I got bored. Tied up some leaders, then decided to write about it.

I first need to say that I enjoy building my own leaders.  Most likely the store bought ones are better.  (However, I cut those up too.)  Also it gets expensive if you’re as tough on stuff as I am.   Many in our community enjoy tying flies, I don’t.  I enjoy building my own leaders.  My nymph rig is not my own as I’ve cut and pasted what I like from others I’ve seen.  It also needs to be said that Indicator Nymphing is pretty new to me.  Having not grownup around tail waters I learned other ways.

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My biggest issue with bobbers is that they destroy my leaders. Okay,  “destroy” is probably the wrong word. My leaders seem to get all jacked-up from them though. You’ll notice a couple things in my rig.  First, I run my bobber “inline” and secondly, I use a swivel.  If you don’t see it, trust me it’s there.  I’ll leave the swivel alone for now to let that digest.  The nail knots of old fly-line secure the bobber where you want it on the butt section giving you your desired depth.  However, you can make adjustments to your depth by just sliding the nail knots up and down the butt section.  I’ve tried this on tapered leaders without much success.  I think the declining diameter of the butt section allows the nail knots to slip.  For comparison, this leader recipe will be pretty darn close to an Orvis 9’ 5x knotless tapered leader.

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I use 3-4 feet of 30lb MAXIMA Ultragreen Mono (0.22”) for my butt section.  MAXIMA is great stuff and has the stiffness required for a butt section.  I’m pretty diligent on my lengths, for various and complicated reasons, so when I say 3-4 feet it is 3 feet or 4.  I cut a longer section to work with and thread the bobber on inline. Then with old fly line tie in 2 nail knots on either side.  Make them good and make them tight. I do 5 turns in mine.  After you’re done with that, tie your perfection loop in one end and cut down your leaders butt section to the desired length keeping in mind the knot. (I’m a perfectionist and, yes, I will start over if it’s an inch off.)

For my mid section, I use Berkley VANISH Fluorocarbon. It’s supple and a good transition to the tip.  With a 30lb butt section I’ll use 10lb test (0.11”) tied in with an improved blood knot.  Capt. Dave Hunt, a tarpon guide whom I’ve fished with, instilled in me the importance of choosing the right knot for the right application, which I appreciate.  Because of the drop in diameter between the two, I feel the improved is a better choice but I could be wrong.  To finish off the mid section I use a swivel.

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If you’ve never used a swivel or a tippet ring you should give it a shot.  I am constantly breaking off, knotting up, cutting back…etc…etc… my tip section. The swivel helps with the cold finger tie-in if you have to completely redo your flies because of a tree, besides the extra little weight is good and I promise the fish don’t care.  The business end of the rig is completely up to you.

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For my tip section, I will tie to the swivel 1-2 feet of 4lb Berkley VANISH (0.009”) then my Frogs Hair Tippet 5x with a good ole’ double surgeons knot.  I like the Frogs Hair because I get a deal on it and I’m nerdy.  The gamma technology and their proprietary process is fun to read about and just like the Vanish it is made in the USA.

So there ya have it!  Take it or leave it, use it or don’t.  Just go fishing.

Tight lines

W

What's working?

Lately, a lot of folks are asking me the same question, "what flies are working?" We are keeping it simple throwing crawfish patterns in black and brown as well as Clouser Minnows in chartreuse and white. Also, we did manage to catch a few nice fish on poppers this past week when the weather and water temps permitted. Pretty basic patterns are the ticket for winter bass on the Colorado River.

My new favorite crawfish pattern is the Lead-eyed Double Bunny Crawfish (AKA "DB Craw") tied on 1/0 — 2X Mustad Signature hook. The two most productive colors are black and brown/orange. As predicted all of my crawfish patterns are tied with with a 25# mono (Hard Mason) weed-guard.

In the winter we get a really good run of white bass mixed in with our usual catches of Guadalupe and large mouth bass. We have yet to find a more productive fly for white bass than the Clouser Minnow. The best color has been chartreuse and white Clousers using 1/32 oz. on lead-eyes tied on a 1/0 — 2X Mustad Signature hook with a 25# mono (Hard Mason) weed-guard.

Winter bass fishing is great right now so grab a handful of crawfish and Clouser patterns and your favorite 6-weight the bass are ready and willing!

The Bench Warmer

No one wants to be called a “bench warmer”, but the truth is, every team relies on crucial players that spend most of their time on the bench. So, what does this have to do with fly fishing? As fishing guides we are all very reliant on fly boxes stuffed full of well-crafted flies, which have to be tied by someone with special skills manning a fly tying “bench”.  For us a bench warmer is someone who can spend hour after hour at the tying bench cranking out flies.

Over the course of a season we go through a ton of flies and we can’t physically—or mentally—handle tying flies day-in and day-out. We are talking about hundreds of flies, some of which are difficult and time consuming to tie and quite frankly, beyond our skill set. Additionally, many of our favorite patterns are custom, meaning that they vary greatly from the flies you can find in your local fly shop or online retailer. In almost all cases our flies need to be more durable, have specific color variations, and other incorporate finishes like heavy weighted eyes and stout weed guards.

For the last couple of years I kept seeing photos and reading post from a group of hardcore smallmouth and pike fisherman in the northeast who were catching nice fish on beautiful flies tied by this crazy bearded and tattooed fly tier named Pat Cohen. Sure enough I checked out Pat’s website and friended him on Facebook and it didn’t take long for me to realize that Pat has some mad tying skills that I will never master.

Pat not only speaks bass fishing, he is also a diehard bass fisherman. It shows in his flies, which reflect his vast knowledge of bass, where they hide, what they eat, and most importantly, what they can be fooled by. I am excited that Pat has offered to work with me and All Water Guides to further develop a his already incredible line of crawfish, baitfish, popper and diver patterns. With our year-round bass fishery here in Texas—our northern brethren don’t get to bass fish all winter like us—and plenty of huge river bass we have the ability to field test new prototypes and refine existing patterns giving Pat “real-time” data all year long.

I spent the weekend testing some custom divers Pat recently tied for me. Despite poor water visibility, cold temperatures and heavy weekend fishing pressure these divers moved some huge bass. See for your self how beautiful Pat’s flies are—follow him on Facebook or better yet visit his website and order flies from him direct.

Imagine this. Pat ties every fly himself—using the absolute best materials—and when you call him on the phone you actually get to speak to Pat. As far as we are concerned a bench warmer is a good thing and when Pat Cohen is at his bench that means we can all be catching fish.

http://www.rusuperfly.com/

Jet Boatin' Road Trip

Jeff Davis and I took a little road trip to southern Missouri the other day. The reason was to pick up a jet drive outboard for my new Hog Island Skiff. We kept getting asked why we were driving so far to buy a boat motor.

Well you see this is no ordinary boat motor. Outboard jets are not real common in this part of the country. Anglers in Arkansas and Missouri have used jet powered boats for years to access shallow rocky sections of their rivers that conventional prop driven boats would never survive in. 

On rivers where there is little access or long distances between put ins and takeouts, a jet boat can open up miles of seldom fished water. When floating under oar or paddle power fishing a 6 mile section of the river can take all day. With the option to use the engine we can cover 12 to 20 miles of water with no problem.  Because we are in no hurry to get downstream we can take our time in the best water and motor through the less productive sections. 

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Proper hydration while avoiding the use-and-toss mentality

Fishing as well as guiding in the Texas heat takes a toll on our bodies and dehydration is always a concern. Experienced guides stress proper hydration to their clients throughout a long day of fishing. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, to avoid dehydration, active people should drink approximately 16 ounces of H20 one to two hours before an outdoor activity. You should continue to consume six to twelve ounces of fluids—a combination of H20 and sports drinks—every 15 minutes that you are outside. So let’s add up all the fluids we need in a day. To comply with the above recommendations you should consume between 24 and 48 ounce of fluids per hour, so over the course of an eight-hour day of fishing you should consume around eight 24oz bottles of water plus an additional two to four 16oz bottles of sports drinks. The average angler could consume at the lower end of the recommendations where as a guide will need to consume at the higher end of the recommendations.

That's a lot of water and sports drink to carry in a cooler and the bi-product at the end of the day is a few dozen plastic bottles headed to recycling! If we extrapolate this over the entire guide/outfitter industry worldwide that is a staggering amount of disposable plastic bottles. Conscience of this, many guides have gone away from disposable bottles and have started using BPA-free Nalgene bottles. Though a bit pricey, reusable Nalgene bottles are rugged, carry 32oz, and best of all they don’t end up in a landfill or headed to recycling. Personally, I carry around six sterilized Nalgene bottles—don’t worry they are cleaned after every trip—in my cooler along with two 1-gallon jugs that are filled with filtered rainwater from a local water supplier. Most of my clients don’t seem to mind and don’t seem to miss the disposable plastic bottles. At the end of the day shoulders are sore, our bodies are hydrated, and Mother Nature has been giving a break.

So next time you are headed out fishing plan accordingly and avoid the temptation of using disposable plastic water bottles. Chances are you already have high quality reusable water bottles due to other outdoor interest so put them to good use And continue to enjoy the great outdoors.

Fast Facts on Disposable Bottles

• 2,480,000 tons of plastic bottles and jars were thrown away in one year (2008).
• Tap water is cleaner, cheaper and healthier than store-bought water.
• 60 billion single-use drink containers were purchased in 2006, and 3 out of 4 were thrown out directly after use.
• Plastic bottles are among the most prevalent source of pollution found on our beaches.
• Plastic trash absorbs pre-existing organic pollutants like BPA and PCBs.

More information available at:

http://www.reuseit.com/facts-and-myths/use-and-toss-plastic-bottle-facts.htm 

The Perfect Fly Rod For Central Texas Rivers

The short answer would be a 9 foot 6 weight. But who needs a short answer when we are talking about fly rods, and everyone knows there is no way to cover all your bases with just one rod. So let's dig a little deeper and figure out what fly rod would cover the most water for the average Central Texas angler.   

The 9 foot 6 weight rod would be my first choice for a few reasons. I fish for bass on the Colorado River more than any other local water, and a 6 weight rod allows me to cast larger poppers and streamers that are sometimes required to to catch the larger Colorado River bass. The same rod would work well for nymphing on the Guadalupe River.  The 9 foot length is perfect for mending and a 6 weight will make it easy to cast the multi-fly strike indicator set ups.

If I had to chose another rod it would be an 8.5 or 9 foot 5 weight. The 5 may be a better choice if I spent more time on the Llano River or the San Marcos River.  A 5 weight rod will be lighter and the 8.5 foot length will make it a little easier to cast in tight situations. In the next post I will discuss the most appropriate rods on a river by river basis.

A Night of Friends and Flip-flops

I had a great time as the guest tyer at Sportsman’s Finest (SF) Tuesday night fly tying class. We tied up the infamous Flip-flop Popper designed by All Water Guides’ head guide Alvin Dedeaux. We had a packed house and plenty of nice poppers for everyone’s fly boxes at the end of the night—bass be aware! The Flip-flop Popper is a staple in my bass fly box and accounts for the majority of all bass caught on the fly.  If you want the “recipe” stop by SF and they will set you up with everything you need.

Watch All Water Guides’ Best of 2012 video to see the Flip-flop Popper in action: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10200769969428745

As always, the SF crew—Greg, Stacy, Chuck, Ted, and Lindy—was amazing. The Austin area is fortunate to have a great fly shop that always goes the extra mile for it’s customers and the greater fly fishing community. Thanks again to SF and Greg for the invitation!

Remember folks, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FLY SHOP!

The dark side of fly fishing

I like sinking lines; there I’ve said it.  Don’t get me wrong I love banging the banks with a large Flip Flop Fly or one of Alvin’s Foamy fold-over things.  When the fish are looking up and the water is clear, sight casting to bass as we do is without a doubt the way to go.  Blasting one of these flies into cover and watching it get crushed from below after a couple strips is awesome but the fish are not always going to cooperate with our desire. 

I’m not sure where the controversy started or even if it exists (truly) but people seem to cringe with pain when I mention anything "sinky."  We still get to fly fish when we use a sinker.  We continue to use a fly rod to cast a line that in turn drags a weightless fly along with it.  I am by no means a great caster and do find casting a sinking fly on floating line a problem. My casting becomes labored, cumbersome and just plain UGLY.  I could go on and on but I won't.  Here are a couple thoughts I have starting with the least "sinky" to full on sink.

When I have a BIG foam bug that is skipping and not giving me the KER-PLUNK I need, I use a short 4’ clear intermediate poly leader that pulls the fly down just a bit on the strip.  Crazy talk you say?  It gets worse.  The bigger the fly (still talking top water) the more sink I add, when I fish a big Montauk Monster or a Banger I use a faster sink tip which when stripped pulls that big spun deer hair or plug just below the surface creating all kinds of  “COME AND GET ME” commotion.

Now that I’m done with the craziness of using sinking tips with floating flies lets talk real quickly about true sinking lines.  My favorite is the Depth Finder by AirFlo.  I love the 175gr on my Helios 10' 7wt.  (I like crazy fast rods with sinkers.)  With a 23' head that sinks in a uniform manner you can get an unweighted crawfish pattern down to where the fish are.  I’ve heard all kinds of opinions on leader length while using this method and I’m not going to jump in.  I will say that straight Flouro less than 14lb test is what I use.   You're going to foul and if you’re breaking off less than 14lb test you're not likely damaging the core of your fly line.  A rumor that I will happily chime in on is that lines like this cast “clunky" and “poorly.”  I disagree.  As I said above, a floating line and weighted fly, in my opinion, is the clunky presentation.  With a density compensated line you still get loops and proper turn over because, again, your casting the line with non-weighted fly.

I’ll end with this.  As fellow AWG Guide JD points out "we all can learn a lot from the Bass Masters on a Sunday morning" (that’s tough to swallow).  He’s absolutely 100% correct though.  Those boys catch fish and I don’t see them using Hula Poppers!  They go to where the fish are and most of the time that’s deeper in the water column.  So enjoy the Summer!  Fish those poppers knowing that at any second its gonna get crushed but if ya need a little help with the "come get me," try an intermediate leader with it.  I can also say that having a sinking rod rigged and ready for those deeper spots won't hurt.  Just dont tell anyone.

Enjoy and see you on the water.​

Winston

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​Capt Steve Hollensed teaching the dark arts

Rigging the Perfect Jet Boat

As anglers, we all have much to learn from the squirrel who collects nuts all summer and fall in preparation for a long winter. Few guides I know have the luxury of taking time off when not guiding. There is always work to be done, but let’s face it, it's all pretty rewarding work. Task often include: patching waders, patching rafts, tying flies, replacing fly line, and working on outboards to name a few. However, there is one task above all that guides love more than any other and that is rigging out a boat.

Well, much like the squirel I spent the better part of two months in between work and family preparing for spring and summer bass fishing. Most of this time was dedicated rigging my 17ft Weldbilt aluminum boat — http://www.backwoodslanding.com — custom designed for a jet drive outboard. No matter what, every guide has his own special way of rigging boats and this was no different. First, it started with trying to make the boat more accommodating for my anglers, which meant adding comfortable seats, leaning bars, padded floor mats, and a new 45QT Yeti cooler to keep everything cool. Next, I added high quality fly rod holders to keep rods safe, a beefy Dierks anchor system, NRS oar locks, and custom Sawyer oars.

Finally, it was time to service my reliable Yamaha 40/30 hp jet drive outboard_she old but she is lightweight and reliable. With a tune-up, new water pump, thermostat, and impeller she is running like a scolded demon—whatever that means. Yep, a guide's boat is part office, part transportation, and part mistress, which means we spend a lot of time with them and we rely on them.

The boat could not have turned out any better—give All Water Guides a call and see the rig in person while catching and releasing trophy river bass on the fly!

Hooked on Catch & Release

​It’s that time of the year—Spring Break—kids are out of school and we are headed to Port Oconner for some family fishing on the coast. This time of year is always special because trophy sow trout are on my mind. I’m always trying to beat my best speck a 29-incher caught and released back in 2001. Been to long!

Today I pulled out all my tried-and-true topwater plugs for their annual tune-up—new hooks and split-rings. We all know the importance of sharp hooks and rust-free hooks but what about the importance of replacing nasty treble hooks with single hooks. Several years ago a small population coastal anglers and guides started making the switch to single hooks realizing the damage treble hooks were doing to trophy trout about to be released. Let’s face it, releasing a trout with treble hook injuries will greatly reduce that fish’s survivability no matter how much care is taken to revive it.

Yes, I do miss a few more trout using single hooks but it’s worth it to me as a catch and release angler. Usually, missing a fish will make me work harder and appreciate those trout that do make it to the net. Releasing a healthy trout back into the water in good condition merits a few missed fish.

Enjoy the time off with family and friends, safe travels and happy catching (and releasing).

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Before and after, top plug has the old treble hooks, six total points to penetrate the fish, as opposed to the bottom plug which has converted to single hooks.

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Selection of topwater plugs with a proven track record over the years. About to updated with new single hooks.​

FISHING CRAWFISH PATTERNS

As fly anglers we can learn a lot from our bait-castering brethren when it comes to catching bass in early Spring. Fly selection based on crawfish patterns is a must for enticing bass to eat in cold water conditions. Up to 50% of a bass Winter/Spring diet comes from crawfish.

Crawfish patterns fished deep and slow while casting into weeds, brush and heavy cover requires weighted patterns with weed guards. Additionally, the position of the weight (lead eyes, lead wire) is crucial to the "action" of the pattern selected. All of the All Water guides prefer crawfish patterns in red and orange as we seem to see a lot of fish that puke-up real crawfish with this same coloration.

Here is a good article by outdoor writer Gene Mueller on this subject. Remember what works for the pros is alway worth trying for any angler no matter what their skill level. Enjoy the read and happy Spring bassin'!

http://www.genemuellerfishing.com/2011/01/creature-baits-are-all-rage-for-bass.html

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