S7, Ep 64: Hot Tips for Summer Fishing: Mastering Stillwater Techniques with Mac Brown

EPISODE SUMMARY

Guest: Mac Brown - Guide/Instructor at Mac Brown Fly Fish (North Carolina)

In this episode: Guide Mac Brown shares lake fishing techniques that transfer directly to trout fishing for advanced strike detection and presentation skills. Topics include hand retrieve methods, visual strike detection without indicators and traditional wet fly fishing techniques.

Key fishing techniques covered: • Hand twist retrieve with floating line • Visual strike detection using line sag • Tight lining without indicators • Wet fly fishing methods • Strike detection techniques

Location focus: North Carolina mountains, still water applications

Target species: Bream, largemouth bass, trout

Equipment discussed: SA still water line, floating lines, wet flies, traditional Irish/Welsh/English wet patterns

Key questions answered: • How to detect strikes at 80+ feet without indicators • How to practice advanced techniques on warm water species • How to transfer lake skills to trout fishing

Best for: Intermediate/advanced anglers interested in traditional techniques and advanced strike detection methods

Marvin Cash00:00:04

Hey, folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of the Articulate Fly. We're back with another casting angles with Mac Brown. Mac, how are you?

Mac Brown00:00:10

I'm doing great. How are you doing, Marvin?

Marvin Cash00:00:13

Trying to stay cool and out of trouble. How about you?

Mac Brown00:00:16

Pretty much the same. Yeah, it's been.We've been in a pattern for sure, having some heat and the breezes are real nice and, you know, the rains keep bringing relief in the evening, but it's been. It's been hot for the mountains the last week or so.

Marvin Cash00:00:31

Yeah, we were talking before we started recording, so, you know, we've.We've kind of hinted around this a little bit, but, you know, it's getting really kind of, you know, particularly if you don't like getting up really early in the morning, it's getting a little too hot to go chase trout. But there are plenty of opportunities, you know, fishing farm ponds for brim early and late and largemouth bass and stuff like that.But one of the things we, you know, we've been trying to emphasize, folks, that, you know, even though you may not be able to fish the way you really want to fish, you can still work on skills.And one of the things Mac and I were talking about before we started recording was, you know, what you can learn, you know, fishing a lake, whether you're waiting it or fishing it from the bank or fishing it from a boat.

Mac Brown00:01:06

That's right, yeah. I mean, there's just a lot of.A lot of skill sets that transfer over identical when you go back, you know, and chase trout or trout on a lake too, in the winter. And one of the. There's a. There's a lot of good. Like I've. I've been throwing a lot of the new still water line from sa, But.But you can also go back and work like most people have a floater. Most people that are out there usually are always fishing a floating line. And that's the staple that most people have at their disposal.And one of the things that's often overlooked with the floating line is to. Is to put it out, you know, relatively, you know, 50ft, 60ft.Try to keep it out there somewhere in that distance and practice your hand retrieve and just really pay attention to the sag coming off the rod tip and have the rod, you know, lower to the water like a foot and a half, two feet off the water is about ideal. And just really study that position as you're pulling that fly in different rates, coming off the fingers with a hand twist retrieve.And you'll see that elongate, you'll see that curve disappear. And you can practice that the best, the best place is find like a bunch of brimming, you know. Cause they're going to be real willing participants.Every time it comes by a brush pile, you know, buried cedar and whatever, just pulling a little, a little fly through there and watching that elongate and practice your strike protection because that's going to pay off huge dividends with, with trout.

Marvin Cash00:02:32

Yeah, it's kind of like, you know, folks, I would say, you know, it's kind of like when we, you know, fish without an indicator for trout. And we're looking at basically the angle between the cider, the leader, you know, coming out of the water.Except you're looking at the, that same type of angle, but at the ride tip, right?

Mac Brown00:02:48

That's right. And that means you have strike detection. Whether it's, you know, 40ft, 60ft, you know, 80ft away, the strike detection is still instantaneous.We're not, we're not elongates. That's, that's a really good way to, you know, put a fly, you can still fish down, you know, five, eight feet of water.And your strike detection is just instant. When you see that start to lift straight, I mean, you're getting the heads up, time to move and set the hook.And of course, the reason it's so effective is it's just there's not tension in it yet, you know, so the fish grabs it.I mean, what makes all fish spit flies really quick is when the tension's great, the, the greater the tension that's on a, on a fly, usually the faster they'll reject it and spit it out. So with this, as that starts to elongate, they're still holding onto it.So you're striking off the visual before the tension, you know, has ever increased for them to reject it. So they usually tend to hold onto it. We do the same thing and with tight lining techniques too.A lot of times we'll hold a higher angle and same thing. So the fly has a dead drift where there's no tension acting on the flies.You know, there's times where that's really beneficial and yeah, I'm sure they had to do that in the worlds out there in Idaho for the congrats to the US Women and the youth kids too. We wanted to say that, Marvin. So let's just get that in too because they both just won, you know, first in the worlds, which is a big deal.Big deal for America fishing. And that's Kudos to them.

Marvin Cash00:04:21

Yeah, absolutely. As a matter of fact, I just shared those stories on my Instagram feed within the last couple of days.But you know, just to kind of back up to the, to the fishing in the lake, you know, what we're really talking about is not fishing an indicator and not fishing a dry dropper, but literally tight lining, you know, nymphs or really, really small streamers, right?

Mac Brown00:04:41

Yeah, it could be small streamers, it could be wets. I mean we use a lot of wets on the lake too.People forget before conventional tackle came about, you know, with Mitchell Garcia years ago, introducing, you know, spinning rods and open face reels and bait casters and all that, I mean everybody that, that fly fished in this country until before the, you know, the early 30s when all that came about, they were all fly fishing. And so what do you think they threw, they were throwing the wet flies, traditional Irish wets, Welsh wets, English wets.They were throwing all the stuff that, that is still available pattern wise, you know, today. And that's how everybody did it. Of course. What happened the. And there's a flip side of that.When it came about, they had like 55 million flyinglers in North America back then and they lost most of them and dropped that number to like 6 million today. You follow me? Because it's easier to, you know, have a little Snoopy, you know, Barbie doll, pink. Rob, will you push a button?And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but how many of those people will come back and fly fish? I don't know.

Marvin Cash00:05:45

Yeah, but it's kind of funny. You must be setting up your class this fall with Davey that I saw you post some things on.

Mac Brown00:05:52

Yeah, yeah, we're getting, we're getting some good interest in that. Had some folks sign up this week and last week and got a couple spots left still for that, that wet fly school. Fly fishing.Pretty much a fly fishing boot camp there, third week of, third week of October. So I'm really looking forward to getting down there. The water will be really nice, cold temperature that time of year. Be a lot of fun.That's what we'll be doing. We'll be doing a lot of the technique that I just described.That'll be one of the things that we'll definitely be, be using when we're talking about wets.

Marvin Cash00:06:28

Yeah, it's pretty interesting too because that'll be probably, you know, Davey will probably be winding down his fishing season not too long after that and go to bird, you know, guiding bird dogs.

Mac Brown00:06:36

Yeah, he will. Yeah, that'll be a good time. I mean, we'll have.We'll have grouse season starting up here by the time I get back, and hopefully I'll get to do quite a bit of that before I get on the show season.

Marvin Cash00:06:47

Yeah. Well, there you go. Well, I, you know, I know it's hot, so people aren't necessarily thinking about fishing, but it won't be hot forever.You want to let folks know kind of how to reach out to, to get a lesson, you know, get a guided trip this summer and also maybe tease your schools that are coming up this fall.

Mac Brown00:07:04

Yeah, the easiest thing is just Mac, Mac brown fly fish. And that's on the, you know, dot com, it's on Facebook, it's on Instagram. And I do better, though off the ones with email because it's just easier.I don't miss an email ever. But yeah, the social media stuff, so a lot of people direct message on that too. But I'm not as savvy on that as I am email.So I would say email or call off the number on the website, find out what's going on and what's available. Yeah.

Marvin Cash00:07:33

Well, there you go. Well, listen, folks, as I always say, this time of year, first of all, stay cool.But if you can yo it to yourself to get out there and catch a few tight lines, everybody. Tight lines, Mac.

Mac Brown00:07:43

Tight lines. Marvin.