Different fisheries have different casting requirements. If you hire a
tarpon guide and want to catch tarpon he expects you to layout an accurate
cast of 60ft or more, into the wind, immediately! Steelheading requires
those same 60 ft casts, but not as quick or as accurate, but if you can get
the fly,leader, line to straighten out, the fly starts its drag/wake soon
after it hits the water and you're fishing the fly throughout the swing,
rather than have your fly line start down river and your fly is still
stationary up stream. Now you are trying to slow it down by mending and you
often jerk the fly around in a manner that spooks steelhead. Cutthroat
fishing is much less demanding. You can make shorter casts and retrieve the
fly as if bass fishing with a popper. After fly fishing with many anglers,
it is quite obvious that good casting, proper presentation and line control
in general, are the essence of the sport and the angler who has come to
learn this, and it takes time and dedication to learn, catches far more fish
than the less skilled. I would say that 90% of those I see on the river,
have not acquired the necessary skill to catch fish on any kind of regular
basis. Even setting the hook properly and playing the fish properly takes
time. In our "marketing 2000" approach to things, we want to get the quick
sale and get anglers outfitted and on the water. I used to teach fly
fishing schools with its "relatively easy" approach and anybody can learn
type approach to attract students. I no longer do that. My approach now is
to develop the entire package. That is what you should be striving for and
it's not simple; it takes time and time on the water. Many anglers hire a
guide with the idea that they will "get a fish for me". I can put an angler
in the best locations. At least I think, at the time, they are good
locations to catch fish, but the angler has to perform. Many anglers, like
the one yesterday, had a great time. They know their limitations and enjoy
the learning experience, the float itself and all that goes with it. Many
times I spend most of my time teaching an angler how to cast. They may get
opportunities and not be able to set the hook properly etc., but realize the
situation. Some do not want any coaching and are only out on the water to
relax and enjoy the situation. I, as much as anything, have to get to know
the anglers expectations and wants.
That having been said, I am moving to Idaho Falls and am very excited about
the move! It is one of the very best flyfishing locations in our hemosphere
for freshwater river fishing for trout. I have grown to be very discouraged
at our states approach to sport fishing. They, in my opinion, have greatly
contributed to the demise of our sport fishing and have emphasized other
commercial interests. The angler that I took yesterday, came into Seattle
the day before the trip and there was NO PLACE in Seattle to buy a license.
Warshals said they were out of licenses and he had to go to Renton,
yesterday morning and purchase one and then out to the Snoqualmie. When we
finished the trip, I told him to stay in the boat because the boat ramp was
a miserable mess, full of slippery mud piled up from the last flood. The
state is allocated money every year to clean the ramps, but never have.
Money gets lost in the general fund, I guess. Anyway, my client climbed out
of the boat and immediately both feet went out from under him and he hit his
head on the ground knocking himself out!! After he came too, I got him
somewhat cleaned up and he said he was OK. I called the 4 Seasons today to
see how he was. I've already fished the Snake out of Idaho Falls and you
can buy a license in grocery stores, they are on the computor and the
transaction is quick..and the boat ramps are great! They appeal to the
sportfisherman. Jere
----- Original Message -----
From: Justin Teegarden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, September 30, 2000 9:51 AM
Subject: Re:Snoqualmie
> Jere,
>
> How far is good (when casting) enough to go with you on your trips? How
much do you charge for a steelhead trip?
>
> Justin
>
>
> On Sat, 30 Sep 2000 08:44:52 -0700 jcrosby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> >Had a fun day with a fly angler from Dallas yesterday on the Snoqualmie.
> >Kings are dying, thinning out and Steelhead have moved back onto the
drifts.
> >A silver slab came out of the water as we passed through the David Powell
> >run that lots of bank anglers frequent. The fellow that fished with me
> >chose to fish the upper run rather than my SCR haunt because of the
> >asthetics of the upper river and he said that he could lay out line
fairly
> >well. As it were, his loops were a little bit too open and the fly would
> >land with slack. Too make the story shorter, he just couldn't quite get
the
> >"swing of it" and after an hour or so, he handed me the rod and said that
he
> >needed a rest. Yep! Not to embarrass the customer, the first cast I made
> >and the big swirl and off he went...two, three jumps and then as big a
> >steelhead as I've had on in awhile headed up river and never stopped. I
> >handed the rod to the customer, pulled the anchor and headed for the
beach,
> >but the hook straightened out. I have to say, I was as excited and
shaken
> >as any rookie could ever be.
> >My client caught a number of sea-runs, but no more steelhead. We did
spot
> >quite a few fish throughout the river. On Tues., I had a client land a
very
> >large SRC and then break off another beauty after we saw it rise behind a
> >brush pile. I pushed the boat in behind the snags, he laid out a good
cast
> >next to the stickup, the water exploded and his fly parted. Jere
> >
> >
>
> Have you gotten your free email at fishing.com or flyfishing.com? I got
mine, come get yours! Visit www.fishing.com or www.flyfishing.com to sign
up!
>
>
