Tips on stillwater fly fishing

[Bob Richey]

Can anyone point me to some good resources on still water fly fishing?  I've been poking around Lake Arrowhead in Luray on my Kayak, but have had little success.  Mostly, I wait until the warmest part of the day and chuck a streamer towards the bank.  Every once in a while I'll chuck a popper at the bank and when I'm feeling particularly wild, I'll chuck a nymph at the bank.  Something tells me still water fly fishing is more nuanced than that.  I know that Lake Arrowhead has bass, pike and perch to start with, any advice is appreciated.

[October Caddis]

Bob, I haven't fished Arrowhead, but keep in mind that bass definitely become less active as weather and water cool. I've zero pike experience, but expect that all of the things you are doing would work for bass in warmer weather. 

Since it's cold and their metabolisms have slowed, try using an intermediate sinking line (or intermediate leader, much cheaper and will do the job) with a small bunny leech or bugger and slowing your strip way down to give sleepy bass a good look at your fly. 

[Yambag Nelson]

A couple of thoughts..

1. I don't know anything about that lake but it may be more beneficial to focus on drop offs and other structure as opposed to the banks.

2. When I used to hike into brook trout ponds in the adirondacks I learned to pay attention to which way the wind was blowing. Oftentimes food would get blown into certain corners and the fish would concentrate there. No idea if this would apply to warm water fish but could be something to think about.

[Misha Gill]

 If you want to have consistent success you will likely need a depth finder and sinking line. In the cold months bass tend to suspend and/or school up in deeper water. That makes them pretty tough to target with a fly rod, and I have never actually figured out a body of water this way. 

Also, at some point (probably in the recent past at this point) still waters "turn over" where the warm surface water cools off and sinks and the deeper water rises to the surface. It's a significant event that triggers changes in fish behavior. In still water it's all about figuring out the behavioral pattern the fish are exhibiting. Watch the bass tournament tv shows and you'll see what I mean. 

Please report back if you figure it out!

[Bob Richey]

Thanks for the info guys. Keep them coming, I’m on TDY in the Middle East, so all my fishing is theoretical right now. If anyone knows a good book or video on still water FF, I’d be grateful.

[colinf20878]

Denny Rickards Fly Fishing Stillwaters. Just fished a bunch of private ponds in CA Sugar creek ranch 

[Lane Thurgood]

Bob, try Bass: the Movie. Fly v. Gear. Plenty of info for your purposes.

For lake fly fishing for trout, you may be able to find a New Fly Fisher series episode with Brian Chan known for his chironomid tactics.

I’ll keep thinking...

[Carl Z.]

Warm water stillwater around here starts in late March and finishes up in early October.  In March things are slow.  Small Streamers seem to work.  Nothing top water.  As the water warms up, the fishing gets good.  May and June are the Bluegill and Bass spawn.  Action is fast and furious.  As the summer get hotter, the oxygen content of smaller ponds goes down and fishing is not good midday. In general, fish small stuff in the spring and get bigger as the season progresses.

Each lake is different, but the pattern is there.  Winter is really hard for bass and bluegill on the fly.

Cold water is different.  The rule around here is to get there as soon after it is stocked as possible.  Powerbait works well :)

Where there are real coldwater lakes,  Figure out what and where the fish are for the season and lake.  There is no one secret.  Each lake and season is different.

Carl

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Carl Zmola

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http://www.tpfr.org
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