Tips and tricks for fly fishing Indiana rivers
A nice trick for securing metal eyes to a hook: Take an emery board and sand a little of the lacquer coating off of a bronze hook. Wrap the thread into place, add a drop of super glue on the bare hook area, place the eyes on the super glue, position them quickly and wrap in with thread. This gives you a “metal-to-metal” bond. Use figure eight wraps, locking wraps, and encircling wraps to secure them in place. The super glue will soak into the thread and make a very strong bond. Let the superglue dry. This will prevent the eyes from spinning around the hook shank. No need to sand down stainless hooks. Just add the super glue for a metal-to-metal bond. If the metal eyes are painted, also scrape some of the paint off to expose the metal. (Thanks to Junior Burke for this tip!)
PS: I prefer Loctite brand glue... excellent containers that don't clog up as badly or dry out as quickly as other brands.
Fly tying instructions - Clouser Deep Diving Minnow: There are lots of versions of the venerable Clouser... here's mine.
Fly pattern recipe for tying the Conrad Sculpin streamer:
The Conrad Sculpin is an articulated streamer intended to imitate the action of an escaping sculpin (when stripped) or a dying sculpin (when drifted). I designed the fly after watching huge numbers of sculpins flee from bankside structure on Michigan's Au Sable River. I sent to fly to my friend and mentor Bob Linsenman, who fished and liked it. He shared it with Kelly Galloup who also agreed it had some merit, so Bob forwarded it on to Pacific Fly Group, who now mass-produces them for sale in fly shops. If your fly shop doesn't carry them ask them to contact PacFly. I must credit Kelly Galloup for his innovative use of spacer beads slid over the mono to attach the rear hook and create the articulation. I don't know if Kelly invented that method but I do know that his TA Bunker pattern is where I learned it.
The best colors are all black, all white, all yellow, white/chartreuse, tan/olive, and black/chartreuse. The fly is best fished on a heavy sinktip, although occasionally can be fished on a floating line, especially in still water. You can size this fly up or down. Just remember the ratio of the size of hooks. If you want a smaller fly use a size 4 front hook and a size 8 rear hook.
Another nice variation is to leave the lead eyes off. Slithers like a snake! Killer in low water or when bass are crashing the surface. Clich here for the fly pattern and pictures...
Developing Solid Flyfishing Technique: There is nothing like the repetition of correct casting technique to build muscle memory. And while flycasting is a group of elementary movements of the hands and arms, the part that needs practice is putting those disparate motions together into a well-timed flow to generate a smooth cast with enough line speed to get the fly to its target. After you master the basics of flycasting (on the lawn, ponds, etc.), there is simply no better way to really learn to cast (and fish) than to take float trips with guides who are good casting and fishing instructors. On the average, you will cast 90-120 times per hour for the duration of the trip. You'll will be asked to put the fly tight to cover, against logs, under trees and right over rocks. Meanwhile, the boat is moving, there are trees behind you, the flyline needs to be adjusted on the water (mending), the flyline inside the boat needs to be managed (because you are probably standing on it), and there is usually another person 10 feet from you trying to do the same thing. There is no other flyfishing situation that will accelerate your learning curve the way fishing a river from a moving boat will. Oh... and its great fun!
Use the right equipment for the job (don't bring a knife to a gun fight): Flycasting all day can take alot out of you. An adequate flycaster can throw a popper or weighted streamer with a 4 or 5wt rod. But can you (or would you want to) throw that heavy fly 90-120 times per hour for the duration of a 9-10 hour float trip? Probably not. Many anglers bring "trout rods" to fish for Smallmouth. They usually wear out quickly or get frustrated with the extra false casting required to move a larger fly with an underpowered rod. Most end up using my boat rods, which are 6wt rods which are "over-lined" with 7wt bass taper lines and heavy-butt leaders. These rods provide the efficiency you need to cast 1000+ times during a long float trip, and you'll actually fish more because you are limiting the false casting and are able to cast farther, quicker.
Choosing the Right Equipment: Take a common-sense approach to choosing your equipment. Don't buy a rod/reel/line setup of every weight. Instead, choose a light, medium and heavy weight and you will build yourself an arsenal of rigs that will cover most of your fishing. ex: a 4wt rig, a 7wt rig and a 10wt rig should cover everything from bluegill to salmon and mid-sized saltwater species. If you are headed out to fish for tarpon or sailfish, you will usually be doing so with a guide who will provide the rig you need for the species. If you live in smallmouth bass country, I believe the most useful all-around rod/reel setup is a 7wt. It will work well for streamer and popper fishing for bass, and, if you buy a good reel with a disc drag it'll work for Great Lakes Steelhead and light inshore saltwater fishing such as bonefish/redfish/snook/trout.
Rod Weights/Line Ratings: The line ratings for fly rods are just the manufacturers educated opinion of what line will cast best on that rod at about 30-40 feet. However, that doesn't take into account what fly (or group of flies) you will be fishing, what fishing situation you will be in, or your personal casting style. When you test a rod, try it with 3 line weights... the recommended weight, one weight heavier and one weight lighter... and tie on a fly with the hook cut off or some yarn to add casting resistance. This will give you a real sense of how the rod will perform at different ranges. My personal experience is as follows:
1) Most rods cast their rated line weight just fine with light or small profile flies... it's when you tie on a heavier or more wind-resistant fly that the rated line weight doesn't loat the rod "deeply" enough to move the large fly easily at normal fishing ranges.
2) When casting the bigger flies we tend to throw for warmwater species, most rods need to be "over-lined" by one line weight to perform well within reasonable fishing ranges. Over-lining may limit your casting range a bit as your rod begins to "fold-up" while extending the distance. Usually not a problem, though... in most normal fishing circumstances, the maximum reach needed to catch fish is about 60 feet.
3) The reason for "under-lining" a rod is to cast farther with light flies and make a softer presentation. For example, if you were fishing Hebgen Lake in Yellowstone, casting midges 60-80 feet on fine tippets for spooky trout sipping on the surface, under-lining could be an advantage in softer presentation and the fact that your rod doesn't have to strain to cast the line an extended distance. Another application for underlining is when you are fishing in heavy wind on the flats for bonefish as the lighter line has less mass and "cuts" the wind somewhat easier. The problem with under-lining is that the rod doesn't load until you get 45-50 feet of line out, so working out the first 40+ feet takes practice.
The main thing to remember is that the rod is capable of casting more than just it's rated line size, and adjusting up or down in line size can be a very effective way of "tuning" your casting to make fishing easier and more effective.
Leader Design for Heavy Flies: For bass fishing, avoid trout leaders... they don't cut it for turning over big flies. I tie almost all of my own leaders. (I'll occasionally buy an extruded leader for fishing very weedy water). For fishing heavy or wind-resistant flies on my 6 & 7wt rods, I use Bob Clousers leader formula (very similar to an old Orvis salmon/bass leader formula). The formula is 36" of 40lb test, 18" of 30lb test, 12" of 25lb test, 12" of 20lb test and 12" of 15lb test. This makes a 7.5 foot leader butt and turnover section. Tie a perfection loop in the butt end to attach to the flyline, and one in the tippet end to attach the tippet. You can attach the tippet loop-to-loop or just tie it on to the perfection loop. Use 2 to 4 feet of tippet to make a 9.5 to 11.5 foot leader. I use Maxima Ultragreen material. Any stiff mono will work. If you plan on buying the extruded tapered leaders, buy the heavy butt versions made for bass, salmon or even saltwater. A stiff 7.5 ft leader with a butt of .025 or heavier and a 12-15 pound tippet makes a good choice as a basic leader butt for streamer and popper fishing. Just tie a perfection loop in the tippet end and then tie your final 2-4 feet of tippet onto the loop.
Rod Tip Down: When fishing streamers or poppers, put the tip of your rod right at the surface of the water or even in the water and inch or so. This creates a direct connection between you and your fly, which does 2 things...it maximizes the number of takes that turn into hooked fish, and it enhances the action of your fly. When you have slack line between you and your fly, you are really just retrieving the slack and the fly is being pulled in by the slack, which imparts little action to the fly. Also, fish are incredibly fast at taking in and then spitting out our flies. If you are directly connected to the fly, chances are much better that you will have the opportunity to set the hook when a fish takes.
Clousers and Leaders: The up & down swimming motion of Clouser Minnows and other "jig" type flies can be improved by using longer, lighter leaders than would normally be recommended for flies of their size and weight. ex: A size 6 Clouser would normally be fished on a 9-10ft 1x or 2x leader, however, the action of the fly is better when using a longer leader with a lighter tippet. If you are fishing good water and the fish aren't responding try changing to a longer leader and a 3x or even 4x tippet. When extending you leader to extremes, don't just add more tippet or the leader will not turn over a heavy fly very well. Extend the butt of your leader, keeping your tippet 2.5-3 ft long, and you can get away with a much longer leader that will still turn over heavy flies (if your casting is well-timed). You can also use this approach in slower moving or still water to avoid using sinking lines, which don't impart as much jigging action to a weighted fly.
Use a Loop Knot for streamers and poppers: The loop knot allows the fly to swim more naturally than if it is tied tight to the tippet. My favorite loop knot is the non-slip mono loop. The Rapala knot can be used as well.
Nymphing in Warmwater: We all like the visual take of a fish slamming a topwater bug or chasing a streamer. Unfortunately, the fish are in control of this game and our job is to present the flies they will eat in the manner they want to see them. Indicator nymphing can be effective when other methods are not producing. Try a lightly weighted crayfish pattern, Wooly Bugger, Hellgramite, or even a small Clouser Minnow. Put the fly under an indicator about 1 foot deeper than the estimated water depth you are fishing. Look for the fly to tick the bottom while being pulled downstream by the indicator. You can impart more action by twitching the indicator a bit or mending it upstream for a dead drift. Since this method is usually used when more active tactics (streamers or poppers) are not drawing strikes, don't just float the fly through a hole or run once, but rather anchor up and "nymph" the water, adjusting your presentation and fly offering until you have fished the water thoroughly.
High Water Smallmouth: In high, off-color water, using larger flies (sculpins, large baitfish patterns and crayfish) on sinktip lines can entice hungry Smallmouth and other warm water species when smaller baitfish patterns may not be visible. Two fly rigs can also be effective, such as a light-colored Half & Half with a dark Wooly Bugger as a trailer.
Low Water Smallmouth: Switch to less visible (more impressionistic) fly patterns as the water drops and clears. Try Clouser Minnows or Murdich Minnows tied sparsely with synthetics. Also, reduce the size of your topwater poppers and use the quieter poppers such as deerhair bugs and Sneaky Pete's.
3 Season Crayfish: As crayfish molt, they are most susceptible to being eaten by Smallmouth. After shedding their exoskeletons they are light-colored, tasty little morsels. Fortunately for us, the different types of crayfish resident in Indiana streams molt at different times of year. So fishing crayfish patterns can be successful anytime. But don't think that Smallmouth only eat crayfish when they are molting. I've seen 10 inch Smallmouth inhale 4 inch crayfish and then attack my fly with the crayfish still stuck in its throat!
Poppers on Sink-tips Lines: You can offer a unique diving presentation by fishing a floating popper on a sink-tip line. This presentation makes the bug dive when stripped and causes it to suspend below the surface when left to drift. This can be effective when fish are aggressive but surface-shy. This can be very effective with Todd's Wiggle Minnow as well.
Popper With a Dropper: Add some extra spice to your popper presentation with a dropper 3-4 feet behind. Use a Clouser Swimming Nymph, Wolly Bugger, a Spoon Fly or other "swimming fly" on 3-4 feet of 2x to 4x tippet tied to the bend of the popper hook. Each time you twitch the popper the trailer does it's dance and can draw strikes from fish that won't come up for the popper. I use this technique during the transition season into late-Spring to test the waters and see if the fish are "looking up" yet while still fishing below the surface to maximize the chance of catching fish.
Structure: Cast deep into “the woods”. Tangles of wood cover in deep, slow water are “high-density housing units” for fish year-round. In order to reach them, use floating line with long (but stout) leaders. Use weedless bead-head leeches, crayfish, or baitfish and cast them straight into the structure or just beyond and crawl the fly back through. Plan on losing flies… even weedless. Traditional fishing techniques such as throwing a rubber worm or a weedless jig are more effective for this but it can be done with fly rod.
Ambush points: Actively feeding fish will set up in places where they can hide from their prey and jump out for the kill. Examine the water for such places. Common ambush points are behind rocks, at the end of sweeper logs, holes downstream of anything that interrupts the current (points, logs, rocks), on the downstream side of a sunken log laying across the current, etc. Think like a predator to catch a predator.
Start with a surface fly if water temp is above 60 degrees and water flows/color are normal: Since surface fishing is so much fun, you may as well start there when the water temp/condition is conducive to a surface attack. You can always go to a streamer if the surface bite isn’t active enough. I usually prefer sliders/divers over poppers for a more subtle disturbance. Sneaky Pete’s, Dahlberg Divers, etc.
Reduce fly size as water drops and clears: During high and/or off-colored water, larger flies will tend to draw more attention as they disturb more water and are more visible. As the water drops and clears, fish smaller flies and use a more careful approach and presentation. For streamers such as Clousers, I find synthetic materials create a most ghost-like appearance and get eaten more often in clear water. For low water popper fishing, I find that small deerhair poppers in dull, natural colors draw more strikes.
Night fishing: Try quieter surface flies first, as sometimes fish are spooked by big noises, even in the dark. Go to the noisier flies if quieter presentations don’t draw strikes.
Fishing the spawn: Don’t pester actively spawning fish. In the time they are away from their nests, bluegill, crayfish, etc. can strip the nest of eggs or Smallmouth fry. During spawning season, fish the faster, deeper water for non-spawning fish and leave the shallow spawning beds alone. Expect a few weeks of lull in the fishing during and after the spawn.
Mend/twitch retrieve: When retrieving a streamer or popper, try moving the fly by doing small, quick mends of the fly line. Draw a quick “C” in the air (very low to the water) with your rod tip and then quickly recover the slack you have created. This type of retrieve imparts a more jerky action to the fly than the tradtitional “strip and pause” retrieve.