Confidence in Fly Fishing Three quick stories come to mind illustrate this. First off let me say there have been plenty of times when I have been on both sides of the confidence equation. A few years ago, I was steelheading with a couple of fly fishing buddies. Unlike me, though there guys weren't purists. And we were using terminal gear. Although were just dead-drifting jigs, very similar to fly fishing, I felt about as coordinated as a monkey performing brain surgery. As the day wore on more and more steelies were caught. Huge steelies, the biggest I had ever seen! None by me. I could feel my confidence shrinking. And I mean my confidence in all kinds of things, like being able to read the river, being able to detect a strike. Things that had no connection to me using unfamiliar gear. The pressure inside my head built, until I HAD to catch a fish. I didn't catch one fish that day, although I finally had a strike, and set the hook so hard I jerked it right out of the fish's mouth. And I fished longer and harder than anyone else on the trip.

How To Find Fish New Body Of Water If you are going to start fishing a newly created body of water (like a reservoir), here are some things to keep in mind. For the first 2 years, it will be very easy to catch the fish, though they will be smaller (t though about 50% larger in the second year). The 3rd year will prove more of a challenge, as the fish are larger and savvier. It is important to move around the lake and watch where the experienced anglers are getting action. Also keep tabs on where and when each species is feeding. Also, make a note of the moon phase when you record this information, so that you can refer to it during the same phase in following years. You will probably discover that the bass feed best at dawn and dusk, bluegills during midmorning and midafternoon, crappies under lantern light at night, and white bass at high noon.

The Mayfly Adult In our last article titled Mayfly Nymph. We covered the basics of the nymph stage of this crucial insect in the world of the freshwater game fish and fly fisherman. We now will cover the adult phases of the mayfly. Although most of its life is indeed spent as a nymph dwelling at the river or lake bottom. It is the adult insect that has truly captured the fancy of fly fisherman. It's the adults that were given the colorful names that we listed in the Mayfly Nymph article. And it is the adult that fly fishing elitists consider the only form worthy of imitation. After spending a year or so as a nymph, the mayfly emerges to the surface. On the way, it shucks its outer skin, and pumps fluids into it's wings. This emerging stage has caught on in popularity in the fly fishing world, as the mayfly emerger is extremely vulnerable. Many mayfly species are clumsy swimmers at best, and combine that with shucking their outer nymph skin, they become a flailing treat for the waiting trout.

Fishing the First Cold Front
When a front moves through, fishing can really turn off. But, there are ways to beat that front and still catch fish.....