A short guide to responsible fly fishing photos

Pop open social media, search for fly fishing photos, and you will undoubtedly find yourself immersed in a world rich with images of species and destinations that anglers dream of experiencing. On top of this, social media has been a great way to recruit those that may not have previously been interested in fly fishing to take up the sport. 

Social media has also been seen as a double-edged sword, and even perceived in a negative light in terms of popularizing fishing spots, exposing destinations and displaying improper fish handling techniques. Given the benefit of the doubt, most new anglers are never taught how to properly handle and release fish during a photo op. Below are a few tips to help those looking to take ethical, responsible fishing pictures.

The invisible line

If I am guiding anglers on the water, I will use something that I refer to as the invisible line. If they are keen on a photo opportunity, I will...

The VERY FIRST instalment of Q&A Friday!

OK - we receive a lot of questions from podcast listeners through our email, and rather than answering them all directly, it seemed like more fun to compress them into podcast episodes!

So... every single Friday, a new episode of Q&A Friday will be posted on the Fly Fish University Podcast! I will do my best to answer them, if they are out of my league I will reach out to other experts and leaders in this wonderful field to provide the best answers possible. 

Today's instalment of Q&A Friday covers approaching new fisheries, approaching trout from downstream vs. upstream, and how to not get yelled at from fellow anglers on the lake for anchoring too close.

CLICK HERE to listen on Apple Podcasts or find the episode below... enjoy!

Understanding the importance of fly rod action.

When I first started fly fishing, I hadn't a clue what the terms "fast action" or "moderate action" meant. It wasn't until I began working in the fly fishing industry as a shop employee that I learned these terms out of necessity. In simple terms, the action of the rod is essentially just describing the 'kick point' on the rod blank (the point at which the rod bends). 

Slow action rods

Slower action rods will often see the kick point in the bottom third of the rod blank. In comparison to newer, ultra-fast action rods, rods with a slow action will feel like trying to cast a cooked spaghetti noodle at first. Though they take a bit to get used to, especially if you are used to modern equipment, slow action rods can be incredibly enjoyable to fish. 

Slower action rods are favourable in situations that call for delicate delivery of the fly, and cater well to lines with a long front taper. Split cane, bamboo and glass rods are...

Eliminating the frustration around adding distance to your fly casting stroke. 

Though it would be easy to fall into the idea that casting further is a derivative of greater effort, this is often the exact thinking that hangs anglers up and continues the struggle around adding more distance to their casts. 

Adding distance in fly casting is a direct result of three basic things. Once this is understood, and these critical things are practiced, you will find casting becomes exponentially less frustrating. The three steps are as follows:

Place more effort on timing than anything else

Timing in fly casting is the difference between casts that lay out straight in front of you, and those that pile up at your feet. A great place to start is to use a metronome (search Youtube, or even the app store on mobile devices). What this does is forces you to form a rhythm in your casting stroke, and removes the urge to jump the gun on the forward cast (a great way to form tailing loops)

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What is fly fishing to you?

To some people it is a hobby, a pastime, a once annual thing, a way to connect with old friends or family members. To some it is a way of life, something that they cannot get enough of. To some, even, it is a way to obtain social recognition. 

None of these are wrong, they are just different. 

Today's episode of the Fly Fish University Podcast is not technical or analytical. It does not cover fishing strategies, gear tips or entomology. It is simply about how to maximize your fly fishing experience!

To many, fly fishing becomes a meditative practice, a way of entering fully into the moment and allowing the stressors of regular life to wash downstream. Fly fishing even has the ability to completely transform someone's life. I've seen people maintain sobriety that they were never capable of prior, simply because they had something to constantly keep them grounded. 

The 5 steps covered in today's episode are as follows:

1. ...

Becoming more effective on busy waterbodies. 

Without a doubt, angling pressure is one of the most important factors that comes into play when considering how difficult (or easy) a given fishery will be. The number of times a fish gets caught and released will very quickly affect its willingness to bite. Fish can become hook-shy, leader-shy, and downright weary of their surroundings. 

Does this mean that we cannot catch fish in highly pressured fisheries? Absolutely not. 

Today's episode of the Fly Fish University Podcast covers a multitude of things to consider on pressured waters. From the diameter of your tippet to the way you physically approach a piece of water, understanding these strategies will undoubtedly increase your consistency when fishing to weary fish. 

Winter trout fishing tactics for moving water.

Though it can be difficult to drag ourselves out of bed in the coldest months of the year, fly fishing in the wintertime can actually be incredibly productive. Their metabolic rate may slow due to dropping water temperatures, and it is imperative that our fishing approach changes with the seasons. Today's podcast episode describes 3 tips for targeting trout in moving waters through the wintertime months. 

So many terms, what do they mean?

T-11, T-14, inches-per-second, type 3, medium sink, so on and so forth. It is easy to get lost in the world of sinking line terminology. Though there are some cross-over terms that can definitely be confusing at first, most of it is fairly simple to understand. 

Today's episode of the Fly Fish University Podcast helps uncover some of the terms most commonly used in the world of sinking lines and sink tips. Enjoy!

Breaking large rivers into bite-sized pieces of water

Fishing large rivers can be incredibly challenging, and intimidating. However, when we learn to break them down into smaller, more digestible pieces of water, the intimidation factor decreases dramatically. Today's podcast episode covers some actionable tips, tactics and strategies for approaching, reading, and fishing large waterbodies successfuly!

Some actionable tips for catching more brook trout in stillwaters. 

Brook trout, or Brookies as they are affectionately referred to, are excellent fish to chase in stillwaters. They will often travel in schools, making it easy to stay on top of them once you have located where they are feeding. On top of this, they will feed relentlessly during a number of emergences or migrations, making for spectacular stretches of action through the day. 

Today's podcast episode talks about approaching brook trout in stillwaters, talking brook trout behaviour as well as some strategies for fishing them!