Tuesday, November 15, 2022

A Weighty Matter



Winter trouting is often a weighty matter, so sink your bugs for chilled, slow-moving trout. As water temps cool down for the season, we will need to get down to those trout and not fish way over their heads.

The effectiveness of our deep presentations depends on current velocity and depth. Right now our streams are still skinny, so we don’t need as much weight in our flies or on our tippet to bottom bounce.  That will soon change, however, with the seasonal showers to come, such as today’s rain. Are you ready?


Here are a few great references to help you match your weighting to waters fished.  We have linked today’s blog post in our bio. Our post will have all of the links to these fine info sources.


First is a great menu by Dom Swentosky, who covers seven ways to sink your bugs. Check out the video in that article.  And if you haven’t subscribed yet to his Troutbitten website, you should!


https://troutbitten.com/



https://troutbitten.com/2019/03/03/five-ways-to-get-your-fly-deeper/


Second is a nice split shot how-to by Orvis expert Tom Rosenbauer. He’s no fan of shot, but admits that sometimes they are the key to success. Enjoy the short video, courtesy of midcurrent.com


https://midcurrent.com/2022/10/20/video-how-to-use-a-split-shot/


Third is more from Dom on shot. As he says with his system, “save time; catch more fish.” Like him, I’ve been using a puck or small ziplock bag for my shot for years.


https://troutbitten.com/2022/07/13/dont-hate-split-shot-have-a-system-with-video/



Fourth is our PA friend George’s recent tips on strike putty.  Check it out here:

https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/video-a-simple-tip-for-adjusting-weights-when-nymphing?fbclid=IwAR23nAop9wEs-he52A8ovnC2-7dgCfDrL7rOaAiMo8W8IyEgIc3e02aMvoU


Last is my cure for SSA, which stands for split shot aversion. If I had to pick one trinket to hang from my vest, it would a scissor-pliers tool. Buy it and try it to make those  split shot much easier to attach AND detach! My article is in the July 2021 issue of The Angler Magazine.




https://issuu.com/coastalanglermagazine/docs/atl_2e54bb19049d6c


Sink your bugs in cold water and catch more trout.  Hopefully these tips will help you accomplish that mission.  They’ve worked for us and will work for y’all, too, once your perfect your drag-free drifts.  Stop in either UO store for advice, flies, holiday gifts, and supplies, like my favorite flyfishing tool. Good luck!





Unicoi Outfitters: Friendly. Local. Experts.

www.unicoioutfitters.com

No comments:

Post a Comment