Catch and release and wet flies!

MadDog1999

I could say that I am an avid catch and release fishermen with the very occasional fish kept due to certain circumstances.But I like taking pictures of my catch without causing too much injury to the fish.What is the best way?I also fish a lake with a rocky shore an it is hard to release the fish while it is in the water due to the danger of the rocks and falling in.I have to walk into the lake by a boggy path and it is hard to bring a net.Also I can't just leave the line go slack because one I like I take a picture and no matter how hard I crimp the barb the fish never comes free on its own.I need help with this as I know how important it is to try to release the fish while it is in the water.

I know this is a different question than the title but I had started dry fly fishing and I have had multiple takes on mayfly patterns and the white moth but I often left the fish dive to set the hook on their own and then just pull the rod as if I was going to do a back cast.My rod is a shakespeare agility fly five weight and it has a medium fast action and it is 9 foot.Is this the problem or what is wrong?I often heard some days the fish could be taking weirdly and barely taking the hook but this happened on various days so it is hardly the same problem everytime.I got the takes in a mountain lake.I even got a sea trout to take the white moth fly but he jumped and fell off the hook.

I also haven't have barely any luck with wet fly as I had with dry fly.I tried droppers but they kept tangling.I am only a beginner fly fisher.I heard the cast doesn't matter as much as with dry fly but I still reason that te cast has to be good so not to scare away the fish.Why have I not had any luck when wet fly is usually pretty effective.I know of people who even had luck with a single fly.Most of my takes which were very little takes in fact were in he bibio and none of the other good flies.I find it impossible to learn the figure of eight retrieve and I don't know how slow to go or anything lol!

thefisherbuy

MadDog1999 wrote: »

I could say that I am an avid catch and release fishermen with the very occasional fish kept due to certain circumstances.But I like taking pictures of my catch without causing too much injury to the fish.What is the best way?I also fish a lake with a rocky shore an it is hard to release the fish while it is in the water due to the danger of the rocks and falling in.I have to walk into the lake by a boggy path and it is hard to bring a net.Also I can't just leave the line go slack because one I like I take a picture and no matter how hard I crimp the barb the fish never comes free on its own.I need help with this as I know how important it is to try to release the fish while it is in the water.

I know this is a different question than the title but I had started dry fly fishing and I have had multiple takes on mayfly patterns and the white moth but I often left the fish dive to set the hook on their own and then just pull the rod as if I was going to do a back cast.My rod is a shakespeare agility fly five weight and it has a medium fast action and it is 9 foot.Is this the problem or what is wrong?I often heard some days the fish could be taking weirdly and barely taking the hook but this happened on various days so it is hardly the same problem everytime.I got the takes in a mountain lake.I even got a sea trout to take the white moth fly but he jumped and fell off the hook.

I also haven't have barely any luck with wet fly as I had with dry fly.I tried droppers but they kept tangling.I am only a beginner fly fisher.I heard the cast doesn't matter as much as with dry fly but I still reason that te cast has to be good so not to scare away the fish.Why have I not had any luck when wet fly is usually pretty effective.I know of people who even had luck with a single fly.Most of my takes which were very little takes in fact were in he bibio and none of the other good flies.I find it impossible to learn the figure of eight retrieve and I don't know how slow to go or anything lol!

I'm a c&r angler but fish rivers normally I keep them in the net and try and take the hook out in the net, you could get a fish mat normally for pike, it's the best surface to put them on as I doesn't take of the slime, as for dry flys what pound line are you using? I wouldn't let them dive as they spit out in a fraction of a second I always strike as soon as they take, don't wait as they'll spit out the hook, if I were you use like 4lb or 5lb as that might be making the fish un confident as they might see the line, also check the hook on dry fly so that it isn't blunt, it's nothing to do with the rod! Also when a fish jumps clean out of the water drop the rod down as that helps a lot! This is a most with any fish that jump, also don't use droppers yet use only one fly like the bibio or silver invicta, the cast does matter for dry flys as you don't want to spook the fish even when your not casting at a fish, casting and presentation is everything with any method! As for wet flys there killers for mountain loughs just cast out to your limits and let it sink and then retrieve slowly, or fast, them brown trout will just hit the flys and strike straight away!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Get a net that hangs on your back by a magnetic attachment. You should always carry a net if you can't guarantee releasing the fish while in the water. These nets are quite small an easy to carry or get through difficult terrain. As said, your strike technique is wrong but that will come with practice. Don't let a fish dive to set the hook.

travelledpengy

MadDog1999 wrote: »

I could say that I am an avid catch and release fishermen with the very occasional fish kept due to certain circumstances.But I like taking pictures of my catch without causing too much injury to the fish.What is the best way?I also fish a lake with a rocky shore an it is hard to release the fish while it is in the water due to the danger of the rocks and falling in.I have to walk into the lake by a boggy path and it is hard to bring a net.Also I can't just leave the line go slack because one I like I take a picture and no matter how hard I crimp the barb the fish never comes free on its own.I need help with this as I know how important it is to try to release the fish while it is in the water.

I know this is a different question than the title but I had started dry fly fishing and I have had multiple takes on mayfly patterns and the white moth but I often left the fish dive to set the hook on their own and then just pull the rod as if I was going to do a back cast.My rod is a shakespeare agility fly five weight and it has a medium fast action and it is 9 foot.Is this the problem or what is wrong?I often heard some days the fish could be taking weirdly and barely taking the hook but this happened on various days so it is hardly the same problem everytime.I got the takes in a mountain lake.I even got a sea trout to take the white moth fly but he jumped and fell off the hook.

I also haven't have barely any luck with wet fly as I had with dry fly.I tried droppers but they kept tangling.I am only a beginner fly fisher.I heard the cast doesn't matter as much as with dry fly but I still reason that te cast has to be good so not to scare away the fish.Why have I not had any luck when wet fly is usually pretty effective.I know of people who even had luck with a single fly.Most of my takes which were very little takes in fact were in he bibio and none of the other good flies.I find it impossible to learn the figure of eight retrieve and I don't know how slow to go or anything lol!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=UkOuKkDNF9o#t=14

figure of 8 retrieve.

Where are you fishing? what flies do you usually use? What size flies? when fishing wet flies keep the rod tip low and the line taut when retrieving

MadDog1999

I usually use claret bumbles,bibios,wickhams fancies an other of the traditional wet flies such as black pennell teal blue and silver.I also use black flies.I don't know what size I use they are maybe 14 or 16.They came as an assorted pack of wet flies and I have acquired more from other anglers.I also have green peters coachmans.That retrieve looks easy thanks fortune link

thefisherbuy

MadDog1999 wrote: »

I usually use claret bumbles,bibios,wickhams fancies an other of the traditional wet flies such as black pennell teal blue and silver.I also use black flies.I don't know what size I use they are maybe 14 or 16.They came as an assorted pack of wet flies and I have acquired more from other anglers.I also have green peters coachmans.That retrieve looks easy thanks fortune link

Good choice fly wise, I'd try and get a few size 12's, also what's your casting like? Just wondering as your fly choice is good, casting and presentation could be the problem, when the line hits the water does it splash? Sorry for saying just something I was wondering, also meaby invest in some chest waders, meaby your not getting far enough where the fish are? Then just wade in near your waist, also what's the lake bed like? If it's stoney or rocky ten you should be fine!

MadDog1999

I will try to get size 12's.But the thing is I am afraid to spend a lot of money on waders as I am still growing at the latish teenage years and I may grow out of them and have to buy more waders in a few years time.I do not have that much money to invest on.My cast isn't too splashy anymore as I have gotten a lot of takes on dry flies maybe 60 over 2 days.I have learned the slow retrieve which I will try.

thefisherbuy

MadDog1999 wrote: »

I will try to get size 12's.But the thing is I am afraid to spend a lot of money on waders as I am still growing at the latish teenage years and I may grow out of them and have to buy more waders in a few years time.I do not have that much money to invest on.My cast isn't too splashy anymore as I have gotten a lot of takes on dry flies maybe 60 over 2 days.I have learned the slow retrieve which I will try.

I was like that too, because I'm a teen aswell! But I got a good deal on diawa waders in ridge pool tAckle shop for 50e that has done me 3 years I do have one leak but i fish rivers and cross barb wires and all that, but with lakes that's way different, easier access and no barb wire fences, even if I bought the most expensive pair of waders it would still last me the same, I'd go to a good fishing tackle shop or a fishing convention and try on a few pairs, look if you try your best to not sratch any waders they'll last you, also could get lidle or aldi waders but there not the best quality, also with dry flies I wouldn't retrieve them like wet flys leave them out there and twitch them the odd time so there's no slack line incase a fish takes, I'd dry some daddy long legs know as there everywhere!

Good luck.

MadDog1999

I never retrieve dry flies but now come to think of it I may have been too lazy to retrieve the slack lol!Never copped to me why I was losing so much fish lol.Thanks for the help.They are still a but expensive but my lake is very gravelly and it is easy to walk in up to a point where the rocks just drop into the depths.I have seen some large sea trout and maybe salmon jump in the depths of te lake!

thefisherbuy

MadDog1999 wrote: »

I never retrieve dry flies but now come to think of it I may have been too lazy to retrieve the slack lol!Never copped to me why I was losing so much fish lol.Thanks for the help.They are still a but expensive but my lake is very gravelly and it is easy to walk in up to a point where the rocks just drop into the depths.I have seen some large sea trout and maybe salmon jump in the depths of te lake!

You could try sea trout fly on the top dropper, but then again fishing with more Than 1 flies is frustrating, I'd stick to the one fly if you want to catch fish and less tangle but you could get more fish while using the droppers, and get sea trout but it's all up to you if you keep stick at it then it'll get easier, I hate fishing droppers in rivers I always find it way esiser in lakes, also for sea trout a good wee flie also good for brown trout is a silver butcher.. A lot of the sea trout action is at night, there less active in the day,