- If you are snagged on the bottom and can get close enough you can easily get your fly back at least 90% of the time by running your rod tip down the line and leader while stripping in the line with the other hand until it hits the fly and pushes it off. Double check that your line is still strung through the tip. This usually makes your fly go through the top eyelet, even and especially if you fly is much too big to possibly fit.
- This does not work with two fly rigs or indicators. This is the only definitive (and admittedly highly irrational) proof I have that both are evil.
- When snagged deep or too far out working out some extra line and throwing a hard roll-cast past the snag a couple of times occasionally works.
- Standing tall and screaming "f-ing snag" is encouraged during this process. You are probably going to scare any nearby carp with this rather violent and noisy technique in order to save that $3.00 fly and might as well get your licks in while you can.
- Hold the rod tip high and forward with as much line held off the water as possible. Gently wiggle the rod tip side to side and fore-aft so that the line develops standing waves with pulses of LIGHT pressure followed by slack.
- You can pretty much tell that you have progressed from gentle wiggles to violent thrashing when your rod breaks.
- Walking over and gently pulling the fly off of whatever ails you works really well.
- Yeah, this always surprises me as well.
- When all else fails grab the line in your rod hand, point the rod and pull with slowly and steadily increasing pressure.
- Neither tungsten nor lead is delicious. To avoid eating it channel your inner baseball pitcher and keep the rod butt low and outside.
- If your favorite fly gives you a prison tattoo or piercing somewhere on the fore-arm grit your teath and repeat after me: "Fly-Carpin is not responsible" and " De-barbing is for wussies.".
- Heck with it, tie your own flies and save the money.
- If you buy that I have at least $3000 dollars in partially used bags of fly-tying material I will sell you.
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Tricks of the Trade #1 - Saving that $3.00 fly
The following are some tricks to prevent losing all those grudgingly purchased flies to trees, stumps, rocks and other vengeful inanimate objects:
These tips are both practical and fun.Thanks for them!
ReplyDeleteYou bet Jorge. Interesting blog you have there. I am going to have to put Google Translator through it's paces and do a deep dive.
DeletePretty good McTage. I'm actually amazed at how often #2 works.
ReplyDeleteYeah it works pretty good unless you are deep into wood or fabrick or something.
DeleteI use 1 and 2 a LOT! Number 2 actually really helped me work on the roll cast, too.
ReplyDeleteWanna learn how to roll cast a bit better? Get snagged.
That's a good point. Perhaps we should contact the federation of fly fishers.
DeleteTim Rajeff once told me, "I don't understand why someone would try to jab a $2 fly off of a snag with a $300 + fly rod."
ReplyDeleteI subscribe to that philosophy...if i can't reach 'em, I break 'em off and tie more.
I dunno man. Pretty sure I save close enough to 300 bucks worth of flies in the lifetime of a rod to keep at it. Worth thinking about though....
DeleteI see much tongue in cheek stuff, I hope. I am with the roll cast crowd, that works the majority od time for me. If I can move at least to an angle 30 degrees from the direction of the hang up, more is better, a slow pull will free a fly often enough to try this. Right, thousands of $ fly tying stuff resides in my room and actually reproduces on it's own, amazing.
ReplyDeleteGregg
Absolutely Gregg. When I figure out which was the tonque and which was the cheek I will let you know. Changing the angle can help, also throwing the loop slightly upstream when you snagged in current. Your problem with material reproduction is odd. Do you leave your materials in the plastic bags because they should be practicing safe storage if so?
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter, worse than teenagers that stuff.
ReplyDeleteGregg
Sounds like your tying bins need counseling. Just say no and all that.
DeleteGreat post ... I just saved a $3 fly to walking over to it, reaching my hand down, finding the little bugger, and scaring the carp off I'd been chasing for at least 10 minutes. Worth it, right?
ReplyDeleteThats a tough call. What is the expected value of one more shot at a carp that is laughing at you already. On the other hand that fly didnt seem to be hot anyways.
DeleteFlies cost $3? Mine cost about $8 a piece if you consider how long it takes me to tie even the simplest pattern and how much I'd be making if I spend that time working... and no, I'm not going to divulge how long that actually is. It's shameful. Still, I have no problem popping off a fly, or wouldn't if I'd tie more than 1 of a pattern at a time. This is the problem with tying slowly--by the time you're done with a single fly you're bored with that pattern and move on. That's another reason my flies are worth so much: they're all original, 1-of-a-kind creations. So, when I'm out there and actually hook a carp on a particular fly I'm rock-solid in my belief that is the only fly that will work. Period. This now raises the worth of that fly to seriously high levels. Not as high as my shitty rod, but close. So, I subscribe to all the above methods, relying most heavily on #2. I find it helps if you're loud, emphatic, and prolonged.
ReplyDeleteYour a funny guy Windknot. I laughed out-loud twice reading that. Perhaps mostly because I am in the same boat. Not only am I slow, but my eyes start to cross and roll up in my head after tying just 1 or 2 of the same pattern. The part about believing in that one fly is profound too, because sometimes you just aren't all that sure you will be able to reproduce whatever the magic mojo you believe it to have!
ReplyDelete