FRESHWATER TECHNIQUE

Heave and leave!

My introduction to ‘heave and leave’ fly-fishing for trout could not have been more dramatic and memorable than what we experienced at Waimarino Stream mouth almost ten years ago.

It was the start of a fishing week – our first Taupo trip of the winter season. My mates and I had arrived in Turangi the night before and were very keen to get onto the water. We decided to start with a session on the lake, so aimed for an early start at the Waimarino’s mouth.

The three of us arrived at the mouth well before 5am, but still found the sandy spit already chock-full of parked cars.

As we tackled up, we could see the occasional torchlight flicking a long way out at the rip, but it was only when we got near that the half-submerged silhouettes, forming a shallow crescent spanning the entire drop-off, became evident. My mates found a gap, but I decided I’d have more casting freedom if I went to the outside.

I tried a black lumo-fly first without success, so switched to a Red Setter as soon as daylight allowed me to tie it on.

All along the lip were bent rods, and judging by the splashes and the loud banter wafting across the otherwise quiet lake scene, this sort of action had been going on all along the picket fence since the start of fishing.

My neighbour was already into his fourth fish, with our party seemingly the only unlucky ones. I fished on doggedly, casting all over the place, as well as constantly varying the depth and speed of my retrieve. Nothing worked.

Eventually my neighbour, who turned out to be a Taranaki farmer, asked me what fly I was using. When I told him it was a Red Setter, he suggested: “Try a large Glo-bug; cast it out and leave it there. That’s what everybody else is using.”

Luckily I had tied three jumbo-sized Glo-bugs for wet-line river fishing, so wasted no time giving a couple to my mates before pressing the last one into service myself. The rest, as they say, is history.

I had a big strike on the first cast, but did not stay connected. And a few casts later the rod tip went down and a big jack rocketed from the surface.

It was all on for a while, but eventually we each lost our one and only Glo-bug to the many snags lurking beyond the drop-off.

Later that morning we bought up large on Glo-bug material and foam eyes. Then, back at our lodgings we went to work, tying such a heap of multi-coloured puff balls that, had we bought them at the tackle shop, it would have cost us $150!

By sheer chance I met the ‘Naki farmer at the service station afterwards. He was on his way home and did not mind giving me a Glo-bug he’d been using in the dark. It looked like an ordinary Glo-bug, but upon looking closer it had a small lumo bead behind the hook’s eye. He also very kindly gave me a few tips on how to fish it before driving off on the long journey west.

Seeing that tiny bead brought on another buying trip to the tackle shop, and a resumption of Glo-bug tying back at the house.

That night and for the following week we had a ball catching heaps of fish and perfecting the ‘heave and leave’ technique. As is usual in fly fishing, ‘H and L’ has got its detractors – probably the same types who have sounded off against shooting heads, weighted nymphs, indicators and small Glo-bugs. Over the years these zealots have tried to ban just about any fishing innovation that, in their eyes, does not date back to eighteenth-century Halford.

Heave and leave isn’t what you might call a strenuous way of catching trout – at least not outwardly.

However, what it lacks in physical action, it surely makes up in psychological tension. I can’t think of any other form of trout fishing where the ‘inner eye’ is so totally focused on the invisible fly as it tantalisingly sways in the slightest water movement deep down at the bottom of the lake. It is an exercise in utter concentration, one hand holding the rod while the fingers of the other gently grasp the line waiting for it to telegraph when a fish shows the slightest interest in the Glo-bug on the other end.

This interest usually starts with a few knocks, not unlike the bites of small snapper. Sometimes that is all there is, but often these tentative bites culminate in a sudden downward pull of the rod tip that is instantly followed by a hard upward yank by the angler. If the rod retains its bend, then all is well, but surprisingly this is not always the case. Considering the large size of a H and L hook, far too many fish managed to escape.

My take on this phenomenon is that when a fish picks up a Glo-bug, the material catches in its teeth. It may well be that at this stage the fish is trying to eject the bug by waggling its head with an open mouth, and it is this movement that telegraphs as bites. Then, when the fish finally takes off, the Glo-bug may still be stuck on the teeth, so the angler simply yanks the fly out of the open mouth.

So, in an attempt to up my percentage of solid hook-ups, I experimented with Black Magic 1/0 circle hooks, and can say they have made quite a difference, especially at night.

To give the circle hook more chance to jam and roll, I use different methods to attach the Glo-bug yarn for night fishing, and again my hook-up rate have gone up considerably.

A heave-and-leave rig consists of a standard sinking shooting head with a short trace of no more than 50cm – less if the Glo-bug is to be fished stationary.

The actual delivery of the business end is very simple, with the shooting head able to be cast much further than a normal sinking line. Next, allow the line to settle on the bottom before removing as much slack as possible without pulling in the Glo-bug. This leaves the buoyant Glo-bug suspended above the bottom and enticingly wafting around in the current.

Any nibbles are felt via the tight line, alerting the angler to react instantly once the line takes off. Some anglers use a very slow retrieve, which at times works better than letting the Glo-bug just sit there. Try both methods, as you never know what will work best on any given day.

When using a shooting head in still water, a shooting basket is a must-have line storage aid. Line tangles were a constant plague for us until we added 8-10 cable ties to the bottom of our shooting baskets. The difference in casting performance is remarkable. Not only have our casting distance improved, tangles have become a thing of the past – well, nearly so.

I still vividly remember trying to untangle a huge bird’s nests in the dark, holding a small Maglight with my teeth for so long that I ended up with lock-jaw. It is simply amazing what a difference a few cable ties have made, and it is even more amazing just how few anglers are using them.

An alternative to buoyant Glo-bugs are Booby flies, which also float up off the bottom. I fish both flies with the same rig, but tend to fish my streamlined Boobies in the current of a rip to give the marabou tail a better chance to pulsate.

Heave and leave works in any still water on both browns and rainbows, but for most action you need to line up at a river mouth during the winter spawning run. It is during this time that mature trout amass offshore in huge numbers, waiting for a fresh so they can enter the waters of their birth.

Herb Spannagl - September 2008

 

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