Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from TU’s book, “Trout Tips,” available online for overnight delivery.
The part of the world I fish most is full of small, clear and very tight spring creeks. To most, that means delicate presentations of small dry flies, and sometimes, I’ll do just that.
More and more, however, I’ll tie on a leech pattern and fish it directly upstream using short, staccato jerks of my line to make the leech behave like a wounded minnow; normally on a 2- or 3-weight rod. My friends chide me that my favorite leech pattern doesn’t look much like a leech, that I certainly don’t fish it like one, and that throwing streamers on a 2-weight is preposterous. But the whole show works, and it catches me a lot of fish.
The lesson is that following a path less (or perhaps not) traveled will sometimes get you lost. Other times, however, it will take you to great places, and sometimes those places are full of nice browns and brookies.
Don’t be afraid to try new things and techniques, or to go rogue perfecting strange arts that your friends will make fun of you about over a beer at the end of the day.
— Henry Koltz, Brookfield, Wisc.