Summer time / Foam time

Returned from our salmon fishing trip on the River Byske, we found the home waters very low. Fishing spots changed a lot during the last weeks but the river was still fishable. Hot weather and low water level made vegetation grow fast. The river carries during this time of the year a lot of candy from insects to small brood fish and mussels. The big specimens are lurking in the grass for the goodies, places where a proper presentation of the fly is a little bit more difficult to do but not impossible. 

I got a phone call from Silviu who went for a few hours on the water and had a good time hooking some nice fish on foam flies. After watching some pictures of the fish, I got itchy hands and thought that I need to go out as soon as possible, at least for a few hours. 

Two days after our talking I was on the water. Fishes where rising from time to time. I put some of my big rubber leg foam flies and cast over the grass sheet, letting the bug drift downstream. Suddenly a wave appeared and the foam was merely inhaled by the monster. I rose the rod and the fish went immediately into the thick grass labyrinth. It wasn't easy to get the big ide out of it's hiding spot but after a few minutes the fish was in the net. During the few morning hours spent on the water I managed to catch one more ide and a chub and lost two more nice fish. 

Conclusions:

1. Don't fish too light on hot summer days. Fight the fish hard, don't play them too long especially if you don't plan to take them home. We always use a 7wt rod on waters that holds big fish.

2. Don't go with your tippet under 0,18 mm on spots with lots of vegetation. You'll have some snags and with a thicker tippet you'll manage easier to get the fly out of the grass without to spook the fish.

3. A 9 foot tapered leader is more then enough.

4. Big fish will take a big fly...fishing a foam fly tied on a hook size 2-4 will produce most of the time big fish.

5. Rubber legs are a big extra. Longer legs are better then shorter ones.  They move naturally and the fish like that.

6. Experiment with colors. For example, orange and beige flies works best on the waters I fish nowadays, while green and black worked best on the rivers I fished years ago in Transylvania. Find out what is the best choice for your water.

7. Be creative with your presentation... try everything from dead drift to skating the fly. If you're fishing the fly in a dead drift and the fish rise but does not take the fly, just give it an extra move with a short pull in the line. That usually helps.

Pictures by S. Stricat, V. A. Rusu