shade than not catch fish in the sun and catch heat stroke.
Splat Tactics
When casting beetles, inchworms, hoppers, and other terrestrials, don’t be bashful about splatting the fly on the surface of the water. The naturals often fall into the water less than gracefully, and the disturbance attracts fish.
Isn't this the whole point of an agitator? You want to grab the attention of the fish, so why not grab their attention with your cast rather than hope your agitator itself grabs their attention.
Stand Out
Wear at least one article of fluorescent-orange clothing when fishing during hunting season. Fall is not the time to blend in with your environment.
For some reason this brings up the image of The Far Side cartoon with the hunter across the hood of the truck and the deer behind the wheel...
Don’t Leave Fish To Find Fish
Winter fish tend to pod up, so if you catch one, don’t move to a better spot. You’re probably in it.
Even not in the winter, why would you leave a spot where you're catching fish? Because it's just too easy? Please?!
Find the Fish
Look for spots where water temperatures are highest and current speeds are more suited to a trouts slow metabolism at this time of year. Bridge holes where steady sun warms the concrete and nearby water are good bets.
Winter fishing. Since fish are cold-blooded really cold water will make them sluggish. It makes sense to find a spot where the water will be a little warmer.
TRAVEL, DESTINATIONS, AND SPECIES OTHER THAN TROUT
General Travel Tips
Even on short trips, always put an extra rod in the car in case you break your main one.
EXTRA ROD??? This actually does make sense. It would be greatly disappointing to drive to the great outdoors to fish and spend most of the day hiking because you broke the only rod you brought. I have a feeling it will be a long time before I have an extra rod, though. I have to learn how to make the one I have more effective first.
Don't plan on cell phone coverage. Always tell someone where you're going or leave a note.
More and more state parks seem to be getting better and better cell phone coverage. But that's because that's where large numbers of people are fishing. If you're trying to find some quiet time on a lonely stretch of water take the precaution to let someone know where you're going. You never know what could happen on the water alone...
Bear Aware
Carry Bear Spray in an accessible spot such as on your wading belt or pack shoulder strap, especially if you are fishing in grizzly country.
I've heard many times about a fisherman pulling in a trophy fish only to have a bear walk up and "ask" for the fish. Honestly, in that situation I wouldn't be thinking about where my bear spray is on my belt. The thoughts running through my head would be more along the lines of how fast my fishing buddy is and making sure I put more distance between myself and the bear than he could.
Fishing Etiquette
Weather, water releases, hatch activity, and trout receptiveness we cannot change. We can control the way we interact with each other while we are fishing. This important, but often overlooked, code of ethics has a tremendous impact on the quality of any fly-fishing experience.
I think fly fishing etiquette can be boiled down to one simple statement. If you are doing something that keeps someone from being able to catch fish, you need to stop.
Breathing Room
Solitude is priceless, and it's a great gift to give yourself or another fisherman whenever possible. If you're lucky enough to be fishing the river on a day with few other anglers, give at least half a pool to another fisherman.
When I was fishing in Gatlinburg, TN and at Westover Farms outside of Steelville, MO there were few other fisherman around. You can wander away from your buddies, and immerse yourself in the water, trees, rocks and sky. Everything fades away and it becomes you and the fish. Those moments are some of my favorites...
This tremendous collection helped jump start my fly fishing experience. I won't claim to have understood everything on my initial pass through the book. But reading nuggets of wisdom was better for me than trying to read a thesis on beginning casting. As I've gone back through it different sections have made much more sense to me. I don't think a few months will pass before I pick it up again to read through and see how much more it can help me become a better fly fisher.
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