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Untangling fly fishing knots
By John Berry
It happens to all of us, from time to time, your fishing line becomes tangled. The frustrating thing is that you cannot continue fishing until you untangle it. You know what happens when this occurs; your fishing buddy hangs the big one while you are on the bank or hunkered down in the seat of the boat angrily tugging at the line trying to fix it. If it doesn’t come out easily you are tempted to cut the whole thing off and start off with a new leader and completely rerig your entire line.
The first thing to consider is to not tangle your line to begin with. As a guide, I see lots of tangles and most are due to operator error. One of the most common errors that I see is when an angler rushes the back cast and tails the loop. If you do not allow the fly line to fully extend behind you, the line hits the rod or itself on the forward cast, frequently resulting in a tangle. This can be easily avoided by letting the fly lie straighten out behind you on the back cast.
Another is to throw too small a loop when casting a heavy nymph rig. This is further complicated when casting double fly rigs. The problem is that heavy rigs like this tend to drop and can become tangled when casting a tight loop. The easy fix is to throw a bigger loop when casting heavy multi fly rigs with weight and strike indicators. Sage makes a specialty fly rod, the 9 9, which has a soft butt and a stiff tip which makes throwing a big loop effortless.
Excessive false casting can often result in a tangled line. When you are false casting a lot you have more opportunities to tangle your line. The only time that I false cast is when I am fishing dry flies and I want to shake the excess water from my fly. I always tell my clients to pick it up and put it down. The fish are not in the air, they are in the water.
An unexpected gust of wing can sometimes wreak havoc with your cast. There is not always a lot that you can do to prevent this. When casting in the wind, I generally try to cast a shorter line or fish with a technique that does not require much line, like high sticking a nymph.
The situation where I tangle my line is when I have a good fish on and it slips the hook. The line is under tension and the rod acts like a spring and the line flies back into the rod. There is not a lot that you can do to prevent this. It is just one of those things that happen.
Finally there is the ultimate tangle, the double. This occurs when two anglers, in a boat, cast at the same time and their lines cross, on the back cast. This one can get pretty gnarly, with double the complications. To avoid this situation, be aware of your fellow anglers casting and avoid casting at the same time. A variation on this occurs when one angler has a fish on and it swims into the other angler’s line tangling the lines in the process. To avoid this situation, all you have to do is to remove the other line from the water when a hooked fish gets too close.
Often, despite your best efforts, you have a tangled line. What do you do now? Stop casting and remove the tangle as soon as possible. If you continue casting a tangled line it will just get worse. Often it is just a matter of the hook catching on something like the loop to loop connection where the leader and fly line connect or a strike indicator. All you have to do is remove the hook from whatever it got caught and you are ready to go.
Then there are the more involved tangles that look more like a bird nest. Guides refer to them as job security. The first thing that I do is snip the fly off. The tangle will come undone much quicker without the fly constantly grabbing the line. I then trace the tippet back to the top fly or lead and tease the tippet free. If necessary I will snip off the top fly (I leave the tippet for the dropper attached so that I don’t have to reattach It.) and tease it out. This usually works but I sometimes have to remove the lead or strike indicator to get everything free. If there is a tiny knot, in the tippet, I will use the needle on my nippers to open the knot and untie it. Once everything is untangled, I tie the flies on, attach the other components to the leader and I am ready to fish.
On rare occasions, even this will not work and you will have to snip off the tangle leaving the butt section of the leader. I carry a spool of 2X tippet to tie on a two foot transition section and then add 4X tippet to make the leader its original length. I then rerig the rod.
Tangled lines are a fact of life. You cannot always avoid them but if you deal with them quickly you can be back to fishing in no time.
February 16, 2007 - Here
are some tips on choosing a fly rod courtesy of the Beaver Dam Store crew! Read
the Tips
December 8, 2006 - Here
are some tips for keeping warmer while you're doing that winter
fishing courtesy of the Beaver Dam Store crew! Read
the Tips
July 14, 2006 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver
Dam Store crew!
GENERATION PATTERN
PRIMER
Heatwave conditions brough back
something we haven't seen in a while, Beaver Tailwater up high
and flowing hard. The heat is forecast to abate over the weekend
before climbing back into the 90s midweek, so we thought it apt
to rerun our generation prediction primer from last month. Complete Story
July 14, 2006 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver
Dam Store crew!
KEEPING CLEAN!
Summer is the time most of us will travel seeking new waters
- sometimes those close to home, across the State, out West or
for some further afield. No work, no lawns to mow, carefree and
relaxed - No worries.
But fly fishing travel does involve a little responsibility these
days, specifically in making sure you don't bring home, or take
with you some of the aquatic nasties like Didymo, mud snails,
whirling disease or others.
June 18, 2006 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver
Dam Store crew!
The crew at Beaver Dam Store
talks about summer terrestrials.
May 18, 2006 - Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Tip - Many fly-fishermen use sink-tip lines to get
streamers or nymphs down to trout feeding near the bottom in
fast current. The sink rate and length of the sinking portion
varies from line to line. The best combination for one situation
won't necessarily be the best choice in another. You could solve
the problem by carrying several different sink-tip lines. Here's
a cheaper and more convenient way. Tie a section of lead-core
trolling line between your fly line and a 3-foot mono leader.
Use a short piece to sink a fly in shallow water, a longer one
in deeper water.
May 4, 2006 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver
Dam Store crew!
The crew at Beaver Dam Store
shares how to get ready for stripers.
April 21, 2006 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver
Dam Store crew!
The crew at Beaver Dam Store
shares how to choose a fly rod.
December 23, 2005 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver Dam Store crew! email
- Phone 479-253-6154 - G'day y'all from the Beaver Dam Store
crew! - TIP OF THE WEEK
You know the scenario. You are
catching fish after fish, its easy and your relaxed. Then comes
a really good size fish, maybe a trophy and ping, the trout it
gone. Such calamaties are all too common, but easily solved by
getting into the habit of regularly checking the front end of
your leader. Trout teeth, rocks and mixed casting can all put
wear and tear on the business end of the leader, wind knots too
can "appear" without you noticing, similarly indicators
can sometime slip their way down. So pull the line in and check
your depth. Then grab the leader between your forefinger and
thumb and slide it down the length to the fly, windknots are
easy to find as a small bump, but also feel for nicks and abrasion,
which make your leader weaker. Any problems cut out the offending
section and retie. Last thing on the checklist is the fly, look
for weed or moss, make sure the hook is the right shape, the
point isn't turned over and the bead is still there. You can
check for hook sharpness by pulling the point across a fingernail,
If it digs in its sharp enough. Now your good to resume fishing.
Tight Lines from the Beaver
Dam Store staff,
Lisa Steve, Shirley, Tom and Kevin
December 16, 2005 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver Dam Store crew! email
- Phone 479-253-6154 -
TIP OF THE WEEK
We all know the story about
worn tapered leaders. You have changed flies long, enough, probably
cut out a few tangles, lost a bit more to a streamside tree until
finally you have something about 0x on the pointy end. Its too
thick to tie to your normal 6x Beaver tippet. Don't throw these
sections away. Loop them up and keep in a ziplock bag (twist
the butt loop through around the rest of the leader as they come
out of the packet to keep them tidy. Then next time you need
a leader for streamers, largemouth or white bass, you have ready
made short leaders. Add a foot or two of 3x or 4x and you are
good to go.
Tight Lines from the Beaver
Dam Store staff,
Lisa Steve, Shirley, Tom and Kevin
December 9, 2005 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver Dam Store crew! email
- Phone 479-253-6154 - G'day y'all from the Beaver Dam Store
crew! -
TIP OF THE WEEK
Probably the smartest move you
can make in preparation for winter fishing in Arkansas is pack
a second bag, with spare clothes. Yes we know it is just something
else to remember but they don't have to be your Sunday best.
Stick spare socks, underwear, shirt, old track pants, a pullover
and a towel into an old gymbag and leave it in your fishing vehicle
or with your fishing gear, so it doesn't get forgotten. You can
get hypothermic pretty quick with the sort of air temperature
and windchill we have currently if you take a spill on the river.
Tight Lines from the Beaver Dam Store staff,
Lisa Steve and Kevin
November 25, 2005 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver Dam Store crew! email
- Phone 479-253-6154 - G'day y'all from the Beaver Dam Store
crew! -
TIP OF THE WEEK
With cold weather coming _ sometime soon, we have a great suggestion
to keep your tootsies warmer on the tailwater. Don't wear your
wading socks on the drive up. Car heaters will cause your feet
to sweat a little and damp socks in waders means cold feet. Instead
change into your wading socks when your getting ready. Your feet
wilkl thank you for your consideration.
FISHING
Beaver Tailwater: Low water opens up plenty of wading, and with
little generation now is the time to roam stretches away from
the Catch and Release section or immediately below the Dam. Discover
how pretty and how much of the tailwater there is away from the
crowds. The best fishing has been in the mornings, though it
picks up again towards dark.
Olive Woolly Buggers, zebra midges (black, brown or red); Razorback
Midges; Charlotte's Redneck Midge and other patterns have been
working extremely well. Egg patterns are performing well, Umpqua's
superb low water Flashtail mini eggs, and the bead head Veiled
Eggs for faster runs. Soft hackles are working well for fish
feeding on emergers. Check out our first shoipment of Dale Fulton's
Tungsten Wired Red Ass for fishing deep, faster runs. McLellan's
Hunchback scuds and Woven V-Rib Sowbugs are also reliable bets.
As the cold weather increases watch for more early morning water
releases, particularly on weekdays. Call 417 336 5083 for a real
time recorded message (after the Table Rock report) on water
releases.
July 29, 2005 - Beaver - G'day
y'all from the Beaver Dam Store crew! email
- Phone 479-253-6154 -
TIP OF THE WEEK
As you're all
probably well aware fly fishing is probably one of the more active
fishing methods. It seems we are always trying, thinking, doing
something different to fool our quarry. But sometimes its actually
more effective to do nothing at all! The "Do Nothing"
retrieve on lakes, in the salt or broader pools, can be pretty
hard to get used to. Even a dead-drift on a river requires some
mending. But the "Do Nothing" retrieve takes a little
more patience, whether you are fishing topwater patterns for
bass or slowly sinking a wet fly.
Both techniques
can be critical at times. Largemouth, and the whites currently,
will often follow a splashy bug almost all the way to your feet.
Just letting the fly sit for 20-30 seconds can draw the strike.
The whites in particular are nosing up to topwaters like a trout
taking a mayfly. A "Do Nothing" retrieve, or long pauses
between strips, on minnow patterns, letting them slowly sink
with a sinking line can also be particular effective for fish
lying deep. This is a great way to fish the Gummy Minnow which
flutters slowly down, sending out big fish attracting flashes
off its sides. Mullet are often regarded as one of the toughest
saltwater fish to fool, but a fuzzy "algae" fly dead
drifted slowly can be very effective and these fish are great
fun on light rods.
Tight Lines
from the Beaver Dam Store staff,
Charlotte, Steve,
Shirley and Bob.
April 14,
2003 - Arkansas River Spring Fishing - Submitted by Chris
Martin -
This is an exciting
time of year on the Arkansas River. In the coming weeks fishing
starts to pick up. The River has risen to about 230 cfs recently
due to a release from Twin Lakes. Initially there was some mud
in the river but it cleared out quickly.
There are several different dynamics at work right now:
Status
of the Blue Wing Olive Mayflies
 -
Blue Wing Olive mayflies continue to hatch in good numbers on
cloudy, cool, and humid days. The less wind, the better. This
hatch is locally intense so if you find yourself among feeding
fish, stay with them. Fish may not be feeding or the bugs hatching
around the corner. You should fish this hatch with a large high
visibility dry fly like a size 14 Parachute Adams as the top
fly. Then hang a beadhead tungsten biot midge, beadhead micro-mayfly,
or small black or green copper john under the Adams. If you see
fish beginning to feed, switch the second fly to an unweighted
emerger such as an RS-2, barr emerger, or Olive Emerger. Once
you see adult insects on the water and/or rising fish, switch
to a smaller parachute adams, gulper special, or other blue wing
olive adult pattern in a size 18-20.
Caddis
Flies and Stone Flies
 - Caddis flies have started hatching in Canon
City. The hatch will move upstream into Bighorn Sheep Canyon
this week.
-
- Stoneflies continue to shed their skins as they grow towards
adult size. During these times, the Golden Stones are bright
colored and vulnerable, often washing loose from their husks
and washing downstream until they can attach themselves to a
rock and crawl back into the substrate. We can't predict if the
stones are going through this phase on any given day. However,
with no other clues to guide you, you should use an epoxy back
stone or other Golden Stone pattern as a search pattern. This
will tell you quickly if the fish are keyed into this activity.
Nymphs
are key this time of year
 When
you are fly fishing this time of year the majority of the fish
you catch will be on nymphs. But picking the right pattern
to use may be confusing. A good tip is to fish with two
flies, thereby doubling your chances. Popular nymphs right now
are the black and olive tungsten biot midge in a 16-18, beadhead
micro-mayfly in 18, and an olive flashback pheasant tail in a
16-18.
After you tie on your first fly, usually the larger one, you
attach an 18- to 36 inch tippet to the bend of the hook using
an improved clinch knot. Then to this tippet you tie the
second fly and you're ready to go!
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