Trout Town

Location, Location, Location

The formula is pretty simple – trout need to eat more than the calories they expend to get their food.

They also need to live where there is shelter from the constant current, where there is protection from all types of predators and where there is a stable source of food.

Considering these needs can help us decide where to fish.

The next time you are setting up to make that cast, ask yourself does this area meet any of the trout’s survival requirements. The more of those needs you can meet, the better your chances for success are.

Classes

In the coming weeks I will to be holding Saturday or Sunday morning casting sessions here in Georgetown. Let me know if you are interested. We will probably meet over at Duke Ellington High School or down on the canal.

Starting in March, I am also going to be offering a private casting sessions on the Gunpowder that will focus on fishing strategies, as well as improving various casts. This is designed for beginner or intermediate anglers who want to improve their skills. Cost will be $120 per-person for a four hour session.

Echo Carbon

This week, I've been out casting a 4 weight, 8'6" Echo Carbon by Rajeff Sports. What a nice casting rod. It's a 4-piece, medium-fast action rod, which feels just perfect for trout on the the Gunpowder or Savage. For more on the Echo rods see www.rajeffsports.com.

Improving accuracy

Putting that fly where you want it, when you want it can be a challenge. A problem for some anglers is they really don’t really aim when they cast, they just toss the fly in the general direction of the bank, or that big rock over there, and hope.

In her book “Fly Casting Techniques,” Joan Wulff writes about the importance of two imaginary target lines.

The first is the line between your eyes and the target. The second would be the line from your casting hand to the target. It doesn’t matter where you hand is in the casting plane – vertical, horizontal – see the target and make sure your hand and eye target lines are meeting at that specific spot.

Predator/prey relationships

In his book “Presentation,” Gary Borger writes about the predator/prey relationship and says, “It’s usually the angler who muffs the role as predator and not the fish that muffs the role as prey.”

And he offers these words of wisdom:

“The single most important thing you’ll ever learn about presentation is that fish are wild animals. That should be the sole basis of your angling strategy; everything you do while fishing should be centered in that one fact. If you truly treated every fish like a wild animal, you’d not only catch more fish, you’d catch bigger ones as well.”

Before you make that first cast, have an idea, think about what you want to accomplish.

Snow 2010

Too much snow in the DC area. About all you can be doing is tying some flies and planning for the Shad run on the Potomac.
We are going to have some serious run off issues when this snow starts to melt.