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Falsecast

Monday: Paul Arden
Tuesday: Harps
Wednesday: Bernd Ziesche
Thursday: Mr T.
Friday: Ray
Saturday: Viking Lars
Sunday: Bruce Richards

Ronan's report

Is there no sense to the climate changes we see nowadays, but a few days back we were still in the 80s and now the first frosts of the fall appear. In many ways the fall is one of my favorite times. Mornings on the river start typically with heavy fog and temps in the 30s to 40s. For sure warm clothing is well needed at this time as we motor upstream to our fishing destination that day. Within a hour or so as the sun rises we start to shed the layers of clothing as the sun warms our bodies, and the fish get into the feeding mode. ( Pic anglers venture to the river as the sun rises )

Often at these early times we have great opportunity to nail some trophy Browns, which has certainly been the case this past week. As the sun rises and light penetrates the shallow zones where these fish are stationed so they become way more spooky, in order to maintain the catch rate then longer casts are needed, but saying that its not always the answer as shadows cast by the fly line and leader may well spook those fish further as will careless presentations.

Trout are changing feeding modes at this time of the year as the colder water temperatures of my river see the crawfish seek winter holes in the soft mud banks, both scuds and sowbugs tend to be less active and may well become largely dormant if water temperatures drop way down, as they normally do during the colder winter periods. About the only general food source that is around on a daily basis will be chironomids and the few species of may fly such as BWO which we see here at times.

Its not only the trout that sense the early stages of the fall and winter periods. Likewise many of the creatures we see as we fish the rivers seek food sources in readiness for hibernation. Bucks are on prowl for does in heat, family groups of whitetail deer are on the move as this group that swam across the river in front of my boat Tuesday morning (see pic)

It is also the time of the year we see Ospreys as they migrate south, they will of course nail a few trout and l do not begrudge them that, in fact it is a sight to watch a Osprey scout the water surface and then make a positive dive down and nail a fish. We see also Eagles, at times a lone Pelican, and many species of wildfowl ducks and geese as they all in turn migrate to warmer climates and food sources available to them in the south.

The humming birds that frequent my garden in the summer are now on the flyway for the next few 1000s miles to South America as are the Monarch butterflies. Oh yes there is much more to fly fishing than simply casting a fly to catch fish, whatever species they may be. The whole world of nature is a big picture related, would you not agree. In fact l would argue if you are not in tune with nature then the odds are you are not when it comes to catching fish, or shall we say with limitations.

OK, back to fly fishing. Many questions are frequently asked by my customers or at events l am giving programs. Many are of a very similar nature such as what tippet material do you prefer, what is your choice of fly rod, fly line and so on. Probably the most common is what flies do you prefer to use, there is no simple answer to this question, all be it there may be some common ground. For example many of us know that there are a number of flies that for a given water system will catch fish, on the other hand l also know that no two anglers may fish that fly in the same way for one reason or the other, as there is way more to it than just the right choice of fly, as we all know.

So rig up a 3 fly cast with say a hares ear nymph at tail, mid dropper a soft hackle, and top dropper a good generic dry fly such as a elk hair caddis, Adams, hopper, bivisible. Odds are that you will catch a few fish and may be way more at times, we have covered all depths within the water column !!! with a number of flies that are good general representation of food sources, it is at the end of the day the fish that call the tune, like it or not. It is also at the end of the day a issue related both to skill and experiences of the past.

Have a great week all.

Pic Of Day

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