Lessons Learned From The Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships

Lessons Learned From The Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships

Earlier this month I had the privilege of fishing my sixth Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships, this year in Merritt, British Columbia. As always, the event taught me (and reminded me of) some important lessons that I think all anglers can benefit from. I'm always grateful for the opportunity to fish alongside some the best anglers and teammates I've ever had the pleasure of sharing the water with. It was another fantastic trip, and I'm especially proud of the team that we came away with a bronze medal, it was the first time we fished the competition waters in BC.

While many anglers understandably choose to keep competition separate from their recreational fishing, there are countless lessons to be learned from competition which also influence equipment and techniques in the rest of the fly fishing wold. Outside of medals there are no prizes in competition fly fishing, we do it because of the challenge, and few things force you to analyze your decisions and refine your strategy in the same way. Since I started competing about 11 years ago, it has completely transformed the way I approach fishing, approach water, and has vastly increased my understanding of fly fishing.

This year's championship consisted of three different lakes and two sessions on the Similkameen River over three days. Every venue demanded something different with unique fish behavioural patterns emerging on each body of water. Figuring those puzzles out was one of the most enjoyable parts of the week.

Without any further ado, these are a few interesting things that I believe will help your own fishing too.

Wading footwear makes a bigger difference than most people think

In competition, you never want to lose access to productive water simply because you couldn't safely reach it. Tailoring your wading gear to the water you're fishing is one of the most overlooked parts of effective angling.

In Ontario I spend most of my time wearing Vibram (rubber-soled) boots because they grip muddy banks and soft bottoms much better than felt. Once you get into rocky rivers, though, it's hard to beat felt.

Felt really is unmatched on smooth rock. The fibres almost work like microscopic Velcro, grabbing every bit of texture they can find. While I know several anglers struggled to keep their footing in the swift currents of the Similkameen, I felt completely planted, allowing me to focus on fishing instead of staying upright.

Having confidence in your footing doesn't just make you safer, it makes you a better angler. You spend less mental energy worrying about every step and more time thinking about where the next fish is likely to be.

Never neglect your tippet

One of the coolest moments I've ever had in competition happened during one of the lake sessions.

The lake suddenly erupted with rising fish. They were large, actively feeding, and everywhere, but they weren't easy to fool. The water was glass calm, meaning the fish could inspect absolutely everything, especially the leader.

Local anglers had warned us these fish were powerful enough that you shouldn't fish lighter than 2X as they would break you off. As I watched fish rising around me, though, it became obvious that even my 3X tippet was simply too visible.

I've always believed it's better to figure out how to hook the fish first and worry about landing it afterward, so I leaned into that philosophy once again. I rebuilt my leader down to 5X and almost immediately started hooking fish. It's worth noting, these large fish were still easily landed in under 2 minutes of fight time, you never want to be in a position of over-playing and exhausting a fish.

That adjustment helped me finish fourth in the session, although looking back I probably should have made the change sooner.

It's a great reminder that presentation often matters more than the fly itself. Nothing else changed, I kept fishing the same pattern. The only difference was that the fish finally accepted how it was presented when my tippet was no longer negatively impacting my presentation

Don't be afraid to experiment, within reason

During practice on the lakes we usually fished with two or three teammates in the same boat. That allowed us to cover a huge range of techniques, retrieves, fly patterns, and line choices in a short period of time.

People often ask how long they should stick with a fly before changing it. The answer, as always, is "it depends."

The biggest factor, in my opinion, is fish density and activity.

During practice we could see fish cruising the shallows and rising all around us. Under those conditions we knew that after only five or ten minutes, any active fish nearby had probably already seen our presentation. That gave us confidence to cycle through flies, leader lengths, retrieve speeds, sinking lines, and depths fairly quickly.

Despite the number of fish present, we consistently found that only a couple of techniques dramatically outperformed everything else.

If you're seeing active fish but not catching them, don't be afraid to experiment. Sometimes the difference isn't the fly, it's your depth, retrieve speed, leader length, or presentation angle.

If you don't have high fish density or aren't seeing fish like we were finding the pattern does become harder. In these cases you do need to more fully commit to a fly and fish it methodically. If this describes your situation I would start with just a couple high confidence flies and fish them very methodically until you hook a fish or at least get a response (bite, follow, swirl). Once you locate an area with at least a few fish then you can start dealing it in more precisely.

Find fresh water

One of the simplest ways to catch more fish is to fish where other anglers aren't.

Yes, crowds can sometimes indicate fish are present, but they also create noise, pressure, and constant disturbance. Fish don't usually enjoy that any more than we would.

Throughout this year's championship, particularly on the smaller lakes, I made a conscious effort to avoid fishing around other competitors whenever it was practical. More often than not it paid off, with fresh, active fish that hadn't already seen a dozen presentations.

The same idea applied on the river. Investing time in your casting and wading skills opens up water that many anglers simply can't reach. More than once I was able to cross into an overlooked piece of water that hadn't been touched yet, and there was often a willing fish waiting there.

Fish as a team, even when you're just out with friends

Competitive fly fishing is a team sport first. While luck always plays a role, the teams that consistently perform well do so because they constantly communicate.

That's something every angler can borrow, even on a casual day with a buddy.

Instead of treating each other as two independent anglers, treat yourselves as one team trying to solve a puzzle. Until you do figure out that puzzle, make sure both of you are always trying different things, whether thats different flies, lines, leaders, or retrieves.

Talk through what you're seeing. Mention that the wind has changed. Point out that fish have moved shallower. Tell your partner you just slowed your retrieve before your last fish ate. Ask what they're seeing on the other side of the lake.

Two anglers sharing information are dramatically more effective than two anglers silently fishing beside each other.

If this isn't already something you consciously do, give it a try. I think you'll be surprised by how much faster you solve the puzzle, and how many more fish both of you end up catching.

Just a few of the most common things we communicate about include:

Changes in weather
Water temperature
Changes in fish behaviour
If you see fish
What you were doing every time you hook a fish
If you are getting follows/hits without hooking up
The type of water you see fish in (fast, slow, deep, shallow)
Hatches and bird activity

Bring fly-tying materials on any trip

When we travel to fish we usually have a good idea of what to expect based on our research beforehand, but you can never know exactly what conditions will demand until you're standing on the bank. This trip was another great reminder of why I always like to travel with at least a small fly-tying kit.

The river venue was the perfect example. Water levels were much higher than seasonal norms, and it quickly became obvious that many of the nymphs we'd tied beforehand simply weren't heavy enough. Thankfully, the vise came out.

As a team we ended up tying roughly 300 additional river flies before competition started (including lakes it was closer to 600 flies) to make sure everyone was properly equipped. For a casual fishing trip I would never expect to tie anywhere near that many flies, but being able to sit down at the end of the day and quickly produce a handful of flies in a different size, weight, or colour can completely change your success the following morning.

Beyond the practical side of it, tying flies together after fishing is simply one of the best ways to end the day. It's hard to beat sitting around with good friends, talking about what happened on the water while preparing for tomorrow.

If you've never travelled with tying materials before, I'd highly recommend putting together a compact kit. Bring a little bit of a lot of different materials rather than a lot of only a few things, you'll gain far more flexibility when conditions surprise you.

-Chris Krysciak

Drift Outfitters