Articles

Fly Presentation: The Down-and-Across Swing

by Gary Borger - Friday, Dec 27th, 2013

The down-and-across swing is the favorite tool of the mousing fly fisherman, and it's hard to imagine a more entertaining way to catch a fish (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Most certainly this was the first fly fishing tactic. At its genesis, fly fishing was a hunter/gatherer tactic, not a sport, although I suspect that its first practitioners found it to be just as much fun as those of us that have ever caught a fish on a fly that he/she tied. It was not practiced with a rod and reel and line and leader; it was very much a "pole and (horse-hair) string" business. There was no shooting line, no double haul, not even any real "casting" per se. It was just a "flop it out there" process, with perhaps the occasional dapping. The currents would have dragged the fly almost instantly, but that could have been an effective method when the fish were taking adult caddis and midges, which the first recorded fly design seems to have suggested.

From the vantage point of long flies -- minnows and leeches, frogs and mice, poppers and gurglers, tubes and hair bugs and so on -- it is with these imitations that the down-and-across swing really shines, because while drag is a nuisance with dead-drifted dries, emergers and other flies of the film, drag can definitely be the long-fly fisher's friend.

As the name clearly indicates, the fly is presented to the fish on a down-and-across cast; typically a 30- to 45-degree angle downstream. The currents are then allowed to swing the fly back across stream until it is hanging straight downstream from the caster. It's a very easy tactic that can yield surprisingly good results. I especially like this tactic in smaller streams that I can easily cast across. I put the fly as tight to the far bank as possible -- right onto the shore if that's feasible -- and allow it to drag across. If there are fish in the near-shore waters along the far bank, they'll hit the fly as it drops into the water and heads off across stream. If there are fish along the angler's bank, they come running as the imitation shoots out of the mid-stream currents and into the quiet shallows.

Hatchery steelhead are dumber and less likely to survive than wild steelhead

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Dec 26th, 2013

Releasing a wild steelhead on Oregon's Deschutes River

Though the title is intentionally a bit tongue-in-cheek, the results of a recent study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE suggest that not only are hatchery-reared steelhead less intelligent than their wild counterparts but that they exhibit defects in the structure and composition of their lateral lines. These two findings are a likely explanation for why hatchery-reared juvenile steelhead exhibit a significantly reduced survival rate to adulthood than wild born steelhead do.

If you're at all familiar with fish biology, you've likely heard of the lateral line. If you haven't, the lateral line is sensory organ system that is arguably more important to a fish than any other aspect of its biology. The reason for this is that the lateral line of a fish is its primary tool for sensing and reacting to its environment. Cell clusters, called neuromasts, located along a fish's lateral line allow the fish to sense changes in stream flow rate, direction and other hydrodynamic fluctuations. It plays a crucial role in a fish's ability to catch prey, avoid predators, interact socially (including spawning) and communicate with other fish and orient and hold station in currents.

3 reasons you should be using loop knots

by Colin K. Breck - Tuesday, Dec 24th, 2013

Making loop knots part of your rigging method can result in more fish landing here.

Loop knots have an integral place in the way most experienced anglers rig their flies. Despite common misconception, there are a great many loop knots that are exceedingly simple to tie. Sure, there are loop knots that are cumbersome or even difficult to tie, but some of the best loop knots are easy to learn and to tie streamside. But the main reason that most experienced anglers readily use loop knots is that, in a great many scenarios, loop knots provide significant advantages over knots that are fixed to the fly's hook eye.

Following are a few reasons why, if you're not already regularly using loop knots in your fishing, you should be. Even beginner anglers will likely be familiar with the most common of these reasons, but the others may be new information even to some of you who've been at it for a while.

Orvis Sells Off Recently Acquired Ross Reels, Acquired by Owner of Abel Reels

by Colin K. Breck - Monday, Dec 23rd, 2013

Ross Reels Logo

Mayfly Group LLC, owner of Abel Reels, has acquired the Ross Reels brand from Orvis. It was only in June of this year that Orvis acquired Ross as part of its purchase of the Scientific Anglers brand of fly lines.

To address expected speculation regarding why Orvis would look to sell off a brand it had just acquired six months ago, a press release by the Mayfly Group noted that Orvis had "developed a clear growth strategy for its Scientific Anglers brand, while concurrently struggling to integrate the Ross Reels brand into its own reel business." The sentiment was echoed by Orvis' Jim LePage, who said that "It became clear that Ross [was] not a strong fit for Orvis’ long term strategy."

Mayfly Group intends to continue to operate the Ross brand, taking advantage of the expertise of Abel engineers to update and further develop its product lineup. President of Mayfly, David Dragoo noted that “[the] Mayfly Group is honored to be associated with Ross Reels, an iconic fly fishing brand. We hope to expand upon the creativity and quality of the brand developed by founder Ross Hauck more than 40 years ago.” According to the company, the Ross brand will also re-introduce former popular models into its lineup.

Sage METHOD Fly Rods Receive Numerous Accolades

by Ben Kryzinski - Monday, Dec 23rd, 2013

Sage METHOD Series of Fly Rods

Sage's METHOD fly rod series, which this year replaced its ultra-fast TCX rod series in the Sage lineup, has received some significant recognition as of late. The METHOD has generally received by fast-action rod fans as a welcome evolution from the TCX, offering all of the speed and power of its predecessor, but with a great deal more feel and accuracy. And it seems many are in agreement.

The METHOD was recently chosen as Best Saltwater fly rod by Fly Fisherman Magazine and took home top awards in the upcoming winter issue of Fly Fusion Magazine. Fly Fusion's editors noted, "A ton of heart goes into each and every issue of Fly Fusion Magazine, however, the upcoming winter issue goes above and beyond traditional effort. Within it is our most comprehensive rod review to date. Jeff Wagner, Fly Casting Field Editor for Fly Fusion and Board of Governor and Master Certified Fly Casting Instructor with the Federation of Fly Fishers headed up the massive effort which included a total of three experienced fly casters. With the cameras rolling over 7,000 casts were made and the data recorded. We are excited to announce that the Sage METHOD took home the top honors by winning in all of the following categories:5 wt Accuracy & Distance, 5 wt Distance, 8 wt Accuracy & Distance and 8 wt Distance."