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5 Ways to Improve Your Nymphing

Tommy Archibald
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The old saying goes that trout feed subsurface 90% of the time. I’m still not sure if that’s true, but I am sure that I catch way more than 90% of my trout below the surface. Nymphing often gets maligned as “easy,” “boring,” and “like bait fishing,” but the fact of the matter is that maximizing your effectiveness with a nymph requires you to consider more variables than with a dry fly. While dry fly fishing takes place on the two-dimensional plane of the surface, nymphing takes place in three dimensions through the additional variable of depth. Effectively fishing flies in the water column requires the angler to think strategically about the best way to present the fly in a given scenario. Here are 5 things to consider next time you’re nymphing that will help you maximize your success.

Should you use an indicator?

Indicators serve three basic purposes in my view. First, they suspend your flies in the
water column. This can be helpful if you find fish feeding at a fixed depth in the water
column and you want to suspend your flies at the depth the fish are feeding. Second, as
most people use them for, they help you detect strikes by reacting to tension on your flies.
Third, they allow you to fish further away and in slower water than you feasibly could
using tight line nymphing tactics. Therefore, indicators are an excellent tool when fish
won’t allow you to get close to them or they’re in very slow water. However, indicators
have a few drawbacks and in my experience, indicators are not the best option for nymphing.

In fast pocket water, where complex currents can introduce slack below your indicator.
This undermines the quality of your drift and your ability to detect strikes. Therefore, in
this situation, I normally choose to forgo an indicator for a sighter in a tight line or euro
nymphing setup. The tight line setup is preferable by allowing you to hold your line and
the leader off of the water, thus preventing drag, and putting you in direct contact with your flies for enhanced strike detection.

Where is your weight coming from and is it the right amount?

Weight can come from two places: your flies or split shot on your leader. I often tie nymphs with heavy tungsten beads and lead wire so that I can forgo split shot. I find these rigs easier to cast and less prone to tangling. With that being said, added weight offers the flexibility of adjustability. While you can add and subtract split shot from in front of a weightless fly, you cannot add and subtract weight from the fly itself. When fish are suspended in the column or in exceptionally shallow water, lightly weighted flies are necessary to prevent from hanging bottom. Generally, my approach to this problem is to carry the same pattern in a variety of weights. I fish a lot of dry-dropper setups, in which split shot is impractical. Thus, I rely on tungsten beads to get my nymph to sink quickly. The key is finding a weighting system that works for you and allows you to present your flies in a variety of ways at different depths.  

How deep are the fish sitting?

This is a problem I feel often gets overlooked. Many nymph anglers are prone to trapping
themselves in a belief that their flies need to be ticking bottom at all times. While this is
often the case when fish are not actively feeding, bug activity often causes fish to suspend
mid-column to feed on emerging insects. This scenario calls for less weight and
shallower presentations. I often approach this problem by suspending a bead head
nymph/emerger pattern 12-24 inches behind a dry fly. However, an angler could achieve
a similar presentation by simply removing split shot, moving a strike indicator down the
leader, or switching to lighter flies. In slower, flatter water, swinging unweighted or
lightly weighted soft hackles can be a viable strategy as well. The key is to experiment,
pay attention to the conditions surrounding you, and be flexible.

Are the fish feeding selectively or opportunistically?

Here again, this requires you to know the water you’re fishing and be attentive. Oftentimes, fish key in on a particular food source, and an angler that fails to recognize this inevitably misses out on opportunities to catch fish. In my experience, trout feeding on nymphs are far more opportunistic that surface feeding fish. With that being said, I’ve often confronted nymph-eating trout that were keyed in on a particular bug, color, or pattern. Part of the answer to this puzzle is knowing your river and its hatches. Trout on the Madison River in Montana will, in all likelihood, be keyed in on stonefly nymphs in mid-June prior to the Salmonfly hatch. Fish on the South Holston in Tennessee feed heavily on sulfur mayflies all summer long. Having patterns that mimic these food sources is often crucial to success on rivers with prolific hatches. Another element of this problem, however, is simply experimenting while you’re on the water. Sometimes, fish key in on colors and patterns that seem to defy explanation. The only way to solve the puzzle is by changing flies until you happen to find the right one.

Is there a more effective way you could be presenting your flies?

This point is sort of a catch-all, but it’s a question you should always be asking yourself on the water. Could you fish that riffle more effectively with a dry-dropper? Should you switch to an indicator rig for this deep, flat pool? Are your flies getting deep enough? By asking yourself this question and making adjustments, you’ll immediately become a better nymph angler. Don’t become a nymph-bot—fishing your same rig with the same weight and the same flies in every piece of water you fish. Be adaptable and open to change. No two situations are exactly alike, and the best anglers can tailor their approach to the situation in front of them.

Tommy Archibald is a contributor on the Content Team here at Flylords! Tommy is a former competitive fly angler on the US Youth Fly Fishing Team and has competed all over the world. Be sure to check him out on Instagram @tommyarchibald_fly_fishes!

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5 Reasons You Have to Fish Kamchatka

Christiaan Pretorius
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I absolutely love guiding Kamchatka, but one of the worst things about it is going home and trying to explain to people what this place is really like, not an easy task. Why do I like Kamchatka, you ask? Let me explain…

1. During our 9 week season on the upper Zhupanova river, you hardly see any sign of other people while out there. The occasional drone of an MI8 Helicopter in the distance is as close to people you get.

2. The raw nature of this place is indescribable, green lush terrain with scattered volcanoes, open blueberry fields and then a beautiful big river splitting the endless terrain.

3. I often get asked to compare Alaska to Kamchatka, although there might be some similarities I do feel it’s two complete different fisheries (countries). I have not spent enough to in Alaska to get a true feel for the place but I have had some Alaska veteran anglers tell me Kamchatka is like Alaska 100 years ago.

4. The Russians, are an experience within themselves. Some of my most memorable moments there have been shared with my fellow Russian guides around a campfire after a day of catching incredible rainbows. Obviously accompanied by a little vodka!

5. And then of course, who doesn’t like catching 30”+ Rainbow trout skating Mice across a river?

Christiaan Pretorius is the Lodge Manager at Abaco Lodge in the Bahamas. The rest of the time he spends traveling the globe chasing his next trophy fish! For epic angling content, follow him on Instagram @christiaanpretorius!

Photos courtesy of Christiaan Pretorius

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Tips to Make Your Pyramid Lake Trip Unforgettable

Casey Anderson
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Fish the Ledges

Without a lot of foliage and structure, the Lahontan cutthroat trout use the ledges of drop-offs from the sandy flats as ambush points. A good percentage of fish caught at Pyramid Lake are found around visible color changes indicating more sudden depth change.

Keep Your Flies Wet

At Pyramid, a good portion of the year is blind casting. The fish hug the bottom most of the day and are continually cruising the ledges. We fish points of intersection where the fish have the best chance of seeing our flies when coming in to feed. So having your flies in what you could call “cruising lanes” as much as possible is key.

Be Gentle With the Monsters

Proper handling of these oversized trout is very important. If you ever want to weigh a fish before a grip and grin please weigh them in the net. Keep the fish in your net attach the scale to the rim by the handle pull it completely out of the water, check your weight and then put the fish back down in the water. After the release, the weigh your net (wet), subtract the weight of the net and you will have a quick painless and quite accurate weight of your fish. Lastly, don’t lift the large fish up out of the water by just the tail. Their heavy head and shoulders can severe or dislocate their spine from the weight. If we are going for a grip and grin place hand under pectoral fins, not on the soft tissue part of their belly.

Elephants Eat Peanuts

The local legend and buddy of mine Rich Moomaw once told me while we were having a slay day fishing midges, “elephants eat peanuts”. Shortly after I netted a 21lb cutthroat for him. Which the day prior I caught 20lber. It’s not always a strip game out on the big salty pond.

Keep Your Spirits Up

The angler who will catch the most fish will be the one having the best time. All the locals believe the fish feel your vibes. Yeah, bullshit right? The only way to know is to come and find out. But after plenty of days guiding people for the first time at Pyramid and fishing with many friends, attitude is everything. If you aren’t having fun and you are taking fishing too serious to the point of frustration. Then it’s time to take a step back and regroup. Stay positive and fish will bite.

Leave Your 5 weight at home

With such large fish being caught more often the 5 wt is a bad idea for many reasons, no matter how cool you think you are. The main reason is we don’t want to fight these fish for 20-30 minutes to the point of exhaustion where they swim off and potentially die. Also, no need to break your daily driver. We prefer to use 7 and 8 wt rods. All your fish won’t be 10 plus pounds so these rod weights are a happy medium between getting a good bend on the average fish and still putting the wood to the big boys.

Bring Different Line Setups 

The most used set up on Pyramid are 7 and 8 weight rods. Either with a 250-350 grain shooting head sinking line for stripping. For fishing a lot of types of floating flies and baitfish patterns off the bottom. This gives the flies a jigging type motion when stripping and pausing. For floating lines, we prefer 2 handed switch rods around 11ft and 10 ft single hand rods loaded with a heavier tapered line to roll over large indicator rigs or long leaders for a more tight line style nymphing.

Saltwater tactics

Just like in saltwater fishing certain times of the year we chase bait balls of Tui Chub. These chubs are one of the main good sources for the trout and a big reason they get so big. When the water is warmer in early in late season Tui Chub bait balls will rise to the service. The trout will come from beneath and hammer these large schools. Then seagulls, grebes, and cormorants dive bomb from above. These times of year can be some of the most exciting. Chasing the birds is the name of the game during warmer portions of the season.
Casey Anderson is the president of Pyramid Fly Company, a fly shop located on Pyramid Lake, NV. Casey is also a talented tattoo artist and member of Pig Farm Ink.  Be sure to check out his epic ink and fly fishing adventures on Instagram @caseyanderson_pfc and @pyramidflyco!
Photos Courtesy of Casey Anderson, Austin Leonard (IG: @theburrrprint), and @goneclamming on Instagram!
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Photographer Spotlight: Sean Landsman

Jared Zissu
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1. Could you tell us a bit about yourself? How long have you been fishing? When did you first pick up a camera?

I hail from flat-as-a-pancake east-central Illinois. I caught my first fish at age 4 and immediately took to the sport. As a kid I would memorize Bass Pro and Cabelas magazines, dog-earing pages of lures I one day hoped to get. Christmas was not about getting the latest video game, but about what the latest addition to my ever-growing arsenal of rods and reels would be. I remember one Christmas getting a bass flippin’ stick and immediately going outside to practice my flipping and pitching technique under a white pine in our backyard. I also taught myself to fly cast on the street in front of my childhood home, pausing between double hauls and roll casts only to move for cars (whose inhabitants gave me some pretty weird looks as they drove by). But admittedly, my fly fishing experience has been fairly limited. Around age 16 I got badly bitten by the muskie-bug and after that rarely picked up a fly rod (though fly fishing for muskies is quickly gaining popularity and is something I’d like to try one day!), or pursued other species for that matter. My love for muskies and muskie fishing eventually translated to pursuing a Masters degree studying the effects of catch-and-release angling on that particular species. I had an incredible time in my program, getting to fish the Ottawa River for giant muskies almost every single day of the season, but my interest in fishing changed somewhat during my program. I was fishing for my job and the added pressure of HAVING to catch muskies if I wanted enough data to satisfactorily complete my degree created a seismic shift in my love of fishing as a hobby. I found myself in need of another pursuit, and in 2010 discovered photography fulfilled that desire. However, my progression toward underwater photography took five years when I finally pulled the trigger on an expensive underwater housing in 2015. I currently live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and do most of my shooting here and in neighboring provinces.

2. How are your shots set up? Your work is quite unique, I was hoping you could talk us through how you’re able to snag some of these shots?

Unless you’re photographing caught and released fish, getting close to many species of freshwater fish can be really difficult at times. In fact, I would go so far as to say underwater photography is maybe the hardest of all the “wildlife” photography. Mammals and birds can be photographed compellingly with a long lens, but you can’t take a giant 600mm telephoto lens underwater. Even if there were housings to accommodate lenses like that, the farther your subject is from the lens underwater the more water you have to shoot through, which suppresses color and sharpness due to the volume of liquid you have to shoot through.

That means you have to get close, sometimes REALLY close to fish to photograph them in the best way possible. For me, this means 1) understanding what time(s) of the year my fish subjects can be approached closely and 2) figuring out how best to get close to them. Usually, the best time to photograph fish, especially freshwater species like trout, is during the spawning season. They are so busy getting it on and fighting with each other that usually, they don’t pay me much attention. This either means I have to don a thick exposure suit like a dry suit to stay warm for extended periods of time, sometimes upwards of an hour just waiting for the fish to accept my presence. Or, I have to use a remote underwater rig that I can trigger with a cable. Both methods work, but both have their drawbacks.

3. You have a Ph.D. in Fish Science, correct? What is your favorite fish to study?

I almost have a Ph.D., but not quite yet. I’m hoping May 2018 I’ll be completely finished with my program. My previous research experience has enabled me to work with a variety of fish species including bluegills, largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, bull trout, lake trout, rainbow smelt, alewife, brook trout, and muskies. It’s hard to a finger on one fish species, specifically, that I like the most as a research subject. Of those I just mentioned, I find muskies seriously interesting… though I have a serious affinity for big fish. My dream species to study is Atlantic bluefin tuna… still trying to figure out how to do that.

4. The favorite photo you’ve ever taken?

This is a seriously hard question, but for me, I think this image of a migratory alewife shooting through turbulent water is my favorite. Not exactly the world’s sexiest fish, but I like the simplicity of it coupled with the intense eye contact of the fish. It’s a fish in water. Pretty simple, but to me simplicity speaks volumes sometimes. I’m also fond of an image I took alongside fellow underwater photographer David Herasimtschuk in Maine this past year. We had great luck with some really big and cooperative female and male brookies but had the added fortune of getting a nice boost of background color when a beaver chopped down an alder one night.

5. Any inspirations in the photography/fishing world? Was there a certain shot or specific angler/artist who inspired you?

For straight fish porn, I was always fascinated by the portfolio of Eric Engbretson. Eric runs www.underwaterfishphotos.com, which is a stock agency that specializes in providing clients with images of freshwater fish only. Eric’s own portfolio contains spectacular images of my favorite warm and coldwater fish species in their natural habitats. I remember drooling over them when I was in my teens. For really exceptional, perfectly composed and dramatic images of freshwater critters, David Herasimtschuk sets the bar for the type of images I enjoy creating. David is the director of photography for Freshwaters Illustrated, a film-making NGO specializing in communicating issues related to the conservation of freshwater biodiversity.
Sean Landsman is a photographer specializing in underwater images of various fish species all around the world. Check out his awesome content on Instagram @seanlandsman!
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5 Reasons to Bring Your Pup Fishing

Bre Williams
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5 Reasons to Bring Your Pup Fishing

The weatherman finally got it right, and conditions are absolutely dreamy for fly fishing – full sunshine with light and variable winds. The trek across the first flat of the day commences, spotting coppery tails in every direction. I, being a known knee shaker, am full of adrenaline as I’m lined up for cast numero uno  – an upper slot redfish grubbing down in some widgeon grass at 11 o’clock.  I let go of the second false cast, arguably leading the tailer by a hair too much, but he still sees my fly and begins to swim towards it, gills flared.

“Eerrrrkkkkkeerkk!!” “Skipperrrrr!!”

Skipper had decided to change up his sleeping position; grinding his nails on the Awlgrip at the exact moment the hefty tailer was about to demolish my fly.  I watched the missed opportunity swim away at warp speed, laughed, shrugged it off and then proceeded on to the next victim.

There’s generally no shortage of moments like these when you mix fly-fishing and dogs.  That being said, the choice to fly fish with a dog is driven more so by the type of person than the behavior of the dog. If the size and number of fish caught is how you measure your day on the water, you should probably leave your pup at home.   If you’re still on the fence about inviting your four-legged best friend on your next fly-fishing adventure, here are five reasons why you MUST give that wild little ball of fur a chance.

  1. Instead of being left at home, they get to enjoy a day full of adventure and you, in turn, get to fish longer and more often.  Their happiness is our happiness. Everybody wins!

  1. Fishless days happen more often than we’d like to admit.  A dog’s presence on the skiff softens the blow of the “skunk.”  Does missing a nice fish raise your blood pressure, cause you stress, or even make you cry a little?  They’ve got you covered.

  1. And if you do land a fish, they will be the first to congratulate you – and the fish.  Who doesn’t love their number one fan?

  1. Your pup is just as satisfyingly tired at the end of a long day of “fly fishing” as you are.  (I wish we had fished today because as I’m typing now, I have to bat away a tennis ball that keeps mysteriously making its way across my keyboard.)

  1. Grip n’ grins are a thousand times better with a smiley fur baby.  ‘Nuf said.

Few things in this world make me happier than a sleepy, salty, crimpy Skip curled up behind me on the bow of a skiff.  So, embrace those “fly line wrapped around the front paw” moments.  Meet up with your friends and their skiff dogs.  Drink beer and shoot the shit while your dogs run wild.  When the beer runs out, try your hand at catching a fish or two.  If you’re successful, it’s just a bonus.  

Be sure to follow along on Instagram with @brewilliamsonfly and @skiptheskiffdog on their adventures all along the gulf coast!

Photos courtesy of Gary Gillet (IG: @garylgillett) and Bre Williams

Today, We Lost One of the Best of Us…

Will Poston
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It’s a sad day in any sport when a great-one passes away; today is no different in the realm of fly fishing. Today, the fly fishing community lost the most well-known personalities and promoters of the sport: “Lefty” Bernard Victor Kreh passed away today peacefully with his family.  As one of the most influential and accredited fly fishermen in the sport’s history, we at The Flylords wanted to memorialize Lefty’s great life and career in fly fishing and share our deepest condolences with his family. Lefty’s contributions to fly fishing were immense: he invented the jack-of-all flies with the Lefty’s Deceiver, authored many fly fishing books and articles, and taught countless individuals the art of fly casting. Rest easy and tight lines, Lefty–the fly fishing community is forever in your debt and thanks you.

Some of the best of Lefty:

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to: Greater Baltimore Medical Center / Gilchrist hospice in honor of Lefty Kreh to Mail to: GBMC Philanthropy, 6701 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21204; or online at https://www.gbmc.org/donate (Under “Designation” choose “Other.” Then in the next field, type: “Lefty Kreh Memorial”); or call: 443-849-3303.

Read more:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2018/03/14/lefty-kreh-giant-in-the-world-of-fly-fishing-passes-away/#23016bc36445

https://www.facebook.com/TempleForkOutfitters/photos/a.214819521882678.60028.214806898550607/1816289811735633/?type=3&theater

Photos courtesy of: EDWIN REMSBERG / WWW.REMSBERG.COM, Temple Fork Outfitters

 

Wallpaper Wednesday #7: Brandon Finnorn, MD

Jared Zissu
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Are you tired of looking at the same wallpaper on your phone or computer? So are we, so we’re launching “Wallpaper Wednesdays” featuring our pick of the week to be the picture you look at when you check the time on your phone, or when you sit down to check some emails!

This week’s picks are from artist Brandon Finnorn, M.D., @thebonniefly on Instagram! Brandon switched careers from being a medical doctor to pursue his illustrations and has never looked back! Check out the rest of his story on his blog!

Want to use these photos as your phone background?

Head over to our Instagram – Click our current STORY and screenshot the photo

Be sure to add a little variety to your phone or computer screen and stay tuned every Wednesday for our next picks.

Photos Courtesy of Brandon Finnorn, MD. Be sure to check out the rest of his awesome content on Instagram @thebonniefly!

Have a favorite shot from a previous week’s Wallpaper Wednesday? Find them here:

https://theflylords.com/single-post/2018/02/14/wallpaper-wednesday-6-david-danforth/

https://theflylords.com/single-post/2018/02/07/wallpaper-wednesday-5-agne-sjoberg/

https://theflylords.com/single-post/2018/01/10/wallpaper-wednesday-4-ivan-orsic/

https://theflylords.com/single-post/2017/12/27/wallpaper-wednesday-3-sean-landsman/

https://theflylords.com/single-post/2017/12/20/wallpaper-wednesday-2-focusontheflymedia/

https://theflylords.com/single-post/2017/12/13/wallpaper-wednesday-1-aaron-hitchens/

 

F3T 2018 Behind the Lens: Dubai on the Fly

Jared Zissu
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We are excited to announce a new blog series presented by The Fly Fishing Film Tour. We will be conducting behind the scenes interviews with all of the filmmakers in this years film tour. Make sure to check out the F3T website, to see when they will be in your town! Get your tickets before they sell out!

Flylords: So tell us a little bit about yourself!
RA: I was born and raised in Aspen, Colorado and started fishing at a pretty young age. I started working at fishing shops when I was a little kid, then moved on as a guide apprentice and started guiding as soon as I could legally do it. Guided all the way through high school and through college. I came from a family in TV and entertainment and started to merge passion through the outdoors and fishing with video and other mediums.

We grew up in the ski and snowboard scene particularly through the evolution of watching film and all the media influence of those sports. We wanted to take that to fly fishing as well, so throughout high school and throughout college, we did just that, we were always filming. Then the fly fishing film industry, if you want to call it that, started very early on with this thing called the Drake Provenance of Fly Fishing Video Awards. We had a film in there with another small handful of people that were doing similar stuff. Then over the last, I don’t know, 12 or 13 years that’s developed into what is now the Fly Fishing Film Tour and fly fishing media as a genre.

Flylords: That’s incredible! Did you see fly fishing media getting this big?
RA: It’s been interesting to watch that whole thing unfold and develop. It used to be 20 people in a room sitting there and watching a movie and everyone thought it was cool but if you told people in 10 years there’d be people running around everywhere with cameras making media and making movies, there’d be sold out venues I think we all would have thought you were crazy. The scene is definitely developing and it’s been kind of a cool ride.

Flylords: How many films have you had in the F3T?
RA: I’ve probably done 15 over the years. We’re probably the only company that’s been in every single film tour since the beginning and then we’ve been in multiple movies in a lot of the years. We’re probably the oldest most longstanding company in regards to having media in the film tour every year.

Flylords: What gave you the idea to make the film in Dubai?
RA: We get a lot of offers to make different movies and make different media. People are constantly sending in ideas. We have a contact in South Africa who wanted us to chat about doing a movie in Dubai. It’s been about two years working with partners over there to develop the concept and get everything put together. I don’t know exactly why we picked Dubai other than people really haven’t done any media about the Middle East yet. We thought it would be a cool springboard to launch into the Middle East. For folks here in the US, the Middle East can be a scary place. We figured that starting off in a place like Dubai would open the doors to fishing in that region.

Flylords: Tell me a little bit about the team that you used to make this film.
RA: I’ve got a pretty good sized team. We worked with another production company called Drift Media. Behind the camera was Paul Bourcq and myself, underwater and still photography was covered by Bryan Gregson, and it was written by Sarah Grigg. Then we worked with a group called Ocean Active. They pioneered fly fishing in Dubai and Oman and a lot of different places in the Middle East.

Flylords: A lot of the other films in the F3T this year are in very remote areas. What was it like fishing in such an urban environment?
RA: That’s a good question. Certainly, there’s a lot of challenges that are inherent in a big city. Logistically the stuff that people don’t think about and probably don’t care about that much is just the logistics of obtaining permits and working in a pretty high profile city. Also when you’re filming you have to contend with a lot of urban noise which was a pain. There’s definitely a lot more challenges in a big city than you would encounter in a super remote place.

We’ve filmed in super remote places where we didn’t have power for a month. When you’re working in a big city you have access to a tremendous amount of technology. You have access to audio teams and film specialists and cameras. There’s a lot of luxuries that come along with filming in a very high profile urban environment. It’s just a different animal.

A lot of the same things apply. You’re trying to get the same shots. You’re trying to capture the same moments. From a production standpoint once you’re on the water it’s pretty darn similar to anywhere else that you’d work or you’d film.

Flylords: Tell me a little bit about the fishery and what makes it so unique.
RA: I think what’s really unique about that fishery is for anyone who’s ever spent any time fishing saltwater unless you’re fishing the flats, there’s a lot of elements to contend with. I think what’s pretty unique about Dubai is that given the nature of the islands and everything there, it’s very calm. There’s not a lot of wind. It’s a very visual fishery because of that as well. When it’s super calm you can see all the bay, you can see the fish. It’s a lot more visual for us than a lot of the inshore stuff that I’ve done.

Flylords: What flies and rods were you using?
RA: They use a variety of clousers, different combinations based on the time of the day. We fished with a bunch of the new Thomas & Thomas saltwater rods in the 8 to 10 range. The cool thing is early in the morning a lot of the bay is up super high. The fish are feeding from below and they’re kind of looking for a profile. A lot of the flies you’re fishing the color is not as important as the profile. You do have to deliver the fly pretty quickly when the fish are up and busting. It is very visual. You kind of have to be on your game and you have to make your casts.

Flylords: What gear did you use to film?
RA: We use a variety of cameras based on the different types of shots. The principal camera that we were working with was a Red camera system. Those are great cameras for a lot of different reasons when shooting fly fishing content. We also utilize a lot of Sony gear. We have some custom rigs that we set up to get specific detail shots we like to get. Then all the way down to the Canons we use in the underwater housings. Really we use a variety of cameras tailored to the specific shots that we’re trying to get.

Flylords: Do you get a sense that many people in Dubai know about the fishery that’s right in their backyard?
RA: The interesting thing is the more and more you dig into the culture in Dubai you realize that these people are very tied to the sea. Their diet is very attached to the local fishery. They eat a lot of fish. Their fishing styles are very different. Obviously, they’ve been fishing over for hundreds of years. Fly fishing is very new but they’re very interested in it.

Flylords: How do you see the sport of fly fishing growing in Dubai?
RA: I think what’s going to happen is it’s a tremendous launching off point for coming to different places in the world. If you look at the world and all these different places you could travel throughout Asia and Europe and Africa divided into a central hub. Really if you are going to be accessing any of that stuff in Seychelles or in Eastern Africa, any of that, you basically have a choice. You can fly to Paris and then access the African continent or you could fly thru Dubai. Why not if you’re traveling a very long distance  have a day or two in Dubai to rest up and shake some of the dust off your rods. Get your skill set back on track before you get down to the Seychelles.

Flylords: I have one more question for you. What was your most memorable moment of making the film?
RA: There’s a couple of moments that stick out for sure. We got to spend some time out in the desert and we were working with camels and we worked with these incredible falcons. They brought out these just really, really beautiful, really well-trained falcons and we got to spend some time working with them. Also, getting to spend some time with the people. Whenever you go to a big city, you have to have your guard up. You have to pay attention and just be smart about what you’re doing.

We would be working in Dubai and I could leave a Red camera, sitting 5-10 feet away from us with no concern that it was going to walk off or get stolen. We never felt in danger, never felt threatened. People are super easy, polite and helpful. Just the culture I think was super refreshing. That’s super nice. You never know what you’re going to get traveling to a new country and it was just pretty refreshing to see how awesome the people were.

RA Beattie has had films featured in all the Fly Fishing Film Tours since the tour began. Be sure to check him out on Instagram @beattie_outdoor_productions!

Questions by Team Flylords member Conner Grimes @southeastflyfishing on Instagram!

Be sure to read our posts highlighting the other F3T films:

https://theflylords.com/single-post/2018/01/18/f3t-behind-the-lens-beyond-the-horizon/

https://theflylords.com/single-post/2018/01/25/f3t-behind-the-lens-100-miles/

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https://theflylords.com/single-post/2018/02/07/f3t-behind-the-lens-atlanticus/

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https://theflylords.com/single-post/2018/01/19/f3t-behind-the-artwork/

 

Feathers and Fins: The Best of Both Worlds

Jared Zissu
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Feathers and Fins: The Best of Both Worlds

I was born and raised in southeast Louisiana. I grew up hunting and fishing the marsh and swamps surrounding New Orleans and the Mississippi River Delta, with mud permanently lodged under my fingernails and brackish water in my veins. I guess it should come as no surprise from a state that holds almost 45% of the nation’s wetlands and was affectionately alluded to as “The Bathtub” by the film Beasts of the Southern Wild, but fishing and hunting is a way of life here. Louisiana quietly produces some of the most well-rounded outdoorsmen I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet. As I’ve grown older, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to different places – both here and abroad – to hunt and fish, but at the end of those trips, I can’t wait to come back home.

It appears that through the years, outsiders have begun to share the fondness I have for my home, as Louisiana has developed a stirring reputation as a major fly fishing destination. Guides and recreational anglers alike make the annual winter pilgrimage to the muddy delta to chase big redfish, eat strange foods they (often hilariously) can’t pronounce, and wander the streets of New Orleans. As a native Louisianan, the most baffling thing about this recent rise in popularity of fly fishing in Louisiana is how easily it leads to traveling anglers solely focusing on big redfish. The waters of southeast Louisiana are home to more species of fish than I can count, and some local guides and anglers are skilled at targeting almost all of them on the fly. As the reader, you also have to understand that when I was a kid, my favorite target was the speckled trout and its flaky white meat. Schools of giant redfish often interrupted our trout bites by hurdling through the area and demolishing everything in their paths, including the trout. In classic redfish fashion, they would often indiscriminately inhale our lures as well. At that point, we cranked our drags down, broke them off, then left that spot in search of more trout. Perhaps it’s for this reason that it took me a long time to warm up to actively chasing big redfish.

Or, perhaps the reason lies in the unfortunate reality that the most popular time to chase big redfish in Louisiana is in the late fall through winter. The dilemma – if you want to call it that – for the native Louisianan fly angler is that this “big fish season” coincides almost simultaneously with duck season. Curiously enough, some of the best waterfowl hunters I know are also some of the best anglers I know. While fly fishing is obviously the target subject matter of the subscribers to the Fly Lords, any outdoorsman should understand completely that the Mississippi River delta is home to one of the most expansive and varied waterfowl migrations in the world. It’s not uncommon for a single Louisiana limit of ducks to contain six different species of dabbling ducks. The unfortunate reality of modern-day, social-media induced duck hunting, is that most folks don’t care much about a duck unless it’s got a green head. Photos and videos of jacked up Labradors hard-charging through fields in the plains are much more aesthetically pleasing than photos of a dog struggling to push through sloppy Mississippi River mud that has the consistency of quicksand. That’s all fair, but the amount of different species of waterfowl that winter in and around the Mississippi River delta is unparalleled.

Hunting southeast Louisiana, much like hunting any other flyway, is almost entirely about finding food. Here, that food takes the form of submerged aquatic vegetation. Southeast Louisiana’s largely brackish tidal marsh is home to a myriad of different grasses, most of which produce seeds that provide great food for wintering waterfowl. Ponds filled with sub-aquatic vegetation also provide refuge for tinier, less fortunate members of the food chain, such as nymphs, baby crabs, and baitfish. Not only do some of these provide food sources for waterfowl, but they provide food sources for pond-dwelling redfish. Redfish will cruise in and around the same grass mats, ambushing bait and reaping the same benefits as the waterfowl swimming on the surface. So, fly selection for these pond fish? Baby crabs, duh. In addition to providing a food source, the sub-aquatic vegetation also serves as a giant water filter. I’ve seen Louisiana grass mats that were every bit as clean as Bahamian sand flats. All of this is of course continent on hurricanes (much like every other facet of life in southeast Louisiana), as the storm surge from tropical storm systems can decimate grass populations. A big storm in the summertime will often lead to a forgettable duck season and months of chocolate milk for water.

As for me? All of the above works out fine. Louisiana’s January cold can be as cruel as its August heat, and I much prefer spending my winter mornings bundled up in waders, crouched down in the marsh grass with my dog and friends, tirelessly trying to talk groups of ducks down into our decoys. As with many things in the marsh, what’s good for one is bad for another. Louisiana’s brutal winter cold fronts bring with them strong northwest winds and low water. While this makes the duck hunting a bit more work for both us and our dogs, low water means tailing redfish in grass mats not far from my decoy spread. While the fish that frequent these duck ponds don’t have the size of their spawning-sized cousins, I promise they’re just as fun to catch. Once the sun comes up and our straps are full, then we’ll swap waders for fly rods, and shift our focus to yet another small part of the seemingly infinite providence of the Louisiana marsh.

When I travel to fish, I try to experience places for everything they have to offer. This has caused me to forego prime bonefish conditions in the Bahamas because the spearfishing was so good, and resulted in giving up good rooster fishing days in Central America because the surf was way better than anything I’d ever seen. If you, my new reader friend, are into fully experiencing a place, then ask your fly guide about a blast and cast next time you come down to see us. Follow it up with a shrimp or oyster po-boy, and you’re well on your way to learning how to talk just like us. By the way, those shrimp and oysters come from the same marsh that just gave you a strap full of ducks and a bunch of shots at tailing redfish.

Sam Collett runs Marsh Hen Media and can always be found somewhere on the Mississippi River Delta in Southern Louisiana! Be sure to check out the rest of his awesome hunting and fishing content @collettjsam on Instagram.

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Fatherhood and Fly Fishing

Jared Zissu
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From the time I could first walk, my life has been consumed by one thing… fishing. It quickly became an obsession, and although catching a rare or beautiful fish is the goal, my passion has really evolved into the photography side of things. I love taking photos of fish.  

My love of fish and photography has taken me around the world, and more often than not, I find myself alone, atop a mountain staring into the night sky, thinking about the years to come and wondering if one day, my son may be camped out under the stars with me. 

I promise you, his early love for all things fishing has been pure and honest. Almost daily, he asks to look at “daddy’s fishing pictures” and watch different films I’ve been fortunate enough to take part in. He learns each fish by color and name, and screams in excitement at “the really big ones” and equally laughs at “the baby fish”. Not only does he love fishing (especially the casting), he loves taking and looking at pictures. We’ll do a little photo shoot and true to his father’s nature, he immediately needs to see the back of the camera. It brings a smile to my face every single time!  

Now, my son Ryden is at an age where we can actually head out on the water. We practice in the house all the time, and with his little practice rod, he’s become quite the little natural. The real test, as with anyone learning to cast, is putting all that practice into motion. Maybe I am biased, but watching this 2 ½-year-old stop fluently at 10 and 2, blows my mind! I’ll be a proud father no matter what path he takes in life, but I’m not going to lie, it brings a tear to my eye, seeing his love for fly fishing develop.  

As mother nature loosens her icy grip on winter, our weekend family adventures are now spent in waders. Watching my wife and son work the water is something I’ll cherish forever. Hopefully, we will have a lifetime of memories along the banks of the river with fly rods and cameras in hand!  

Photos courtesy of Naoto Aoki. Check him out on Instagram: @naoto.aoki.photography!

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