Top Ten Fly Fishing Tips

By Louis Dale

Fishing Etiquette – Taking out your Line
Common courtesy dictates that you take your line out of the water for any angler who has a fish on the line. This is so that they have plenty of space in order to land their fish. This rule is very important if you’re fishing down-river from the other angler. Make sure that you never step into the space of an angler who is releasing or landing a fish on the bank.

Fishing Etiquette - Silence
Whenever you’re fly fishing you’ll need to be as quiet as you can…and this means leaving your dog and the radio at home. There are two reasons why you want to be as quiet as possible: (1) you don’t want to spook the fish, and (2) you don’t want to disturb other fly fishers. Many people enjoy fly fishing for the peace and solitude that it affords them.

Fishing Etiquette – Lend a Helping Hand
Always be willing to help out other anglers. This can be as simple as helping them retrieve something that has floated down-river or lending them something that they need, such as extra line. You’re all there for a fun day of fly fishing so helping each other out just lends to the experience.

Wading with Safety
When you’re wading make sure that you follow a few basic rules: (1) never fish by yourself on remote lakes, rivers, or streams, (2) wear a good pair of wading boots, (3) use a good wading staff that is flexible yet strong, and (4) know the area where you’re wading. Wading is a great way to get access into those places that you couldn’t otherwise reach.

Tackle Boxes
Tackle boxes: A tackle box is a necessity so that you can keep all your “stuff” with you in one organized place. Some of the things to keep in mind when you use a tackle box and want to avoid overfilling include: · Keep your worms and soft plastic bait in a small container away from your other lures. This will keep the soft plastic lures from creating a chemical reaction with the materials that other baits are made of. · Buy two or more small tackle boxes to hold certain categories of lures. For instance, buy one tackle box to hold your worms and another to hold your spinnerbaits. · Buy seasonal tackle boxes that you only use at certain times of year. In the spring you can have a tackle box that contains jigs, plastic worms, and minnow lures. And in the fall you can have a tackle box that is filled with fall lure, such as topwaters and crankbaits.

Keep your Fishing Vest Organized
If you use a fishing vest to carry around your tackle and lure you’ll want to keep it as organized as you can so that you’re not fumbling around looking for something when you need it. If you’re not going to be using something leave it home so that you only take along the essentials.

Carry a Wading Staff
When you’re fishing in water that is rough or unfamiliar you might want to carry a wading staff to keep you stable and give you better footing.

Wear Good Shoes
A good pair of wading shoes will let your grip the bottom that you’re walking on. Choose shoes that have soles with rubber cleats since these are ideal of bottoms that are made of mud, fine gravel, sand, or soft silt.

Take Along the Sun Block
Although it may seem like a small tip to mention, taking along the sun block is one thing that you don’t want to forget. After standing in a sunny stream for eight hours you’ll be glad that you remembered to bring along some protection.

Use Polarized Glasses
Wearing polarized glasses is one of the best things that you can do. You’ll be able to see beneath the water so you can keep an eye on your fish. Don’t forget a hat to reduce the amount of glare that you experience.

Discouraging Insects
If you want to discourage insects you’ll want to avoid wearing clothes that are red, yellow, black, white, or navy blue. These colors can attract black flies, deerflies, gnats, and mosquitoes.

How to Beat the Winter Fishing Doldrums

By Gary Higbee

Ever wonder what you can do to get a fishing "fix" in the winter if your not an ice fisherman and you live in the frigid north? Besides the obvious magazine reading, and shopping, here are a few ideas.

• Clean your fishing rods and check for cracks - Everyone has had, or will have, a fishing rod break while the are fishing. Sometimes this cannot be avoided, but other times you can find these issues before the next season starts by wiping down your fishing rods and checking the guides for nicks, scratches, or cracks. If you find a crack in the rod, get a new one. I have never met someone who has repaired a graphite rod and been satisfied. If you cut it down it changes the action. If you try and wrap the cracked area it changes the action. If you have a crack in a guide, you can buy replacements and fix it. If you find a nick or scratch in a guide you might be able to polish it out with an emery cloth or diamond bit on a dremel.

• Check your lures - Look over your lures for paint issues on wooden lures, rusty hooks, dull hooks, bent hooks, etc. All of these things can contribute to problems down the road. Consider upgrading hooks if you have a lot of bent or dull hooks. Some people buy brand new lures and change the hooks to a different brand due to the better quality.

• Carve a lure - If your feeling adverturous you can purchase a chunk of balsa wood and try your hand at carving a lure. A basic lure is relatively easy to create and you can purchase all the metal hardware from a mailorder fishing catalog. It is quite satisfying to catch a fish on a lure you created yourself.

• Start a fishing diary - This may sound crazy to some people but it can give you a great insight into what the fish are doing. Get a notebook, buy a computer program, join a website, or whatever other method you can think of, but start logging the weather conditions, lures used, fish caught, etc. This can give you a better handle on what needs to be done to catch fish in similar situations on other lakes, or at other times, and keeps you from forgetting.

I hope this has given you a few ideas of things you can do during the winter that are both productive and fun.