Tactics and Skills

This is one of the most important features inclusive to the sport of fly fishing. Equally, it is also one of the most overlooked and understated. Therefore, we have made it our mission to personally evaluate various fishing scenarios around the area, pick them apart piece-by-piece, and explain how tactics and skills apply in virtually every situation.

Fishing PMDs on the Owyhee River

Fishing PMDs on the Owyhee presents a unique situation this year. Due to the recent flood, this may prove to be one of the more predominant hatches throughout the summer. With that said, we recently took a trip over to the Owyhee to stalk rising fish. Head hunting (aka dry fly fishing) involves a fair amount of attentive stream observation. The clips below will pick apart a few moments of our day and show how observation played a key role in our success.

Observing the Conditions

When approaching the stream bank, especially in high and off-color water, it's best to take note of the environment. In these types of conditions, fish will typically position themselves tight up against the bank. The bank, especially on the Owyhee, provides good cover, slower current, and greater visibility - this is the "comfort zone" for the fish. Equally, on windy afternoons, the breeze will push the insects into the bank, so this typically provides a readily available food source. Check out the clip below to see what we're talking about.

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Insect Identification

Before you throw your first cast, take a look around - note the water below. Are there shucks drifting by? Do you see adults? Is the wind pushing the bugs into the banks? All of these are key questions to understanding what the fish may be feeding on. Seeing a lot of shucks in the water tells us the hatch is above us. Equally, seeing a lot of emerging PMDs tells us the hatch is moving closer. And of course, large numbers of adults on the water indicates we are in the middle stage of the hatch. In our case, we found several emerging PMDs floating by. This is the stage when the insects are most vulnerable and the fish know that. On windy days, fishing emergers, and knock-down cripples may be the key to your success. Check below to see what we found.

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Assessing the Situation

When assessing the fishing conditions, it's always best to come up with a game plan. Of course, this all depends on the varying factors. In our situation, we based our plan on three very important conditions - the sunlight, the wind, and the vast amount of emergers and cripples on the water. We also took note of the number of swallows flying overhead as this is good indication the hatch is moving down stream. Check out the clip below to see our assessment.

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Observing the Fish

Our patience finally paid off. We found a fish feeding tight up against the bank - right where we figured he would be. When observing the fish, be sure to watch the rise and look for variations in feeding patterns. Is the fish taking adult dries? Is he splashing on emergers? Is he just chowing on anything that drifts by? It's always best to try and figure out what the soup du jour is before tossing bugs overhead. You may run the risk of spooking the fish, especially when fishing tight into the bank. There's a lot of stuff to get hung up on. So when you do decide to present your cast, be sure you are accurate in your presentation and take note of the surroundings. In our case, the fish was moving from side to side taking emerging nymphs and cripples. Click below to see him feed.  

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Fly Selection

The flies in the clip below are amoung our favorite Harrop and Smith PMD patterns. These represent the various stages of the insect as it hatches. When selecting your flies, try to pick the best representation for the conditions.

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The Hookup

We tried a few striving dun and stillborn patterns before we got this guy to take. Initially, we noticed that he was feeding on emergers. However, with the conditions as windy as they were, he eventually moved to knock-downs. So we decided to try Harrop's CDC Last Chance Cripple - this was the ticket as you will see in the clip below.

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The Result

With a little bit of observation, planning, and patience, we hooked up with a decent fish. That's all it really takes. So next time you are out on the Owyhee, take a look at what's going on around you. Look for the birds, the sunlight, the wind, the water conditions, and the stages of insects drifting below you. When assessing the conditions, just remember that fish focus on two things - food and cover. If you can figure out how your surrounding conditions will play into these two variables, you will be well on your way to success.

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Until next time....

Cheers - The Riverkeeper