Monthly Newbie Questions Thread — August

[Misha Gill]

New to fly fishing? New to TPFR? Or have a question you've been slightly too embarrassed to ask?

This thread is for you.

Ask anything: choosing a first rod, leaders and tippet, knots, flies, casting, reading water, where to fish, what gear you actually need, fish handling, etiquette, or why the hell your leader keeps turning into a bird's nest.

There are no dumb questions here.

If you're one of our more experienced anglers, check in occasionally and help somebody out. We all started somewhere, and one of the best things TPFR can offer is access to anglers who have already made the mistakes you're about to make.

And you don't have to be a newbie to ask a newbie question. Sometimes the supposedly obvious stuff is exactly what we never learned properly.

Drop your questions below. 

Cordially yours,

 

Michael "Misha" Gill

My LinkedIn Profile

District Fly Fishing Instagram

[Scott Diaz]

I’m planning a trip to Pulaski NY during the first few weeks of OCT. I’m hoping for three or four days of fishing.  Does anyone have recommendations for access to the fly only portions of those rivers and/or a guide?  

Thanks in advance. 

Scott

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[Tom Somers]

Hello:

Thanks for the invite to participate, I'll bite....Solar-lunar tables or sunrise/sunset? 

Sunrise has been good for me recently, but the tables are pointing to the afternoon this week as one of the best times. If you could only do one - sunrise or the afternoon peak according to the tables --  which would you pick for bass/snakeheads?  

pic for cred

[Misha Gill]

I like this question... it almost certainly does not have a definitive, correct answer. For the data points you mentioned, i think their utility would be for insight into "bite windows" and predicting when they might appear. If you know a particularly good spot, you might time your travels to be on the spot for when the bite window you are predicting is due to open. 

For the species you mentioned, I think snakehead might be more likely to display behavior centered around bite windows, but I cant say im any kind of snakehead expert. Largemouth bass are opportunistic feeders and less likely to pass up a meal imho. But during slower times, when temps are cooler, I could see them turning on during specific times, especially if they were suspended fish in a lake.

Im more certain when it comes to other species. Musky guides definitely watch the moon for bite windows - major and minor phases. The difference has been noticeable to me at times. Additionally, I think striped bass and speckled trout hit better during bite windows. On the other hand, I dont think the moon phases matter for a rainbow trout. But I dont like a clear full moon night the night before a trip for big browns or smallmouth bass (or any predatory fish).

Certainly a bite window also depends on multiple factors, only one of which would be the moon, and another of which would be light levels. Temperature, cos cover, changes in flow changes in atmospheric pressure, can all trigger bite windows. 

So for a definitive answer for when to fish, I think "when you have time" might be as far as Im willing to go.

Cordially yours,

 

Michael "Misha" Gill

My LinkedIn Profile

District Fly Fishing Instagram

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[Tom Somers]

Good stuff. 

It comes down to light vs bite windows. I've been programmed that fishing in the summer meant getting up in the dark, or coming home in it, either way it is targeting when light changes. Seeing the best time be 2pm in August doesn't seem right. Probably just prejudice. So, we'll see, been wrong a lot before, so it won't be new.  

My two cents is that in the summer, big bass, big trout, big anything are more likely to be found in low light - - so around sunrise and sunset are usually good. A full moon is a night of low light, so the big ones are out and looking. Which is why the fishing the next day is usually garbage. Totally agree on that point.

Yes, "when you have time" is a good answer. Always better to just go and not overthink it.