Friday, December 12, 2014

Players


Colors of GL steel...

With the thought of several fishless days on my mind, I eagerly anticipated a day when everything would come together. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait too long because of an extended weekend. Adam had a few days off from guiding and we were able to reconvene for our first steelhead action together in almost a year. The last time we swung the river together, it produced one of our best days of fishing. This particular trip did not disappoint and we were able to find quite a few willing participants...




Approaching the sweet spot and anticipating the grab...

When the river is slow, a surefire way to land a few fish is to cover as much water as possible. This actually makes swinging flies a more productive technique because you are fishing over more fish. As swingers, we are always looking for that one fish that wants to "play," or is eager enough to chase a swung fly and provide us with that big pull that hunts our dreams during the offseason. If you swing through the run once or twice, and you are fairly confident in your setup, the likelihood that changing flies or a sink tip will produce a different result is much lower. We simply move on, sometimes changing locations miles upriver or downriver. This maximized our chances of finding "players" on an otherwise super crowded weekend. 

Fishing with someone of the same mindset and technique is always a major benefit when fishing a highly pressured river. When Adam and I fish for steelhead, it is almost always the way of "swing or go home". We operate on the same wavelength and there is usually very little debate or discussion on how we are going to approach a run or where we are going next. If one person starts off a run, the next person is definitely going to throw a different color fly, fish slightly different in the water column, and probably at a different speed too. Adam prefers fishing broadside with more pace on the fly, while I tend to fish more down and across with a slower presentation. Of course, we constantly mix it up, but this methodology is extremely effective at swinging up the players found in a run. 

The final variable to find players is to fish where there aren't many people. More people equates to more pressure that might turn otherwise "game" fish completely off. Look for solitude and empty runs and move elsewhere if you can't find the aforementioned. If you happen to come upon, or get low holed by stationary anglers, be polite and ask them if its ok for you to work through the run quickly. Sometimes, people can be absolute assholes about their "river," but every now and then a nice guy will let you swing on through. My first fish of the trip came when I asked a guy, who was warming up on the bank, if I could work my way down the run. I knew there would be a willing fish in the spot and on my second cast I hooked a chromer that put a smile on the old man's face. After I landed the fish, we discussed flies and by mimicking my pattern, he was able to catch one too.

Don't fret over swinging flies in super cold temperatures. Mix it up, find some swinging partners, and cover lots of water. Look for the fish who are willing to play and you'll be a whole lot warmer thanks to the good time you'll be having.

Tight lines...


Packing heavy for a swinger...


I hear that Adam has a fish on before I see it happening...


Early morning steel...




A super secret tailout ;) 








Later...



Last light steelhead dance...



Sometimes it pays to go big...









Giving the Yellowline a workout...


Found a major player...



Fresh powder and steelhead...


Lake effect white out...

2 comments:

RM Lytle said...

Well done! That is where I wish I could be right now.

Mark said...

me too RM, me too...