Spey Series 4 - Cast & Presentation
by Christopher Lessway
One cold and sodden fall day early in my two-handed learning endeavors, my buddy and I were steelhead fishing the Muskegon River in Michigan. We were both still new to casting the two handed rod and were both looking at this float as a learning experience. Since it was a weekend, there was an enormous amount of boat traffic on the river and we had to wait in line to launch the driftboat. We loaded it up with our gear and headed down to the first run we wanted to fish. Surprisingly, no one else was there. I glanced upstream and could see more boats coming around the bend, so I jumped out of the drift boat and quickly got into position so I could get one cast out before then next boat came by.
My first attempt was a poor execution of a double spey, and I had to mend my line before casting again. Then wham, fish on! First cast! Now that’s the crazy kind of fun I am talking about. As I was fighting the fish, another boat came by. The guy asked, “Was that your first cast? Ahh, you’ve got the gooch fish!” When he saw my confused expression, he explained that whenever he caught a fish on the first cast of the day, he was unable to catch anything else all day long. Hence, “the gooch fish.”
Thankfully, I can tell you this rule did not apply that day. I'm not a numbers guy, but we landed almost a dozen fish that day, not counting the grabs and lost fish. If you have never steelhead fished before, those kind of numbers equal an outstanding day!
I'm making two points here. One: Steelhead fishing can be unpredictable. Don’t believe what everyone tells you, especially another fisherman on the river. Two: Beautiful casts are not always vital to success. A fishable cast does not have to be a perfect cast. Go out and have fun while practicing. I was still new to spey casting when I had this amazing day. My casts were at times atrocious, and yet we had colossal success. We learned a lot while having a ton of fun and catching some good fish.
Though presentation that day didn't make a big difference, I have had other days on the river when I couldn't get a look if my fly wasn't swimming at the needed depth and speed. . What I mean by presentation is the cast, the swing, and getting your fly to swim at the correct depth. Presentation is the combination of all those coming together. Our main goal is to be able to step out in the river and make a cast without even thinking about it. We want our casting to become second nature so we just have to wait for a tug on the end of the line.
I will admit I love to watch a perfectly executed spey cast, as well as break down my own cast and watch how each step helps to set up the next. I want a well-executed spey cast that sends a tight loop out over the river to get that grab.
The toughest part of spey casting is putting it all together. Each step of the cast is dependent on the other. If your cast starts off bad, it will usually end bad. . My suggestion is to get out and practice. There are some great books and instructional DVDs out there, but there is no better way to learn than time spent on the water, or a lesson or two with a good guide or instructor. Take it slow, feel the line loading and let the rod do the work for you. Don’t become frustrated. Take the time to learn the different casts, as knowing a variety of casts will allow you to present your fly to fish in almost every situation.
When you step out in a wide steelhead river for the first time, it can be challenging to know where to start. The best approach is to break the river down mentally. Follow the different currents and watch how they come together. Eventually you will start to see a smaller river inside the river. Within that smaller river, you want to break the river down even further. Steelhead like structure because it gives them a sense of safety. Look for boulders, wood, slots and even small holes in the bottom of the riverbed, as these are all places where steelhead are likely to hide. Watch for darker and broken water. These are good signs of a submerged structure of some sort.
When swinging your fly through these likely steelhead areas, you want your fly to entice, yet swim slowly. Try not to fidget and mend the line too much. You would be surprised to see how much your fly moves from a slight movement of your rod tip. Give it one mend and let the fly swing.
Many anglers feel they need to get their fly as deep as possible. This is good in a few certain situations, but a majority of the time they are getting it too deep. This causes the fly to bounce and roll off the rocks and boulders, thus interrupting the way the fly swims. I firmly believe that you will have more success if your fly is fished less deep than if it's bouncing and catching boulders on the bottom of the riverbed.
When fishing with your two-hander for the first time, relax and try not to become frustrated. Many experienced spey casters throw a bad cast or two here and there. It takes patience and time to learn, so have fun with it while you're learning. Slow down your casts, cover as much water as possible and just maybe you will end up hooking that “gooch” fish and having an excellent day of fishing on the river!
Swinging Flies on the Kenai
by Klint Borozan
On the extended hike down to the river, I ran into two elderly people in their 70’s. The man was in a wheelchair, being pushed by his wife who was on oxygen. They were making their way on the trestled metal walkways of the Russian River, then downriver to the confluence with the Kenai River on a half mile path. It was a truly endearing sight. I offered to help them down the trail, and they responded proudly, “No, thank you, we have it.” The man had fished for sockeyes for over fifty years, and would not miss the opportunity for any reason. His wife loved him so much, she pushed him down to the river and back, just for those moments of excitement and satisfaction. I hope my wife will do that for me in 30 years.
When most people think of catching sockeye salmon, the Combat Zone on the Kenai River or the Russian River in Alaska come to mind. It’s elbow to elbow, three deep, waiting for a turn, whipping the water with spinning rods. Crowds like that are not my idea of a great time. Try putting a little distance between yourself and the crowd, going downstream by boat or on foot. Not only will you find the stunning beauty of the Kenai entirely hypnotic, but you’ll find some of the most memorable angling you can have in a lifetime of fly fishing.
Smart fly fisherman avoid the fishing metropolis of the “Combat Zone” and seek the road less traveled, looking for open water to launch a sink tip and a fly into the run where a sockeye will take it. I’ve found this as much fun as steelheading, but with the rush of catching ten times as many fish per day. Sockeyes are strong, acrobatic, and very tough. They will run 100 yards downstream. They will jump five feet in the air. Any imperfections in your knot or leader will let you down. And worst of all, you can only get little more than two seasons out of a single handed , 7 weight graphite fly rod. (Trust me on this one…)
Some mistakingly think that sockeye salmon, in general , don’t or won’t hit flies, believing the way to catch them is to cast repetitively until the leader “finds” its way into their mouth, and ultimately the fish hooks itself. I have a friend who again passed on to me the rhetoric that sockeyes are almost always “snagged.” My response is “Sure, if you’re in the top 2/3 of the water column.” Misconceptions like these might be said for chinooks or even steelhead. However, if you ask the best steelheaders from the Northwest, they know that is not the case with those monsters either. I always stress to people: experiment, watch, and learn the fish’s specific patterns of behaviors such as types of holding water, depth, colors and light preferences . When questioned, the best steelheaders I know can tell you, for any time of the year, what patterns, colors, size, nymph, egg or streamer and depth to raise steelhead. I study salmon the same way. If you can chase fish in water where you see their behavior, you will learn that sockeyes have patterns of aggressiveness and aloofness. I’ve learned they will hit flies only in the lowest parts of water column. That is where the story begins.
I leave most of the people behind and head for the stretches of the Kenai River, between 2 or 3 miles below the Combat Zone, either walking or floating to a place where there are more bears than people, and a beach where I can work with a spey rod and sink tip. Starting in June, the Kenai is filling with early run sockeye running up to the Russian River, en route to Russian Lake where they will spawn. In mid-summer, the Kenai fills with larger sockeyes seeking to spawn in the other lakes along its flow. Volumes of fish are typically very good for both the Kenai and the Russian Rivers, but personally I prefer the bigger river, with lots of room to play. Between the runs on the Russian and Kenai, almost one million fish come through the Kenai.
I like to fish with a two handed spey rod, rigged with a heavy sink tip and short leader, with a streamer on the end that I keep very sharp. Experience, including some sight fishing, has proven that swinging the streamer at the right level in water column will illicit strikes from sockeyes. The most important aspect of rigging is using enough sink tip to get it down. I make my own with both T-14 and T-17, with loop connections, in lengths of 10, 14, and 18 feet for use on the Kenai River. I would recommend at least a 14 foot 7 weight rod, with a Skagit head appropriate for that equipment. If you are fishing for the late run sockeyes, which tend to be bigger with some over 10 lbs, full of frustration because their mission has not yet been accomplished, I would recommend a 14 foot, 8 weight rod. The Kenai is a big river, with strong current and lots of room, so having a minimum of 100 yards of dacron backing is important if you get in trouble with a fish that heads downstream. I have seen coho run downstream with the current 75 yards in only few seconds, so a good drag is also a priority.
Begin to fish by working the seams and swinging into areas that appear to be “fishy” holding areas. It is best to approach from well above the target area. A successful cast is usually straight out, with a BIG mend, and a step or two downstream to make sure the sink tip is getting down and swinging into position where you want it presented to the fish. When you find a “lane” that works, and holds fish, work it hard. Even if you catch several, it should refresh with new fish over the course of the day, which makes moving back to the top of the run 5 or 6 times a good idea. It’s not a bad idea to start with a 10 to 12 foot section of T-14, and if that doesn’t produce, then go heavier, or longer. The mend cycle is critical to getting the fly down to the fish, and it’s a key factor to closing the deal.
Flies don’t need to be huge, as most use a coho pattern of red, blue or green bucktail over white, on a size 2 streamer hook. Less bucktail is better to help it get down. I have caught sockeyes on most types of streamers, and Dredgers, Deceivers, Freight Trains, Spruce Patterns, Dace, Intruders, and coho patterns all work well. I strongly recommend to anyone who fishes anadromous species to switch to tube flies or patterns that have braided dacron loops down the shank that will allow you put on an octopus hook in a size 1. Long shank hooks give the fish a lot more leverage than one with a shorter shank. Once you start catching fish, experiment with both types of hooks to see the difference. You will find a sockeye is extremely effective at working a long shank free.
I recently guided a friend of my father’s on the Kenai, who really wanted to see what the excitement was all about. He has fished for years successfully pursuing trout, but could not catch a “Red” on his own. He brought a 7 weight single handed rod with a trout reel. Even though he could cast well, he found it challenging to get his fly down deep enough using a long heavy tip. I moved him into a better position farther above the target where he could swing through 4 to 5 feet of water, and a heavy mend would get him down to fish. He was able to hook up some large fish, averaging between 9 to 12 pounds, and experienced first hand what I had warned him about in conversations over a beer. In applying his trout technique - high rod tip fighting style - combined with a weak reel, he kept the fish angry enough to keep them running downstream until it felt less pressure. He lost the first ten fish he hooked up. After landing a few, with vicious battles, he found himself completely overwhelmed and needed a break. He admitted it was the most fun he’d had in years. Most people struggle with many lost fish the first couple of times out. Keep your rod tip low, so the fish is pulling line through the water, against a reasonable drag, and in most cases this causes the fish to stop running downstream and figure out what to do next. That is when you can re-assume control and dramatically improve the odds of landing a great fish.
I typically see brown bears every time I go out. When many people harvest sockeyes, stringers full of fish usually abound and attract bears in close. If you choose not to release them, the best way to deal with the bear dilemma is to stringer fish along and under a bank until you can fillet them. A lot of people carry guns, but in my experience, as long as you pay attention to your surroundings and get out of the way of bears, you wont have a problem. Just don’t listen to your iPOD because you won’t hear a bear moving towards you.
Once you are away from the crowds of the combat zone, the wild and astounding fishing opportunities on the Kenai and Russian rivers are unequaled. Get your fly down deep and fight smart. Look for me, I’ll be there year after year. If you see a wheelchair with a spey rod, be sure to say hi.
