The Christmas tree's not up- hell it's not even purchased! The house isn't decorated for the holidays. There's no snow on the ground, but in Rhode Island that's par for December. Christmas presents (for others) have not been bought. The UPS and FedEx trucks are driving by the house on a regular but not as yet, frantic pace, delivering Christmas internet orders, and the days continue getting shorter but only for another couple of weeks before we hit the winter solstice. But my priorities are under control, both boats are winterized and under wraps, all nine 12-volt batteries are on the trickle chargers, and I've started tying flies for spring!       Perfect!

• In The Casting Corner I discuss tips on how to prevent your fly line from looking and acting like a "Slinky" toy. By taking just a few minutes to stretch the fly line before you start casting will ensure your line won't kink and hang-up in the guides or get tangled around your feet.  

• Fishing with a Guide- Part II provides additional thoughts and recommendations to supplement the prior issue's article on the same subject. It can be intimidating being on a guide's boat for the first time not knowing about the "do's and don'ts"  and more importantly for you as a paying client, what the guide should be doing to make your day on the water more productive and fun.
• This issue's Featured Fly Pattern- Bruzky's Wiggle Fly is a little beauty that my friend Peter Kutzer of Orvis introduced to me in the spring of 2011 when we fished the Little Narragansett Bay flats. It's a fairly easy pattern to tie. It replicates the "Walk the Dog" retrieve of a number of top water striper plugs.  
• Lastly, The New Fly Fisher- Fishing the RI Cinder Worm Hatch article is a repeat announcement from the last newsletter, pertaining to a television show to be aired this Sunday, December 9th on the New England Sports Network (NESN). There was a glitch in last Saturday's  scheduled show however it did air last Sunday, and will be repeated this coming Sunday. 

Strip Strike that Fish!

Pro Staff- Foxboro, MA

Saltwater Pro Team

As a charter captain, I know everything about fly fishing. At least that's what a lot of clients think! Well that's pretty far from the truth, but there are a few things that I observe that consistently get in the way of clients catching fish. Behind the boat's steering wheel you make a lot of observations in the course of  5-10 hour outings on the water. Aside from the obvious need for fly anglers to get better at casting, there are two observations that replay day-in and day-out, and both are easy fixes. They apply particularly when fishing for False Albacore, one of the fastest fish in the sea.

1. Urgency  This ain't cane-pole fishing from a lawn chair on the banks of a lazy muddy river. Albie fishing approaches the speed and urgency of 220 volts. These fish when swimming at top speed are capable of 45 mph runs. Clearly they aren't going that fast when you see them breaking on top when they are slashing bait, but anyone who has fished to these speedsters will tell you that as a fly caster you have to be fast- really fast.  

 This is Part II of the topic Fishing with a Guide. Why is this topic so important that I would publish two newsletters covering the same subject? The short answer is- there's a lot to consider. In many cases, my new clients have never been on a guided fishing trip. Some may have wade fished with a guide or perhaps been in a drift boat on a trout stream, but there are considerable differences from those scenarios and being in a center console boat in big water. Hopefully these recommendations will make your time on the water more enjoyable and productive. I will continue to publish additional tips in future issues as they come to mind.  

 

• Are you about to go fishing in unfamiliar waters? You ought to seriously consider hiring a guide and save your first day from being a total bust and up-the-odds that on successive days and return trips you will be successful if you choose to fish those same waters. Guides know their waters intimately- at all times of the day, at all tides, and in all seasons and they know what fly patterns work. The good guides will help you understand a particular fishery. What tides are better, what patterns consistently work, what time of day is the best. A good guide will point-out to his clients locations they might try and fish on another day by themselves (assuming they have the proper equipment and boat if necessary). The expense of hiring a guide in waters that you may fish again by yourself should be amortized over a longer period than just the one day you are together. A good guide willing to share information is a great investment that will provide solid returns.   

• Do some research on your own about local fishing conditions. Go to the Orvis Fishing Reports to get current and first-hand advice on fishing conditions. The report that I write is for Coastal Rhode Island Waters.  http://www.orvis.com/fishing_report.aspx?locationid=6738. It is updated weekly usually by Thursday. That same report appears on the "Reports" section of my website:  http://www.skinnywaterchartersri.com/Reports.html Spend some time doing your own research in advance of your guided trip, know what other anglers are experiencing.

• Before casting, understand the wind direction and speed and check your back cast room for obstructions such as the guide, your fishing partner, the boat antenna, etc. If you are dealing with a head-wind, keep your casting plane lower to the water surface to minimize the effect of the wind. If the wind is to your back, take advantage of the power of the wind. Keep the line you have aloft, shorter so that the wind won't knock it down, and open your loop and cast at a higher trajectory to take advantage of the winds force... it will give you the added distance you may be looking for. 

• Use a stripping basket to help with line management, particularly if conditions are windy. If a basket has not been offered, ask the guide to get it out of his storage cabinet. Snap the buckle or bungee cord around your waist and adjust it so it's comfortable. Position the basket on the line-hand side of your waist and a bit lower than your waist so your line hand can easily strip line into the basket. Try as best you can to form wide and open loops in the basket as you strip line so you reduce the potential for tangles as you shoot line during the cast or as you play the fish. If the guide does not have stripping baskets on board (the horror!) you must then strip line onto the deck. Many anglers will go barefoot in the boat so they can feel the fly line and avoid stepping on it. Even if you are not fishing barefoot, as you strip line attempt as best you can to distribute the line in wide and open loops to minimize tangling on the cast and when the fish makes a run. If you hook a large and/or fast fish and it suddenly takes off and you have a knot in your fly line several things may happen: 1. The knot will not pass through a guide and you will break the fish off. 2. The knot will not pass through the guide and you will break the rod,  or 3. The rod will come apart at the ferrule in which case there goes the fish with part of your rod. Pay attention to the coils of line in your stripping basket or on the deck at your feet.    

• When the guide tells guests to retrieve their lines as he is about to move the boat, do it immediately. Lines can get tangled in the prop very easily when the boat changes direction. A fly line cut by or entangled in the prop generally goes to the scrap bin. Whether it's your or the guides line, at $80 a copy- a damaged or destroyed line is a drag.  Not only is the line history, anglers will lose valuable time as the guide attempts to clear or cut the line from the prop. Entangled lines never seem to occur in calm water conditions and it's a dangerous operation for a guide to be leaning over the transom attempting to free up or cut loose a fly line.

•  I make a habit of announcing in advance to my clients any maneuver I intend to make with the boat. If I am drifting with the engine off, I announce... "starting up". I advise that I am moving forward or backward to the right or left, and at what general speed. This helps the angler to anticipate their balancing requirements and to get ready for a new casting position. In advance of approaching structure or shallow areas that I intend to take the boat into, I advise the maneuvers I will be taking. 

• As an angler you should always have 15 feet of fly line (in addition to your leader system) outside the tip top as well as a minimum of 30 ft at your feet or in a stripping basket. You need to be ready to cast and deliver the fly and if you have no or very little line outside the tip top and it's all on the deck at your feet or in the stripping basket, you are going to need a number of false casts to get enough line outside the tip top to be able to load the rod to make the cast. I see many clients bring almost all of their fly line into the basket or onto the deck with only 2 feet of fly line in addition to their leader outside the tip top BEFORE they make their next cast.  Remember for most lines (floating, intermediate sink and fast sink) you want to have about 30 feet of line in the air during your false casts to effectively load the rod to make a good cast. The name of the game in good casting is Line Management. Unlike spin casting where the weight of the lure pulls the thin line from the reel's spool, in fly casting you are casting the LINE and the fly simply goes along for the ride. 

• Things to do before and during your fishing each day (whether it's a guided trip or not)   

• Cast for several minutes to warm-up, particularly if you will be sight casting
  . This improves your timing, loosens you up, allows you to build confidence, and shows the guide how effective you are. 

• If you switch-out the reel spool with one type of line to another spool with a different line, take a number of practice casts with the new line in order to get the feel of it before you are casting for real.  

• If you are going to use your equipment on the guides boat, have your rod assembled and the reel attached and your fly line stretched before you get on the boat. Don't tie on a fly unless you are sure that's the pattern that's best. When a guide leaves the dock and gets underway, he/she expects all guests to be seated or holding onto a railing. As a guest, if you are assembling your rod, mounting the reel and stringing the fly line WHILE the Captain is underway- that's not a good start. You will have balance problems, you will miss the Captain's orientation that typically is taking place, and you stand the risk of dropping or worse-yet breaking your rod as the boat pitches and bumps. 

• All Eyes and Ears on-board. When fishing difficult areas with rocks, swells, waves etc,  help the guide with information on visible water depth, an oncoming swell, a nearby rock, navigational and lobster pot buoys that may be near. As a shallow water guide I am rarely maneuvering my boat in deep and unobstructed waters. I am typically positioning the boat in a "mine field"- in, on or very near structure. Extra eyes really help.   

• Your guide is not your Butler. The guides principal job is to put you ONTO  fish. He/she cannot catch fish for you.   

• If you are on a guided trip and you're into Bluefish... let the guide handle the fish or crush the barb on the hook for easy removal, do not risk injury that requires a trip to the Emergency Room to remove a hook.   

• Tell the guide in advance if you cast right or left handed, this will help the guide attempt to position the boat best for each angler given relative casting skills. If you are fishing with another angler, be willing to swap casting positions during the day. Don't hog the best casting positions and don't make the guide be the referee.