Fly fishers, especially those who ply cold waters for the fish they hope to hook up with, usually have to get wet to get on their quarry. Waders have been around in some form or another for a long time now and are as part of the mythology of fly fishing as creel, rod, reel, and the flies themselves. Today's modern wader designs employ high tech materials, innovative construction, and athletic tailoring designed to not only protect you from the elements, but to help you stay as comfortable and safe as possible when you're in the river, wading the flat, or trying to stay dry on the boat. At Lost Coast Outfitters, we think an appropriate pair of waders can mean the difference between a good day of fishing and a great one. That's why we offer the very best waders from Simms Fishing Products, Redington, and Patagonia. Waders play a central part of the fly fishing game, so why scrimp on your own safety, comfort, and fun?
Just how important is the type of fly line you use? Pretty darn important! The right fly line can make your day on the water so much easier; just as the wrong fly line can ruin it. With the advent of new fly rod technologies have come the need for specialty and more advanced fly lines. Manufacturers like Scientific Anglers, RIO, and Airflo have stepped up to meet the challenge. Now it seems there is a specific fly line for every type of fly rod and every type of fly fishing situation. But basically there are still three main groups of fly lines: floating, sinking, and Spey. As you start looking into floating fly lines you will find weight forward lines, double taper lines, and specialty lines that are a derivation of the two. In sinking lines there are sink tips, partial and full sinking, as well as shooting heads. Spey lines, well talk about special! In our product descriptions, we have provided all the necessary information to take the guesswork out of which fly line you should be using for which fly fishing condition, if you fall prey to fly line confusion, just remember we are just a phone call away.
Characteristics:
After migration to the foliage and rocks of the shoreline, golden stoneflies shed the remainder of their nymphal shucks and quickly find mates under the protective cover of streamside vegetation. The fertilized females will then fly clumsily above the water, quickly darting to the surface to deposit eggs, making themselves easy targets for aggressive surface-feeding trout.
Many adults will also fall from the safety of streamside trees, weeds, and other vegetation. These unfortunate bugs wind up swept along with the main current and will often collect in the slower water of eddys and along deeper cut banks. Golden stoneflies in their adult stage are easily spotted as they are quite active during and after their streamside mating time.
Fishing Tactics
When fishing a golden stonefly dry it is very important to focus on the banks of the river. Don't worry about delicate presentation and get as close to foliage as you possible can to represent the insect falling into the current. Eddy's and other current changes are other solid spots to test your luck
Characteristics:
During the larval stage, which commonly lasts anywhere from 1 to 3 years, golden stoneflies spend the balance of their time using their powerful legs and low center of gravity to cling to the rocky bottoms of small to large rivers and spring creeks with moderate to fast flow rates.
During its nymph life stage, these crawlers are most commonly found in the medium to fast water of riffles and higher energy current seams. Prior to and during a hatch, these medium-to-large sized nymphs can also be found in low energy backwaters, eddys, and other shallow streamside environments. Golden stonefly nymphs thrive among the cool, well-oxygenated water of rocky riffles and these nymphs are most vulnerable to trout when they are either swept up by strong currents or when they leave their rocky homes to hatch into winged adults from the safety of the shoreline.
Their swimming ability is quite weak and these nymphs expose themselves by making adventurous crawling trips away from safety just before emergence and subsequent on-land hatching. Golden stones are an important hatch on many rivers in North America, and in the west, they are often associated with the prolific hatches of the giant salmonfly, which generally precede the hatches of the golden stonefly. These easily distinguishable nymphs are available to trout throughout the waters of North America on a year-round basis and commonly hatch from morning to evening hours.
Fishing Tactics
Standard nymphing tactics are the best way to imitate the golden stonefly nymph. Try high sticking or dropping this nymph under an indicator and focus on fishing the edges of color change, current change, or fishing the banks.
We have been fishing Hatch since the very beginning of their existence. It must have been 2005 or 2006 when we met John with his first prototype reels. Hatch Fly Reels has always had exemplary products and service which is why you will find them on our shelves and on our rods. Hatch has become the go to for our beach anglers who put reels through the ringer more than any type of fishing. Day in and day out Hatch Fly Reels deliver like no other reel. Made and serviced right here in California, Hatch Fly Reels are a no brainer for any west coast based angler.
Our Favorite Hatch Reels are Hatch 3 Plus Mid Arbor (as a 5wt), Hatch 5 Plus Mid Arbor ( as a 7wt), Hatch 7 Plus Large Arbor as an 8wt, and Hatch 9 Plus as a 7/8wt Spey Reel.
