Wayne Kohan
Life of the Party
So I fish for steelhead on the Columbia River, unfortunately competing for some areas with boaters who don't seem to understand good fly fishing etiquette. In any case, it is common for boats to go ripping past me way out on the river, or sometimes nearby, and they throw quite a wake. So if I am in the middle of a swing, I have between 30 and 50 feet of floating line on top of the river that is suddenly affected by the wave action. I feel that has to affect the action of my fly considerably. So my question is, have you ever hooked up while a large wake is coming in from a boat? I know I never have. If I have that happen, I tend to recast and swing again before stepping down, figuring I might not have covered the area well from that spot. I have fished with a guide on the Rogue and we swung flies from the driftboat. They would have us do little strips and release to try to entice the fish, so I'm thinking the waves may impart a similar action, maybe? Anyway, I was just wondering about your experiences.