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Three easy tips for fly fishing muddy water 

4/22/2021

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Yosemite Fly Fishing Tips
​If the winter season in Yosemite is bringing snow, it's also bringing rain to the lower elevations, so with that comes "Muddy Water Fly Fishing".
We've broken down a few tips and trick for catching trout during winter runoff and any other time you might find yourself fly fishing dirty, muddy and dark water.

One of the first things I make sure I do when I set up my rig for muddy water is to keep the light leaders and tippet at the shop. If you know the water is going to be dirty and muddy, I promise you will not be needing the 5x or 6x. I like to use anything from 1x to 3x during these types of fishing conditions because I know that the fishes visibility is cut by 66%, so having a small tippet is the last of my worries. 

Once I got my rig ready, I want to make sure to find the right holding water for trout during high, muddy water flow. During these times, trout want to stay tucked in the slow sections, so look for turing banks, side boulders and trees, pocket behind big boulders and anywhere near the bottom of the river where they can hold in the slower current. Now the hard part is presenting a quality fly to these locations and even when you do, chances are you will have to cast a few extra times to give them a chance to see your fly in the muddy water.

Lastly, once you've set up your rig for big fish and you've found holding water, you need to get your fly to the trout and make sure it has a chance to eat it. I like to fish "Large and in Charge" flies in muddy water. Something like a stone flies, turd flies, tungsten beaded squirmy wormies and wooly buggers. I try to cover both color angles, so I my set up is usually a black turd fly(size 10) with a pink squirmy wormy. This duo tends to land me the most trout in muddy water. 

Now the the rain has let up and your done reading this quick fly fishing tip, grab your rod and go chase yourself some large trout in the "not so scary" muddy water. 



Tight lines!
YFFG 

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Creepy, Crawly Satisfaction

6/15/2017

1 Comment

 
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If you are a fly fishing angler that wants a "bitting" chance at hooking into beautiful high country trout in Yosemite National Park, make sure you have a few Black Ant imitations in your fly box!

The high country of Yosemite has a hand full of reliable hatches each fishing season. Between June and the beginning of November, fly fishers can expect to come across large and small Yellow Stoneflies(size 10-16), Pale Morning Duns(size 16-20) and an abundant amount of large Black Ants(size 14-18); plus many other terrestrial life forms. 

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Most anglers know that terrestrial insects are great to carry; regardless of your location, but they tend to be the go to fly in the high country of Yosemite when no other hatches seem to be occurring. I like a to tie on a size 16 black ant with rubber legs(dry fly), and suspend a size 18 Black Ant(wet fly) about 16 inches below. With this creepy, crawler rig, I've had 40+ fish days in the high country of Yosemite and I believe that it will be able to help any angler catch an abundant amount of satisfaction during their next Yosemite vacation. 

Written by David Furry II
Yosemite Fly Fishing Guide

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Children + Nature = Enhanced Cognitive Abilities

3/9/2017

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Follow @FlyFishin_Guide
Yosemite Fly Fishing Guide
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If you want to make sure that your child has good social, psychological, academic and physical health?  Then you might want to make sure they have dirt under their finger nails and grass stains on their knees. 

Scientific studies and years of research have shown that children with daily contact to nature have enhanced cognitive abilities, better eyesight, stronger self-discipline, fewer ADD symptoms and higher academic performance.


We're all aware that we live in a world where technology is growing and captivating the minds of everyone, including young children. Like anything in life, practicing moderation can go along way because to much of anything is always to much. Lets put our ipads down for an hour and shut off our T.V's; that way we can go build a fort, hand up a rope swing or simply go for a hike in the park with our children. By doing so, we are teaching them that nature and all the natural wonders of the world are important, not just to enjoy but also to better ourselves mentally and physically. 



Click here to read more on the studies of nature and children. 

Natural learning. org

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Tasty Trout Treats

7/12/2016

3 Comments

 

"The Wrong Fly"

Fly fishing Yosemite
Any fly fishing angler knows that the right fly is paramount to catching wild trout. The trick is knowing when to use the wrong one. We've all had those days on the river when all we see is trout rising like free balloons at a carnival; yet not one of our meticulously placed flies has succeed in doing its job. So we precede to try every fly in our box that matches every hatch we see; still with no results. This is where the "wrong fly" comes in. 

Here's an example: 
Thousands of Yellow Drakes are hatching under cloudy skies and it was lightly raining 3 hours ago. You've tried everything you own that matches that Yellow Drake except your Black Gnat. You decide what the hell, I know it's the "wrong fly" but it's all I have left. Wham! You're hooked up on your second cast. 

How's this possible you might ask? I've simplified the technical answer for you as follows: A trouts vision is monumentally dependent on the quality of bright light. Under clear skies, a trouts color vision is precise and the color of your fly should match the color of current hatches as best as possible; yet when it's cloudy and the water has some noticeable color from the previous rain, trout tend to see more black and white. Under these conditions, it's best to focus on the silhouette your fly leaves rather than its color. 

Next time your on the water and all the right flies aren't working, tie on the "wrong fly" and see what happens. Remember, you'll have to present your fly closer to that awaiting trout because of its distorted vision. 


As always, catch the beauty and enjoy the fight.

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Yosemite Golden Cutthroat Trout?

5/11/2016

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Could this be an amazing and rare trout to catch in Yosemite National Park? At first glance, one might think this is just a typical Rainbow trout. Yet, unique traits stick out when closer observation is paid. Look closely at the fins, they have spots from the base of them to the tips in some areas and the gills carry a strong reddish tint, both of these characteristics are from the Cutthroat Trout. The sides of this beautiful trout hold definite larger "Golden Trout" spots and strong and bold small black spots. This has all the characteristics of a rare example of a Yosemite Golden Cutthroat Trout.  

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Downtime Fly Fishing

3/1/2016

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Yosemite fly fishing guideYosemite Fly Fishing Guide
A lot of anglers live or fly fish in places that only allow seasonal fishing opportunities. Yosemite National Park is my home fly fishing water and it's rivers are closed to any style of fishing until the last week in April. 

There is no reason why this part of the season has to be considered down time, even if you can't travel to fly fish those bodies of water that are open to accommodating your fly. 


I like to use this time of the year to re-organize my fly boxes and to re-tie flies that I depleted over the past fly fishing season. For example, last year produced a great stonefly hatch in the Yosemite area and I ran out of almost all my size 10-16 stoneflies. Needless to say, they are at the top of the list this winter, plus many more, including my newly created "Yosemite Stonefly". 

The fact is, a well organized and prepared angler will be able to spend a lot more quality time on the water in the summer time, therefore catching a lot more trout. 

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Tasty Trout Treats 

11/15/2015

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Fly Fishing with Yosemite Stonefly Imitations Yosemite Fly Fishing Guide
Many new fly fishing anglers are shocked to learn that trout actually get a large percentage of their food from aquatic insects. This picture is a wonderful example of a large Yosemite Stonefly in its aquatic form. Depending on the species, they will spend anywhere from 1 to 4 years as a nymph and they will molt from 12 to 33 times before they become terrestrial. When there is nothing hatching above, always remember that you can fish large nymphs underwater to land beautiful wild trout. Try fishing two different sizes and also two different colors of a Stonefly imitation (I like the Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear(size 8 or 10) with a little Yellow Stonefly Nymph trailing about 16 inches below. Try this set up and see what you can hook into. As always, enjoy the fight! 


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