Loch Style: First impressions and some tips from a beginner's perspective.

[Mark Hanes]

     I had the pleasure of taking my new pontoon boat out for the first time this past Sunday on a small lake up in Dejon's neck of the woods. I learned a few tips and tricks on the basics that you really don't hear much about since they are taken as the real basics.
First of if you have never worked a two oar boat before your first time might be a real adventure.  I know Dejon got some good laughs out of watching me try to just get the boat to do anything but spin in a circle.  With some help from Dejon I was able to move the boat at some pace and work my way to the deeper in of the lake and get ready to fish.  (I just hope the Video does not surface!)

Tips:
Setting the Drift: My wording might be off here but what it consisted of is making a couple quick pulls on the line to gain contact with my flies right after my cast.  If this is not done you miss a lot of fish that hit on the drop.  I concentrated on having contact with my flies at the start of every drift.  If you don’t have contact during the start of your drift you miss a lot of takes that occur as a result of the plop and during the drop.  Once I was able to establish contact with some regularity I was catching a few doubles on crappie and bluegill which despite their small size was still a lot of fun.  It also let me know that I was doing something right.

Finding bottom:  This lake was around 30' feet at its deepest point and after determining that you needed to be right near the bottom to find temps that were below 70 degrees in we know we had to work deep to find trout.  I worked my type 7 with some buggers and leech patterns to find bottom and slowly pull the flies back to the boat.  I was able to find bottom by counting down to 40.  This also showed me how important a drogue can be when I forgot my drift sock in my car during the morning I was drifting over my cast to quickly and not keeping contact with my flies.  (I need a bigger and better drogue)

Varying your retrieve:  This one is pretty basic; you want to make sure you try some different retrieves until you figure out what the fish want.  This can mean anything from a slow hand twist to a fast retrieve and anything in-between.  Some of the different retrieves have been discussed on the board already.  Since the trout were not biting I ended up practicing on crappie they seemed to like a fairly quick hand twist retrieve on a type 4 line.  I allowed for about a 5 to 10 count and then started to retrieve.  The fish were mostly coming on the hang but I did get quite a few on the Drop and in the middle of my retrievals. 

Staying in contact:  It is simple if you don’t have contact with your flies how in the world are you going to detect when a fish takes your fly.  It all starts with setting the drift like I already talk about above.  Now remember you are drifting toward your flies when you are fishing Loch tactics so you have to pick up your line at the speed equal to or slightly greater than your drift.  Without doing this you are in all likely hood miss a lot of takes.  It is just like nymph fishing a river.  If you have too much slack you have no clue the trout is eating your nymph.  Just like on rivers it is keeping in contact that I am guessing separates the top lake fisherman from the average guy.  This is a lot easier said than done and I know it is one area I will really concentrate on getting better at.   By the end of the day I was able to detect takes during all parts of the drift.  This was a huge improvement from the start of the day and allowed me to really catch crappie consistently and sometimes on every cast.

All and all it was a great day on the water with a good friend.  I learned that I will never be on any crew team anytime soon and that the only way to get better at anything you do is to set your mind to it and work through all the little mistakes you will make as a beginner.  Also when the fishing is bad you just have to make the best of it and find a way to improve. I am really proud of how I was able to push through my early struggles and end the day by putting some crappies in the net yeah there are not trout but hey it beats getting catching nothing!

Thanks to everyone on the forum that helped answer some of my simple questions your tips really helped.

My current Goals are as follows:
1: Catch my first Loch Stlye trout.
2: Get better at moving my boat around the lake. (Get battery for Motor Thursday!  )
3: Improve on all the little things mentioned.
4: Eventually I want to be just as comfortable on the lakes as I am now on streams.

[Dejon Hamann]

Nice write up Mark.  I'm sure with a little work you'll be a first rate Loch Style angler this time next year! 

I'm almost done with the video 

[Mark Hanes]

How much do you want added to your paypal account to keep that video under wraps?

[Todd Oishi]

Glad to hear that you had such a great and productive time Mark!

You hit the nail on the head when you said that "catching something is better than catching nothing!" Regardless of the species of fish - this is all a part of the learning process, as catching something definitely helps to let you know that you are doing something right... 

[Aaron Laing]

It gets worse before it gets better... so much to learn. I'm all over moving water, but loch style is a tougher nut to crack than I was first led to believe.

Keep at it and let us know what you learn.

Aaron

[Anita Coulton]

Thanks Mark, for the great synopsis of your first loch experience.  You mentioned some great detail for us beginners.  I haven't tried it yet, but would love to.  Guess I need someone with a boat and some experience.  Being a visual learner, I would love to go along and just watch someone who knows what they're doing.  There's not a lot of information out there.  It's like this secret club of fly fishing....It's there a magic word we need to get in?  Where do we go to learn?  I would love a clinic on this technique.  Anybody know of anything related to this technique going on.....without traveling halfway around the world?  I printed out Kurt F. article, and have read that, but feel like that's just scratching the surface...

[Loren Williams]

Hmmmmm....A clinic on LS fishing techniques.  Is there an interest in such an animal?

[Jeremiah Hamilton]

I was just talking with Todd Monday about this very thing up here in Canada.

[Anita Coulton]

YES!!!  Much interest in just such an animal......Loren, would you be interested in teaching us newbies?   

Who else would be interested in learning LS? 

[John Killinger]

Dumb question, can you do loch style with a float tube?

[Dejon Hamann]

It's not a dumb question at all.  I've been trying to find easy ways to get into loch style fishing for over a year.  Unfortunately, the short answer imho is: no.  To really fish loch style you need a 2 man boat like a 14' aluminum skiff, with a motor, and a drogue.  Fishing downwind (one side of the boat) with a partner in the boat is what loch is really all about.  I've used a 1 man pontoon boat over the last year to get a lot of good time on lakes, but in the end I've realized I just have to annie up for a real boat/trailer... even if it's a cheap aluminum job. 

That's the short answer.  The flip side is any way you can get onto a lake fishing is GREAT practice.  In a float tube you can really start to dial in your sinking lines, learn about leader/fly presentations, read wtaer, etc. etc, etc.  You may not get the full loch experience, but there are many elements of loch fishing which can be honed from any kind of craft. 

Don't wait for the right equipment - get out there NOW!

Dumb question, can you do loch style with a float tube?

[John Killinger]

Well,
          I've been wanting to succeed in lake fishing for a while, never did much good, lake fishing is hard. I have this small lake we go camping to and I have never figured it out. Some years I caught fish others not. I guess I could use a float tube to fish the lake and not do the loch style, just use it for convience of portability.

I have a scanoe with a motor that would work I think, also have a sea anchor. I'll have to recruit Kalvin to show me the ropes.

[Loren Williams]

YES!!!  Much interest in just such an animal......Loren, would you be interested in teaching us newbies?   

Who else would be interested in learning LS? 

I'd be happy to teach a clinic...

[Bill Steudler]

name the place and I will be there.....

[Dejon Hamann]

How about Upper Woods Pond?  BYOB (Bring Your Own Boat). 

Either way I'm in. 

[Anita Coulton]

How do we go about putting this together?  Loren, guess we need get a date that works for you.  Can you check your busy schedule to see what's available?  Also need an idea of cost.
Dejon, where is Upper Woods Pond?

I can help out with logistics if need be...Oh, I don't have an appropriate boat, but will be more than willing to trade beer for a spot in someone else's boat...    

[Dejon Hamann]

UpperWoodsPond is in Wayne County PA.  30 min south of the WestBranch at Hancock, NY.  There are a few good campgrounds nearby too. I'll bet Loren would want to  shoot for next year when his guiding season stalls out.

[Loren Williams]

Yeah--we'd be looking at next spring.  I am not sure if I can legally do it in PA without a PA guide license.  Bill--can you look into that?

UWP is a great "real" venue.  We'd need to limit the size and it would be great to have some seasoned LS guys to handle on the water stuff..like one per boat (I am think one "student" and one "teacher" per boat...  I am thinking a 2-day event: one day for classroom/fly tying and one day for fishing with an experienced LS angler.

Comments?  Ideas?

[Bill Steudler]

Loren,

The way I am reading it sounds like any sort of business requires a guide license.  $400 out of state guide license seems like it would not be worth it for you to do it in PA.  I have to get a NY license anyway at some point in the next couple months so I am open to making a trip the greater Syracuse area.

CHARTER BOAT/FISHING GUIDE PERMITS(From PAFBC Website)
Charter boat operators and fishing guides are required to obtain a permit when conducting business on the waters of the Commonwealth, including the boundary waters. The annual fee for the permit is $100 for residents and $400 for non-residents. Permit applications are available from the Harrisburg office, regional headquarters, or our Charter Boat/Fishing Guide page. For additional information about Charter Boat/Fishing Guide permits contact the Bureau of Law Enforcement at 717-705-7861.

[Kalvin Kaloz]

I am in no matter what state its in... Like the approach of class w/ tying and day on the lake!

Loren, I have access to a portable projector, screen and laptops if need be!

[Anita Coulton]

All sounds great!  Like Kalvin, I'm in no matter where it is.  Should we start a seperate post, and have a list of who is interested?  Is there a plan B in case PA won't work? 

[Mark Hanes]

I am in.  The only concern i see is getting enough boats.  Does anyone know of a lake where we can rent boats in NY or PA?

[Chris Puchniak]

Dumb question, can you do loch style with a float tube?

Actually, you CAN sort of do it.  I was doing it for years that way - LS fishing in principle.  You don't use a drogue, etc... so it's not a direct imitation of the style that will be used in competition format - but with your flippers and body mass below the water's surface, it is almost exactly like having a drogue.  Then what you can do is let the wind push you in the tube and concentrate all your casts downwind so that you are continually moving with the wind, casting ahead of yourself to cover new water constantly.  And by casting ahead of yourself (downwind), you're following the same principals as LS fishing.  It can get you used to the concept of having to retrieve your fly as you are drifting towards it.  It also gives you the benefits of the stealthier approach.

The downside is that it is more difficult to use a variety of retrieves in the limited space of a tube, and it is not like fishing from a boat (so you don't have the visual ability to watch fish follow your fly up to the hang point), but it is better thatn nothing in my opinion!  Give it a shot.  I still do it that way when I can.  I just dislike making lots of casts from a float tube some days...

[Loren Williams]

I am thinking the Adirondacks might be a good location....thoughts?

[Anita Coulton]

That would be great Loren.  Are you thinking Wilmington/Lake Placid area?  Perhaps Nancy or Rachel could help us out (boats, etc..)....Just brainstorming here.  Anyone else from that area or know of a lake we could use?  Certainly plenty of water around there.  I have fished both Mirror Lake and Lake Placid (not LS).  Plenty of trout there for all of us.