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I realize that many of you probably know all of this, but for those who don't here are some things I learned or re-learned on my 3 week trip.
I'm still a novice at swinging flies, but I'd decided to do quite a bit of it on the Mad this year. Unfortunately, the Mad was blown out and I didn't get a chance to fish there.
I did try swinging on a coastal stream with a black leech. My buddy swung with a popsicle, and the day after I left he had great success. I now remember reading that light colored flies often work on fish that are close to the salt. Note to self for next time.
I also swung a black bugger on one of the inland tailwaters. Although I did get a grab, I had more success bouncing pink, red and orange egg patterns on the bottom. There were still salmon present, so it seemed a no brainer IF I wanted to hook more fish, although with eggs you don't get the jolting slam on your fly that you will while swinging. (Hence the expression, "The tug is the drug".) Yeah, the tug is great, but even more, I enjoy the fight. Eggs hooked more fish by far than the other fly guys I saw swinging.
In that same salmon water, a buddy DID hook fish on a black egg sucking leech. I guess the red egg at the front of the fly attracted attention.
When I swung, I used 10 foot poly leaders that I purchased at Kiene's. When I bounced eggs, I dropped a second egg from my top egg. Above that I used enough split shot to tick the bottom every now and then.
Steelheading is my passion. I hope others will join in with info on techniques and tackle. In the past, I learned quite a bit on the NCFFB.
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