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The lazy way


Leon Roskilly

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I do tend to prefer active types of fishing: trotting, dead-bait wobbling, lure-fishing and now fly-fishing joins the list.

 

The problem is that such forms of fishing are tiring, especially when the action is a bit slow.

 

 

After a few hours, rather than packing up and going home, I generally switch to a less intensive method and of course there are times for sandwiches to be eaten and coffee drank (usually postponed far too long in favour of a few more casts by which time the sandwiches have curled and the coffee has gone cold).

 

 

Over time I've adopted strategies that alllow me to rest, and better appreciate my surroundings and eat my sandwiches without the need to frantically stuff mouthfuls before making another cast.

 

 

When trotting, the float is moved up the line, a few more weights added and the bait can sit on the bottom a while.

 

When lure-fishing I usually take along a few sprats and the lure is replaced with a deadbait trace and a float clipped to the line.

 

 

Of course I could use a similar strategy when fly-fishing.

 

A worm on the bend of the hook could be devestating.

 

But fly fisheries usually have rules, and I've a feeling that fellow fly-anglers would cease being seen talking to me if I adopted the practice of putting a proper bait on the hook.

 

But I am aware that it is almost acceptable to fish a fly statically, even beneath a floa.. er, strike-indicator.

 

 

 

So, next time I'm weary, hungry or thirsty I'm going to give that a try.

 

The problem is that I'm not sure which patterns are best fished this way.

 

 

Buzzers and emergers I guess, but what else works?

 

And which is best at various times of year or under different conditions?

 

 

 

(There does seem to be a lack of information out there about static fly-fishing, as though it's a dirty secret, mentioned but not discussed in detail).

 

Oh! and do trout follow the same convention as other lesser fish of grabbing your stationary offering, just as you are attempting to pour a cup of coffee, or take a long-awaited bite of a sandwich with no where to put it down, so that it gets covered in mud, insects, or dropped in the margins?

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Use of indicators does tend to polarise opinions a little - though I'm not sure the chaps stripping half a budgie back through shoals of stockies are really best placed to be defending the noble art of fly fishing ;)

 

Usual choices to be fished "static" under an indicator are buzzers, but also often worth trying a Diawl Bach or PTN or GRHE. Maybe a little goldhead nymph on the point. I put static in quotes because it works best when there is a bit of wind to move the flies round in an arc, and because you still want to be keeping in touch with the flies and - if the fish want them that way - working them with little pulls and twitches. I think the benefit of it is really more presentation than bite indication, in that you can fix the flies at the correct depth but not directly underneath the fly line. It does allow you to stop working them without them sinking out of the right depth, which you can't do without an indicator, but I don't think being lazy is really the point of the method.

 

I prefer a bit of floating putty to the foam or plastic indicators. If you want to pretend you aren't actually using an indicator, you could use a big bushy dry fly instead. Or, you can use a floating suspender buzzer on the point, so that the droppers are strung out just under the surface - the "washing line". Never seems to work for me, but it catches other people a lot of fish on the right day.

 

If you want to really mark yourself out as a heathen, there are two other options which have become popular - suspending a blob under an indicator, or for maximum outrage, fishing a booby (floating lure) static on a short leader to a fast sinking line. Some of the old boys at Farmoor have special rod rests for this, of the sort used on boats where the butt sits in a tube. It's a pretty crude form of legering and is said to result in a lot of deep hooked fish, and is often banned, but is certainly effective.

 

I must admit, when I first sought out a fly fishing lesson at Bushyleaze, I was a bit shocked when the instructor fished out a thing like a little foam rugby ball and attached it to my line. "Is this really fly fishing?", I asked myself. It certainly caught me some fish, though, and after the instructor had gone another angler came over for a chat and to see what I was doing. Didn't use them himself, he said. Nice chap, gave me one of his home made buzzers after I'd lost mine. I lost a few more fish on the unfamiliar fly tackle and eventually caught my limit - beginner's luck, and being plonked in the right area on the right method by the bailiff, I think. Anyway, that chap who didn't use them himself must have found one on the bank or something, because by the time I left, he'd got one on too! :lol:

 

I now take the view that they are just another string to the bow, to be used when appropriate. I'd much rather be fishing the dry fly for wildies, but catching stocked rainbows on buzzers with or without indicator or lures (or dries if at all possible) is great fun too. Horses for courses.

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Leon

As Steve points out, any fly can be fished static and you don’t even need to suspend them under an indicator; I have twice had fish pick up a lure on the bottom whilst extracting my running line form a tangle in the nearest bush. I suspect you would even get takes on the dreaded Consett Budgie fished under a bung if you were prepared to give it a go; it is not a method I would use myself though.

I have found that the solution to getting weary fly fishing is to fish shorter sessions half day rather than full day sessions and in the summer only fish the evening rise.

Tony

Tony

 

After a certain age, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead.

 

 

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I have found that the solution to getting weary fly fishing is to fish shorter sessions half day rather than full day sessions and in the summer only fish the evening rise.

 

 

What? Having paid for a day's fishing I want my money's worth :)

 

 

ps I fished Parkwood yesterday, 'lots' of anglers there first thing but the place emptied around lunchtime and when I went home around 2pm, just two anglers were still desperately casting for their limit.

 

pps I had one really savage take that nearly took the rod out of my hand, and my instictive strike saw the tippet (5lb) part at the fly-knot :(

 

(I really must keep in mind that I'm not lure-fishing with 50lb braid!)

Edited by Leon Roskilly

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Leon

Did you catch anything at all or did you just have the smash take?

It could also be worthwhile you increasing your leader tippet strength to say 8lb test, this is not too heavy many of the trout match boys do not use anything below 10lbs test (double strength or fluorocarbon).

 

Tony

Tony

 

After a certain age, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead.

 

 

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Leon

Did you catch anything at all or did you just have the smash take?

It could also be worthwhile you increasing your leader tippet strength to say 8lb test, this is not too heavy many of the trout match boys do not use anything below 10lbs test (double strength or fluorocarbon).

 

Tony

 

 

 

Hi Tony,

 

Just the one take. A few fish came out to around half the other anglers.

 

I've stepped up to 6lb Truefly sub surface tippet, but to me it seems a bit undelicate tied straight to to the fly (0.25mm as opposed to the 0.165mm Drennan Double Strength Fly Leader I was using).

 

I was looking at going down to even lower diameter come the warm when planning to switching to using real flies (er, 'real' as in tied flies that aren't 'lures')

 

(Actually is it considered unsporting to superglue a real living fly to a hook and cast that, using a gentle roll-cast of course? :) )

 

But I guess that if the trout don't mind a rope attached to a delicate winged morsel, I'll stay with the stronger tippets.

 

(I was going by the successful landing of many good trout hooked whilst trotting for graying on light tackle, but I don't remember any arm-wrenching takes when fishing sweet-corn or maggot, albeit I've had some really good fights and at times airborne antics).

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(I was going by the successful landing of many good trout hooked whilst trotting for graying on light tackle, but I don't remember any arm-wrenching takes when fishing sweet-corn or maggot, albeit I've had some really good fights and at times airborne antics).

 

I think there are two issues - fly lines are relatively low stretch, and because they are so thick the drag they create can lead to putting more pressure on the fish than you intended to.

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I like my buzzer fishing and do at times stick on an indicator.Very useful for fishing the flies at the right depth,rather than greasing up the leader.I do like a touch of breeze,the buzzers can swing around in the wind then.I still give them a tweak and a pull however,just to add some movement and quite often a slight dip of the indicator followed by a pull or tweak results in a heavy take.Ok there is the visual indication,but more often than not i loose sight of them if there is any chop on the water plus the takes are quite often that savage that the rod almost leaves ones hands :lol:

Can't see the point in sticking a lure under one however,but they do fish them this way.

 

For what its worth i use Fulling Mill flouro in 5 and 6lb test and don't usually have a problem with it,also use at times Drennan double strength(the coarse version not the green fly version) and again don't seem to have too many problems.However there is always that 'smash 'take which is going to catch the angler out!!!.Even on 6lb a smash take can result in a break.Pretty sure that using 8/10lb B/S is fine when pulling lures but not so sure about fishing buzzers when the fish have more time to inspect their grub.

Edited by chuby
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If you want to fish a static fly whilst you have a rest, the "Booby" range is quite good - Dick Walker had some good fish on "legered" boobies so you will be in good company. The booby sits above the bottom like a pop-up boilie, so getting snagged is less likely.

 

With increasing age I too find I must conserve energy.

 

One way is to avoid too much false casting - you see a lot of people who must spend over half their day false casting anything from six to twenty-six thrashes a time, all to get an extra foot or so.

 

I have evolved my own style which consists of (1)retrieve - (2)roll cast into the air - (3) one backcast - and (4)shoot. Modest for distance, but the fly is back in the water quickly.

 

....add to that, after "(4)shoot" - (5) put rod down, (6)eat a venison-and-mustard sandwich, (7) drink a cup of coffee, (8) pick rod up and (9) play the rainbow which has mysteriously become attached to your line :)

 

You are out to enjoy your day, not develop tendonitis.

Edited by Vagabond

 

 

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