Open your eyes and expand your horizons

By Joel Anderson

Twenty five years ago, when I first started fly fishing, dead drift nymph fishing was considered a black art practiced by only a few of us among the enlightened. A good nymph fisherman in those days could literally clean out a stream if he was so inclined.

With the advent of over-sized floating yarn indicators and the legal use of split shot, instant "expert" nymph fisherman are everywhere. I use quotations around the word expert, because in reality most have limited knowledge of how to achieve a true dead drift. Some of the setups you see are borderline ridiculous. I watched in amazement the other day as a nearby fisherman "lobbed" (sorry, but it's not casting) a rig that consisted of an indicator the size of baseball. I'm not exaggerating.

Now before I go much further, let me say that I'm a nymph fisherman myself. There are times, especially during cold water conditions, when it is necessary if you want to catch fish consistently. What amazes me, however, is how many fisherman out there put on a nymphing rig and stay with it all day, mindlessly making one 10 foot lob after another, right through a good insect hatch.

Case in point: the fishing a well known river in the Rangeley Region was fantastic all day yesterday, thanks to nice mayfly hatch. Casting dryflies, wetflies, soft hackles, and emergers brought consistent action all day. I was having the time of my life moving from spot to spot, trying different techniques. Yet all around me, fisherman seemed oblivious to what was happening. They continued to mindlessly "lob" their nymph rigs to the same 15 foot run over and over and over.

My point here is that I believe many fly fisherman have pigeoned holed themselves to the point where they are not learning anything new. They are missing one of the great aspects of fly fishing: diversity. Let's face it, nymph fishing is clumsy, at best. By contrast, there is nothing more elegant than the take of a good fish to a soft hackle presentation. The fish is immediately on the reel, and, with the weight of the current on his side, a good fish will quickly make the reel sing. It's a wonderfully effective method and just plain flat out fun.

Expand your horizons a little and try something new. . At least occasionally use that fly rod on which you spent so much money for what it was designed to do: Casting a Fly! Sometimes it's not all about catching the most fish. This isn't supposed to be akin to the "NASCAR on water" bass tournaments that seem so popular in today's world.

Look around and listen to what the stream is trying to tell you. It will make you a better fisherman and you'll enjoy the experience even more.