Fishing Catch And Release Waters

The majority of my time fishing is spent in catch and release waters. My concept is that if you want to consistently catch larger fish you need to concentrate your efforts there. Fish stay there longer and get bigger. I am not the first person to come up with this idea and as a result the catch and release areas in Arkansas receive the most fishing pressure per river mile of any water in the state. Since the fish in these waters live longer and have probably been caught several times, they tend to become quite wary and look at any potential food source carefully before taking it. In order to successfully fish these areas you need to consider several tactics when developing your angling strategy in these waters.

Avoid the crowds, if at all possible fish during the week or during bad weather. There is nothing that will trim the herd like a good shower. Try fishing very early or late. I have found that all the most popular spots clear out about 4 p.m. leaving me the best hours of the day to myself. I rarely leave the river before dusk. If you must fish during crowded conditions walk or wade as far from the access as you can. The further a hole is from the parking lot the less pressure it gets. Remember at all times to practice water safety. If you are fishing far from the access be sure and plan your exit in case of rising water.

Use smaller and longer tippets. The trout have gotten smarter and can easily detect larger tippets. I have switched to 6x or smaller for these conditions. In addition I now use a 24 inch or longer tippet when nymphing where I previously used an 18 inch. This keeps knots, leaders and lead that much further from the fly. When fishing soft hackles or dries I use at least a 5-foot tippet.

Finally, exercise great care when presenting your fly. When fishing nymphs or dry flies make sure that you have a perfect drag free drift. This is where I think that a lot of anglers miss the boat. I continually see fly fishers casting too much line. When fishing a long line you have to contend with conflicting currents. That is the stream is made up of several different currents and one will be faster or slower than another. If you are fishing a long line you will be crossing more than one current. These currents can cause the fly to move faster or slower than the current it is in. this is drag. If a fish observes that a fly is moving at a speed different from the water he will refuse to hit the fly. A shorter line is easier to control and you will be more likely to get a proper drift.

Yesterday afternoon Lori and I went fishing at the handicap access on the Norfork River. We hiked upriver into the catch and release area until we passed all of the other anglers and found some solitude. My first fish was a fat 20-inch rainbow. In the next few hours I probably caught over 20 fish 8 of which were over 16 inches long. Lori probably caught more fish than I did. (I say probably because we don't count.) Around 4 p.m. we looked down stream and saw no one. We leisurely fished our way out hitting all the holes that were so crowded earlier. At dusk we left the river having enjoyed catch and release waters, as they should be.