The three I took fishing were not bad anglers at all, and certainly they could make far longer shots than I can, however the problem with that approach is you can’t see the fish, only the rise and so you don’t know if the fish spooks, turns, saw the lure or not. I catch very few Toman that I cannot see descend. For the first few years it was none, in fact the returns were so ineffective that if I couldn’t see the fish, I would reposition for another shot. It’s only in the last couple of years have I actually taken fish that rise at poor light angles but it’s still a rare shot that takes a fish.
What I think most of the spin anglers is attempting, is to cast beyond and in front of the fish, so that as the fish descends the lure appears in front of them; in other words they are not trying to catch them while they are still visible at the surface. This of course eliminates the problem of the spinner landing and spooking the fish, because it’s not landing so close to the fish. Also it illuminates such a critical accuracy requirement because then you need a target line and not a target itself. Is it as effective? I don’t know.
It’s certainly not as clinical. Out of a community of Snakehead you might get one or max two fish. Then the shoal is spooked. Under these circumstances I will target only the larger Snakehead, picking them off deliberately. There might be ten fish but there is only one or two I really want. Catching a smaller one spooks the bigger one. So this is close quarter fishing. For close quarter fishing with the Snakehead shot I think fly is now an advantage. Of course then you need stealth, camouflage, and you have to be able to position the boat in the right place. I’ve watched spin anglers trying mostly to catch fish from the outside of the stumps, but they don’t have highly mobile boats that can sneak through the stumps. The only time I’ve seen thrusters on the lake is when someone brings their own boat.
When I was hosting the Germans, I wasn’t guiding, and the agreement was I could fish but you know how it is, (I need a third boat!) and it was only on the last day did I have a few shots. Sometimes Snakehead aren’t on and sometimes they are. In 15 minutes I had two chases, one spook and one eat. They were on. When they are on I expect a fish per session, so in five days I might have had 10 fish. It never quite works out that way but there were some seriously good money shots every day including a couple of 5KG Snakehead that were paired. I can’t say if I would have landed one because that’s never a given but I’m almost certain I would have had an eat.
I was fucking ill this week. Might have just been dehydrated - not sure. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks while Stefan is here I can set about them. With the fly I use speed and trajectory to make the fly land slightly hard with a deliberate plop. If that is spooking fish (usually it attracts them) then I switch to a Gurgler. I don’t see how any spin bait can land as gently as a Gurgler!
It’s probably not a coincidence that the conditions I love, low water, high water temps, are the exact opposite to what the spin guides think is best. They like rising water levels, not falling. I have a few spin guides I’ve promised to teach fly fishing. I’ll make sure I do this this summer. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot in the process. I think I’ll do this up North in Belum
Cheers, Paul
I didn’t realise Stefan is still living in the snow! 