Todd Moen puts together some of his best bits of 2011--fishy, scenic,...sweet!
If you can't see the video link, go to flyfishingfantasies.blogspot.com.
If you can't see the video link, go to flyfishingfantasies.blogspot.com.
Showing posts with label british columbia steelheading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label british columbia steelheading. Show all posts
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Steelhead Rising in Huge Numbers
ETA
Paid in Full boasts over twenty dry fly steelhead rises and they're coming your way in a matter of hours. If all website work goes according to plan tomorrow, our steelhead sight fishing and dry fly fishing masterpiece, as voted by me, will be available for purchase by late tomorrow. I'm ecstatic with the final product and given the feedback we've received from several fly fishing industry insiders, many other people will be just as impressed.
The Difference
Unlike some fishing videographers, we keep the camera running by packing lots of batteries. The result? You get to see the rise, the take, the hook set, that initial frenetic run and all the incredible surroundings that steelhead call home. You also get to see steelhead approaching twenty pounds that fell victim to a well presented dry fly and the xxxx-eating grin on the face of the guy that presented that fly. In addition to carrying lots of batteries, we also use wireless lapel microphones to bring the authentic sounds of a screaming Islander Reel.
I can't wait!
Take your last look at our previous trailer below if you choose as it'll be replaced by Paid in Full's official trailer within hours.
If you can't see the video link, go to flyfishingfantasies.blogspot.com.
Paid in Full boasts over twenty dry fly steelhead rises and they're coming your way in a matter of hours. If all website work goes according to plan tomorrow, our steelhead sight fishing and dry fly fishing masterpiece, as voted by me, will be available for purchase by late tomorrow. I'm ecstatic with the final product and given the feedback we've received from several fly fishing industry insiders, many other people will be just as impressed.
The Difference
Unlike some fishing videographers, we keep the camera running by packing lots of batteries. The result? You get to see the rise, the take, the hook set, that initial frenetic run and all the incredible surroundings that steelhead call home. You also get to see steelhead approaching twenty pounds that fell victim to a well presented dry fly and the xxxx-eating grin on the face of the guy that presented that fly. In addition to carrying lots of batteries, we also use wireless lapel microphones to bring the authentic sounds of a screaming Islander Reel.
I can't wait!
Take your last look at our previous trailer below if you choose as it'll be replaced by Paid in Full's official trailer within hours.
If you can't see the video link, go to flyfishingfantasies.blogspot.com.
Friday, 29 April 2011
Steelhead Take Cover
Anticipation
I just got a new rod this week--the Sage TCX 7119-4. I'm looking forward to dry lining steelies with this rod. My first spey rod was a Sage 9140-4. While it's an awesome rod, it's a little overpowering for some of the fish and water I frequent. I think this new 7 weight switch rod will be awesomerrrrrr! I have a feeling I won't be exercising the 9 weight nearly as often in the future.
Summer Runs
It won't be very long until the summer run steelies start slipping in to some of BC's coastal rivers. I've tied up a couple new dries to try and I've got a major stock of the old standbys. I've paired an Islander 4.0 with my new rod. It seems like the perfect match for the rod and will get its first action very soon. I'll fill you in on how both the rod and reel perform and how they match up.
I just got a new rod this week--the Sage TCX 7119-4. I'm looking forward to dry lining steelies with this rod. My first spey rod was a Sage 9140-4. While it's an awesome rod, it's a little overpowering for some of the fish and water I frequent. I think this new 7 weight switch rod will be awesomerrrrrr! I have a feeling I won't be exercising the 9 weight nearly as often in the future.
Summer Runs
It won't be very long until the summer run steelies start slipping in to some of BC's coastal rivers. I've tied up a couple new dries to try and I've got a major stock of the old standbys. I've paired an Islander 4.0 with my new rod. It seems like the perfect match for the rod and will get its first action very soon. I'll fill you in on how both the rod and reel perform and how they match up.
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
By Catch--Multiple Steelhead While Trout Fishing
Just Three Days Later
You know fishing was good last outing when you're out again just three days later. This outing materialized out of a recent phone call from a guy I'd crossed paths with a couple years ago. He's a keen fisherman that fishes both gear and fly. As he'd never caught a steelhead on a fly he thought maybe I could show him the ropes. I probably burst his bubble a little when I said I wanted to trout fish but the consolation was that picking up a steelhead as by-catch was a possibility.
Different Holds?
I led him straight to the zone that was hot the last time I was out. The river was a little lower and the depth not quite enough to keep big numbers in this shallow to moderate depth riffle. We fished from above and came up blank while touching a couple of trout. Then we moved around some trees on the bank to have another go at the riffle from below as it was very good from this vantage point last time out. I was soon into a couple of trout, one of which was a decent brown. I thought I was pretty much done with the slower water so I started to move back down while attempting to throw out to the seam where the slower water joined the main flow.
Huge Brown
The biggest fish often position themselves with access to escape to the biggest water. As my indicator drifted down a monster brown sucked in my fly and took to the air twice straight in front of me. I started yelling for a camera man right away. This fish was probably in the 25 inch range and thick. He peeled me into my backing while jumping another two times and running toward the willow trees at my bank. I chased and ran toward mid river to hold him away. This manoeuvre worked as he turned back towards mid river and ran downstream. Unfortunately there were more willows below that split the river's flow and he darted through a gap in these willows. It was going to have to be a surgical operation if I were to pull him out of a very strong current and back through the gap in the willows. I wound the line up fairly short in preparation for my next move but as I went to lead him through the gap the hook sunk into a good sized branch and it was over. I really wanted to get a close look at this brown.
By-Catch
We moved downstream and split up the run with me taking what I thought was the poorer lower portion. First cast my indicator dips within ten or fifteen feet and I'm into a very fresh late winter steelie. I had some troubles closing the deal but eventually led him to a back eddy where he tipped onto his side and he was mine. A bit of quick video and this 12 pound range steelhead was released back to the river.
New Holding Water
Last outing the top of this run was a little too strong to hold fish or to present a fly decently. My fishing partner this day had thoroughly worked the top of the run but didn't move above a big sweeper where there was a soft water eddy. I moved up around him and started to probe. Unlike last trip, I could present a fly nicely and the fish were stacked in here. After poking four trout in rapid succession, I called my buddy over to clean up the scraps. He managed one more and then things turned cold.
More Steel
We moved further upriver to a new run. A guided crew had fished all our water before we got to it, including this run. I was the tail gunner for this corner pool and mopped up nicely with a trout on briefly. A couple casts later I was into my second steelhead of the morning. This one booked it. It took all my fly line and probably another 100 yards of backing. Just when I thought he would hold up, he would turn and run further downriver around the corner. I eventually beached a fish that had good colour for this time of year, although it carried noticeably less depth than the previous fish. This one was likely in the 10 lb range.
First Steelie on the Fly
A half dozen or so steelhead were holding in the next run. It wasn't long until one of them was on and unfortunately, back off, my partner's line. It was his first steelhead hooked on the fly and he seemed pretty excited about the inauguration. We both managed to hook another trout or two before jetting home early. Two great days of fishing back to back--gotta love it.
You know fishing was good last outing when you're out again just three days later. This outing materialized out of a recent phone call from a guy I'd crossed paths with a couple years ago. He's a keen fisherman that fishes both gear and fly. As he'd never caught a steelhead on a fly he thought maybe I could show him the ropes. I probably burst his bubble a little when I said I wanted to trout fish but the consolation was that picking up a steelhead as by-catch was a possibility.
Different Holds?
I led him straight to the zone that was hot the last time I was out. The river was a little lower and the depth not quite enough to keep big numbers in this shallow to moderate depth riffle. We fished from above and came up blank while touching a couple of trout. Then we moved around some trees on the bank to have another go at the riffle from below as it was very good from this vantage point last time out. I was soon into a couple of trout, one of which was a decent brown. I thought I was pretty much done with the slower water so I started to move back down while attempting to throw out to the seam where the slower water joined the main flow.
Huge Brown
The biggest fish often position themselves with access to escape to the biggest water. As my indicator drifted down a monster brown sucked in my fly and took to the air twice straight in front of me. I started yelling for a camera man right away. This fish was probably in the 25 inch range and thick. He peeled me into my backing while jumping another two times and running toward the willow trees at my bank. I chased and ran toward mid river to hold him away. This manoeuvre worked as he turned back towards mid river and ran downstream. Unfortunately there were more willows below that split the river's flow and he darted through a gap in these willows. It was going to have to be a surgical operation if I were to pull him out of a very strong current and back through the gap in the willows. I wound the line up fairly short in preparation for my next move but as I went to lead him through the gap the hook sunk into a good sized branch and it was over. I really wanted to get a close look at this brown.
By-Catch
We moved downstream and split up the run with me taking what I thought was the poorer lower portion. First cast my indicator dips within ten or fifteen feet and I'm into a very fresh late winter steelie. I had some troubles closing the deal but eventually led him to a back eddy where he tipped onto his side and he was mine. A bit of quick video and this 12 pound range steelhead was released back to the river.
New Holding Water
Last outing the top of this run was a little too strong to hold fish or to present a fly decently. My fishing partner this day had thoroughly worked the top of the run but didn't move above a big sweeper where there was a soft water eddy. I moved up around him and started to probe. Unlike last trip, I could present a fly nicely and the fish were stacked in here. After poking four trout in rapid succession, I called my buddy over to clean up the scraps. He managed one more and then things turned cold.
More Steel
We moved further upriver to a new run. A guided crew had fished all our water before we got to it, including this run. I was the tail gunner for this corner pool and mopped up nicely with a trout on briefly. A couple casts later I was into my second steelhead of the morning. This one booked it. It took all my fly line and probably another 100 yards of backing. Just when I thought he would hold up, he would turn and run further downriver around the corner. I eventually beached a fish that had good colour for this time of year, although it carried noticeably less depth than the previous fish. This one was likely in the 10 lb range.
First Steelie on the Fly
A half dozen or so steelhead were holding in the next run. It wasn't long until one of them was on and unfortunately, back off, my partner's line. It was his first steelhead hooked on the fly and he seemed pretty excited about the inauguration. We both managed to hook another trout or two before jetting home early. Two great days of fishing back to back--gotta love it.
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Fly Fishing Fantasies Dry Fly and Sight Fishing For Steelhead
In 2011, Fly Fishing Fantasies plans to release their feature length steelhead dry fly and sight fishing video, Paid in Full. Strategies, techniques, and some sweet footage which may just redefine your notion of quality steelheading.
Two Handed Rods For Smaller Steelhead Rivers?
Many of the steelhead rivers I fish are on the smaller side. They often have brush choked banks. The fish are from 3-15 pounds with the chance of a rare specimen pushing twenty. I usually start by skating a dry but will dead drift dries, nymph, and use sink tips. To date, I've been fishing a Sage 9140-4. In my opinion, two handed rods are invaluable in opening up water that was extremely difficult to fish with a single hander. A two handed rod is a given--just the weight, length, and style are in this debate. I've been told by a trusted source that has sampled many rods that switch rods are awesome for the waters I fish. He also seemed to lean to 7 or 8 weight two-handers.
I'm looking at picking up a 7 weight switch rod. The rod I'm currently planning on getting is the Sage 7119-4 TCX. I'm interested in hearing from people that own 7 and 8 weight two-handed rods as to what they think of these rods for the type of rivers I profiled above (you can even view the video clip in the blog post above to get an idea of river size). Is a 7 weight switch rod just right? You can select thumbs up for yes or thumbs down for no but I'd really love to hear your rationale either way. Just click on the comments link to post a comment. If you're in a rush, just give me a yes or no. Cheers!
I'm looking at picking up a 7 weight switch rod. The rod I'm currently planning on getting is the Sage 7119-4 TCX. I'm interested in hearing from people that own 7 and 8 weight two-handed rods as to what they think of these rods for the type of rivers I profiled above (you can even view the video clip in the blog post above to get an idea of river size). Is a 7 weight switch rod just right? You can select thumbs up for yes or thumbs down for no but I'd really love to hear your rationale either way. Just click on the comments link to post a comment. If you're in a rush, just give me a yes or no. Cheers!
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