Fly Fishing Canada

Here are a few suggestions that might improve your odds....

I’ve been fishing competitively for awhile now and I’d like to share with you a few things that I’ve picked up along the way. None of what follows is original – rather, just about everything I’ve learned about competitive fly fishing over the years is due to the kindness of teammates, other competitors, coaches, guides and volunteers. And for those of you who have not competed before, hopefully there’s enough interesting information on this website that we’ll see you this September in Grande Prairie at the 5th NFFC!

Believe it or not, it’s a team sport
The first, and most important, thing to do is form a good team. A good team is one whose members are inquisitive and sharing. In the long run, five individuals are hard pressed to compete against five teammates who work together to zero in on the best tactics. Some people think that the best anglers make up the best teams. I think it works the other way around - the best teams produce the best anglers.

Good Excuse for “Practice”
There are things you can do in your everyday fishing to make you more competition savvy…

Fishing from a Boat. Most competitions involve fishing from drifting boats with three fly casts, not a popular method in Canada. So it’s important to get used to fishing with three flies on a long leader (normally between 15-20ft) from a seated position. So next time you’re fishing in a boat, don’t stand up to cast and, god forbid, don’t troll. Those new to this type of fishing tangle frequently - not a good thing during a competition – but once you become comfortable with it, tangles become few and far in between. If you’ve never fished this way, one thing you can do is tie on three pieces of yarn spaced about 6 ft apart to a long leader, take a chair into the back yard, sit down, and cast with the wind at your back. Once you’re as comfortable casting like this as you would be if standing, then you’re getting somewhere…Next get on a boat and try it.

Remember the Net. Unlike when you’re casually fishing and you are indifferent about how many fish you bring to hand, in a competition there are no style points for fish that are dropped. Most Canadians I’ve fished with don’t bother to bring a net or use one – as a result, Canadians in competitions drop a lot of fish just before they make it to the net. So if you don’t already, start bringing the net along. And don’t bend at the waist when attempting to net a fish!

Don’t ever fish with Barbed hooks. Barbed hooks can be forgiving of slack. Barbless hooks are ruthless if you leave any slack. Barbless only work if you maintain a tight connection with the fish – so get used to fighting and landing fish this way.

Think about landing fish as efficiently as possible. The longer you play around with a trout on a barbless hook, the more likely it is to leave you before you get it to the net. It’s also no doubt the trout’s least favorite part of its encounter with you, and its better for the fish that you get him in and off quickly in any event.

Don’t ever use strike indicators or lead shot. Again, these are prohibited in competition, so it’s important to become proficient at nymphing without using them. I find it more fun to fish without them anyways.

Good Excuse for New Gear
Gear for the Boat. Canadians are normally well set up for fishing rivers, but many don’t have the right gear when it comes to fishing from a boat. Don’t try to “make do” with a river rod or net in the boat. Four weights or five weights, nine feet or less, might be perfect for the river you are fishing, but not for the boat. Have a proper boat rod - a 6 or 7 wt, at least 10 ft. in length – with enough oomph to backcast into heavy winds and keep false casts to a minimum (false casting is best left to lawn practice). Most major rod manufacturers make some wonderful boat rods for competition fishing. I’ve not tried them all (far from it, sadly), but to my tastes the following models are among the best suited for this purpose that I’ve had the pleasure to fish with: Loop Signature, Loomis GLX Distance, Hardy Angel and Greys Platinum XD, all of which are amazingly efficient casting and fishing tools. However, fly rods and fly rod actions can be very personal, so your preferences will no doubt vary.

If you can afford a back up boat rod, that’s great, but make sure it’s designed for the same line weight as your primary boat rod. Having all the necessary lines in more than one weight can be ruinously expensive. I’m never without a floater, intermediate, type III, V and VII. The Airflo Sixth Sense (no-stretch) lines are fantastic.

As for leader material, get some that knots well and you have confidence in. Maxima green is inexpensive and works very well. The latest fluorocarbons (like Orvis Mirage and Airflo Sightfree G3) are better for subsurface work, but they are very expensive.

Your boat net should have a reasonably long handle (but no longer than 48’ in total length, including the bucket) and a big, wide bucket.

Also, get yourself a drogue, learn how it works and how to adjust it to achieve the drift you want. If your boat’s not so big, Minn Kota makes a small drogue that works great in all but the nastiest of winds - you can pick them up at Canadian Tire and most well-stocked boating stores. If you really get into fishing from a drifting boat – its now my favourite way to fish – the big UK mail order places like Fishtec, Glasgow Angler and Sportfish carry international size drogues, some of which have the added benefit of collapsing for transport without having to pull them into the boat.

River Gear. Get a good net with soft netting and get used to carrying it around on your back – on the river, a magnetic net holder that attached to the back of your vest is a must have.

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
Practice. In my experience, there are no silver bullets in competition fishing. You need to work at it and come up with a plan that, over five sessions, will hopefully result in your team catching more than the other teams. Most of the serious competitors have good flyrod skills - while they are essential, casting skills alone won’t get you very far. You need to know what works when. The only way to determine this is to practice.

Arrive together as a team. Don’t have stragglers, for two reasons: (1) they aren’t there to add to the collective wisdom of the team as you develop your plan; and (2) they’ll never catch up in time.

Bring your tying kit. I’ve never been to a competition where store bought flies were most effective.

Forming a Team Plan. To come up with a plan, don’t just freelance – have teammates fishing different methods and compare notes at lunch and in the evening. Do NOT compete against your teammates – that’s a recipe for all of you finishing near the bottom. Don’t find a single method and catch fish all day. Try other things, come back to the proven method later if you’re beginning to have doubts. Don’t bother fishing outside of competition hours – there’s no point in deciphering the hatch just before dusk when the afternoon sessions end at 5pm – this time is better spent in the company of your teammates sharing notes and developing your team plan. When practicing, give some thought to the reasons why some things are working and why some things are not – without this, your ability to adapt to changing conditions during the competition might involve more trial & error than thoughtful adjustment.

Finalizing the Plan. After a few days of practice, the plan should be coming together. Arrange for venue boxes – with the killer patterns for such venue neatly arranged (by the way, use rippled or slotted foam boxes, not open compartments – you don’t want flies to blow away on you…). If not enough time, simply ensure that all team members have the proven flies and know how to use them. Experimenting is for practice, not the competition.

Approaching the Official Competition Day. Here’s one I always preach and rarely practice - don’t forget to get some sleep. Have fun (particularly during the first few days of practice – we call that “team building”), but as the official competition approaches, do try to get some rest. Don’t stay up partying and/or tying flies all night - if you’re exhausted when the competition begins, you won’t be at your best and you could let your team down by making mistakes you wouldn’t make if you were rested and thinking straight.

Confidence and Befriending the Fish Gods.
Confidence works. There’s no substitute for hard work in practice to determine effective methods. Nevertheless, as silly as it sounds, when you’re in the competition, be confident in your ability to catch fish – believe that you will catch. Don’t be burdened by empirical evidence to the contrary!

Over-Confidence does not. If your team thinks “Practicing is over-rated - trout are trout and we know they’ll go bonkers for these killer flies we use at home”, smart money has you out of the running.

Don’t worry if you struggle in a session. It’s the results after five sessions that matter, not just one. If you struggled in one, chances are a lot of others did as well. Shake it off and focus on the next venue.

Share information with those you are competing against. They will no doubt return the favour and it could help you out in a pinch if you’re stuck.

Never complain about your Beat as the cause of your woes. The fish gods don’t like that. If it’s tough, the best anglers think about how to catch a single fish (and they usually do), rather than resigning themselves to a blank (saving a blank is what’s most important if you’re placed on a tough stretch – you have four other sessions to catch up). What’s more, if every time I struggled, I just blamed it on a bad beat, I’d never get any better. The best anglers search for what they could do better next time, rather than for excuses.

And, most of all, HAVE FUN! It’s a love of fishing that draws the vast majority of competitors to these events. Let’s keep it that way - please don’t ever let the simple fact that someone is counting spoil your fun.

Good luck!
Randy