Judging by the relatively slow moving water, a beetle or ant imitation rolled upstream against the opposite bank might coax a trout from the shadows. The direction of the current may draw the fly too far from that bank. I'd love to hit that hole with a 3-wt.
Good read. I fish this hole regularly as it's sure to hold a few fish. I start at the bottom and work up to the riffle. Where it get's tricky is the back corner in the upper left. That's where a tenkara rod will come in handy.
I know the Bath County, VA spot in the photo and fished it in November. I pulled two nice flies from a sycamore limb and later left two on the tree's roots. Was the small black streamer with a dropper yours?
Dom's approach is very sound and it's a great way to fish challenging water. "We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” as you well know. ;-)
Tom, great advice. It mirrors (not surprised) the advice I get from Dom of Troutbitten when guiding with him. He would point out a difficult cast in ‘A’ water and said that we would be casting into that tight window. What he would then have me do, that has stuck with me, is that we would work our way to that spot casting the same length and trying to achieve the same accurate placement. I still got hung up the first time (lol), but subsequent efforts have really paid off.
Judging by the relatively slow moving water, a beetle or ant imitation rolled upstream against the opposite bank might coax a trout from the shadows. The direction of the current may draw the fly too far from that bank. I'd love to hit that hole with a 3-wt.
Good read. I fish this hole regularly as it's sure to hold a few fish. I start at the bottom and work up to the riffle. Where it get's tricky is the back corner in the upper left. That's where a tenkara rod will come in handy.
I know the Bath County, VA spot in the photo and fished it in November. I pulled two nice flies from a sycamore limb and later left two on the tree's roots. Was the small black streamer with a dropper yours?
That is my beloved Sweetgrass bamboo rod.
https://troutwrangler.substack.com/p/the-rod-of-my-dreams-d1c
I consider a lost fly the price of my education.
Dom's approach is very sound and it's a great way to fish challenging water. "We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” as you well know. ;-)
Hey, is that a fiberglass rod I see?
This challenge is another good reason to tie one’s own flies! It’s easier to risk losing one when you know you have another six in your fly box!
Tom, great advice. It mirrors (not surprised) the advice I get from Dom of Troutbitten when guiding with him. He would point out a difficult cast in ‘A’ water and said that we would be casting into that tight window. What he would then have me do, that has stuck with me, is that we would work our way to that spot casting the same length and trying to achieve the same accurate placement. I still got hung up the first time (lol), but subsequent efforts have really paid off.