The Flyfishers at The Crossing Page
This page was last updated: February 21, 2012
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The Flyfishers at The Crossing
Fly Fishing Gear for Sale
If you have fly fishing gear that you would like to sell, send us an email and we will get your info out to the group. Please provide type of gear and any pertinent information, sale price and your phone number.
Kenny, here is the link Sage's webpage regarding that rod I'm selling. http://www.sageflyfish.com/rods/specialty/99
Brent McClane has a brand new, never been fished or even put together, still with the factory brown paper bag over the rod tube, Sage 99 series, 4wt rod for sale, which retails for $699.00. If you don't hear of anyone that would like it, I'm going to sell it on eBay here in a few days. I'm going to start it out on eBay at $400 and see where it goes from there. There is one on eBay right now for a Buy It Now price of $500, so I would let this one go for $500 probably.
Brent's email address is www.bmcclane01@att.net
The Official "Flyfishers at The Crossing" Video!
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Kenny's Korner
In this new section we will answer your questions about fly fishing techniques, local hatches, tying techniques, future trips, why I'm bald, what flies to use - where and when, my thoughts about this great sport and more. Have a question? Just email me by hitting the "email me" button above.
Time to Get Ready for Winter!! Many of you that have been with us for a few years now know that we don't store our gear and tie flys all winter. We go out and FISH! The winter fly fishing season is the best time to fish here in Missouri. The rivers are empty and peaceful and the trout fight like crazy. But, to enjoy the winter catch and release season you have to be prepared for the cold. And, if you are prepared with the proper equipment and clothing then you will be rewarded with some awesome fly fishing. So how do we start to get ready for this winter? Well, let's start by staying warm!
Here are some tips to keep you fishing:
1. Under your breathable waders you must wear some type of long underwear. The best is wool, polypropylene or fleece. DO NOT WEAR COTTON! In all survival schools you are always taught that "Cotton Kills". Get cotton wet, add the cold temperatures and you are into a survival situation. Your top undergarments should be made from the same materials. On the expensive side you can buy Under Armor, Simms, Columbia - less expensive you can buy Cabelas or pick up something at www.Campmor.com - even less expensive than that go to Sam's Military Supplies off of Manchester road.
2. Make sure you have a Balaclava for your head - wool or polypropylene. Gloves for your hands - wool or fleece fingerless fishing gloves will do and allow you to tie on your fly. (Warning: keep your finger tips warm so you don't get frost bite).
3. Wear wool socks with your wader boots. The neoprene from the wader boot itself is not enough to keep your feet warm. I like SmartWool socks - yes, expensive but they will last a long time and they are thinner than bulky wool socks. But, make sure you don't wear cotton socks!
4. Buying some of those hand warmers will come in handy on those days that just turn too cold. Keep one or two in your vest and open them only when needed.
5. Your outer jacket has to be warm but not too bulky. Make sure you wear layers so if it gets too hot under all that clothing you can take some off and still be warm. I like wearing a combination rain repellant and warm fleece type jacket. Mine is made by Rivers West and is their Kenai Jacket. Try not to go cheap here - a good jacket could keep you from hypothermia.
6. We always stop for a little lunch in the middle of the day. Last year several guys brought a thermos and had hot soup. Boy, was I jealous so this year I am buying one too! A warm belly makes it easier to head back out on the water.
If I think of a few more tips I will pass them along. But be ready for a lot of trips and some awesome fishing!!!
Winter Flies and Why - Winter fly fishing is here and many are getting ready for some great fishing. My winter fly fishing magazines are hitting the mail boxes with winter fishing techniques. Most articles are on steelhead but a few authors know that the trout are alive and well in the winter. So for those of you that haven't gotten your subscriptions yet I will try to do my best to pass along some winter techniques. But first question I am asked most of the time is what flies do we use in the winter months. Great question! Of course the hatches end in the winter (well most do) and with out the hatches what flies should we use? Now here in Missouri we do get a few unexpected hatches , maybe small BWO hatches or a midge hatch, but usually the hatches are far and few between. So what flies should we use that can make this season an awesome fishing time. First, the trout still have to eat and with fewer hatches the big trout have to find some food source. The four food sources that are readily available in the winter are; aquatic worms, sow bugs, scuds, midges, and eggs. San juan worms are a great food source for big trout. Sow bugs and scuds are in most clean rivers here in Missouri. Midges are here all year round so watch for their hatches. Even though the trout may not be spawning, eggs can be in the stream beds for up to 3 months after a spawn. The browns spawn in the fall so there could be plenty of eggs hanging around. So if you are out fishing and no rises to give you a clue on what flies to use here are some ideas: Midges, Soft hackles (if you see some rises n the film layer), Griffith's Gnats (if they are taking some thing on top), Sow Bugs, Scuds, San Juan worm (including our Cerise worm), and egg patterns.
Now how do we fish them - deep! Make sure you get your fly deep (except for the soft hackles and griffith's gnats). Use a BB shot if needed. The weight will be predicated on the depth and flow speed of the river. Faster the speed the more weight needed...the deeper the river the more weight. So get your fly deep - fast. Have a great winter season - see you out there on the river!
"Why I Catch More Fish Than YOU Do!" What? Seriously? Now that I got your attention with this title, let's discuss this idea of catching more fish. It caught my attention on a recent trip that we took, that the so called "fish count" varied among the seven flyfishers. It varied by a lot! Fishing the same waters, on the same day, with even the same flies, I thought to myself why wouldn't we all be relatively close in the number of fish that we caught. The numbers varied from 25 trout down to two or three per individual. So I decided to address this if I can. Now remember flyfishing is NOT about the amount of fish you catch. The beauty, the river, the colors of the season, friendships, and being immersed in all of God's glory is what it is all about. But it does make the trip more enjoyable when we do catch some fish - lots of fish. So what is it that makes one guy catch way more fish than another? Maybe these few tips will help you in this area:
Experience: Yes, I hope this is quite obvious. The more you fish the better flyfisher you will become. But what does experience truly mean. Fishing a lot in the same place doesn't mean that you are an "experienced" flyfisher. If you only go to Montauk park but never outside of the park or to Tan Vat or Baptist camp or Lake Taneycomo, or Bennett, or Colorado, or Wyoming, you will never truly test your skills. So to be truly a good flyfisher you must fish frequently but also fish in many different locations.
Knowledge: Know your sport! Study your sport! Read books, magazines and go online to gather as much information you can about the sport of fly fishing. Seek help from the guy who you feel is a good flyfisher or from the guy that is fishing well that day. Ask questions when on the river and observe the guy that is doing well. Flyfishing is not putting a worm on a hook and waiting for a fish to come, but rather it is finding the fish, figuring out what the fish may be eating and presenting it to the fish. Flyfishing is a thinking man's sport so put on your knowledge cap and attack.
Technique: Now we are getting into an area that takes a combination of the first two tips and puts them into action. I love when I hear some of our guys say, "I am really going to practice a better mend today or I am going to work on my dry fly technique." It shows me that they are willing to improve rather than do the same thing over and over again - like throw that woolly bugger and strip, strip strip... I have noticed that a majority of our guys still have a terrible dead drift technique. When fishing midges this is paramount. Many of you have a dead drift that maybe lasts 20 feet - not very effective if you what to catch fish. The guys that went out to the San Juan river in New Mexico found out how important doing this technique properly was. Make that indicator lead the fly line downstream, kick out your fly line for a long drift and concentrate on that indicator. Another area where we don't do well is knowing when the indicator is telling us that we have a fish on. Anyone knows that they have a strike when the indicator disappears but we need to understand that when that indicator twitches, stops its flow downstream or even slows down from the natural flow of the current, it very well can mean fish on. If you miss that then you just missed a fish. When dry fly fishing we need to stop slapping the water with our fly line and make that fly gently fall to the water. There are a lot more techniques that we can improve on. So next time on the water ask someone to critique your technique and work on it.
Equipment: No, I don't mean you must have a $700 rod and a $300 reel. Remember in class I said how important the "end" of the fly line is when fishing. Are you making sure that your leader is long enough? Have you added any tippet since you changed flies six or seven times? Does your tippet size match your fly size (remember the power of three - using a size 18 fly you should be using at least size 6x tippet)? I have seen a few of you start the day with a nice 9 ft leader and at the end of the day it is four feet. What's that all about? Are you using the correct size fly? Color? There are many things to think about so don't put them in the back of your mind and just tie on any fly. Know why you are using each fly that you tie on.
The Feel: Sorry guys this is something that can't be taught. Some guys have the feel (BAM) and some don't. Oh, that doesn't mean if you don't have it you never will - you just have to work on it. I find that once you feel something a few times, like setting the hook when the indicator barely slows down and catching a fish, you will put that in your memory bank and the "catching" will increase. You know when you hear some of the guys on the river saying, "Boy, they sure are hitting very subtle right now". And you say to yourself, "What the heck are they talking about?" That's "The Feel!" To be able to catch that fish when they are barely taking your fly is part of having the feel. To know where to place your fly to put it into position to catch the fish is part of having the feel. Again, it can't be taught but all of the above tips makes it possible to get there.
Luck: Luck has nothing to do with it! OH, OK, once in a while a guy that doesn't catch many fish hits it big on a day or two. Or someone puts on a wild fly combination and does well. But to be consistently good at fly fishing you must do the things above. So next time you are out on the water with me and want a critique or suggestion on what or how to improve your fly fishing skill I would be more than willing to help - Always! So don't be shy or think you are bothering me. If I am not on the trip ask one of the other guys to "critique" you and ask how they feel that you can improve. When I am around guides or others that are good flyfishers I always take the time to watch, ask and listen. If you have any comments please email me!!
