Blog

My second session of the WFFC was on the Orava, a large tailwater with many differences in depth from one beat to another. During the training together with my team mate Raul we learned a bit about the connection between fish holding spots and depth of course the variations of favorite spots by fish specie. Most were grayling, followed in numbers by trout and chub. All 3 species were included in the competition. My top producing fly was a classic pheasant tail in different variants but very importantly on small hooks (16 and 18) with small beads (2.5mm and 2mm). The color of the bead that worked best varied by the fly pattern (gold, silver or copper).

On the morning of my competition session the noise of a heavy rain woke me up at 4:55 a.m., before the alarm went off. The forecast had called for rain but not this much. I was still hoping that the river would remain clear as it is a tailwater.

I stepped into the bus full of thoughts and worries, I knew from the training days and from the results of the first day of the competition (I would like to thanks to Mihai Vasilescu "Mișu" for the real time data) that there would be a lottery depending of the sector we will fish and the rain would make things worse.

Once we arrived near the competition area, we passed by the river with the bus and I was calmed by seeing the river running clear. The first beats were announced and everything seemed ok. I hoped to get a lower beat number, between 10 and 26, but it was not to be, I was assigned beat 7. I still hoped this would be good considering that over 30 fish were caught on 5 and 6. Beats 10 to 26 had produced the most fish with a few exceptions. Beat 22 had been the best. As a novelty for me this year, the organizers decided to do a beat rotation at the half-time, a factor that totally changed the fishing tactics, especially when you had a long beat and you had to find fish quickly even though you didn't really have enough time to cover the whole water.

I had to switch with beat 8, assigned to the angler from Luxembourg. My controller, a boy around 16 years old, walked with me to the river. Going through the forest we passed by a little muddy tributary. My controlled confirmed that my beat starts right below where this tributary enters the Orava.

Once I arrived to my beat I was a bit relieved to see that the water was muddy only on the near bank with the far side running clear. Above me in beats 5 and 6, the river was crystal clear.

My beat at 8 am. Water still clear on the opposite bank. 

It was 8 and I still had 1.5 hrs until the start of the of the session at 9:30, so I had enough time to see my beat and get an idea of ​​how to approach it. The length was about 400 m. In the upper part where the muddy tributary entered there were short runs that looked promising at first sight, in the middle there was a channel with high and fast water up to the chest. Near the banks there were several stretches with fast low water where I hoped to find a few grayling. At the bottom was a section of about 30m with fast water and large boulders in the middle. Close to the far bank it seemed ideal for grayling.

After a careful analysis of the beat, considering the bad conditions and the muddy water, I decided to start at the bottom and slowly fish my way up. At 9:30 a.m. when the session started the water had become muddy on both banks, but below me in beat 8 on the opposite bank I could still see clear water. I immediately understood that my session depended on finding areas with clear water. Both my banks were affected by muddy water, with only the middle of the river clearer.  I also tried the banks where grayling normally hold. After 20 minutes without results, I moved slightly up, reached a deeper area, where the clearer water flowed between large boulders covered with vegetation. After about 5 minutes in this area, I had the first attack completed with an under-measure grayling of 19.3cm (the limit was 20cm). However, this fish brought me hope that bigger will follow. in the next 20 minutes I caught 2 others grayling of the same size around 19 cm and I decided to move towards the upper limit of my beat where I thought I had a good chance for grayling. Moving up I cast in the channels between the vegetation and boulders. When I arrived somewhere at 20 meters from the upper limit of my beat I had the first serious touch, a nice fish that stayed on the hook for only a few seconds.

Finally, I reached the upper limit of my beat where in normal conditions was supposed to be the best water, but after I tried for 10 minutes without a touch I found myself with only 30 minutes left from the first half and no fish on the board. So I decided to go down and insist on the area where I had hooked a fish, right in the middle among the boulders and vegetation. In my second cast I scored a 26cm grayling. I made a mistake that would cost me dearly: in a hurry I left the controller without signing. When I had walked 5 meters I realized my mistake and came back to sign but it was too late. The controller had already made a note that I left without signing. I realized this only later back in my hotel room when the results were displayed...

Returning to the area where I caught the first fish I had another touch and for the the next 5 minutes it was a complete pause, then out of the blue I had a fish in the same spot: a scoring size grayling. On my way to the referee to the opposite bank, I also took the first bath, due to the lack of visibility and rush. I fell into a hole one and a half meters deep. It had been raining heavy for 2 hours and a little water in the waders brought balance on the inside 😅... In the last 10 minutes of the session I dropped another grayling.

The deep water channels between rocks and vegetation where I got activity. 

The first part of the session was over. Before moving to beat 8 below me, I had 30 minutes in to take a look at the new water fix my gear if necessary. On the way, I met the angler from Luxembourg who had caught 9 fish, a record number considering the conditions. Later on the bus he shared that he actually caught them in the first 30 minutes when he had some clear water in the beat.

The good grayling water on the opposite bank in beat number 8: by the time I got to fish it it had changed from clear to chocolate.

Then followed 1.5 hrs of agony with 3 non-scoring grayling and 3 more baths in the muddy water that had now covered the entire beat. Back in the bus I found l out from the Luxembourg angler that in the second part he caught 2 grayling, exactly in the area where I had activity. Above our beats, the fishermen from Spain and Scotland enjoyed clear water almost throughout the entire session and did very well with 30 and 22 fish.

In conclusion, the bad conditions combined with the lack of experience on colored water, mistakes like failing to sign my fish and dropping fish, cost me a lot in the final ranking.

The fly that worked for the fish I hooked was a size 16 pheasant tail with a red hen collar and 2.5mm copper bead.

My first venue of the WFFC was Dedinky Lake. I knew from practice that it would not be easy.

6 weeks before the competition, my friend Raul and I finalized the last training session. After a full day of fishing with not-that-bad lake conditions (cloudy, steady wind, lower temperature and a bit of rain), I got only 4 fish. Quite a low number, considering we were the only boat fishing the lake that day. But we discovered a fly pattern that fish seemed to be keyed on, which gave us hope for a satisfying result.

Fast forward to the morning of September 13th. The bus to the lake departed at 5:55 a.m. from the competition headquarters. The trip took about 1h 45m and about 30 minutes before we arrived, the draw for boat partners was announced on the bus. I was lucky enough to be paired with Christian from Belgium. The gods decided he would be captain for the first half, and I would take over for the second 2 hours of the 4-hour long session: the captain chooses where to fish.

Arriving at the lake, I had enough time to prepare the equipment, so I took 30 minutes to observe the lake, to look for rising fish and see what the water clarity was. With my boat partner Christian, we agreed to work together to locate the fish regardless of who is the captain.

Unfortunately for us, the weather was not favourable for fly fishing. We "enjoyed" a sunny day with zero wind and a temperature of over 26°C.

I decided to use the new Arcay Otter 7wt rod. My strategy was to start for about 20 minutes with a fast intermediate line with a 3-fly setup and 0.19mm leader, hoping to find some active fish just below the surface.

Christian and I decided that the best initial strategy would be to stay close to the Slovak boat, expecting that the competitor from the host country knows better than anyone where the fish are. At 9 o'clock sharp, the game was on and the first flies touched the inert surface of the lake. My boat partner and I tried different retrieves without success while keeping an eye on what was happening around us. It was quiet in all boats. After about 30 minutes, seeing that Slovak angler had not hooked any fish, we realized it would be a very tough session. Normally, in the first 30 minutes, the fish are on fire. We continued to look for fish, some were still rising occasionally, keeping at an untouchable distance.

In the meantime, the lack of cooperation from the fish and the lousy fishing conditions led me to change the strategy. I switched to a Di5 line with a set-up of 2 flies on a 0.17mm leader, the top dropper a pink leech with a golden bead (as an attractor). On the point was the one that produced fish during practice: a black leech with a chartreuse bead. Christian used a Di3 line at the same time. Immediately after we started chasing the rises, Christian had the first attack and a fish on for about 5 seconds without success to land and score it. We kept watching the neighbouring boats without seeing any activity or fish caught. 

After about an hour, I saw the first fish caught and put in the net for measuring. Together with Christian, we immediately decided to go to the area where there were probably more active fish. Meanwhile, a light breeze started to slightly raise the gloss of the water. Arriving in the "hot zone," I also saw a second fish caught in a boat about 80 meters away from our boat. I felt the first light tap on my first cast in that area. A persistent fish continued to give me light taps during the retrieve, but I kept calm and didn't set the hook until I felt a slight weight on the line. When I knew it finally had the fly in its mouth, I set the hook, and in about 5 seconds, a fish of 28 cm was lying on the measuring troph. A small yet very significant one considering the fishing conditions and the number of fish caught. It came 1 hour and 20 min into the session and took the black leech with chartreuse bead. I felt a total relaxation in my whole body, knowing that this fish can be decisive and make a big difference for me and my team.

We had no single touch for the next 2 hours and 40 minutes. My boatmate Christian tried everything he could. I changed flies and alternated between lines. We moved and tried to find fresh fish, but nothing produced results. In the last half hour, I found out that they were competitors with two fish caught, information that led me to try with a D7 line at depth to capture a larger lake trout that would give me the edge over others. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and I stayed until the end with one fish. 

In the end, the lake session was won with 2 fish. 5 fishermen had two fish, and 8 had one. I placed 12th with my 28 cm "golden" trout, followed at 13th place by an angler with a smaller fish. The remaining 15 fishermen in the group blanked, including the competitor from host country Slovakia. Considering the general evolution of the session and fishing conditions, I was more than satisfied with the result.

Ciprian Rafan

A friend wrote to me recently that he is trying "micro" leaders for nymphing with a 4x (0.16mm) sighter section. For most of my fishing however a 4X sighter is more of a "macro" leader these days. The size of trout I normally chase allow me to go lower and benefit from the many good sides of this approach. I do fish 4x and higher when I get the chance to target bigger fish. Given the numbers of anglers practicing nymphing techniques around the globe I can imagine that the worlds "micro" and "macro" can mean very different things for different people in different conditions. My choice is to avoid them altogether when speaking about leaders. After all we already have several systems (inches, millimeters and fly fishing's very own X system) to define exactly what the diameter of a leader is. A "micro", "macro" or just nymphing leader is built following the same principles, anyway. 

In my 20 or so years of studying and practicing nymphing techniques I had the fortune to fish with and learn from some of the world's top rods from Spain, France and Czechia. One key thing I learned is that regardless of the variations of technique, when fishing on a tight line they all use essentially the same leader formula. The diameter varies depending on the conditions but the rest stays the same. The lowest one can handle is usually the best: how low would depend on the fish and their strength, on the specific water fished (the chance of breakages because of snags, for example), on the quality and capacity of the equipment used and the skill level of the angler. Not all nymphing rods get properly loaded with lower diameter leaders and light nymphs, and not all anglers can cast those without the right instruction and some practice. Reaching my Spanish friends' skill level in working tiny, light nymphs at a distance is something I keep working hard on. Progress is not exactly fast but the patience and effort are worth it and the results quite rewarding.

Here is a link to a video where Ciprian and I share what we learned from our European friends about nymphing leaders and how we adapt and use this in our own fishing. I promise, we don't use the words "micro" and "macro". Frankly, we don't quite like the term "Euro" either - after all in Europe it is just nymphing - but we can't be perfect after all ;)

Tight lines!

Ivo

The Arcay Otter 11ft, 2/3 wt

A review by Mike Learmonth, competitive angler, member of Fly Fishing Team Canada 2023.

As a professional in the Wealth Management industry for close to 30 years, I have watched firsthand how competition drives innovation and awakens new opportunities for industry participants. Old technology, while remaining quite serviceable, may no longer remain optimal. For example; I’d much rather own an iPhone today than my old Blackberry although both phones worked to call home when I stayed late on the river.

It’s for this reason – a desire to continue to optimize my equipment and improve my skillset - that I remain open to considering new things. I acknowledge and agree that a skilled angler with average equipment is likely to outperform an average angler with optimized equipment. But hey, why not strive to be a skilled angler using optimized equipment?

In the fall of 2022, I made the decision to take an ARCAY Otter 11ft 2/3 Nymphing Rod for a test drive. My decision was based on two considerations. First, the rod was designed by multiple World Champions who eat their own cooking which I respect. Secondly, I received nothing but favourable commentary from all competitors whom I polled that were using the rod.  

Out of the box, the rod is aesthetically pleasing featuring a graphite blank with a matte finish and subtle blue accents.  The down locking reel seat helps to place the reel further away from the grip offering excellent balance to offset the longer rod length. The cork grip, is both comfortable and functional as it naturally guides my hand to the correct fulcrum point. Above the cork is a small hook keeper that with ensure your cork maintains its integrity long term.

The stripping guide is a Fuji K-Series single foot guide. It’s located about 22cm above the cork and helps to control line sag during drifts. It is angled up slightly which reduces friction and tangling when shooting line. Single foot guides are used right up the blank to the rod tip. Other brands that I’ve investigated will place a few snake guides closer to the rod tip claiming it helps to control leader wrapping problems. I’m not so sure to be honest. I think leader wrapping is more correlated to tip recovery than choice of guides. Which brings me to the rods action and overall performance on the river- perhaps the most exciting part for me!

In my world, a good Nymphing rod ticks the following boxes;

Recovery

Rod tip recovery for me is key and I’ve found this to be a place where the Arcay 11f 2/3 rod excels.

I want a tip that quickly dampens its vibrations and comes back to a complete equilibrium after casting.  A rod tip that recovers quickly offers me significantly more casting accuracy. And, accurate casts allow me to effectively and efficiently cover the water.

It’s this aspect of the Otter 11ft 2/3 that I appreciate the most.

The recovery on this rod is superb!

Flex

The Arcay Otter 11ft 2/3 has been designed to throw light and medium weight flies. I reside in British Columbia, Canada where we’re commonly restricted to fishing only one fly. Fishing a light, single fly rig with a thin leader can be a real challenge but I’ve found the Arcay 11ft 2/3 loads well in these circumstances and yet it doesn’t come at the cost of good recovery.

Power

The Arcay 11ft 2/3 has a very smooth transition of power from rod tip to the cork handle. I feel very confident the rod design will protect thin tippet and still provide a good hookset thereby improving landing ratios. With that said, this rod excels when used true to its design. Large fish can definitely bulldog this rod. However, this brings me to my final point!

Consistency

Fly rods are like golf clubs. You don’t tee off on a par 5 with sand wedge and you don’t putt with a driver if you’re trying to optimize your score! By choosing the right club for the situation – you’ll greatly improve your chances for success.

I view fly rods in the same way.

With that in mind, it makes sense to look for a company that offers the angler consistency in both quality and feel across all of their product lines. For me, this has been the case with Arcay from day one. So much so, that I’ve since acquired two more rods in my Arcay collection with which I’m exceptionally happy.

Smart Angling (Ivo): Tell us a bit about yourself first. When and how did you start fly fishing?

Keefer: I am a late 30’s father of two boys who loves spending time outdoors with a deep seeded passion for fishing and hunting that started early in my life. Both my grandfather and father were passionate fly fishermen. I was first exposed as a 7 or 8-year-old on the Credit River in Ontario, targeting brown and brook trout with my father. Turns out and to everyone’s surprise, I did not have a lot of patience for learning the sport, and that was quickly shut down. I spent the next 10+ years fishing with spinning tackle and would take up any opportunity possible to get out on the water. The last summer before heading off to University was spent in the Muskoka region of Ontario chasing warm water species at a friend's cottage where I was consistently losing expensive hard plastic lures. Frustration with the mounting costs and lack of available replacement gear on short notice was mounting. It was then that I sheepishly asked my Dad to have another go at teaching me how to fly fishing, thinking I would learn to tie flies. For whatever reason, I thought I would be saving money by making my own lures (oops….). This all came at a very busy time professionally for dad and I was off to university anyway and would be away much of the remaining season. At that point, he found Ian Colin James in London, where I was going to school, and booked me my first lesson. That first lesson is where it really all began. Ian taught me the basics in a park on grass and we quickly moved to a surprisingly productive section of the Thames river near the school. I was hooked. Deep! From that point on, for whatever reason, Ian and I fished together regularly while I attended school. Ian was a phenomenal first mentor, and I was very fortunate to have found him. It was Ian that would eventually push me and a number of my teammates over the years into competitive fly fishing (more on that later)...

Smart Angling: Who is the person that has inspired and motivated you the most in fly fishing?

Keefer: It’s a hard question to answer quickly. Obviously given what I said above, Ian Colin James was a massive influence and inspiration. He kept things simple and uncomplicated, which in this sport is a bit rare. But it worked. Ian caught fish. His clients caught fish. He was my first major inspiration. He also introduced me to Ian Troup who would become one of my best friends and teammates over the next 13+ years.

Other major influences were anglers like Jiri Klima and Karel Krivanec in the Czech Republic. Back in 2009, I went to attend one of their masterclasses and it really opened my eyes a lot. Again, similarly to Ian, tactics, flies and techniques were kept simple. They worked. Well.

The final chapters of inspiration in the yet-to-be-finished story of my journey along this path is with some of the top anglers in Spain. David Arcay, through work with Smart Angling, has done a lot for Canadian competitive fly fishermen, and I am no exception. What David and the top anglers in Spain accomplish with a fly is truly incredible. The pace of progression and development our core team has gone through with David’s guidance has been unbelievable.

Finally, my teammates (from the team that represented Canada at the 2016 and 2018 Commonwealths, the 2022 Worlds and a few National Championships) inspire me regularly. We have a great and solid core of guys that consistently push each other to get better and stronger every year. They are also my strongest motivation to continue to develop, refine and improve my skill set. We are all like-minded and hungry to continue to learn. I couldn’t imagine a better group of guys to have gone down this path with over the years.

Smart Angling: What is your favourite type of water? Your favourite technique?

Keefer: Another tough question. I am so very fond of all water types and the challenges they present. I would say that this answer has consistently changed over the years. 

Lately, it has been technical rivers. Challenging and changing flow in tight conditions on clear water. Refining my dry fly and nymph skills in such water has been a fun challenge. 

Honourable mention goes to new lakes and figuring them out. New lakes can be like putting together a 3D puzzle. It takes time. Smaller portions of the overall picture show themselves first and eventually lead to breakthroughs that help you really figure out the whole picture. That said, there is also this feeling of wonder, at least in my case, as to whether there is another more productive area you might be missing – particularly on bigger bodies of water.

Smart Angling: How did you get involved in competitive fly fishing? What do you like about it and what not?

Keefer: As mentioned earlier, it was Ian Colin James that pushed me and a few guys into competitive fishing. The first comp we competed in was back in 2008 or 2009 in Mont Tremblant. We were all new to it and despite doing a horrible job from a result standpoint, I enjoyed every minute of it. Thinking back to the early years, what stood out, was how quickly you learn and adapt in competitive circumstances versus recreationally fishing. And interestingly, this has not changed after nearly 15 years. 

There is very little I don’t like about competitive fly fishing. Perhaps it’s the cost of travelling to far-off places to compete. It would be great if we could somehow find more support for our national teams that head to far-flung corners of the world. It's been a challenge for all teams at one point or another.

Smart Angling: What do you think is the biggest myth about competitive fly fishing?

Keefer: I’m not sure. I know there has been lots of noise and people who frown on competitive fishing for whatever reason. None of it has ever made much sense to me and I have done my best to ignore it.

Smart Angling: What is the biggest challenge facing competitive fishing in Canada? What is the biggest success?

Keefer: Canada is a big country. It is hard to organize events that give anglers consistent exposure to both river and lake venues that mimic circumstances often found in international settings. Despite the size of Canada, it is a small group nationally. We are growing and doing everything we can, but there remains lots of room there.

Interestingly, the challenges we have faced could also be viewed as our biggest success. Despite these challenges, over the years we have grown significantly as a group in Canada. Our success internationally has been consistently improved. I think another big success is the help the average recreational angler gets through the development of new techniques that almost always come through competitive fishing. Whether that been modern nymphing or Spanish/European dry fly techniques, the recreational anglers of the world have better access to more specialized equipment and technical teachings through accessing those who compete at a high level.

Smart Angling: You were part of a Canadian team that delivered last year in Spain Canada’s best finish at a World Championship. What does it take to do well at that level? What is your best memory of the experience?

Keefer: It is a constant evolution and refinement of our skill sets. More arrows in our quiver and making each arrow sharper and stronger. That said, perhaps the single most important aspect of our group is cultural fit. We all get along well. We are friends and fish together regularly outside of competitive fishing and have been for quite some time. We push each other to grow and refine our abilities. All that leads to consistency. We build the best possible plan through practice and stick to it. It develops over the course of a comp and we make adjustments but we do so as a single unit and by consensus.

Smart Angling: What is Smart Angling for you?

Keefer: For me, Smart Angling is a strong and supportive source of high quality, very specialized but very accessible technical equipment of all kinds for serious fly fishermen. Now just that’s my perspective from a competitive angler. You do offer a wide range of products within any given category that makes it very accessible to every angler type, but for me, it is being able to access cutting-edge products that help me become more effective on the water in a competitive setting.

About Keefer

Keefer is a fly fishing guide in Southwestern Ontario. Specializing in guiding on both, the Grand and Credit Rivers for intermediate and advanced anglers with a focus on dry fly and nymph fishing.

Keefer has been a competitive angler & guide since 2008. A founding member of Team Dredgehogs and Team Manager, Keefer has competed at many regional, national and international events. He has spent countless hours with some of the top anglers in the world refining his skills. Keefer has been mentored by the late Ian Colin James, starting in 2004, followed by top Czech competitive anglers and most importantly and most recently by five-time world champion David Arcay of Spain - without a doubt, one of the globe's top anglers. He has been selected five times to represent Canada at major international competitions:
2014, 2016 (Gold medal team), 2018 & 2020 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships in England, Canada, Northern Ireland & New Zealand respectively. 2022 World Fly Fishing Championships in Asturias, Spain.
 
Recent Achievements:

8th place team: 2022 WFFC, Spain
1st pl team & 4th pl individual - 2019 CNFFC
1st pl team & 1st pl individual - 2019 Ontario Fly Fishing Championships
1st pl team & 4th pl Individual - 2018 CNFFC
1st pl Team & 4th pl Individual - 2016 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships