Rob Snowhite
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Read about him and an article by him in most recent Fly Fisherman. Looking forward to listening to this one on the drive to Somerset next week.
For the shad and stripers I just anchor and fish around the boat. Its hard for me to fish the shoreline of a lake or Potomac tributary solo. I want to invest in a trolling motor this year.
I tie a Clouser out of Widow’s Web. The material gets all up in their maw as they bite the fly and then try to turn it to swallow.
The stuff is hard to come by now so I have started to use Near Hair. All of my gar flies are tied on hooks. You never know what is in the water with the gar around the Potomac River. We were filming gar fishing for Urban Lines a few years ago and a fish picked up the fly about 10′ down and started to pull the drift boat. No idea what it was but I consider it a lesson.I caught my biggest gar ever this year on my size 10 damsel nymph. I was on the phone while fishing the Tidal Basin in DC. I had a Clouser with the damsel just under the surface and my rod under my arm. The fish came up vertical along the wall and ate the damsel. It took off and into my backing. After several minutes and a dozen plus tourists cheering me on it threw the hook.
This is the first round of them from a few years back. I’ll tie most with large bead chain eyes to keep them near the surface.
The Stealthcraft is a filthy beast. I’ve taken it out on the Potomac, tidal creeks/rivers, SRNY, lakes, etc. Its performance is flawless.
The boat is extremely light and turns on a dime. The 9.9hp gets me where I need to go rather slow but there is no budget for a 20hp. I want a trolling motor so I can take it out and fish.
Compared to my Alumaweld it doesn’t handle hitting rocks as well (SRNY). I can see where I’m going as the bow does not lift up when the outboard is on.
The storage spaces keep all gear out of the way. We had 4 people for 18 hours during the Potomac Snakehead Tourny. Lots of gear in the boat, didn’t weigh it down at all. Handles cut into the bow/stern allow me to move it when wading. The modular seats and pulpits allow clients to sit or stand where they like. The lights on it bring baitfish to the boat at dark and allowed people to see us coming down SRNY in the dark. 10 cup holders allow for beverages, flies, hemos, nippers, etc to be stored in a pinch. The trailer is more well thought out. There is storage for the anchor and built in hooks/straps to secure.
The aluminum drift was extremely loud. If you dropped a fly in the boat it would echo. Stealthcraft doesn’t make a sound. Rubber floor mats keep it extra quiet and elevate gear off the floor when water is in there.
My biggest problem is our county supervisor just banned all boat parking near where we live.
I could go on and on. The one thing I tell people is that the only similarity between my Stealthcraft and my old Alumaweld is that they both float.
Zach,
Good to finally meet you. You looked hard at work from casting rods to chatting up at booths. Looking forward to seeing what you post of the 2015 gear. The IFTD section had so much more of a sense of community, camaraderie, and friendship as compared to the ICAST section. I’m going to rent a rascal for next year. Too much walking.
They are fairly easy to catch on the Potomac once the spawn is done and they have split up from their mating pairs. I target them on the Occoquan river from a boat. I use a Clouser made from Widow’s Web on a 1/0 Mustad hook. They bite the fly horizontally and when they try to move it to swallow it gets all tangled in their teeth. I use a fly with a hook as other fish will eat the fly. We were filming for Urban Lines a few years ago and had something eat the fly and start to drag the boat.
I use dumbell eyes in either lead for the deeper fish and #10 beadchain for those below the surface. They are really easy to catch, I compare them to bluegill. Just a 30′ cast and start stripping. We usually loose 1/4 of them.
Of course when I landed one the film crew wasn’t filming at the time and it didn’t’ make the movie.
Those above images are terrible, how that fly has advanced since then. I now use mono thread with the hook wrapped in lead wire. The mono is clear so it does not add unwanted color to the fly. The mono when pulled tight will pull into the grooves between the lead wraps and hold it all in place.
I will be using this pattern again at this year’s Project Healing Waters 2-Fly tournament this weekend. My vet caught a 15″ rainbow on his first cast at last year’s event with this pattern.
When I put the boat in I usually play Bedouin Soundclash. My phone only has Sara Bareilles (<3) and Bedouin Soundclash on it. Other than that its catching up on podcasts.
I have a 16′ Stealthcraft ATB due here any day. Kind of a mix of everything in a boat. Can’t friggin wait. Lets hope some drunk driver doesn’t plow into this one when its parked.
Mike is great btw, he’s been working with me for a few months to get the boat just how I want it.
We purchased a new StealthCraft 16′ ATB in December (last drift boat was destroyed when a drunk driver hit it while it was parked). Wife never really buys me anything so I guess this counts. And buying her yoga pants is a present to me anyway.
Zach,
I have Patagonia nano-puff pants. The biggest complaint is there are no pockets as I wear them as pants most days. I need to put my wallet somewhere.
http://featheredfriends.com/ in Seattle can custom built you down pants or pretty much anything else you want.
Billy,
That one took a stonefly nymph when I was fishing for carp. Considering they’ll eat Styrofoam and batteries, I’m not surprised by its choice that day.
Slimy is an understatement. I’ve spent the last 9 years obsessed with them on the Potomac. I can answer any questions.
Except how to regularly catch them. That no one has figured out. Its been over a year since we netted one and I have not had a visual on one since May.
Ed, You have to come out to the tourney next year!
This is my biggest at 34″
Ed, told my wife that story last night. Started of with ‘I have a fly fishing story for you thats funny’ she grimaced. I told her about it and she’s still laughing today.
#TeamOrange
The float trip was kind of a bust in the fishing department. AS the temps had been so hot in the past week the water was piss warm. The water was also about a foot higher than normal. The fish we did see were in shaded spots where water went over and around large rocks with lots of bubbles. Typical fish holding locations.
The only spots that had fish were drops in elevation where rapids went through rock gardens. I got some bites but only landed a sunfish. Most of the rest of the trip had similar results. I really have to give props to the Orvis shops for organizing this. With free hats and BuzzOff swag, a lunch, and a shuttle back up river the thing was one of the best deals out there ($50 per person).
As no snakeheads live up there we didn’t see any. Most of us have accepted them and I think they are a welcomed addition to the other non-native fish in the river. As I’ve averaged one every three years its not an easy fish to catch on the fly. Very few anglers have done so, we fished the potomacsnakehead.com tournament last month and got skunked in 18 hours of fishing.
Forgot I got this smallie in the tidal stretch during the shad run. It took a size 10 damsel nymph
I grew up smallie fishing on the Shenandoah and Potomac. However now that we have snakehead in the tidal section I rarely go upstream for the shallow rock gardens and smallies. This weekend Orvis is hosting a float of 50-75 kayakers and canoers down the Potomac from Algonkian –> Riverbed. I’ll be tying up loads of flies for tomorrow. The standards for around here are CK Baitfish, Clawdad (Mossy Creek owners say that would be their only smallie fly if limited to one and its stupid easy to tie), hellgrammite, and Carolina blue sliders. They hold in similar locations to trout, in deep holes, behind rocks, and where oxygen and turbulence are plentiful. I’ve always had my best luck at dusk. The wife and I camped a few years back near Harpers Ferry and couldn’t sleep due to all the noise of them feeding in the middle of the night, as if it was raining potatoes over the water!
William sells the claws. I’ve used bike inner tubes to make my own when I couldn’t get the claws. His video shows how easy it is and with just a few ingredients.
He also sells the CK tails and more. Easterntrophies.com
For hellgrammites, you can’t go wrong with Bill Skilton’s. I’ve changed his up a bit to fit my needs and its killer for largies and channel cats.
Enjoy them while you have them.
