[wrench]

Went down to a local creek yesterday to beat the heat, too hot out to do anything but wade and fish in a creek. Short hike to a stretch I haven't fished before, beautiful stretch, cedar trees, pools, riffles, caddis nymphs hanging on the rocks. Fishing a EHC, got a few rises in most every spot that looked good, from what I could see looked like mostly small bows under 10", a splash, sometimes a gentle tug, then back to casting. What a joy it was to experience God's creatures without bringing them any harm. No fish slime on my hands either! I only fished maybe an hour, then when breaking down my rod for the hike out, realized I had learned a valuble lesson.....
ALWAYS CHECK YOUR DARN HOOK POINT WHEN YOU START MISSING TOO MANY FISH!!!!!!!

 

[Guest]

Moving beyond mere C&R

Yeah, some fly-fishing periodical columnist in the 90's was suggesting that your unknowing style of c&r be made into regulation on certain stretches of certain rivers. He called it TAG, or, "touch-and-go". I think he even got Partridge of Redditch to make him some prototypes - hooks with another small eye where the point would be. LMAO... some of my worst mid-hatch oh-fers were the probable result of what I found to be a point-less fly I'd been presenting... not that I can't miss my fair share of fish WITH the full benefit of an intact point.
Thanks for the reminder!

:smokin

 

[Randy Knapp]

A rather too common occurence I'm afraid.

Randy

 

[Steelheader69]

Moving beyond mere C&R

LOL Wildram. Think I read an article similar to the one you're talking about. But this guy actually ties dries on hooks he's cut the whole round of the shank off. Basically a fly hook with no hookpoint region. Don't think it was same article though, he actually had hooks he simply altered with a pair of heavy wire cutters.

Would be good for dries, but for subsurface would be difficult. You can tell once a fish grabs off surface and brings it under that they totally took it. But underwater, you wouldn't know if it was a partial hit, or you bumped something. Have had the "excited hookset" where I didn't let the fish take it all the way. Had fish on, fish off.

 

[BOBLAWLESS]

Fifty years ago, I read about this dude in Penn. who sought large brown trout on dry flies. It was way tough even then. Whe he got one, he pointed the rod straight at the fish and broke him off.
The thrill was in outwitting the fish.
The fight only took away for the valuable time he could use to get another take.
Wow! Talk about about a strange fellow. I bet he took a glass of whisky, poured his mouth full, and then spit it out. Might be fun.
Bob, th fish fighter
:beer2

 

[Backyard]

I clipped the bend/point off of a roughly tied mouse pattern. I've "landed" several cats in my neighborhood, all over 6 lbs on a 7x tippet.

 

[ceviche]

Hey Babs,
Beyond Penn dude's drinking habits, one can only wonder about the rest of his life. I think I sense a joke coming on here... :eek

 

[Jim Wallace]

Moving beyond mere C&R

There's an old guy I occasionally see on a river south of here when I'm fishing for hatchery salmon in the Fall. He's strictly a meathead. Whenever he hooks up to a chum, he exclaims, "Oh for Chri-sakes, not another #@*&%chum!" and busts it right off so he can go on fishing for hatchery coho and kings.

He may be doing this out of consideration for the other anglers fishing nearby, as there's a gear/bait chucker every 20' on that stretch.

Jimbo

 

[Bob Triggs]

Moving beyond mere C&R

Last winter, fishing for cutties, I ticked a back cast too low on a beach here and broke the bend and point off of a fly hook. I noticed some crows hopping along the beach nearby and flipped the line over toward them, dropping the fly a few yards from the nearest crow. He looked at the fly, looked at me, studied the fly some more, and then he walked right up to it and gave it a peck. I gave it a little tug, and the game was on. The crow spent the afternoon chasing the fly up and down the beach as I stripped and cast and stripped the barbless fly all over the place.
see: www.flyfishingforchickens.com for further adventures in fowl play. Otherwise, check your hook more often.

 

[ray helaers]

Moving beyond mere C&R

The very first two hits I ever got to a fly were on the Sacramento River near Dunsmuir. It was the first time I'd ever gone flyfishing for trout. I couldn't believe it; I had risen two trout. I was a flyfisher!

The takes stopped coming, and I eventually reeled in and prepared to move on, still quite proud of myself. When I tried to hook the little red humpy to my cork, I realized I had broken the point off the hook on the boulders behind me. I was not a very good flyfisher!

(I did manage to land several fish on that first trip and have never looked back.)

I used to disdain that touch and go ethic. I wanted to hold them, tell them thank you and let them go on purpose. I never counted a fish that did not come to hand, and was often bitterly disappointed in myself when I lost a fish. A good angler can do more than approach and fool fish; Christ, a birder can get that done! An angler can also skilfully play and land big fish, with this unreasonably fine and primitive tackle.

Yes, the good takes are swell, and stay with you. But I'll never forget the feeling when I was releasing that 21 at Lenice, who I'd turned from the reeds twice on 6x tippit, and the old buck over my shoulder quietly mumbled, "nicely played." Likewise, over some fish, hooked and lost years and even decades ago, I still torture myself over what I could have done differently.

I will admit though that these days the LDRs don't bother as much (generally, unless I really cracker it, and as long as they're not broken off, which I will not tolerate). I'm more apt to salute the little hellcat than blame myself. I take it as a sign of getting old.

 

[crockett]

My favorite excuse on days when I'm lazy and have lots of LDRs..."Yeah, well I almost cut the hook point off anyway."

-Crock