Everything I have learned about fly fishing in Maui - Part II

When I ran up on Terry Doyle, my first fly fishing contact in Maui, he was not sure what to think. I frantically explained that I was a passionate fly fisherman from Montana and needed to know what he knew about Maui fly fishing. He was kind enough to oblige, and while in the heat of excitement I forgot most of what he told me, but a few things did not slip by.

He told me that Hawaii bone fishing in particular was not as prolific as many other parts of the world. However, he explained that while quantity might be lacking, size is not. Then came the bad news, Maui is not really the best place to bone fish. There are many other places off the big island of Hawaii and off Oahu that have much better bone fishing opportunities. He assured me however that Maui is home to bone fish.

At that point, I really did not care. Visions of standing in my shorts instead of in my waders, virtually no gear and warm sunny days would make it worth it even if I did not catch anything. I also expected to be on my own figuring out what to do and where to fish so my chances for success remained low anyway.

He also pointed out that the reef system stretched out along the southern coastline for three miles and could be waded out to nearly 1/2 a mile. Plenty of exploring to do for sure. Composed of sandy channels and lava shelves with interspersed rocky reefs, it seemed to hold endless possibilities.

Terry asked where I was staying and I pointed to the building where our condo unit is. Envious, he explained that I was very fortunate and again pointed out that there was not a better place on Maui for fishing. You see, our condo sits just to the west of this major reef structure. Such close proximity ensured several things. One, I could be fishing in minutes, if two, the tide and weather allowed. Anytime I could sit on the lanai contemplating my next strategy in full view of my fishing spot.

After we parted ways, all I considered were the possibilities and how I should never leave a fly rod at home regardless of where I go. So I started the countdown to my next trip in the winter of 2008. I also did a few internet searches, yielding virtually nothing about Maui, but plenty about bone fishing in other parts of Hawaii.

During the course of my trip preparations later that year I met Jim and Matt at the Kingfisher Fly Shop in Missoula Montana. They fed me some details on that first meeting and assured me that when I was doing my final preparations to stop in and they would take care of everything. I don't know how to describe the amazing service. It was only days before our flight and I was provided one of the finest fly rods made by Winston a reel of course and a selection of flies as well as several spools of various line types. They have consistently done whatever they can to take care of any need I have had and with a serious focus on customer service.

So with gear in tow and literally no knowledge of what to do with it, other than what I knew to do on a Montana river we headed to Maui. In my final post, I will finally share all of my secrets about fly fishing in Maui.

Fly Fishing Camp Slayer, Baghdad, Iraq

The pic was taken this month at Camp Slayer, Baghdad, Iraq.... The fish is called an Asp and the closest comparison I can make in the States is with a Snook. Big mouth, lean body.... This time of year the little guys and the big ones (I have caught one at about 3 feet) are smacking top water emergers like white gnats. After the spawn, bigger baits with supposedly work.

The other fish in this lake system are mostly carp varieties for the bait fishermen. Add in some eels, crabs, crawdaddys, turtles and that about covers the mix... This lake system, which is all man made and part of a palace complex, is fed by the Tigris River.

Check out some other fish pics at http://www.baghdadflyfishing.com/ ..... We just had a tourney a few weeks ago but it was really bad.... I heard that only three fish were caught....

Frank Cumberland - Baghdad, Iraq

Everything I have learned about fly fishing in Maui - Part I

Every so often life throws you a winning lottery ticket. That ticket can take many forms, for example a free drink at McDonald's instead of an impossible to win Monopoly game piece. In my case, I have won several lotteries in life.

The first at age 3, my parents moved us from Iowa to Montana. Each waking breath I take I am thankful for that decision. The next was a father who took his son fishing - a gift that will never fail. And then, I was introduced to fly fishing.

Blessed to live in a state that boasts some of the world's finest waters and opportunities, it never occurred to me that fate would strike again - a place of our own in Maui.

Who could imagine having a home in Montana, a love for fly fishing and the outdoors and then a place on a magical island we have now come to love. Our first winter here in 2007 was three weeks of bliss. We immersed ourselves into the island life, hiking, swimming, snorkeling and I even brought a bike over from the mainland. Even though I watched a lot of the locals fish, it never once occurred to me that I could fly fish in Maui.

Because of an ancient fish pond and sea wall, our condo unit is oceanfront and actually sits less than 40 feet from the shoreline. From the lanai we see most of the daily activities, snorkelers, canoes, kayaks, whales, paddle surfers, turtles and several folks who should keep their clothes on. One evening late into that first trip, I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a fly fisherman on the reef that sits just to the east of our building. A pair of binoculars confirmed that he was indeed fly fishing.

Heart pounding, six flights of stairs and a 1000 yard sprint later, I met the man who would change my wife's trips to Maui forever. His name is Terry Doyle - a Maui artist and taxidermist. In heavy breath I met him right as he hit the beach coming off the reef. He happily obliged my desire to learn more about what he was doing and answered about 400 questions.

It was the start I needed. Enough to be dangerously ignorant, but to attack the waters boldly. Now I just needed some gear and more advice.

Find out in my next post what Terry taught me about fly fishing on Maui and how Jim and Matt at the Kingfisher Fly Shop in Missoula helped me kick off a new passion.

The J-Hook Technique - Jim Cox

As appeared in the December 08 issue of Flyfisherman Magazine

Dead-drifting is overrated. There, I said it. If you've spent countless hours perfecting your dead-drift techniques, you may not want to hear or believe this: You can catch more fish by imparting some motion to your presentation when fishing with nymphs.

I first experimented with dragging my flies when a friend and I skipped our high school graduation ceremony in 1980 for two weeks of uninterrupted piscatorial pursuit on the Missouri River. On that trip two things became apparent. The first was that the fish we caught on nymphs were hooked in the front of the mouth instead of the corner--at the time I hypothesized the fish were either striking in a sideways or downstream motion.

I also observed that the majority of hits--and hook-ups--occurred in the final third of the drift, as tension was building on the line. I could see (and feel) strikes when the line was tight--strikes I'd apparently been missing through the previous two-thirds of my drift--and the motion of a fly as it rose or moved in the final stages of a presentation seemed to be a trigger for some fish.

I confirmed my theories a few years later while using scuba gear to watch trout below Holter Dam on the Missouri River. A sideways or downstream attack angle allows fish a chance to preview their food selection, and unwanted tidbits can easily be spit out and carried away, rather than pulled deeper into their mouths as with upstream, parallel-to-the-current approaches. The angle of approach also explains why some takes seem more subtle than others.

There are many advantages to adding subtle drag while nymphing. The first is that drag allows you to detect more strikes. After an upstream mend, dead-drifted nymphs are often downstream of an indicator and you must wait for the indicator to pass the nymphs--or get downstream of the nymphs--before you can detect strikes. With tension on the line, the indicator leads the way and stops or dives subsurface the instant the flies are touched. There is no lag time between when the fish tastes the fly and when the indicator moves.

Slight drag also means you're in a much better position to achieve a solid hook-up. It's more difficult to set the hook with a 90-degree hinge at the indicator than with controlled drag and a straight-line system.

Another advantage is that controlled drag lets your bugs call attention to themselves. Drag means your fly is moving at a different speed than the current, making it much more noticeable in a sea of dead-drifting twigs, leaves, and other debris.

I believe fish tend to feed opportunistically rather than selectively. This explains why, on some days, fish eat a Club Sandwich, a Parachute Adams, an ant, and then devour a skating Royal Wulff at the end of a drift. Unless you attribute these takes to discerning feeding on the emerging phase of the Royal Wulff hatch, the notions of opportunistic feeding and the motion trigger seem to make sense.

Begin with a quartering upstream cast. After the line lands on the water, pause to allow slack to develop in the line. When there is enough slack in the line, make a small upstream mend that does not go all the way to the indicator. This should leave a small loop of line--that looks like a letter J--downstream of the indicator. Feed line into the drift to keep the loop intact, and to control the movement of your flies. Adjust the loop size and shape to make the flies drag and/or swing through the drift. Narrow the loop for a slow, steady rise to the surface. Widen the loop to create a speedy ascent at right angles to the current.

The J-hook Technique
I can tell you with the certainty that comes from 23 years of guiding that people invariably think a drift is ruined if their line and indicator aren't mended upstream. Even in obvious situations when drag is a good thing--such as when swinging soft-hackles or emergers--the swings tend to be unpracticed, uncontrolled, and haphazard, with the motion of the fly left more to chance than anything else.

The easiest way to achieve constant, controlled drag is with what I call the J-hook technique. It works well from a boat or while wading, and is the method I use 90 percent of the time when I fish with nymphs.

In a nutshell, the J-hook is a mend that puts a J-shaped loop into a floating line. The "hook" of line remains downstream of the indicator and flies throughout the drift, adding varying degrees of drag to the entire presentation, depending on loop manipulation.

To perform the J-hook, begin with a quartering upstream cast. After the line lands on the water, wait until a bit of slack develops in the line to make mending easier.

Instead of throwing one large mend that leaves the line and strike indicator upstream above the flies, make a smaller upstream mend that dies three quarters of the way through the belly of the line. This should leave a small loop of line downstream of the indicator which looks like a large letter J on the water. Strip or feed line to keep the loop intact, and to control the movement of your flies.

When the drift hits the midway point, adjust the loop size and shape. Done correctly, this maneuver makes the flies drag and/or swing through the drift controlled by the angle, shape, and size of the hook in your line. Narrow the loop for a slow, steady rise to the surface. Widen the loop to create a speedy ascent at right angles to the current.

Using the J-hook, you can feed line and add an extra 10 feet to the end of your drift--a critical phase, especially when insects are hatching.

Practice this technique by starting with a short line as if you're high-stick nymphing. A shorter line allows you to easily manipulate loop size with little effort. As you get more comfortable with how loop size and shape impact the drift, increase your distance and line length depending on the run you're fishing.

Getting Deeper
The J-hook technique also allows you to manipulate the depth of your presentation over varying river bottom topography. This is especially helpful when fishing from a boat because you can make adjustments as you float to create long drifts without recasting.

When you are wading, your drift begins with an upstream cast that is already prone to drag, since all the line is downstream of your flies when they first hit the water. When you initially mend a small J-hook into the line, it kills the drag and allows properly weighted flies to sink into the deepest part of the run.

Once the flies are deep enough, make the J-hook wider to create drag and increase the speed of the flies as they enter the sweet spot. Use a cross-chest hook-set in the direction of the loop to pick up a nearly taut line--when the fish hits, he's already halfway hooked.

Applying the J-hook technique to your nymphing gives you more control over the depth and speed of presentation throughout the drift. Whether the J-hook has you seeing strikes you've been missing, motivates fish usually willing to hit only swinging flies, or allows you longer drifts in runs of greatly varying depth, mastering this technique pays big dividends.

Jim Cox is a native of Missoula, Montana, and partner in The Kingfisher fly shop.