It’s time to tune up your gear and practice your knots.     One reason a skilled fly angler catches more fish, is because at the end of the day, they had the right fly on the water, in front of the fish for a much longer time than the novice angler. Skilled anglers know that they must change flies, adjust leaders, and because they can tie the right knot, speedily and efficiently, they do not hesitate to make changes.   Conversely, novice anglers are often reluctant to change flies, or rebuild a leader because their knot tying is slow and hesitant, and they lack confidence to make changes.

Knots: Few knots are 100% of the line’s rated strength but if you moisten all knots before drawing them tight, tighten them slowly, and test every knot by pulling on it hard, you will reduce the chance for knot failures and maybe losing that fish of a lifetime.  When making knots on the river or outdoors be sure to save your clippings in your pocket.   Mono, especially the new fluorocarbon lines, will stay in the environment and continue to harm other fish, mammals and reptiles. NO EXCUSE. If you see mono lying around, pick it up and put it in your bag.

Being a senior unless I tie a knot somewhat often I forget how to tie it.  Not being able to tie the knot you want to use quickly while you are fishing wastes time and may cause you not to hook or lose that big one. A poorly tied knot is one of the highest reasons big fish are lost.  Now is a great time to practice tying the knots you use regularly.   Grab some line and put it beside your easy chair.  If you are watching something on TV and there is a commercial break, pick up the line and practice tying a few knots.   All of the knots below should take no more that 10 to 15 seconds except for perhaps the nail knot.   I usually tie that knot before I leave the house.    Carry a nail knot tool in your vest our pouch for emergencies. Practice tying a knot so that you can easily tie it in 10 to 15 seconds.

Here are what I consider my basic knots when fly fishing.

Improved Clinch knot: Tying flies to tippet
Surgeon’s knot: Tying two similarly thick lines together, i.e tippet to leader
Perfection loop: Tying leaches, streamers and other wet flies you strip to tippet.
Nail knot: Tying butt head or leader to fly line
Surgeon’s loop: Tying loop to loop connections.

Here is an animated website I use for tying the above knots.        http://www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php

Waterproofing dry flies: I picked up this trick a couple of years ago and it works great.  Create a mixture of Mucilin and lighter fluid.   Most fly shops carry Mucilin. Years ago it was use to keep badly damaged line floating.  Add little BB sized drops of Mucilin to a small jar about the size of a baby food jar of lighter fluid.   The Mucilin will dissolve with some shaking or stirring.  I use the entire container of Mucilin as I want the flies to float high and long.   Then dip your flies into the mixture for a second or two and then let dry.  Doing this should saturate the fly with silicon and the lighter fluid will evaporate.   By doing this you shouldn’t be required to add floatant to your flies unless you happen to catch a lot of fish on one fly. This trick works amazingly well.

Fly Line Maintenance: There are a few things -all part of fly- fishing -that can damage your fly line: Stepping on the line, casting without a leader, pinching the line between the spool and frame of your reel or cracking the line like a whip when casting. Some common liquids contain solvents that may damage the coating.  Suntan lotions, insect repellents, fly floatants, fuels and some line cleaners. Remember that DEET will damage fly lines so keep it away from your hands and line. The one thing you can’t avoid that will decrease performance of your line -and, in particular, a floating line -is dirt.  Dirt gets on your line because of algae. It’s found in all the waters you’ll fish and simply builds up on your line through normal use.  Over time, the algae will pick up dirt and absorb water. You’ll know when this happens because your line won’t float as well or slide as easily through the rod guides.  This is easy to fix. You can wash the line with a few drops of mild soap -no detergents -on a soft, clean, damp cloth. Cleaning the fist 30 -60 feet of the line (the part you use the most) will take care of the problem.

Fly Line Storage: Sometimes, after it’s been stored awhile the line may have memory and may coil. Just stretch it slowly.   Have a friend hold the end and step back until the fly line is off the reel.   Add tension slowly until you feel it give. Always retain your fly line boxes and use them to store lines during the off season.   I have far more lines than reels so having the original box helps in identifying stored lines.  Having loops at both ends makes changing lines and leaders easy although I prefer a nail not for my dry fly lines.  I purchased a heat gun so that I could make loops on all my lines.

Wader Care & Maintenance: Waders should be washed by hand, in a bathtub, in cold water using a powder detergent. Rinse thoroughly and allow to air dry, including the feet.  Packaging or storing your waders wet may result in mildew and tape peeling. Simms Waders should not be dry-cleaned or put in the dryer. A water repellent treatment, such as Revivex®, will rejuvenate the water-resistant finish on your waders.

Applying Water Repellent Treatment : After the waders are washed and thoroughly rinsed, saturate the outside of the waders with Revivex® or other water repellent treatment. Allow product to drip-dry. “Set” the treatment with heat using a blow dryer or iron (low setting), avoiding the stockingfoot attachment area. Link to treatment video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtP-SYZw9nM


Wader Repair: Here is a website to learn how to repair your GORE-TEX® Waders: Link to repair video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMsc1JsZ5C0

Tight Lines,
Tom Bartos