President's Message - August 2009: "What's That?!?"
by Rob Burlingame, AFF President
I gazed at the sky earlier this week, a little darker than normal, filled with ominous grey clouds. As water began to fall to the ground, I wondered what on earth was happening. Could this be the “RAIN” that the old timers speak about?!? There was barely enough falling to move the dirt around on my truck, but at this point, I will take what we can get. It is no secret that many parts of Texas have been in one of the hottest and driest summers in history. We have watched the fields and our lawns turn from lush and green to dry and brown. The once a week waterings are almost futile. Hopefully soon we will get some of the wet stuff. Make sure you all keep praying for the rain to come!
As I finally watched the rain come down for the first time in months, I began to realize that we can learn a great deal about fly fishing from the signs of nature, like those that indicate a drought is here. It is obvious that a few dry spots in your lawn, cracked earth or wilted flower leaves indicate a lack of water. We know this because we have been trained from almost birth to recognize these signs. Now how on earth does that apply to fishing?!? Before you lock me in a rubber room, let me explain.
Who knows what it means when you see a tern hovering over the flats? Or how about the sometimes barely noticeable “nervous water” we see at the coast? How can you tell if that dark spot in the water is a shadow, log or fish? What is the difference between a mullet wake and a redfish wake? If you answered all of these, congratulations, you have trained yourself to recognize nature’s signs, much like the wilted grass. For those that aren’t as nature savvy, it’s as simple as paying a little extra attention next time you are on the water…and a little of paying your dues by spending some extra time on the water. These things are learned best with “on the job” training and we have all been there trying to learn. I wanted to share a couple of short stories to help illustrate what a difference a little extra cognitive power can make for your fishing.
During our recent Lydia Ann Fly Master’s tournament, Trey and Jodie Jones (Clay Gill’s daughter and son in law) had spent the entire morning poling for redfish. The result had been several fish spotted and a couple of break offs and refusals. As the time approached for tournament weigh in, the fish had won and nothing had come to hand. On the boat ride back, Trey suddenly whipped the boat around and told Jodie to get her line stripped out and get ready. And then she saw it, right next to a floating bucket in the channel. A floating brown shape that was difficult to discern. For those who have never seen a Triple Tail before, they sometimes will float on their sides next to a structure, waiting for prey to swim by. She made a fine cast next to the bucket and hooked and landed the fish. The end result was a 2nd place ranking in the tournament’s Women’s division! Had it not been for Trey paying attention to the signs around him, they would have gone home fishless and empty handed.
Earlier that same week, I was forced to fish a couple of days before the tournament to…um…check and make sure the fish knew to be there for the tournament. Palmer Simpson and I had a similar day to Trey and Jodie, where we had seen several fish, but had not been able to entice any of them to the end of a fly rod. Just as we were finishing a poling session, we noticed some water busting not far from us and menhaden jumping for their lives! We both knew at the same point. “Jacks! Jacks! Grab the 10 weight!” Palmer shouted as I hurriedly reeled up the slack in the small rod. But, as luck would have it, about 10 seconds later the fever subsided and the Jack Crevalle had disappeared back into the nearby channel. So, we reeled up the rods, hung our heads in fisherman’s defeat and headed back to the house. A short while into our boat ride, I noticed a large moving shadow in the channel. Just as we cleared the shadow, I noticed the black tip of the unmistakable sickle tail of a Jack. I asked Palmer to turn around and see if we could get a shot. He turned the boat and killed the engine as we slowly drifted towards the shadow. I hopped to the bow, stripped out some line and made the cast. Two strips later, the 15 fish school came to life…”He ate it! He ate it!” Palmer screamed, jumping up and down as I set the hook. (If you have never felt the surge of power when you bury a hook in a big Jack, I would highly recommend it.) After about 20 minutes, the lengthy but entertaining rodeo had ended, much to the pleasure of the small crowd of boats and jet skis that had been my cheer section through it all. Palmer hoisted the nearly 20 pound Jack into the boat. I guess that was an okay one fish day!
With both of these events, neither fish would have been spotted or much less caught without that little bit of extra awareness. I would like to challenge you all to the same task I have put upon myself…to learn at least one new thing each time I am on the water. Keep a journal if you would like. Sometimes a little past reference can be helpful and can make the difference between a good day of fishing and getting skunked.
Just on last thing. When you are out on the water, fresh or salt, look for the little things. It could be tiny bugs that seem to magically appear on the Guadalupe, a nose barely popped out of a clump of foxtail in the Nueces or a slightly different ripple in a wind chopped flat. The biggest of signs are easy to see (flocks of birds over bait, fish jumping out of the water or a glowing neon “Fish Here” sign), but it is the hidden signs that will bring your fishing to the next level. Get proficient at spotting and identifying tails. Learn how to spot fish on the flats. Know how to read water and ripples. All of these things combined will give you a powerful war chest the next time you are on the water!
Now get to your favorite fishing hole, string up your rod and go learn something new.