One of the great attractions of fly fishing is the strategy & tactics required to consistently catch fish. I am not as natural as some fishermen I have been lucky enough to fish with, so I have to make up for less talent by being more thoughtful, better prepared and better able to deal with tough scenarios.
I have learned a huge number of lessons fishing over the years, and am constantly seeking to perfect my technique – and perfect my execution. Some of the really important lessons I have learned are worth all anglers pondering – especially the lessons from 12 years of sight fishing where I had an immediate feedback loop when fishing. I was never guessing if a fish was there because I could see it.
As a minimalist fisherman I have almost no fishing gear. Over the years I have reduced what I carry to the bare minimum.
For those who are really into technique the fishing with a two weight page is worth considering closely. A two weight does not give you any margin for error, so you can not correct your errors. Fishing the rise with my two weight really emphasised the need for perfect technique, technique I can fudge with my Scott Radian.
I’ve written pretty extensively about gear because I am firmly of the view that anglers should always do everything possible before they head out to put themselves in the best position to catch fish. Fishing is hard enough without handicapping yourself by not having your gear perfectly tuned.
Trout Spey is something that I am not as proficient at, so the 2019 season is a learning process. I have written about how I am setting up for trout spey, and will be frequently updating this site as I learn more, prove theories right or wrong and adapt my technique.