by Mike Komara
This angler’s clearly having a great day—but even the best days on the water can get a little better (yes, really).
The fly fishing world is packed with articles, books, and videos on how to improve your skills to catch more or bigger fish. Obviously, we all want more success with one, if not both, of those things. That being said, the pursuit of fish isn’t what keeps us coming back to the water day after day. Getting outside and enjoying our time while pursuing those trophy fish is really what matters.
Instead of talking about what you need to do to catch more fish, I want to talk about a few ways to make your time out there more enjoyable. Over the years of working with beginner and intermediate anglers, I’ve noticed there are a handful of easily correctable issues that cause an undue amount of frustration. Taking care of these small problems and bad habits is sure to make your time out there much more pleasant, and may even help you get a few extra fish to hand.
An experienced angler tying a quick knot. Switching flies took him only a few seconds, which means more time fishing.
Practice Tying your Knots
I won’t try and convince you what knots to use or that one is better than another (though I do have my opinions!). In the end, it doesn’t really matter as long as whatever you tie, you can tie it well, and tie it quickly. I have watched countless anglers spend upwards of ten or even fifteen minutes retying a rig after a break off, some to lose it again after just a few casts. Sound familiar?
Spending this much time tying knots adds up to being a big waste of time over a day, and isn’t anywhere near as fun as the fishing itself. Taking a few minutes a day while you’re watching TV or on the phone to practice tying your knots is one of the biggest things you can do to get more out of your day.
Leave the kitchen sink at home
An overloaded chest pack for a day of fishing. This used to be what my pack looked like, but I decided to lighten it up when my shoulders started hurting after half a day on the water
Fly fishing is the sport for people who love gear and trinkets. There’s always some new piece of equipment to try out that might help you land another fish or two. The truth is, almost none of this is necessary to have success on the water. In fact, having an excess of stuff hurts your chances of catching fish more than it helps them.
There’s a concept called the choice paradox, which states that the more options someone has, the less confident and satisfied they are with whatever they choose. Having two rods, five leaders, three tippet sizes, two types of indicators, and ten flies is enough combinations to make your head spin. Aside from that, it’s just heavy and uncomfortable to lug all that gear around for a full day. It’s better to become confident in a fine tuned, condensed system than have the “perfect” setup for every scenario. There is a reason most World Champion fly anglers have less gear on them than anyone else around them. Less is more!
Think before you fish
Mistakes happen when we rush. We all want to get to the river as fast as possible, but that’s when things get forgotten or overlooked. You’re certainly not getting the most out of your day if you show up to the river to find you’ve forgotten your wading boots, or that the wind is gusting forty miles an hour. I have a short checklist that I’ve made a habit to look at before I turn the key in my ignition. Check the wind, rain or snow, temperatures, water levels, and double check that I have all the essential equipment to fish those conditions if I still decide to go out. It may seem like a small thing, but I had to learn the lesson the hard way too many times; a quick double check can save a day. To get a copy of Tim Cammisa’s fishing checklist, shoot him an email: tcammisa@gmail.com
These three things are small changes that have big results. They are easy to start or implement, and though they may take a bit of time to start working, they will, without a doubt, make your time on the water better in one way or another. Tight lines!
Mike Komara is guide based in Central Pennsylvania, plus competes for Fly Fishing Team USA>
Mike Komara is guide based in Central Pennsylvania, under his own service, Innovative Angling. He has been fly fishing for over fifteen years, competing with Fly Fishing Team USA for ten, and guiding since 2019. Michael currently represents the United States yearly at the World Fly Fishing Championships, where he has earned two youth and one senior team medal.
Ready to level up your time on the water? Book a day with Mike Komara at Innovative Angling: