This Month’s Cast comes from the popular competition angler Josh Brush who gives expert advice on using sunk lines from a drifting boat.
Josh says ‘ Lots of anglers think that fishing a fast sinking line is just a matter of sticking on a couple of lures on, chucking them out on Di7 then ripping them back - this could not be further from the truth and there are a lot of factors on the day to consider.
For example the intensity of the light, the direction and speed of wind and the time of year.
Normally at this time of year I would concentrate on shelves in water 5 to 10 foot deep where the fish should be feeding.
Towards the end of May I will be trying the deeper water approximately 10 to 30 foot deep trying to locate the daphnia feeders. Daphnia move up and down in the water according to the light conditions, on sunny days daphnia will be deep on over cast days daphnia will be higher up in the water. Basically if you find the daphnia you find the fish.
At all times when fishing at depth I will be using a drogue to control the drift of the boat- Successful boat handling and control is a vital skill to learn both in terms of angle of drift and speed of drift.
A slow drift allows me to search the depths using the countdown method in 5 second increments- I’ll explain firstly you need a nice steady slow drift with the aid of a drogue if it's bright and want to go deep my choice would be a Di7. Cast out a full line then count it down by 5 seconds to start with, then increase up to 25 seconds until the feeding depth of the fish is determined. Remember it pays to mix this method up as the daphnia will rise and fall through the water columns depending on weather conditions. It pays to experiment, change lines with different sink, rates mix up your retrieve using slow long pulls or short jerky pulls or figure of figure off eight, remember don't get stuck with the same method.
As for flies I never use anything bigger than a size 10 and some off my best results are with size 12 tied short and size 14 doubles.
White cats, black cats, Norski Lads, various muddlers and Pennells can be a very affective choice to start with.
Remember to mix it up and keep plugging away and sooner or later you will tighten up.
Tight Lines’ Josh
Josh has over 30 years experience boat fishing in shetland and is offering a Ghillie boat service for anyone interested
his mobile is 07789005616
landline 01806522137
email flyfish.shetland@gmail.com
White Cat
Hook; Kamasan #14 double.
Thread: Red.
Tail: White marabou.
Body: Lime green chenille.
Wing: White marabou.
Hook; Kamasan #14 double.
Thread: Red.
Tail: White marabou.
Body: Lime green chenille.
Wing: White marabou.
North Link Cat
Hook: Kamasan B175 #10.
Tail: Black marabou.
Body: Green straggle fritz.
Hackle: Orange Blaze.
Wing: Black marabou with four strands of Mosaic over.
Hook: Kamasan B175 #10.
Tail: Black marabou.
Body: Green straggle fritz.
Hackle: Orange Blaze.
Wing: Black marabou with four strands of Mosaic over.
Norski Lad
Hook: Kamasan B175 # 10
Tail: Black marabou with fine gold holographic tinsel each side of tail.
Body: Flat silver tinsel.
Rib: Silver wire.
Wing: Black marabou with four strands of krystal flash over.
Head: White deer hair.
Hook: Kamasan B175 # 10
Tail: Black marabou with fine gold holographic tinsel each side of tail.
Body: Flat silver tinsel.
Rib: Silver wire.
Wing: Black marabou with four strands of krystal flash over.
Head: White deer hair.
