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Duncan Loop

The Duncan Loop is used to join the tippet to the fly. It provides an excellent sliding loop that can be tightened anywhere on the standing part of the leader.

Eddy Lines

Eddy lines peel off from the river’s bends, points, and island heads; they provide comfortable lies for fish to hold. Their broken surfaces conceal feeding fish.

Edge Waters

Usually the shallow’s edge waters with little cover appear to be devoid of fish. These areas can become feeding lies because hatched insects tend to collect in these slack currents.

False Casting

False casting is a series of forward and backcasts that do not allow the line to fall on the forward cast position. Hence, the forward cast is treated as just another backcast.

Feeding Lanes

A feeding lane is defined as the horizontal extent a fish will move to feed during an insect emergence. A feeding lane’s width varies according to the following factors: hatch intensity, fish’s size, and fish’s dominance.

Fish’s Postion

In moving water, fish face upstream. Before planning an approach take into account the fish’s location in terms of its exact position and depth.

Fishing Strategies

The angling strategy is to start fishing the weed bed areas first because this is the most likely spot to find feeding fish. Take into account the lake’s temperature, light intensity, and oxygen content.

Flavs (Small Green Drakes, or Flavilineas)

Flexibility

Flexibility is one of a leader’s most desirable traits. When trying to provide a naturally drifting fly, the flexibility of the leader buffers the effects of turbulent currents.

Float Tubes and Pontoon Boats

Float tubes offer still water anglers tremendous advantages. Their soft nylon/neoprene and water junctions dampen sound production and keep your movements quiet.

Foam Lines

Foam lines are the surface accumulations of floating matter. Here stillborn, emerging, and drowned terrestrial insects are collected.

Follow Through

The follow through comes after the hard stop segment of the cast. It is done to keep tension on the bottom leg of the loop so that the line will fire out at a fast speed.

Forward Cast

1. Aim for a specific target.

Freestone Streams

A freestone stream’s water source is either snowmelt or rainfall, so they rely upon precipitation for their flow volume. Freestones generally have steep gradients characterized by areas of rapid and fast currents.

Giant Salmonfly (Stonefly)

Golden Stonefly

Gray Drake

Grease Line Presentation

The grease line presentation furnishes a broadside drift of the fly making the fly’s wide silhouette more visible to the fish. The stream currents playing upon the fly materials make it come alive as it drifts downstream.

Hand Twist

The hand twist retrieve is done by grasping the line between the line hand’s thumb and first two fingers and pulling an inch or two of line into the palm of your hand. Next, drop the pulled line and rotate the wrist so your fingers are back in the original position and repeat this procedure by grasping the line again.

Hatch Variables

During heavy hatches the fish may hold just below the surface which restricts their vision window. When hatches are sparse fish hold deeper so that they can view a wider area looking for insects and deeper holding fish may see you better.

Hip Boots

Hip boots are good for hiking through wet, brushy areas where you seldom experience a difficult wade; moreover, they are fine for most wetland and beaver pond fishing. The disadvantage is that during a plunge hip boots readily fill with water and severely weigh you down, restricting swimming.

Ice Cover

For a short time each spring the shoreline shallows lose their ice lid first while the deeper water is still ice covered. This is a prime time for foraging fish.

Improved Clinch Knot

Complete the first 3 steps of the clinch knot.

Inlets

Streams entering a lake provide a food supply and a change in both water temperature and oxygenation. Also, inlet streams concentrate fish at spawning times.

Knots

The basic steps in tying any knot correctly are: (1) forming, (2) lubricating, (3) drawing tightly, and (4) trimming.

Lead Core Wet Fly Swing

An additional modification of the wet fly swing is employed to accommodate the greatest density lines, such as lead core and deep water express. With ease, the line is cast quartering downstream.

Leader Length

The general rule is to select long leaders for floating lines and short leaders for sinking lines. Why?