Prepare For The Fishing Season
March is an intriguing month to be a fly fisherman. Water temperatures warm and the hatch season commences on many Western rivers. It is the start of what is a long season chasing trout. With the start of the prime fishing trout season upon us, I wanted to share a few things I do to prepare for a fishing season.
Whether replacing worn-out gear, organizing fly boxes, or planning summer trips, a few things can be done preemptively to make your days on the water more enjoyable. Here are a few things I do to prepare for the fishing season.
Clean and Replace Fly Lines
The most important action I take every spring to prepare for the fishing season is cleaning and replacing my fly lines. The fly line is one of the most important pieces of gear in our fly fishing arsenal. It makes a drastic difference in one’s cast and presentation, so I make sure my fly lines are in the best shape going into a new season.
The lines I use most often tend to break down after a season or two. I do not hesitate to replace worn-out or old lines. Buying a new fly line is worth the few hundred dollars every season. Any other floating fly lines I do not replace, I make sure to clean them at least three times every year. Cleaning your fly line allows it to shoot through the guides smoothly, stay floating longer, and last another season.
To clean my fly lines, I fill the sink with hot water and soak the fly line for a few minutes. I then run the line through a microfiber towel as a partner reels the line back into the reel. You’d be amazed at how much dirt comes off.
Organize Fly Boxes
If you’re like me, you have more fly boxes than you can count. Before each season, I go through my fly boxes discarding any flies with bent, rusted, or dull hooks. The last thing you want is to be on the water with a fly box full of bad hooks.
It also gives me some time to reflect on which patterns worked well last season and more importantly, which ones didn’t. I then know what to tie more of and what flies I need to tweak for the coming season. Fly preparation is one of my favorite parts of fly fishing and I love organizing my flies.
Organize Bags and Packs
Whether you fish out of a backpack, vest, sling pack, or boat bag, these storage accessories can get messy by the end of a fishing season. Scattered flies, empty tippet spools, and leftover trash are just a fraction of what I find in my bags. Taking an afternoon to clean these bags and organize your gear is a great way to start the season off right. It is also a terrific time to take inventory of your gear and see what needs to be replaced before the hatches start flying.
Stock Up On The Essentials
There are a few essentials we can’t go without on any given fishing trip. This may include leaders, tippets, bobbers, tippet rings, fly floatant, water temperature gauge, nippers, and hook sharpeners. My worst nightmare is pulling out my last foot of 5x tippet while a big trout rises in front of me.
Take advantage of the spring sales many fly shops put on and stock up on these items. You will use them throughout the season, so you might as well be prepared and get them on sale.
Fill Fly Boxes
After organizing my fly boxes, I hit the vise filling any dents made in the fly box. Tying more of the patterns that caught fish and experimenting with materials to test new patterns for the coming season.
One cannot have too many flies with the diverse fisheries and hatches in the Greater Yellowstone Region. Hit the vise over the next few weeks to be prepared for all this region offers. I do not want to spend my summer evenings tying when I could be fishing the evening hatch. Tie now while snow is on the ground and spend more time fishing this summer.
Maintenance and Clean The Vehicle
If you fish and camp out of an old truck like me, you know how important keeping a clean and running vehicle is to your fishing season. Not only do I organize and clean my vehicle before a fishing season, but I also need it to get me down all the dirt roads my heart desires.
I make sure my oil is changed, tires are rotated, fluid levels are full, and a general vehicle inspection is done before I leave on my summer fishing trips. This is good to do for any vehicle owner, but extra important for those of us who drive many miles across the west chasing trout.
Practice Fly Casting
Fly casting is one of the most important factors in a successful day of fishing, though it is something fly fishermen rarely practice. Many details go into a good fly cast, and these fundamentals are hard to perfect when a trout is rising in front of you.
Taking just an hour a week to focus on your fly cast could make a huge difference when on the water this summer. I highly recommend spending a little time this spring practicing the fundamentals of a fly cast. We all want to be more successful on the water, and handling a fly rod more often is the best way to do that.
List New Locations To Fish
We all have many fisheries and locations where we want to fish every season. I like to create a list of places I’d like to fish using some type of note software. I organize it by time of year, so I can easily filter through it to apply it to the season I’m fishing. When I get a free weekend, I refer back to this list to help formulate a plan to explore a new fishery or section of a river.
This makes my trip-planning process straightforward and aligns with my goal of fishing new water. By listing out new rivers or even sections of rivers new to you, you can help spread the fishing pressure out and maybe find a secret fishery all to yourself.
These are a few things I do to prepare for the fishing season. Doing these things is a fun part of the process for me and adds to the whole experience of fly fishing. I’d love to hear what you do to prepare for the fishing season. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.
-Nick
2 thoughts on “Prepare For The Fly Fishing Season”
Great tips!! Another prep idea I do every year is clean and wax my fly rods. Not only is line expensive but so are all of my fly rods.
I’ve never done or heard of doing that! I’ll have to add it to the list! Thanks Dan!
Comments are closed.