Still Water Fly Fishing

The best thing about still water fly fishing in my opinion is the unpredictability in the behaviour of trout and often their food selectivity, more so the unintentional ability to often confuse the fisherman completely!

If you want to be effective when fishing for still water, you must always evaluate the given situation well and counter it as much as possible with appropriately chosen fishing tactics, which can also provide several separate or combined techniques and methods! Appropriate assessment of the situation is absolutely crucial to your success.

In terms of proper stillwater fishing tactics, I would recommend that you look around when you arrive at the lake and assess what is actually going on in and on the water! If the area is not large, feel free to walk around it and spend a little time getting to know it and understand the current conditions.

The behavior of the fish, the behavior of other fishermen who are present near the water will tell you a lot. You will first be able to observe any activity of fish, the surface activity (a positive sign), jumps of fish (a negative indicator).

The fishing style of others (successful anglers) such as lengths of casts, lines used, number, sizes and colors of flies, etc. All these factors you they will help start the fishing, in the given situation.

During your time fishing, always monitor the surroundings and the water level, look for the possible occurrence of fish or, on the contrary, places spared from the greatest pressure, also pay close attention to the direction in which the wind is blowing (direction of food movement / probable movement of fish) and evaluate the possible perspective of moving to these places!

Everything is, of course, very relative, sometimes the fish are active where they don't show themselves, sometimes the fish really take best where it's obvious and, of course, in both cases, vice versa! Anyway, be proactive, think and keep evaluating the situation!

If nothing from the above happens after you arrive at the water, which would help you choose an effective fishing method, have prepared tactics according to the time of the season and your previous experience, for example. As a rough guide (especially for beginners without much experience)

SPRING: Two (2) coloured wet flies on an intermediate line with a medium to fast retrieve.

SUMMER: Two or Three (2 - 3) small nymphs or wet flies on a long leader on a floating line with a slow retrieve.

AUTUMN: Two (2) wet flies or smaller natural wet flies on hover or slow intermediate line with a slow retrieve.

WINTER: A single nymph or midge on a short leader on a sinking line, I use and recommend Scientific Angler Still Water Intermediate Lines, with a very slow retrieve.

These pre-prepared tactics are not a dogma and a guarantee of immediate success in the mentioned time of year, but they will at least help you actively "play the game" and gradually find out the necessary information for the further development of your fishing!

For Scientific Anglers Lines Contact Compleat Angler Sydney.

FISHING TECHNIQUE WITH A SINKING LINE:

In our conditions, you will probably most often use an intermediate or sinking line (Scientific Anglers Still Water Series my go to) when fishing with Nymphs, Midges and Streamers, especially in the cold months of the fishing season with slow fishing near the bottom.

I use these intermediate and sinking lines specially in the winter months, as the fish are already at the bottom, their metabolism has slowed down, but on the other hand, they will not undervalue a big bite, they just have to catch up!

So, a slowly retrieved nymph on a intermediate or sinking line is very often the right choice, which gives you hope for a catch.

FISHING TECHNIQUES WITH A FLOATING LINE:

A floating line is, of course, basic equipment for both the beginner and the advanced still water fly angler! Due to the length of the casts required, it should clearly be a WF (weight forward floating fly line).

The still water fly angler should know and especially master all relevant and permitted methods of fishing with it and casting it, which should be practiced. Floating Lines are best used in the warmer periods of the season (abundant occurrence of aquatic and terrestrial insects in the upper levels of the water column), or in shallow parts of the lake (fishing in the colder months of the season, where sinking lines would often get stuck to the bottom).

Fishing with nymphs and wet flies is another popular fishing tactic with a floating line when the surface activity of the fish is not very strong. The trout are deeper and prefer the larval stages of aquatic insects (nymphs and pupae of midges, chironomids and mayflies) or dead insects , which float in the water column Wet Flies imitating drowned insects) or insects that normally live in water. In such a case, it is ideal to fish with a long leader with 2-3 nymph or wet flies and gradually capture as much of the water column as possible, where fish can be found, depending on the length of the leader and the spacing of the flies , Note: the clearer the water, the longer the leader and the further the fly spacing!

Reel Fly Fishing has still water and lake fishing options in the Blue Mountains and Central Western, NSW contact us for more details.