Not All Bobbers Are Created Equal: Better Buy The Best.
Let’s start by clearing the air: “strike indicators” are indeed bobbers. You heard it here first. New fly anglers, in case there’s been any confusion based upon terminology and fly fish jargon being thrown around, make note. And in case you weren’t already aware, bobbers are in fact used by many while fly fishing. Check out this YouTube video from Orvis that shares some of the basics of beginner bobber fly fishing with nymphs. On to the subject at hand…
Is there a brand of fly fishing bobber that’s far superior to the others?
The short answer is yes, in my opinion, after using most all of the stylers of strike indicators on the market, the OROS design lands on top. Here’s why:
They’re easy to adjust on your rig. One of the banes of indicator nymph fishing is that it can require a fair amount of readjustment in order to ensure that your rig is the correct length while presenting your fly within the “strike zone”(areas where fish are present and feeding). Even more, if you’re nymphing on a stretch of water where there are distinct changes in water depth, readjusting the length between your bobber and fly is oftentimes necessary. The OROS design makes it incredibly easy to move your bobber up and down the length of your leader, making it simple and easy to execute those changes when needed.
They don’t kink your leader. While not always the case, there are various bobber designs that wind up bending your leader, leaving behind a kink and disruption within the smooth quality of your presentation once the bobber’s removed. The OROS design completely avoids creating any pesky bends in your leader.
They stay in place. If you haven’t experienced the headache of an indicator regularly sliding up and down your leader consider yourself lucky. OROS, when tightened appropriately, always manage to stay secured in place. A serious win.
They’re durable. What can I say, I just recently picked up a new three pack while going into the winter season which also happens to be my most heavy nymph fishing season, but I’ve had the same handful of OROS indicators for two years and they remain to be in great working order.
They’re user friendly. A feature that may be my #1, the OROS design is generally quite easy to handle, even for those of us who may not have the most nimble of fingers. While the fine tune motor skills required within fly fishing can serve as a barrier for plenty, these bobbers most definitely do their best to contribute to a greater landscape of accessibility.
Want to see the OROS in action along with an in-depth product review? Check out this share from Mad Rivers Outfitters on YouTube, another one of my favorite channels to explore for useful education and information. Click here to learn more about the OROS Strike Indicators on their website. Happy fishing, friends!
Fly Fish + Hiking Fly Box Essentials
For those who love both day trip and multi-day hiking and fly fishing excursions, maximizing space in your backpack while ensuring that all of the essentials are along for the ride is critical. I’m certainly an angler who has oh so many fly boxes(too many fly boxes?), but when I’m hiking substantially longer distances to fish I tend to take a very different approach. Rather than filling up precious cargo space in my bag with multiple fly boxes, I prefer to carry one single box that checks all of the boxes. Because let’s be honest, snacks, water, and plenty of clothing layers need to be a priority. Check out how I go about organizing my hike and fly fish box….
Streamers
While everyone has their own methods and tactics when approaching the water, whether fishing a new destination or a regular hometown stretch, I’m often one who opts for small streamers while prospecting for trout. These flies which are typically fashioned to imitate small baitfish are incredibly versatile and can be fished in a variety of ways both on still water(lakes and reservoirs) as well as rivers and streams. Check out this YouTube video from Orvis that serves as a great ‘how to’ highlighting streamer fishing for trout. I typically equip myself with several sizes and color variations of each pattern, leaning towards more natural colors(white, olive, tan, and black).
The top three streamers that always make it into my box:
Conehead Woolly Bugger
Egg Sucking Leech
Mini Sculpzilla
Dry Flies
Oftentimes the style of fly that’s most frequently associated with fly fishing, arming yourself with a solid array of versatile dry flies, whether they fall beneath the category of mayflies, caddis flies, stoneflies, midges, or terrestrials is essential. While many fly anglers have numerous fly boxes filled exclusively with dry fly variations, when embarking upon more streamlined ventures it’s important to narrow it down to a well-rounded and simplified assortment that’s appropriate for the season. The overarching subject of dry flies tends to be rather vast, but this beginners guide to fly fishing dry flies is a great starting point.
The top SIX that always make it into my box(because I couldn’t just pick three):
X-Caddis(olive)
Stimulator(orange and/or yellow)
Purple Haze
Sparkle Dun(variation dependent upon the season)
Foam and/or Flying Ant
Renegade
Nymphs & Wet Flies
For those who’re new to the sport of fly fishing, what you may not realize is that the mass majority of the daily diet for a trout is acquired from subsurface food sources in the water. That’s where nymphs and wet flies step in. Variations of these fly patterns that are fished anywhere between the area just below surface of the water in the “film” or deep into the water column, even bouncing off of bottom, are incredibly productive. While there are many methods and techniques for fishing nymphs and wet flies, this video introduction to nymph and wet fly fishing, also created by Orvis, offers a firm foundation.
The top three nymphs that always make it into my box:
Sexy Walt’s Worm
Matchstick Quill Jig
Lite Brite(Purple and/or Pink)
The top three wet flies that always make it into my box:
Gold Ribbed Hares Ear
Red Ass Kelso
Birds Nest
Another important area to note is that in some circumstances hiking to fly fishing destinations can present some combination of biodiversity and elevation changes to be taken into account. If your outing is going to include a notable shift in environments don’t forget to bring along fly variations that speak to those particular environments that you may encounter. The flies that I tend to fish at 4000ft is at times quite a bit different from what I’m fishing at 8000ft on any given day. And even if you don’t live in a mountainous area potential changes in the ecosystem can certainly play a role in what insects are present, the temperature and condition of the water, and the behavior of the fish.
Stay tuned for some upcoming articles that dig a bit deeper into all of the fly fish and hiking gear, equipment, and apparel that I happen to love, as well as other pieces that highlight functional movement, mobility, and mindfulness methods to support your hikes while fly fishing. Winter can serve as a fantastic time to research, plan and plot, and get geared up for the upcoming Summer season ahead.
Five Ways to Stay Engaged with Your Fly Fishing Practice While at Home
While it’s probably safe to say that we all prefer our precious time spent adventuring on our favorite fisheries over all else, life doesn’t always allow for constant jaunts to our home waters or exciting new destination fisheries. The good news is that there are tons of ways to not only stay engaged and excited about our fly angling practice while at home, but those efforts that we make in-between our outings play a huge role in our growth as anglers. Here are a few of my favorite ways to continue learning and exploring while I’m hanging at home…
1) Organizing fly boxes.
Setting aside time to organize my fly boxes remains to be one of my favorite at-home fly fishing activities. There are many different schools of thought in terms of how to go about this task; over the years I’ve tried on various methods and continue to experiment from time to time. While some organize via specific fly types designated to their own boxes(a box for nymphs, a box for dry flies, a box for streamers, etc.) others are more particular about orienting their boxes seasonally, regionally, or based upon specific insect life cycles. At the end of the day it’s really up to the individual angler and their own preferred way of locating their flies(while ensuring that they have exactly what they need) with ease while on the water. My personal favorite fly boxes on planet earth? Without a moments hesitation, that would be the Tacky Pescador fly boxes from Fishpond. I have several in a variety of sizes.
2) Taking inventory of gear.
This job tends to be fairly quick and easy for me, but it is an essential step nonetheless. Pieces of equipment that I frequently take inventory of in-between trips include: flies that may need replenishing, tippet, floatant, and leaders. I also never hit the water without a few snacks tucked into my pack, so any turkey sticks or granola bars that may have been consumed are always quick to be restocked for next time around. A hangry fly angler is not a happy fly angler! The three brands that I most regularly use to stock my fly line, leaders, tippet and floating include Loon Outdoors, Scientific Anglers, and Rio Products.
3) Crimping barbs.
While some of my flies are tied on barbless hooks, the mass majority do indeed contain barbs. Of the many different areas that compose my fly angling ethics, crimping my barbs is definitely high on my list. This gesture not only allows for quick and easy hook removals and a much less pronounced impact on fish, but it also makes all of the difference in the world in the case that a fly hook might unwittingly wind up in my own body or clothing. Everyone wins with a crimped barb, and what better way to save time on the water than to just de-barb your hooks while at home? Here’s a quick video tutorial on the Orvis YouTube channel that shares how to de-barb your hooks..
4) Practicing knots.
Practice makes perfect, as they say. The very best way to become proficient and swift while tying knots on the water is to build that muscle memory while at home. Depending upon the individual angler, the variety of species they target, and the types of fisheries that they explore, the essential knot knowledge needed will indeed vary. At the very least, most freshwater fly anglers will want to know the loop to loop, double surgeons, and the clinch and/or improved clinch knots as a baseline. Additional ties including the blood knot, nail knot, and a non-slip or perfection loop knot will also come in handy, too. You can use any material that you’d like while learning your knots(pictured here I’m repurposing some old fly line). I also recommend practicing your knots on your leader/tippet material as well since that will represent how you’ll experience tying them while on the water. You can find a great guide to basic fly fishing knots via this Orvis YouTube video with Tom Rosenbauer.
5) Study and research.
Finally, your preferred style of study and research is always an area that provides both education and inspiration. Of course the subject matter and topics available to dig into are nearly endless, from entomology to reading water to casting mechanics to specific species and their ecosystems. Beyond that, there’s certainly no shortage of narrative literature, short films and documentary, non-fiction work, podcasts, and blogs and social media content to keep you entertained and interested. A great option that I particularly love that seamlessly combines entertainment with education is the YETI YouTube channel. Choose your favorite medium and enjoy!
One more area that I didn’t mention is that of actual dry-land fly casting practice. In fact I love it so much that I developed my own unique and one of a kind Wade Well ‘Fluent Fly Casting Method’. That topic however is one expansive enough to save for a blog post all its own. Stay tuned!
5 Mindfulness Practices to Integrate into your Fly Fishing Experiences
It’s no new revelation that fly angling lends itself to being that of a greatly therapeutic sport. There are countless long standing organizations such as Casting for Recovery, Project Healing Waters, and The Mayfly Project to name just a few, many of whom for decades have devoted their entire mission to the cause of facilitating space for people to heal through the medium of fly angling. Volumes of literary works have been written that speak to the deeper experiences that we encounter on the water, and perhaps even more so now, the fact that many of us are indeed fishing for something much greater than the fish themselves has become increasingly mainstream over the past several years.
This points to two things: our collective need to connect more with ourselves, and our collective need to connect more with the natural world. It’s probably safe to say that most of us could always use more real and tangible connection in community with one another, too. Fly fishing facilitates all of the above and then some. It’s powerful in and of itself, and manages to offer an abundance of physical, psychological, and inter-personal benefits as it stands. I sometimes wonder if that pull I feel to get out onto the river is actually being generated by the many systems of my mind and body that are coyly reminding me that I need some time moving and breathing in the outdoors. I typically tend to abide, and surely always leave feeling a little bit better than when I arrived.
One of the characteristics that makes fly angling so appealing and keeps us so engaged and interested is its expansive and wide reaching scope. There are always more fly patterns to learn how to tie, new water and species to be explored, and a different casting technique to attempt to master. In the spirit of enjoying the richness of our ever evolving time spent as anglers, there are all sorts of interesting and beneficial ways to shift our perspective and even intention while we’re out getting a line wet, too. While fly fishing has long been compared to various schools of thought such as yoga and taoism, it really does stand alone as its own very unique and well-rounded wellness practice.
With that, for those who’re looking to incorporate some additional layers while on the water and in the woods, there are myriad mindfulness focused gestures to pepper in when the day calls for an extra dose of connection with ourselves and our environment. Here are just a few…
Breath Awareness.
We all just so happen to be breathing all day long, which in turn means that we have this really great tool sitting at our fingertips at any given moment. Engaging in breath awareness can be approached many ways depending upon the individual and what they’re hoping to achieve. The simple act of paying attention to our breathing can, for some, be an incredibly grounding practice. It helps to bring us into the present moment in a clear and accessible way, and it offers a rhythmic focal point.
Try: Breath counts. Recent research shows that six nasal breaths per minute is optimal for our health, of which each breath is composed of a five second count for the inhale, and a five second count for the exhale. Next time you’re arrived at a run and have committed yourself to say three or so minutes to pause and observe(of which is almost always a good idea), incorporate a counted breath practice that includes twenty breaths utilizing this pattern. It’s fantastic for your nervous system and overall focus, and will help round out that time spent slowing down and taking stock before tying on a fly and taking your first cast.
Mindful Movement.
No fancy pretzley postures needed here. The simple act of moving mindfully(as in paying attention to our movement) is really beneficial in and of itself. A great starting point is to simply slow down. Rather than rushing to get to the next section of water or charging ahead to the opposite bank, take more methodical and intentional steps. Experiencing the basic quality of walking is an excellent way to better inhabit our bodies and even get out of our heads a bit.
Try: While wading, use the gait pattern of a forefoot strike in each step before lowering down to the heel. This method of walking(and wading) is ideal while moving through variable and uneven terrain, and oftentimes helps to mitigate those slips and falls that we’re not too terribly fond of. Make note that the forefoot isn’t the toes, but instead the ball mounds just beneath them. It’s the widest portion of our feet and provides the greatest surface area to create a stable stance before completing each step with an eventual heel strike.
Sensory Mapping.
One of the better known mindfulness methods out there is that of “mapping” our senses. You can choose one sense or indulge in several within sequence of one another. For example, at any given moment throughout the day, pause to make note of what you’re experiencing from a sensory perspective. Consider any smells, tastes, sounds, colors, textures, temperatures, and any and all physical sensations that are present. A nice way to approach sensory mapping is to take a moment to pause at a new run on the river. Because we’re typically already attune to the practice of stopping to read the water, adding in a couple more sensory distinctions can help to elevate our observational practice while offering additional opportunity to slow down and tune in.
Try: Upon arrival(or while in motion) engage your sense of listening. See if you can distinguish sounds that are present to the North, then South, then East, then West of you. Some even choose to take pen to paper to sketch what they’re hearing from each direction in the form of an actual “sensory map”.
Intention Setting.
Intention setting, in its essence, is similar to creating a goal, but it tends to veer away from the idea of performance. In other words, it’s an opportunity to consider how one might shape their perspective, while removing any pressure of necessarily needing to “achieve” anything in particular. It serves as a central point of focus, but it remains flexible rather than rigid. The question of “why did I choose to come here today” can be a solid launching point. The obvious answer of “to fish” is oftentimes sitting on the more superficial layer. While digging a bit deeper, you may uncover answers like “to relax, to be somewhere quiet, to explore some place new, to spend time with a friend”, etc. Understanding how we’re showing up on any given excursion and what we’re hoping to experience can help inform where we go, the pace with which we move, and how we approach the day as a whole. And if the intention simply is to feel the tug of a fish on your line(a perfectly reasonable intention), well then best to head to a spot where you’re fairly certain you’ll connect with a couple.
Try: Once you’ve gotten to your destination give yourself a minute or two to take an inventory before moving ahead. Complete a brief scan of your body and determine how you’re feeling from a physical perspective, gaining awareness of areas where you may feel sore, fatigued, or tense. Make note of your energy level, stress level, emotional body, and how your headspace is feeling. Getting a clear picture of the lay of your own personal landscape is a great starting point to help inform your best course of action as you venture ahead.
Gratitude Scanning.
The word gratitude tends to evoke images of self-help books and motivational quotes plastered across corporate posters, but the fact remains: taking the time to actually acknowledge areas of gratitude can have a serious impact on our overall perspective, mindset, feelings of well-being, and literal brain matter. It’s incredibly simple, yet is oftentimes completely overlooked and underutilized within our daily thought patterns. What’s more, when we become habituated to certain persons, places, or things, we can pretty easily fall victim to the act of taking them for granted.
Try: Book-ending your outings on the water with a very simple gratitude scan that includes identifying two things that you’re grateful for upon arrival, and two different things that you’re grateful for upon departure. There are no rules, they can literally be anything. You can choose to write them down, take photographs, or just plain think on them for a few moments.
It should go without saying that not every day spent angling need-be composed of a whole lot of extra anything. In fact I might argue that one of the greatest things about fly fishing is that it frequently offers a space that’s stripped down, simplified, and relatively free of the to-do lists that often govern our daily lives. Time in nature not thinking about a whole lot else other than the rod in our hand and the bugs skirting through the brush is at times just what the doctor ordered. There are plenty of other times where exuberantly cheering our friends on while they land a fish can lift our spirits and be about as good as it gets.
Regardless of the context, incorporating more mindfulness here and there will invariably enhance our time exploring. The best part? The more often that we integrate these really basic practices into our lives, the more they become just like muscle memory, woven into the fabric of our experiences, much like the way that we read water, seat our knots, and pause to watch while our fish kick off and swim away.
The Physical Feat of Landing, Handling, and releasing our Fish with care
For the budding new angler or those who tend to hit the water with guides or buddies more often than not, you may be in for a bit of a surprise when first realizing that netting your own fish can wind up being the greatest feat of the day. While we’ve been fortunate in more recent years to have excellent organizations like Keep Fish Wet leading the charge in safe fish handling education, implementing the methodology just might greet you with a few unexpected asks from your physical self. Executed with ease and maybe even taken for granted by some, plenty surely find that there’s more to it than meets the eye while navigating a solid landing, handling, and release. Here’s the lowdown on some of the physical elements that help to pull off a solid landing and release, along with a few tips that you can implement into your daily life to help keep your body moving well while you care for your fishy friends.
1: Shoulder Mobility- It should go without saying that we utilize a fair amount of shoulder mobility while we cast. What may be a little less obvious is the extent to which we typically need to move our rod handling arm into shoulder flexion(arm high above the head) while netting our own fish. Maintaining well moving shoulders is essential, most notably while netting and landing our fish. TRY: Shoulder CARs(controlled articular rotations) are one of the best ways to go about building and maintaining range of motion and control within the shoulder girdle. With the option of executing shoulder CARs from a variety of positions(seated, standing, tall kneeling, or in a quadruped position), incorporating a quick set of controlled rotations daily will help to keep this joint complex moving well.
2: Reaching- With the lift of our rod comes an even longer reach with our net handling limb. Reaching requires coordination between the shoulder blade, shoulder capsule, entire arm, and it tends to incorporate a certain degree of spinal mobility as well. Keeping all of the above in at least decent working order will suit us well on the water and within our regular daily life activities. TRY: A great way to stack some movements together is to incorporate single arm or two armed reaches into a variety of seated positions while on the floor. Try sitting cross legged and reaching forward, overhead, and from side to side, and repeat with the opposite leg in front. Other floor sitting positions to explore include both legs stretched out ahead, straddled legs, and any type of squat. Feel free to place a yoga block, bolster, or blanket/pillows underneath your seat to help make floor sitting more accessible. Bonus points for adding in some trunk rotation to keep your spinal health on the up and up, too.
3: Grip Strength- And I’m not talking about death gripping your fish. Please don’t. While some may choose to use a hands-free release, it’s oftentimes ideal to have a rubber net handy. While over-gripping is generally unnecessary, maintaining healthy hands and wrists goes a very long way while we’re managing the many moving parts that is releasing our fish(and definitely supports many other areas where fly angling is concerned). Even just the act of hanging onto our net handle can be a bit of a project if our hands aren’t quite up for the task. TRY: Similar to your shoulder CARs that we went over above, daily wrist rotations through your full range of motion is a great way to keep wrists mobile. The idea behind the controlled articular rotations is that they’re executed slowly and methodically. Try three rotations moving clockwise, followed by three moving counter-clockwise. Squeeze a tennis ball in your palm while doing them to add in some grip strength work.
4: Lower Body Mobility- Perhaps one of the greater challenges for many is the ability to get low enough to the water to remove your fly and release your fish, all while keeping your fish wet. A lack of mobility in your ankles, knees, and hips can pose some challenges. I typically find that my best course of action while keeping my fish submerged during a netting and release is to lower into some degree of a squat. A healthy and mobile lower body can be really helpful in these circumstances, and can also contribute to checking water temperatures when needed, too. TRY: Incorporating some floor sitting into your daily routine is a fantastic and kinda unsuspecting way to help build and maintain a certain level of lower body mobility. It requires us to regularly shift our hips, knees, ankles, and pelvis throughout a variety of angles while we change positions, resulting in spending more time within diverse orientations. Feel free to sit on top of blankets or cushions if accessing the floor feels difficult on its own, and if you feel that you’ll need a little extra aid to get back up again, sitting next to a piece of furniture or something that’s stable can be useful. If sitting on the floor is a no-go for you, try regularly changing the way that you sit in chairs or on the couch. Bend and straighten your knees and hips in a variety of ways, and add some ankle CARs into the mix while you’re at it, too. Aim to spend at least 30 minutes a day on the floor if you’re able.
5: Balance & Proprioception- We’re reaching, pivoting, squatting, and gripping. Frequently all taking place while standing inside of a moving body of water. Within the chaos and victory of the moment, don’t forget that you still need to keep your feet beneath you. Being able to remain steady within movement is the very definition of stability. Balance and spatial awareness are key. TRY: A super simple way to work on overall balance is to incorporate some sustained single leg balancing into your daily life. While just standing on one leg is a great way to begin, as you become more comfortable add in some movement to give your body the opportunity to respond and re-stabilize within an unstable environment. I love to explore some swings with my lifted leg, reaches with my arms, and even some hip hinges down towards the ground, all while balancing on one foot. Don’t be shy about using a wall or other stable surface for some support while you progressively increase your balance abilities over time.
Surprisingly enough, safely handling your fish while returning them to the water may actually leave you with all sorts of unexpected and unintentional mobility gains. Keep those rod tips lifting and your squats plenty low! Likewise, if you’re looking for motivation to work on some of your movement and mobility capacity while off of the water, becoming a more ethical and mindful angler seems to be as good a reason as any. Your joints and your fisheries will surely thank you.