Monthly Archives: August 2013

NEW FOR 2014! SONIC ZIPPERED WADERS — $425.00

Check these out. We just previewed the new Orvis Silver Sonic Zippered Waders that are being released September 2013. They have a bunch of great features... not the least of which are handwarming pockets and durable Silver Sonic techology. We learned that every pair is air and water tested. Some are tested a third time randomly...  by an independent firm...  Best yet... they're only $425. If you want the convenience and comfort of zip front, you probably should check these out.

Orvis is offering a new line of Superfine Glass Fly Rods for 2014. We've been casting them this week in Manchester, Vermont and they are terrific! With all the famous fishable characteristics of glass, they are perform beautifully and have tapers that make them easy to load, accurate, and truly "fishable". They feature an unsanded glass Orvis "retro" appearance that will remind you of the classic Orvis rod collection but with the technology that only Jim Logan at the Orvis Rod Shop can offer. We're looking forward to having them as soon as they are available in January. They'll retail for $395 and is sure to be an immediate hit.

Salmon are now in the Betsie River above and below Homestead Dam.

Guides are now available for salmon trips. 

Upper Manistee

Temps in the 90's this week, clear water and slightly lower levels. Fishing remains very good. Mousing continues to move some very good fish from midnight-2am in the deep bends and holes. Hoppers where the sun hits the river and beetles where the cedars shade the river will move some nice fish all afternoon. Guides are catching fish on virtually every rubber-legged pattern. Black and cinnamon ants in the

river above CCC. Ron's Yellow Skunks, and small Yellow Stimulators are best right now. Some tricorythodes #22 will come to the water early mornings. Quick-Sight Beetles in the shaded areas around the cedars. If we ever get any clouds or rain, ephemerella lata (BWO #16-18) will show up.

Best streamer patterns continue to be Circus Peanuts, and Wooly Buggers in olive/black. Rubber-Legged Buggers are also getting some fish to move hard. Copper Johns, isonychia wiggle nymph, rising caddis pupa as a dropper below a Tan Elk Hair Caddis #14-12, and pheasant tail nymphs #14 below indicators can be effective.

Upper Boardman River

This week's hot temps are making levels a little low, but fishing remains very good.  Mousing continues to be fair from midnight-2am in the deep bends and holes. Hoppers where the sun hits the river and beetles where the cedars shade the river below the Forks will move some nice fish from noon to 4pm. Shumsky Landing and Beitner will offer some fair hopper fishing. If we ever get any clouds or rain, ephemerella lata (BWO #16) will show up. Some trico fishing early mornings. No sign of fish in the new water below the Quiet Area. Water looks good and surprisingly good numbers of insects were reported by Dave Mahan in the AuSable Institutes bug census there. Only time will tell. Mousing at Shumsky and near Oleson's below Keystone.

Upper Manistee

Warm temps, clear water and normal levels are making fishing very good. Mousing continues to move some very good fish from midnight-2am in the deep bends and holes. Hoppers where the sun hits the river and beetles where the cedars shade the river will move some nice fish all afternoon. Guides are catching fish on virtually every rubber-legged pattern. Black and cinnamon ants in the river above CCC. Ron's Yellow Skunks, and small Yellow Stimulators are best right now. Some tricorythodes #22 will come to the water early mornings. Quick-Sight Beetles in the shaded areas around the cedars. If we ever get any clouds or rain, ephemerella lata (BWO #16) will show up.

Best streamer patterns continue to be Circus Peanuts, and Wooly Buggers in olive/black. Rubber-Legged Buggers are also getting some fish to move hard. Copper Johns, isonychia wiggle nymph, rising caddis pupa as a dropper below a Tan Elk Hair Caddis #14-12, and pheasant tail nymphs #14 below indicators can be effective.

Upper Boardman River

Warm temps, clear water and normal levels are making fishing very good. Mousing continues to move some very good fish from midnight-2am in the deep bends and holes. Hoppers where the sun hits the river and beetles where the cedars shade the river below the Forks will move some nice fish all afternoon. Shumsky Landing and Beitner will offer some fair hopper fishing. If we ever get any clouds or rain, ephemerella lata (BWO #16) will show up. Some trico fishing early mornings. No sign of fish in the new water below the Quiet Area. Water looks good and surprisingly good numbers of insects were reported by Dave Mahan in the AuSable Institutes bug census there. Only time will tell. Mousing at Shumsky and near Oleson's below Keystone.

Upper Manistee

Warm temps, clear water and normal levels are making fishing very good. Mousing continues to move some very good fish from midnight-2am in the deep bends and holes. Hoppers where the sun hits the river and beetles where the cedars shade the river will move some nice fish all afternoon. Guides are catching fish on virtually every rubber-legged pattern. Black and cinnamon ants in the river above CCC. Ron's Yellow Skunks, and small Yellow Stimulators are best right now. Some tricorythodes #22 will come to the water early mornings. Quick-Sight Beetles in the shaded areas around the cedars. If we ever get any clouds or rain, ephemerella lata (BWO #16) will show up.

Best streamer patterns continue to be Circus Peanuts, and Wooly Buggers in olive/black. Rubber-Legged Buggers are also getting some fish to move hard. Copper Johns, isonychia wiggle nymph, rising caddis pupa as a dropper below a Tan Elk Hair Caddis #14-12, and pheasant tail nymphs #14 below indicators can be effective.

Upper Boardman River

Warm temps, clear water and normal levels are making fishing very good. Mousing continues to move some very good fish from midnight-2am in the deep bends and holes. Hoppers where the sun hits the river and beetles where the cedars shade the river below the Forks will move some nice fish all afternoon. Shumsky Landing and Beitner will offer some fair hopper fishing. If we ever get any clouds or rain, ephemerella lata (BWO #16) will show up. Some trico fishing early mornings. No sign of fish in the new water below the Quiet Area. Water looks good and surprisingly good numbers of insects were reported by Dave Mahan in the AuSable Institutes bug census there. Only time will tell. Mousing at Shumsky and near Oleson's below Keystone.

The novice fly angler learns early-on that a feeding fish and the perfect fly are meaningless unless they can deliver an accurate cast.  This article will deal with the accuracy of the cast and the obstacles that interfere with it. These are difficult concepts to visualize without a rod and line. So, take your time and think through the rules and then try to apply them when you can head outside for some practice. For the sake of discussion, we will assume you are casting on the lawn to practice.

Let’s begin with the most obvious of obstacles, the ability to reach your target.  Wide, inefficient loops are easily blown back or “puddle” short of one’s target.  Similarly, it is common for one to apply power too abruptly when trying to reach a distant target only to create a tailing loops that knot-up well short of it.  So, the first point to remember when trying to make an accurate cast is that a tight, controlled loop is essential if one is to reach the target.

Secondly, the trajectory of the cast must be considered.  Ideally, we want the line to lay out fully just above the ground to avoid bouncing back or being blown off target.  Thus, if you’re trying to cast tight loops to a target only twenty feet away, the cast must be angled downward to the ground and the back cast must go very high.  This short cast is one of the most difficult targets to hit for a novice because it requires such a deliberately forward tilted trajectory. Stopping the rod tip early enough on the backcast is difficult for those not familiar with these concepts. And when the tip stops too late, the arc of the rod tip increases and the loop becomes large and inefficient. So, until you are familiar with these issues, please watch your rod tip to form good loops on the proper trajectory. Once you are more comfortable with these different angles, you can focus on the target.

Aiming too high or too low can also affect the accuracy of your cast. If you allow the line to lay out fully too high above the target, the leader will bounce or blow back, land short, or off to the side.  On the other hand, longer casts must be aimed higher above the ground to avoid falling prey to gravity before the line has had a chance to lay out fully or shoot to the target. But one should aim only high enough to allow for the line to shoot to the target and lay out just above it.  The closer your target is, the more your casting trajectory must be tilted forward. Conversely, the farther away your target is, the higher you must aim.

Next, practice directing the fly line accurately. In a perfect world, your loops are tight and the line will lay out in a straight line to the target. Yet, there are factors that affect accuracy. For the sake of this discussion, let’s assume there are no external elements to affect the cast. First, the fly will go where your rod tip is pointing when you stop it to form a loop.  The most accurate casts result from a perfectly perpendicular (not off-the-shoulder or side-armed) rod and a tight loop that lays out straight toward the target. This is because since we almost always add more power than is needed to make the line lay out fully, the fly wants to continue beyond a straight line. Thus, for every degree a right-handed caster cants the rod off-the-shoulder, the fly will go a corresponding distance past the tar