Techy Thursday - Tim Talks Stillwater Secrets

Tim Anderson drops his knowledge on his prep for the upcoming World Fly Fishing Champs in Tasmania. Sit back, grab a pen and take notes.

Three things I've learnt from competition lake fishing are:

1. The best assumption to make is that trout are always there in the lake and they are hungry, you just need to find them. Try different flies, different drifts, dead drift, across wind presentations with your flies. If it’s not working, switch it up. If they’re not feeding, make them react.
2. It is more important to find what depth the fish are sitting at than what fly you present to them. Switch out lines on Stillwater’s from floating, to fast intermediate, DI3 through to depth charged Di7. Using different density lines, varying the speed of your retrieve, extending the countdown as your line / fly sinks, and adding weight to the fly itself are all ways to probe different depths
3. You don't stop learning about how to catch fish even when you've done a heap of fishing and caught thousands of fish. Observe and record everything. Flies, lines, retrieve, water and air temperature, time of day and thoughts. Patterns occur in certain situations.

My favourite piece of kit that has served me well is the 6 weight 10 foot Scott Radian rod. This rod has plenty of power to throw out a fly line in tough windy conditions and yet the tip is soft enough to play smaller fish without dropping them. Important when power vs light comp winning rigs are needed. I am a huge fan Airflo Sixth Sense 6/7 weight lines mostly paired with the Scott 10 foot 6 weight Radian. Remember there is a big difference between a Di 3, 5 and 7 in different conditions. With the 10 foot 6 weight radian, you have a comp winning combination.