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Squimp and things

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and squimp
2K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  rotato 
#1 ·
I tried several different flies today including a squimp several times with no luck. It just didn't feel right, so how do you pros fish these and similar flies?

I tried several different stripping methods and even just letting it drift in the tide for a while. Nothing I did with these types of flies made me feel confident in getting a hookup if that makes sense.
 
#2 ·
There's a lot to the confidence factor in your fly. I know for me, if I'm fishing a fly that makes me think, "hell yeah this is going to catch a fish", I'm more cognizant of how I'm retrieving the fly. Sexy flies = sexy retrieves :D.

The most important thing you can do, which it sounds like you're doing, is to switch up your retrieve. It is so easy when the fishing is slow to get stuck in a steady strip strip strip retrieve. I still struggle with that at times. Short strips, long strips, fast, slow, add pauses, 2 handed retrieve, twitch and swing. Some days the fish don't care, other days the fish want that fly presented a certain way. If you think about what your fly is imitating and how that particular food source behaves naturally, that can help you when you're switching up your retrieve.

On the other hand, if you see fish and/or fish activity, and you're switching up retrieves without any action, don't be afraid to switch out the fly until you get some action. Sometimes the fish don't want my confidence fly, then I have to switch to something ugly, and it works ;)
 
#3 ·
There's a lot to the confidence factor in your fly. I know for me, if I'm fishing a fly that makes me think, "hell yeah this is going to catch a fish", I'm more cognizant of how I'm retrieving the fly. Sexy flies = sexy retrieves :D.

The most important thing you can do, which it sounds like you're doing, is to switch up your retrieve. It is so easy when the fishing is slow to get stuck in a steady strip strip strip retrieve. I still struggle with that at times. Short strips, long strips, fast, slow, add pauses, 2 handed retrieve, twitch and swing. Some days the fish don't care, other days the fish want that fly presented a certain way. If you think about what your fly is imitating and how that particular food source behaves naturally, that can help you when you're switching up your retrieve.

On the other hand, if you see fish and/or fish activity, and you're switching up retrieves without any action, don't be afraid to switch out the fly until you get some action. Sometimes the fish don't want my confidence fly, then I have to switch to something ugly, and it works ;)
Thanks for the helpfull info! I was beating my head against a wall trying to figure out what a squimp would do in the water. I guess that's what really got my confidence down with this fly. What the hell is a squimp and what makes fish want to eat it lol
 
#5 ·
Did you see fish, signs of fish activity ( jumping, proposing, dimples) or just blind casting ? What line were you using and what depths were you fishing ? Sounds like you tried the right retrieves, I've seldom not at least got hits or follows on the squimp if fish are present. There just might not have been any fish around at that time, which happens quite often at most beaches :(

If you see coho, sometimes a fast retrieve (right in front of the pod) will entice strikes if you are not getting hits, just something else to try.
 
#6 ·
Mark and Jon provide great info. Not too much I can add to their responses.

Confidence is a funny thing in fishing. There are few times I'm more confident than when fishing a Squimp pattern. It's really become my go to fly when all else fails me. It seldom disappoints.

Of course you can't catch what isn't there which is often the case when that fly doesn't produce. Varying retrieve can be crucial and Jon is absolutely correct that its easy to fall into a lull when it's slow. Vary your retrieve and watch for signs of fish. If you know fish are present and they are seeing your fly but not getting takes then it's time to switch things up. First retrieve then fly most likely. When I'm not seeing fish activity I don't change flies a whole lot and prefer to stick with a fly I have high confidence in.
 
#7 ·
Well assuming you are looking for coho, if they arent hitting your fly...move. They usually are NOT picky at all however I have found they are almost always on the move. Even if you walk 20 feet it may make a difference. Walk until you see movement( jumpers, dimples etc.) Even just getting out of the water and getting a higher viewpoint helps. currents and rips move around a lot and its hard to notice when you have been standing in the same spot for a half hour or more.
Also I see a ton of guys who just arent getting the fly far enough out. I think most the fish I get are pretty far out and the ones that I catch in shallow water usually have followed the fly from deeper water.
Basically my method for coho is the usually the same with any fly... Double haul as far as you can and strip FAST.
Hope this helps a little.
 
#8 ·
While I tend to agree with this overall it's worth noting that I've experienced extremely selective resident coho far more often than src.

Not sure if it's location or seasonally based but I've found south sound coho can get maddeningly selective in the winter and early spring.

I've also noticed this to be less of a problem when out in a boat as it's easy to just move and find a more willing school. On the beach you're more limited in that regard. They also seem to "go on the bite" more than src. I've had plenty of days where I am surrounded by fish for several hours without receiving much interest in my efforts and then suddenly turn on. Tides and tide changes as well as time of day and weather conditions all seem to play a role in when they will "turn on".
 
#9 ·
Unless there is a rip forming (or other fish holding water form) I rarely blind cast for residents anymore. I walk the beach until I see a jumper or two, then I hit it hard. If nothing in 5 to 10 casts, keep going. Or backtrack if the school is headed the other way, but in my experience its really hard to catch up to cruising fish running down the beach.

If i see a jumper way down the beach, I'll mark it. As i get closer i may see one or two more in that spot. That deserves a bit more attention to figure out what they want since they're holding.

Also, I don't know how to explain it, but sipping coho and dimpling herring can look a lot alike, try not to spend 2 hours twitching amphipods like a hero for no reason... I've done this like 3 or 4 times, pretty awesome.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
#10 ·
Unless there is a rip forming (or other fish holding water form) I rarely blind cast for residents anymore. I walk the beach until I see a jumper or two, then I hit it hard. If nothing in 5 to 10 casts, keep going. Or backtrack if the school is headed the other way, but in my experience its really hard to catch up to cruising fish running down the beach.

If i see a jumper way down the beach, I'll mark it. As i get closer i may see one or two more in that spot. That deserves a bit more attention to figure out what they want since they're holding.

Also, I don't know how to explain it, but sipping coho and dimpling herring can look a lot alike, try not to spend 2 hours twitching amphipods like a hero for no reason... I've done this like 3 or 4 times, pretty awesome.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
This reminds me of a day I spent out on @Bagman boat in 2015 fishing for pinks. We launched in the dark and slowly ran up to Skunk bay. We started fishing in some rips and immediately started seeing fish "rising" for lack of a better term.
I figured it would be game on, as I've yet to encounter saltwater pinks that I couldn't catch, but for the first couple hours we covered these fish with all sorts of flies with zero results. I was becoming quite frustrated and perplexed until we saw one of these "fish" come up right next to the boat.

It was a dogfish. They all were. Not entirely sure what they were doing or what they were feeding on if they were indeed feeding. Didn't see any noticable baitfish or anything.

Anyway once we figured out what they were we moved locations and started catching a few fish.
 
#12 ·
I've worn myself out many times chasing those damn schools up and down the beach. Finally learned my lesson and now tend to stay put in those situations and let the fish come to me.

Another thing worth noting is those schools can be super spooky, so running down to a school and plopping down a cast will often just push them away when staying in one location and casting a fly ahead of them as they come closer can be more effective.

When targeting them from a boat a quiet approach can be crucial. An electric trolling motor can be a game changer here
 
#13 ·
There were a few fish early, after that i was hunting the beach. Although, the fish pictured I threw a squimp several times in the same spot it was caught to no avail. I think I'm just going to have to use it more and get comfortable with it.

A combination of being new and not really knowing what these should look like in the water led to not being very confident.

As for blind casting, with the exception of first light, not another fish was seen.

There is some really great information here, as I get out more and put this info to practice I'll gain confidence and more fish!

Thank you all for your input
 
#14 ·
Nick has pretty much nailed it, especially chasing rezzie's up and down the beach, I've done it plenty of times and would have been better off (being patient) and staying in one place and waiting for them to come back, they usually do. And it's usually a waist of time blind casting for rezzie's, if I don't see them I'm not casting or at least not more than a few times until I see them in front of me.

Also, as was mentioned, distance can make a huge difference with those damn little rezzie's that sit out there at 100' and not come in closer, if you can't cast that far you won't catch em..... but fortunately sometimes they do.

Good luck, you'll get it dialed in this winter.
 
#16 ·
I've had a couple of instances when I have approached schools from off the shore and chased fish towards a beach fisher. Usually the scowling guy gets stoked but has never thanked me.
I think the number one factor in catching these fish is boat position. The school is so focused on their feed that you need to put a fly in front of the pods direction. Rarely does a well placed fly get a strike if it's launched from the wrong side.
Just my observations
 
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