Fishing Tips and Advice

1 If you’re fishing a dry fly, avoid drag the same way you avoid the Internal Revenue Service. The appearance of even the tiniest wake around the fly suggests it’s time to lift and cast again.
2 Save those little film canisters. They make excellent containers for everything from flies to jig heads to aspirin for the first aid kit.
3 If you even suspect that you’ve come in contact with poison ivy, poison oak, sumac or any other itchiferous plant, wash. Wash right now. Wash with soap and hot water, in several applications. If you’ve begun to show any obvious signs of skin irritation - welts, blisters, etc. - forego the hot water for cold.
4 Pack a poncho for protection from sudden rain showers.
5 In early spring flyfishing, use a sinking or sinking-tip line and cast across and upstream. Amid the width and depth of snow-swollen streams, fish are feeding on the bottom. Be particularly alert to strikes occurring just after the line drifts past your position in the water.
6 Never, ever attempt to run a dam in a canoe.
7 Women should always seek outdoor footwear made specifically for them; ladies, don’t buy men’s boots simply made smaller. Women’s feet are shaped differently from men’s: a more narrow profile to the foot, a higher instep, calf muscles that begin to thicken just above the heel, and a thinner Achilles tendon.
8 The great waters often lie among land that is anything but public. Common sense makes the rules here.

  • Ask politely for permission to fish.
  • Inquire about ground rules: location of livestock, areas off-limits to vehicles, areas to be avoided altogether, etc.
  • Indicate your willingness to catch and release.
  • Leave the land better than you found it. Pick up other people’s litter.
  • Close gates. Close gates religiously.
  • Say thank you. Send a small gift in the mail. Stay in contact with the landowner. Cultivate a genuine friendship.
9 If you fish regularly from a boat, begin to accumulate lighting devices - lanterns, headlamps, flashlights - that float. Money saved in the long term, potential disaster in the short term.
10 Store reels, compasses, first aid materials and other important gear in strong, waterproof bags.
11 Every olfactory sensation associated with fishing is memorable; not all are pleasant. Consider deodorizers for the coolers you use in your fishing.
Check back here now and again. We’ll be adding tips from time to time.