It seems that preparing during the week, for a weekend of fly fishing, heightens the anticipation and excitement of what lies ahead on the river come Saturday morning. It must be the ritual that I look forward to most, because it signals the start to another trip to the river. Even though the tasks may seem mundane, they hold promise for fly fishing.
It normally starts on a Wednesday night, over halfway through the week, when the weekend seems so much closer. Over the next few nights I’ll ensure that I prepare the following things:
Indicators
If you use strike indicators, then you’ll know how important it is that they float. Getting your indicators ready is an important task that can easily be overlooked. Combing out the indicator fibers will separate them and get rid of any loose fibers. Once separated, I spray the indicators with a floatant, this will help to keep the water out of the fibres and keep the indicator sitting high in the water.
Leaders
Tying up a couple of leaders can save you time on the water. I tie tapered leaders of varying length to ensure that I am completely prepared for all types of water that I may encounter on the trip. Gather each leader I tie in a looped bundle and put them into pockets in my vest, so when the time calls I can pull them out and tie them straight on.Flies
This part of the preparation really starts to get the mind thinking of all things fishing. Trying to anticipate what fly will work on the river is always a hard task, so I ensure that I tie up a few loyal favourites and then a couple of patterns which have worked well before on the water I intend to fish. Often I’ll tie an experimental fly to try out when the fishing is a bit slow.
Plan of Attack
A plan of attack will ensure that you get maximum fishing time and minimal travel/downtime. I usually look at maps of the area I’m going to fish, photos, if I’ve fished it before, or articles on the area, if it’s new to me. The plan of attack isn’t exactly down to 15 minute blocks, but it gives me a general guide and ensures I’m ready to fish the water when I arrive.
By the time Friday night rolls around I’m in full fishing mode, little else occupies the mind and the anticipation levels are at an all time high. Through preparation I’ve just turned my two day fishing trip into a five day journey.
