Swinging flies from a boat?

[Steelie Mike]

Yesterday I was fishing the Cowlitz with TallFlyGuy. I had finished swinging through the run and walked back up to the boat while Justin continued to work his way down the run. As I was sitting there I decided to move the boat mid-stream a few feet and cast a few times. Now at that height I could see more water as well as see better. I even spotted a steelhead swimming up the shoreline. I started swinging flies and thought about a scene in the old International Spey Casting Video when Simon Gaseworth. Simon was swinging flies in the Kola Penninsula for Atlantic Salmon. I did not catch anything but thought this could be deadly.

Has anyone else swung flies from a boat for steelhead and has anyone been successful?

[TallFlyGuy]

Mike,

I know the guys on the Clearwater in Idaho do. I watched a video on the OLN where the guy on the sticks would actually help the swing by staying in one spot, then moving in a little toward the end. Seems like it would work.

[Red Shed]

For the most part on the Clearwater the only people swinging flies out of a boat are the guides with a couple of clients in the boat. I know several people that use boats on the Clearwater but they don't fish out of the boats, using them only to move down stream or to get to the side away from the highway where there is less traffic.

ALL the experienced steelhead fly fishers I know including those with boats and especially the two handed rod users wade fish a step or two for each cast moving through the run.

There are a couple of outfitters here that insist that the clients only fish out of the boat. They are never recommended to spey rod users.

[inland]

The guys on the Clearwater are harling. Or backtrolling if you will. Poppy said it best.

In the Maritimes it is called fishing 'drops' where you are standing in an anchored canoe and extend your cast 24" - 30" after each swing until you have reached your maximum casting length. The boat is then dropped down and anchored up to repeat the process with a slight overlap to cover the run. Takes some getting used to and is fun. But for me not nearly as fun as being on foot.

William

[Steve Buckner]

The technique is deadly, we use that technique on the Alagnak for Chinook Salmon. The Alagnak is big water, maybe about 1/3 size larger than the Cowlitz. Because of the growth along the banks and because Chinook tend to follow the deep faster channels and because we're fishing tidal water, fishing from boats makes the most sense. Two-handed rods are the tool of choice for all of the usual reasons. They are also extremely safe when cast from a boat - assuming the folks casting have good casting skills.

We used 10 weight rods with 750 grain skagit lines and a 24 foot 400 grain sink tip to get our flies down. Worked like a charm. Swinging flies for chinook in that situation is the same as swinging flies for steelhead. As you know, the majority of steelhead are also caught in those deep channels by the gear guys because just like chinook, steelhead prefer the deeper water.

On the Cowlitz, as you saw, there are plenty of fish moving through the system and with the flows and water temps the way they are, the fish will be found in the deeper channels, just like the chinook. Throwing tips to get your fly down into their living rooms is going to give you better odds in many locations on the river.

I'll also add that I've had the good fortune of taking a few scottish gentlemen out and they've mentioned that swinging flies from boats is common on many of the scottish rivers, at least that's what they tell me.

[fredaevans]

" even spotted a steelhead swimming up the shoreline. " This is one of those times where fishing from a boat can bring 'something to the table.' "Fishing short" is not one of the strong points of 2 handers.;)

[Bruce Davidson]

I was introduced to boat casting on a trip to the Ponoi. Most fishing was from the bank, but occasionally the guide would anchor up the boat and after each cast he'd let a little more anchor line out. Worked pretty well.

[gt]

ask yourself, '...what sort of river topography do the fish follow...' and then decide if you need to swing from a boat. atlantics are more likely to choose lies midriver in fast moving water. steelhead don't typically do that and are often stepped on the careless early am wader. chinook are another example of figuring out where the fish tend to concentrate and choosing a method suited for the situation.

so the answer in my mind is to use the tools and techniques that are most productive for the species you are targetting. with steelhead, i don't see much of an advantage in swinging from the boat, butt, there are times and midriver slots where i could see this working really well. i suppose that is why you are forced to wade fish on the deschutes in OR.

[Uncle Jimmy]

8 or 10 years ago, Bob Pigot was considered “the man” on the Peninsula rivers. Swinging from the boat was his main tool on the Sol Duc at higher water. The way I saw him do it the most seemed to go like this. You put both guys up front and have them cast across and a little down, then the boat is eased downstream a little until the flies are sunk and the boat is stopped. This swings the flys up; until they start swinging they are effectively nymphing. If the guys up front are into the casting and mending, and the guy at the oars knows exactly where to stop the boat, this can be deadly when the water is too high to get a decent presentation from the bank. I think the reason this technique fell to the wayside and nymphing took hold as the prime means of getting clients into multiple fish revolves mostly around the fact that lots of guys already had a grip on nymphing trout from the boat, so teaching them to nymph steelhead was easier than starting something new. For me, swinging from the boat, whether anchored or drifting is fascinating, it offers a whole new set of challenges and opportunities, and gives back that sense of power and control winter water levels often take away.
On a related note, I often wonder how much of “what is popular” in fly-fishing is influenced by marketers and the ff media. Is this just one of hundreds, maybe thousands of interesting and useful techniques that will never gain popularity because doesn’t “package well”?
Anyway, it can be a super fun way to fish, offering some of the most savage bites to be had in steelheading, it would be a shame to write it off because some guy with an expensive jacket and an oversized cigar sez its uncool. (Note, if you wear an expensive jacket and smoke big cigars and are not a pompous A-h*le you are not the guy I am talking about, he knows who he is.)

[Sloan Craven]

Even if the preferred method is to swing from shore, its fun to mix things up once in a while. AND... it would probably allow you to fish water that you can't get a good place to stand, like spots on the COwlitz.
So go crazy man...

[fredaevans]

" even spotted a steelhead swimming up the shoreline. " This is one of those times where fishing from a boat can bring 'something to the table.' "Fishing short" is not one of the strong points of 2 handers.;)

Flat forgot to add: 'swinging from a boat' is the norm down here on the Rogue.

[Jerry Daschofsky]

It's EXTREMELY deadly for steelhead and salmon. Funny thing, I've been swinging a fly (not just nymphing) for almost 25 years from a boat. Pretty much from the day I picked up a flyrod, I've been using them from a boat. I know I've actually brought this up on the main board numerous times about using a flyrod on the drift (and yes, a good oarsman will help you along by keeping you in the "zone" longer). I know everytime I've tried bringing it up, I've been panned by those who feel it's inappropriate to do, especially with a flyrod. I was raised a gear fisherman first, and boondogging/sidedrifting (Uncle Jimmy, the method you described that Bob Pigot used is actually sidedrifting/boondogging with a fly rod)is a well known and long practiced technique (and no bait on these setups usually either) and have been DEADLY! I ALWAYS have a rod working while we're drifting from one hole to another (because most of my hookups have been on the way to the holes, not just AT the hole). I like to have two setups. One for slower water and one for faster (since you're encounter both on most rivers). One with a super fast sinking line (with a sinking leader as well on it) for those runs that are a bit faster. Then a type of nymphing setup (usually a floating line with a heavily weighted fly) for those slower drifts where I want the fly working it's way down, but not on the bottom fast.

But will also say, as mentioned above, it's not easy fishing from a boat with a two hander. Why I'd save the speys for the bank, the one handers for in the boat on the drifts.

[nomlasder]

I ALWAYS have a rod working while we're drifting from one hole to another (because most of my hookups have been on the way to the holes, not just AT the hole).


Amen, I have caught most of my fish in between holes on the nooch, I think becase of all the pressure the holes get being "dredged" all the time, the fish migrate to deep current slots in broken riffled water.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Jerry, side drifting and boondoggling from the boat with fly rods can be deadly, but in the method I was attempting to describe, the key is that at the culmination of every cast (when the fly is sunk to depth) the boat is stopped and the fly is swung across the fishes lie, to then be recast. When I side drift I attempt to keep the fly at a dead drift, or slight downstream drag. I think one of the sticking points in discussions of the ff political correctness of steel head fishing from the boat revolves around whether the boat is anchored or if one angler is casting while an oarsman operates the boat. In the later case there are if fact two anglers controlling the same fly. Some guys just can’t stand that. Its all the same to me, sometimes I like chocolate, some times vanilla, sometimes Jack Daniels. I was just trying to stick to the topic of swinging from the boat. In my mind nymphing, side drifting and boondogling, are all totaly valid tactics, just a different discusion, as the fly doesnt actualy swing.
Jim

[Jerry Daschofsky]

Ah, but actually what you're describing is boondogging (it is a bit different then sidedrifting). Boondoggers want that lure at an almost dead drift as you go. Why they quarter down and across. With sidedrifting though, you're working the lure down and across. Usually stopping and reworking the slot (which they do in boondogging as well). But in sidedrifting, they want the lure working, boondogging, you want the lure dead drifting. But got the idea on what you mean. Either way, I'll use them all for flyfishing. One of the biggest mistakes in steelhead flyfishing is guys who are so narrowminded to think they can't fish from the boat.

[East Fork]

Mike, I got skunked on the Washougal Saturday (11-18-06) fishing in a boat with a Spey rod. I was surprised that it is easier to cast and fish the cast from the boat I guess because the rod tip is higher off the water. Being able to set the casting position away from the bank made things a lot easier too. The only thing that was harder was not being able to set / cast /step /cast. I was hoping to find some late silvers but I only saw one.

[Ringlee]

I park my boat on the Alagnak in a "narrow" part of the river and Swing with a two hander. All the Kings go this way and you can do very well if you time the tide right. With a 2 hander and a 20 feet of T 14 you can pretty much swing any where. This method could work for steelhead as well. I have not tired it yet. I know some spots on the Skagit that towould work.
Chris

[kamishak steve]

Ditto on what Buckner said. I used it for kings on the branch as well. Holding the boat still in the heavy water was pretty tiring! Sure worked well though. The only advice i got as far as guiding fly fishing for chinooks on the branch was "tie flies that look like kwikfish".

[Jeremy Floyd]

If you ever want a great lesson in how to do this there is a guide in N california that specializes in fishing this way. He is really good at it. PM me if you want a referral.

[speyghillie]

Its quite common to swing flies from a boat on some of the big rivers in Scotland (Tay, Ness ,ect), it helps if you are able to cast off each shoulder, or one fishes right hand on top ,one left hand on top.
This way there is no need to worry about the stuctures of the boat, or hiting your buddy on the head with a fly, like everyone has said depending on the size of river ect.
I fish this method when i fish on the open waters around Tofino on Vancouver Island, its also i great way to stop fish being spooked by the boat, and we caught plenty fish this way even on water flat calm.
Gordon.

[bigtj]

Try fighting a big steelhead or king out of the boat sometime with a 2-hander, especially a long 2-hander. It's problematic. Unless your boat is 25 feet long. I used to anchor up and have my dudes swing for kings in AK. Worked great with 9' single handers. Then I had a guy insist on doing it with a 2-hander. I told him I thought it was a bad idea. Four fish later, he exploded his 9140-4 on the side of the boat when the fish dove under real quick. We fished single handers the rest of his trip.

I think you can swing effectively from the boat, it isn't necessarily back-trolling. I just don't see the need to use a 2-hander, as the real need for a 2-hander is gone, since you can anchor up right where you can make a 50' cast, and you can re-position the boat to cover water. Given all the pluses of fighting a fish with a single hander I just don't have and need or desire to fish my 2-hander out of the boat.