5/16/2008

Six Awesome Summertime Drift-Fishing Tips

Simple Secret Tips that Get Fish on the hook and promote Sportsmanship at the Same Time

Timothy Kusherets

Outstanding catch with High Vis Mainline and Invisible leader!

When river conditions run low the visibility of the rivers becomes almost unlimited. It's the clarity of the water that put fish off the bite, which anglers associate with the word "pressure". Pressures that steelhead and salmon feel can be overcome by employing six awesome tips for drift-fishing that includes Ridding Line of Memory, Using Highly-Visible Line, Reversing the Test of the Mainline and Leader, Fighting fish from Long Distances, Fighting Large Fish on Light Test, and Leaving Entrails for Smolt. All of the tactics have a central theme for rivers and lakes that run low, clear, and hard to get places where fish love to hold. The first thing to address is fishing line and the Memory found on each new spool.

Let’s assume that the angler is right-handed and passes the fishing line through his index finger and thumb while reeling line onto the spool with the left-hand. The reverse is true for those fishermen that reel with the left-hand. The light tension exerted on the line will relieve it of any line-memory from springing off the spool, which means more time fishing and less time fumbling around with tangled line.

"Memory" is the spring of fresh new line right off the store bought spool. Ridding your line of memory is key to ensuring that it never tangles during critical casts and retrieval. One of the more significant aspects of fishing clear conditions is that the clarity of rivers and lakes will put fish off the bite so in many cases the only option to anglers is to fish from a distance. When memory is present keeping the belly out of fishing line is almost impossible. These easy steps ensure that all the memory is taken out of each brand new spool of line. 1) Take one end of the new spool and guide it through the butt-end of the rod and tie it to the reel spool (it doesn't matter if the reel is spinning, bait-casting, or a fly rod). 2) Take the new spool and place it on the ground directly at your feet. 3) With your right-hand lightly, yet firmly, hold the line near the first eye. 4) With your left hand begin to reel in the line while maintaining pressure on the line as it passes through your thumb and index finger. Make sure not to make it too tight as you reel because the friction could sting a little; it can get kind of hot. The constant pressure from your fingers causes the coiled up elasticity of the new line to dissipate even as you continue to reel it onto the fishing reel. This technique of ridding memory from fishing line has never failed me. This application works for every kind fishing line including highly-visible line.

While highly visible line is great for anglers to see and detect salmon and steelhead strikes the focus of any fish will be on the leader so it really doesn't matter what color the mainline is to a fish. Notice that the mainline on the spool, photo to the right, is bright green. Green is the easiest color for anglers to see anytime of the day. Actually, using this type of mainline fishermen have the ability to watch the mainline during the drift an hour before sunrise and an hour after sunset. This is a great advantage to getting more fish on the hook while others struggle during those times of day.

Using "highly-visible line" is something that some anglers might assume would put fish off the bite, but it's not true. Highly-visible line will always be the mainline and the many thousands of fish I've caught prove to me, and to countless other fishermen, that it's the "leader and hook" fish concern themselves with. The essential need for the line is apparent the second you try to cast over thirty yards. If you can't see the line as it travels through the drift you're not going to be able to see the subtle strikes of fish and that means no hook sets Plain monofilament simply turns invisible when you have to cast far but being able to "see" bright line guarantees that any disturbances that take place during the drift alerts anglers to set the hook. When rivers and lakes run low there are many cases where fishermen are forced to employ this technique but it really works and is easy to do. I have personally hooked into steelhead from over 70-yards out! The best color to use is neon green, but during overcast days you can use hot pink or cerise, both work very well when green is not around. The importance of the highly-visible line becomes even clearer when you really have to cast to the far bank of any river; when that happens it's a good time to reverse the setup.
"Reversing" the test of the mainline and leader is an essential tactic when waters that run with unlimited visibility. Water the runs low inevitably become clear increasing the ability of fish to see beyond the surface. Countering their ability to see better can be done by reversing the strengths of the mainline and leader, that is, instead of making the leader lighter than the mainline make it heavier. The reversal of strength will allow you to cast further away to otherwise inaccessible fish holds. Make sure to use line that is no heavier than 10-pounds and no lighter than 6 pounds. It's true, big old honking Chinook can be landed on six pound test. From a distance "thumbing" the spool, a few seconds at a time, will keep maximum pressure on the line without threatening to break it. This is a facet of fishing that is more art than science. You will invariably lose more line, but you will hook more fish and that's a fact. One of the many great things about reversing the mainline and leader is that hooking into fish is pretty easy. When you're forced to cast to pressured fish on the far bank you should also know how to fight them and trick them into coming over to you.
"Fighting fish from long distance" is most effective "if" anglers take the time to mend their lines as it travels through the air. In many cases casting more than 30-yards (ninety-feet) is not uncommon but it can be further. As you cast, make sure to flip the bail over about two feet above the surface of the water. It'll straighten out any belly that may have formed during the cast. A straight line is far more sensitive than one with a belly and you'll be able easily detect hits far faster during the drift. If your fish heads to some whitewater and there's a pool below it flip the bail over so line pays out with a little pressure, but not too much; as it does haul yourself down to the pool as fast as you can. When you're parallel with the pool reel in the slack. Whenever there has been a pool beneath whitewater this trick has always worked for me. The option to going downriver to the pool is to flip the bail over and wait; especially when there are no other fishable holds downstream. The belly that forms in the line, while a fish tears downriver, tricks fish into thinking that there is new resistance coming from in front of it rather than from behind; they'll respond to the new pressure and head back upstream. It's a great fishing trick I've had to use many times and it works on large fish too.
"Fighting large fish on light line" is a lot easier than you think. The heaviest line I use is 12-pound test and that's when I'm fighting absolutely huge fish in saltwater. Granted, I might use a heavy gauge leader for big teeth, but it's the mainline I'm talking about. The biggest fish I've ever landed on 6 pound test was a 54-pound Chinook in a river. It lasted about 20 minutes before I pulled it in, and it was really no big deal. The biggest element to fighting large fish on light line is to make sure your drag is pre-set to a third of it's capabilities before heading out the door. While fighting the hog "thumb" the spool as it tears down or up river. By applying the thumb to the side or top of the spool for a few seconds at a time you can actually optimize resistance to the fish 100 percent of the time. I guarantee any fish that feels that kind of resistance will tire quickly. As I said before, thumbing a spool is more art than science and I knew that right from the start. To perfect the art I practiced at home where I geared up my rod and tied the line to a scale, which I then tied to a door-knob. Playing around with the tension of the drag I was able to tell just what kind of pressure 6 pounds was and in the end learned how to catch huge fish with small lines by repeatedly pulling back on the line in the comfort of my own house. By using these techniques you will hit into more fish and with that in mind I've just one more thing to say about that.

It’s true; now and again I keep fish like these fish on the right. Here are two hatchery summer steelhead and a native springer Chinook. Before leaving the river I made sure to clean the fish right there leaving the entrails for the next generation.

"Leaving entrails" for the smolt ensures that the nutrients they need will be there for the propagation of the species. There are times when I actually keep fish but before I leave the river, lakes, bays, coves, or inlets I clean my catch. Throw the visceral organs back into the water and watch just how many tiny fish come out of nowhere. When they see that kind of food is in the water they become fearless and I mean it. With the summertime water clear they'll actually eat food from your hand, especially in the presence of competition from other fish in the area. This is not a chumming technique, rather proof positive that recreational fishermen really care about ecology. If you're scratching your head and asking how this is a technique, think about it. Those little fish's will grow up to be big ones and they'll be around for you to catch. There must be hundreds of tips for summertime fishing that I could tell you about, but these six seem to be the most important with situations that call for them frequently. When drift-fishing, or any kind of fishing technique for that matter, for steelhead and salmon make sure to stay low, well hidden, and get creative with the waters you fish. If you've done all the right things fish will let you know about and you'll tell the tale so many times that it'll drive your wife to drink; you never know, it might put her in the mood to let you do even more fishing…it could happen.