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The Eddy Line: Refining your tactics
Published
10 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersEffectively fish streamers, woolly buggers and large flies
By Patrick Straub Explore Big Sky Fishing Columnist
Fall is here. The morning’s frost can be found on pumpkins, cottonwood trees are changing colors, and baseball playoffs and football upsets delight sports fans. The next several weeks also serve up some of the best big-fly fishing of the season. It’s the time of year it’s OK to say to your angling buddies, when rigging your rod, “I’m going to fish a ‘bugger all day,” in hopes of hooking a pure specimen. Say this in the heat of summer and you’ll get scoffs and cross-eyed looks as you tie on 18 inches of 1X tippet and a three-inch long articulated baitfish imitation.
Committing to one fishing method during the day can be a risky endeavor, but it can also have its rewards. I know, as I often commit to fishing dry flies while other guides use weighted nymphs and a strike indicator. I catch fish, but I sacrifice numbers to see fish rising to a dry fly. But during fall, if you want to catch a big trout, learn to fish big, subsurface flies that imitate smaller baitfish or large aquatic foods.
Understanding the habits of big fish. Fish grow large for a reason – they are very predacious in nature. Brown trout are more aggressive than most trout species, and as temperatures drop and the days get shorter, browns stage to spawn, making them easier fishing targets. They actively seek out prey while protecting areas that may become spawning grounds. Use this to your advantage – shorter days mean less daylight, making these fish feel more comfortable than normal. The low-light conditions of fall mornings and evenings are ideal for catching big browns.
Once brown trout grow beyond a foot or so, their feeding habits change. They actively seek out and ambush smaller trout, as well as larger aquatic food like crayfish and large stonefly nymphs. Target water offering ample “ambush-friendly” habitat such as undercut banks, log jams, fast-flowing banks with underwater structure, and deep holes at the end of shallow runs.
Adjust and upgrade your tackle. Stouter leaders and tippets, sinking fly lines or leaders, and a few other non-traditional gear adjustments are key. Getting your fly down to these large fish is essential, especially on our area freestone streams such as the Madison and the Gallatin. Select larger flies like bead head woolly buggers and arm yourself with ample split-shot for weight – if you’re fishing in Yellowstone National Park be sure to use non-toxic weight, as lead is prohibited. If you’re fishing a large river like the Yellowstone, choose a 15-foot sinking leader or sink-tip fly line, which will cover most depths. For smaller waters like the Gallatin and Madison, a shorter 7- or 10-foot sinking length will perform well. Choose one with a sink rate between 2.6 and 3.5 inches per second.
For leaders choose stronger tippets. The hope is you’ll need a 15-pound test line because you’re catching monster trout, but regardless you’ll likely be snagging structure and want line that won’t break when you have to yank a hook off a log or rock pile.
The next few weeks around Big Sky are truly special for local anglers as the pace is quiet and unhurried. The favorite runs and holes on our rivers are often free of other anglers, but even if you see someone in your favorite spot, most likely you know them. Enjoy these next few weeks of solitude, and hopefully your biggest fish of the year.
Pat Straub is the author of six books, including The Frugal Fly Fisher, Montana On The Fly, and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Fly Fishing. He and his wife own Gallatin River Guides in Big Sky and with a partner operates a guide service on the Missouri River.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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april, 2024
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm