Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring bass fishing with flies

(continued from 06/02 The Fly Fishing Shop Insider)
Seeing Is Believing
Sight fishing for bass is an exciting sport. Many Pacific Northwest bass waters are very clear. These are the same waters that until recently, have been inhabited only by native salmonids etc. Bass like warmer water than trout do. During much of the

most productive part of the season, bass are active during peak water temperature periods. These are often periods when trout are least active. So fill in the dead time with bass. Peak water temperatures occur with peak sunlight when bass are most visible. If the angler moves quietly, bass can often be fished at ranges of under 30'. These conditions make sight fishing to bass very practical. Obviously decreasing amounts of light or increasing amounts of turbidity or wind chop will limit the effectiveness of sight fishing. Seeing has always been an art. Seeing well takes curiosity, but also takes discipline. The more you look, the more you will see. Seeing can be enhanced optically. In almost every situation, polarized glasses will improve your vision into the water.

Your best presentations appeal to both the predatory and territorial facets of bass nature. Placing the fly where it is most vulnerable or irritating to a bass is very important if you want to catch it. Being able to place the fly in the perfect relation to the fish, demands that the angler be able to see the fish while the presentation is being made. An experienced angler may study a bass for several minutes before the first cast is executed.

A pair of precision ground polarized glasses is a priceless asset in this game. Being able to watch your quarry and see its reaction to your presentation is a great advantage. Being able watch your bass is even more important if the angler is fishing subsurface with a slow moving fly. Bass can suck in a fly and eject it so softly that it can be virtually impossible to feel the strike. If you see the bass take the fly, then you will know when to set the hook.

(to be continued in 06/16 FFS Insider) To Top

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These models cover the size range of fish between 1/2 pound to 150 pounds.

	Deschutes Chinook Jack Salmon The fly rod of choice, a St. Croix UF907.	The St. Croix Legend Ultra Series of fly rods are designed to provide exceptional performance and quality workmanship at an affordable price. There is a size/model for nearly every angling situation that you will encounter in both fresh and saltwater.
Fine Fly Rods for the year 2002. There are 41 size/models of Legend Ultra Series Fly Rods.
Prices & Specs		The St. Croix Lifetime Warranty

This is a sleeper series of rods. In action and performance these rods are very much like the G. Loomis' GLX Series, but with nicer fitting and at half the price. The matt finish blanks are made from 4th generation high modulus graphite. Reel seats are Wisconsin Birds-eye Maple. Casting performance is outstanding.
These rods are an outstanding value.

Tilda Runner & guide Dave Greaves at Crane 06/03/02.

Crane Prairie Reservoir has been one of the premier big rainbow trout fisheries in Oregon since the 1950's. This is because of the prolific insect life that it supported fueled an intense food chain which in turn grew trout rapidly. Unlawful plantings of bass, bluegills, chubs, and stickle-backs have all but devoured the hatches. Who knows what the future holds for Crane Prairie Reservoir? A few dandy rainbows can still be had. I guess the bass guys are happy.

The following is copied from:
June, 2002 - N° 6
Sea-River's European Newsletter
English edition
The socio-economy of fishing in nine European countries

The countries of Eastern and Northern Europe have each carried out a study of the socio-economic importance of angling. The results were submitted to the General Meeting of the European Anglers Alliance which took place in Prague.
The study was carried out between 1998 and 2000 in Hungary, Switzerland, Bavaria, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, on a large number of fishermen (1250 to 5400). The aim was to determine the socio-economic characteristics of the populations of anglers and their average spending.
It should be pointed out that the studies were carried out in a different way in each country but the overall results can be compared especially as the geographic regions concerned are consistent. Taken as a whole in all the countries mentioned the number of anglers is over 7,9 million (more than 8 million as in Hungary and Bavaria only the anglers holding permits have been recorded).

Angling is particularly popular in Scandinavia where the percentage for this leisure activity for adults varies from 32% in Iceland to 50% in Norway. In these countries one out of every two or three adults goes fishing! In Denmark its popularity is less (13%) but higher than in the central countries (3 to 6%).
One surprise results from the fact that in these regions woman really participate in angling : 35% in Norway, 27% in Finland, 20% in Sweden, 15% in Iceland. In Denmark they are 5% and between 1 and 3% in the other countries. It is true that many woman state that they only go fishing occasionally and often with family and friends.
The category with the highest number of anglers are young people (between 15 and 19 years of age). All categories of age are concerned by angling but recently retired people go fishing the most regularly.: 8% between 50 and 59 years of age and 4% for those over 60 ! The enthusiasm shown by young people is a social phenomenon which is noteworthy. Fishing camps for youngsters are organised in Scandinavian countries. For the 10% of anglers between 20 and 39 years of age we assume that they are motivated by a desire to get away from the stress of their work and to enjoy the countryside. Perhaps another factor is relaxation with the family and a desire to accompany the children in their leisure activities.
Fishing is usually learnt at an early age (before 19 years of age) but information is fragmentary in the Scandinavian countries and in Germany the regulations are not favourable to youngsters.
The motivation for fishing in these areas is more for relaxation (mentionned 74 times as a first choice and 9 times as second choice) than for catching fish for consumption which only collected 19% of the answers. It is worth noting the importance of activity in natural surroundings (21%), to be with friends (20%) and catching a big fish was more motivating in Bavaria (37%) than in other countries.
The average number of fishing trips varies between 8 in Iceland to 23 in Austria, and varies between 12 and 18 in Scandinavian countries.
Spending for the anglers is about the same for the equipment but varies considerably for travelling and the cost of permits which are expensive in Iceland and in Austria (391 and 448 Euros); in the other countries spending is about 150 Euros. The total spending represents 1,5 billion Euros which represents 55000 jobs.

Report submitted by Frantz Kolh (Austria) and Dr. Kurt Meyer (Switzerland) at the General Meeting of the European Anglers Alliance in Prague from 5th to 7th April 2002


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