Fly Fishing On My Muley Hunt

Early November is one of my favorite times to fish. The big browns are out spawning or getting ready to spawn and the others are still fedding. I don't know much about the area you'll be in but I'm sure you could probably find some where close to rent the gear.

Aside from renting the gear for a long time I used a basic bottom of the line set up that wouldn't cost a whole lot if it came down to buying gear. Fly Fishing is awesome though! I can't wait to get out and catch some fish on some dry flies.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm glad to see that November is a good time. I'm going to have to do my research because I know nothing about fly fishing. Half of what Scott702 said went straight over my head. lol. Thanks again fellas, and if anyone else knows anything about the area I'd greatly appreciate some pointers.

Haha which part? The part about the dry fly or when iwas talking about the bottom of the line set up? ha With bottom of the line I just meant like a starter/cheap rod and reel.

"Scott702" wrote:Haha which part? The part about the dry fly or when iwas talking about the bottom of the line set up? ha With bottom of the line I just meant like a starter/cheap rod and reel.

lol Well at first I was confused about both. I thought you meant "bottom line" setup, as in some sort of knot or something. People down here can fish "on the bottom," but only because there's no water movement most places. But as far as the "dry fly," I have no idea what that is. I know it's a "lure," but it's a completely different concept down here on the coast.

Yeah I kinda worded it weird. Haha oh well! And dry flies float on the top of the water imitating either an adult bug that got blown into the water or got stuck there somehow, or an adult that just finished the growth cycle and rose to the surface ready to take flight. They are my favorite cause you can see the trout come up an take your fly! Versus wet flies which are fished under the water and you either tell a hit by the feel or a float of some sort.

Yeah, good luck to ya. I will admit I too knew nothing about fly fishing and went out and bought the cheapest rod n reel I could find and tried casting onto a paper plate in my yard til I got the hang of it and quit snapping hooks off. Went to a few rivers and with a lot of practice I now know what to use and when and enjoy the heck out of it.

I would recommend getting a reel that has drag, and a 5 wt rod. Should be a good set up. You could look on Cabela's website to get an idea of some different rod/reel combos. You don't need a drag, but it is really nice to have.

Thanks again for the replies fellas. I'm picking up what you're all putting down. Scott, I get what you're saying now; and thanks for the equipment suggestion. I'll check it out! As far as what you were talking about with flies, we do the same down here but have different terminology. If we fish on top of the water we use "top-waters." Then we have suspension baits that will stay several feet below the surface. Then you have regular lures that will sink based on the "lead-head" you use and how fast you reel. These are all, of course, completely different lures than the flies you're talking about. Bottom fishing is just the traditional weight and hook with usually some sort of "real" bait; dead or alive. Kchesley, thanks for the encouragement.

Fly Fishing is awesome! If you go on youtube you can look up videos and get a better idea of the different types of fly fishing. As I see it there is dry fly which I already described. Then there is wet fly fishing, and that divides into two categories, streamers and then the rest of wet flies. Streamers you either drift or strip a streamer through the water and feel the trout take the fly. With the other wet flies you drift a small wet fly under a strike indicator and the trout takes the small fly and you see the strike indicator bob in the water, just like a bobber.

November is a great time to throw some line. As already mentioned the brown trout spawn that time of year and can make for some fun times, especially early in the day when they are on the redds. Just try not to walk in the river too much and definitely stay off the spawing redds.
A nice rod/reel setup can be had relatively inexpensively. I am a Cabela's man when it comes to fly rods and you can find a rod/reel combo there in the neighborhood of $100. They are nice setups and work great for beginners... if you decide that fly fishing is for you then you can upgrade later. I fished with the Cahill setup (under $50) for 15 years and was perfectly happy with it.
Your best bet in November would be a nymph setup, especially if the browns are actively spawning. I'm not familiar with the area or river so I don't know if browns are even present in the Dolores where you'll be hunting. For spawning browns I like to go with a tandem glo-bug rig, that means one fly is tied onto the end of the tippet & another piece of 12 to 18 inch tippet is tied either thru the eye of the first fly or from the bend of the hook (I prefer from the bend of the hook) and a second fly tied onto that so you have 2 flies on the end of your line. I call this "buffet fishing." I've found that an "attractor nymph" like a glo bug, San Juan worm, Copper John (basically anything brightly colored and/or slightly larger in size) trailed by a smaller more realistic/muted pattern (Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, Prince Nymph) will elicite strikes on the more muted pattern. fishing with two flies can be tricky for the first timer and if you don't have your timing down it can be extremely frustrating because the knots and tangles are world class. For a beginner I would recommend a single glo-bug fished below a strike indicator (I really like the small Thingamabobber indicators). Set the indicator so that you're just barely off the bottom and use a couple BB split shot 12 to 18 inches above your fly to help get you down there. It's not dry fly fishing but it's effective & once you feel like you have the rhythm down give the tandem setup a try. If there are trout, you may see a hatch in the afternoons and some surface action, but at that time of year you can bet that the bugs will be tiny and your casts will have to be nearly perfect with very small flies and delicate tippets... which is a recipe for frustration for the beginner.

One other tip... ALWAYS CRIMP YOUR BARBS. Better yet, buy or tie flies that are already barbless. This is for your benefit and safety as much as the fishes. I've been fly fishing since I was 5 and I impale myself in some way shape or form at least once every trip. Crimping my barbs or having barbless hooks has saved me countless trips to the ER. The last thing you would want to have happen on your hunting trip would be to cut it short due to burying a fish hook in your ear, cheek, or neck (aside from your fingers, those are the places you WILL be removing a hook from at some point in time as you learn to cast a fly rod).