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FLY FISHING JOE MAHLER
Joe Mahler is an author, illustrator and fly fishing instructor living in Fort Myers, Florida. His Strawboss fly pattern is currently featured in the Orvis line-up, several magazine articles and in Drew Chicone’s book Feather Brain. You may have seen Mahler casting in national television commercials for Bass Pro Shops, Tracker and Mako Boats.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Practice your cast on dry land for 15 minutes every day. Practice all versions of your cast at varying distances. Practice accuracy by shooting your fly at targets. To improve your skills in the kayak, practice all of these skills while sitting on the grass. Extra points for rainy and windy days.
[1] PICK-UP LINES
The first step for any cast is lifting the line off the water. If the pick-up is jerky, the remainder of the cast will be affected. The biggest mistake is ripping the line off the surface and leaving a trail of froth on the water. Start with your rod tip in the water then slowly lift the rod until it is nearly horizontal with only the fly and leader still on the surface. Keep your wrist loose. Then, snap your arm and wrist upright to pluck the fly into the air. This creates less commotion on the water and gets the line moving without overloading the rod.
[2] BRILLIANT BACK CAST
Fly fishing from a kayak will test your back cast. Don’t let the line slap the water behind you. To make the line unroll behind you at head level, stop the rod briskly in the upright position. As soon as the line straightens behind you, begin the forward cast. To improve your back cast, sit on the grass and place a lawn chair 30 feet behind you. Practice making back casts without hitting the chair. If the back cast straightens at head-level, then the forward cast will straighten head-high, too.
[3] SUCCESSFUL ROLL-OUT
A roll cast is great for fishing tight places or picking up excess line on the water. Make a roll cast by placing the line behind you, raising the rod to a near-upright position and then driving the rod tip forward in a straight path. For a roll cast pick-up, do not let the line hit the water. Instead, allow the line to straighten in front of you and then make a false cast. To improve
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accuracy, place the line behind you at 180 degrees from the target.
[4] STRIP SHOW
Detecting a fish strike and setting the hook is one of the biggest challenges in fly fishing. The most common error is setting the hook by lifting the rod tip into the air. While working the lure in, hold the rod tip close to, or even slightly under, the surface of the water and pointed at the lure. Don’t move the rod tip; instead, retrieve line and give the fly action by stripping the line or twitching the rod. When a fish strikes, set the hook by making a quick, hard strip of the line. When you feel the fish’s weight, then raise your rod tip.
GOOD TIPS
Fly rods are made for casting, not prying and yanking. Lifting the rod vertically to fight a fish or free a snag could break the tip. Instead, fight the fish with a deep bend in the rod. When the fish gets close, pull a foot of line off
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the reel to take tension off the rod tip. Then grab the leader and swing the fish in. To free a snag, don’t bend and yank the line with the rod. Point the rod tip at the snag and pull the rod back until the fly frees or the line breaks.
[5–6] BREAK THE WIND
Fly anglers dread a headwind. To keep the wind from blowing your fly into your face, change the trajectory of your cast. Bring your back cast up and shoot the forward cast slightly down. This allows the wind to add line speed and lift your line on the back cast. On the forward cast, apply extra force as you shoot the line slightly below horizontal then stop the stroke abruptly with the rod tip pointing towards the target. To cast in a following wind, reverse the trajectory with the line lower on the back cast and higher on the forward cast. Cross winds will affect accuracy. If the wind is blowing from the casting-arm side, make a cross-body cast by bringing your arm in front of your face or use the normal casting position and tilt your wrist inward on the forward cast to com- pensate for the cross wind. If the wind is blowing from the non-casting side, the line will stay downwind of the angler.
www.kayakanglermag.com…61
ILLUSTRATIONS: JOE MAHLER
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