A few years back, I spent a year living in Siberia and had a chance to head out to a town called Tinda. Much to my surprise, a couple of the locals had fly fishing on the menu.

The Siberian Surprise

Mention the word “Siberia” and most people think of bleak, frozen tundra stretching for hundreds of miles. Well, this is more or less true in the winter. In the summer, however, much of Siberia is a burst of green with temperatures in the eighties and nineties. As I had failed to bring shorts, this was a bit of a surprise to me.

Living in the city of Chita, I had an opportunity to visit the forest town of Tinda. Tinda is located about a day east of Lake Baikal and was built in the 1950s to act as a lumber town. The communist government haphazardly relocated a hundred thousand people and there they remain today. The area around Tinda is very mountainous and very beautiful. As the winter snows melt, rivers, lakes and creeks spring to life.

While in Tinda, I was invited to go fly fishing with the sons of the people I was staying with. Hilarity was sure to follow since they spoke no English and I was fluent in Russian at about a kindergarten level. Off we went strolling to the apparent local hot spot.

After a 45 minute walk, we came upon a slow moving creek that looked like something you would find in Wyoming. Trees towered over us and cast shadows across the water. Shallow pools of water formed along the bank and I could’ve sworn I saw more than a few of our slippery friends.

As every person knows, a first timer at anything will always have success. The boys had fished this spot hundreds of times, but I hadn’t. By all that is good in the universe, I should’ve caught 20 while they caught nothing. Alas, evil had the day. I caught nothing, nada, zippo. Nikoli and Oleg, on the other hand, were getting fisher elbow.

Although they caught a lot of fish, I can’t tell you what they were. The language barrier was just too much. The fisher were six to 10 inches long and appeared to be related to Mackinaws, but the vodka celebration made this pure speculation.

Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of diary and writing journals for fly fishing. Visit NomadJournalTrips.com to read more articles about fly fishing and the great outdoors.

Most people believe that the drop-shot rig is only for finesse fishing, but there is more than one way to skin a cat! (or Fish), as the case may be. The new Power Drop-Shot style started by Kotaro Kiriyama, is fast becoming the way to bigger and better bags on many of the tournament trails.

Drop-shot rigs consist of a hook tied above a sinker that is placed at the end of the line so that the lure suspends off the bottom. Conventional tackle consists of light action spinning gear and 4-8 pound line, and the tactic is usually deployed vertically in deep water.

Kiriyama says “Drop-Shotting is about presenting a soft plastic lure in a manner that is different from Texas rigging or Carolina rigging.” When conditions allow, Kiriyama, (who logged 10 Top 10 finishes in his first 37 events on tour), says “You may get more bites with lighter line and smaller baits, but when there is heavier cover, a power version is required.

This is a technique we have employed with success all last year, and now we are going to share it with you here in the Northeast. This technique works great in all the lakes, rivers, and impoundment’s here in the Northeast. It is a great way to put together a real quality stringer.

The drop shot’s configuration with the weight beneath the lure, makes it ideal for pitching into heavy cover. The reason, is that the sinker goes through cover better and falls right to the bottom.

You can fish faster and cover more water! We fish it just like other anglers fish a Texas rig, but like Kiriyama, we believe it is more effective! This is a great tactic for places like the Potomac River or Lakes such as Kerr or Gaston, where the fish are highly pressured and are used to seeing anglers flip Texas rigs and Carolina rigs. This gives the highly pressured fish a completely different look. The rig has some other advantages also. There is less line wear at the hook knot because the sinker isn’t beating against it, and the hook isn’t dragging the bottom where the line and knot can be damaged. You can also detect the bites a lot easier, because the sensation goes through the line without passing through a sinker that deadens the sensitivity. In lower Delaware we have a Bald Cypress swamp in one of the lakes, and there are also similar areas in the Nanticoke River. Most anglers flip these trees with Texas rigged worms in the 4 inch size or with a small lizard in the spring. We like the power drop shot rig in these areas the best. It attracts bass that are lying near the bottom or are suspended in cover down at the roots.

You can fish this rig either horizontally or vertically. In the heavy currents in the Sassafras River on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, we drag it from the calm water into the faster moving current, and catch largemouth holding near the edges waiting for an easy meal. You can also use this rig successfully in deep cover. This will work well in the standing timber in Table Rock Lake when fished on a Fluorocarbon line in 10-16 pound test. We have used 30 pound test when the fish were aggressive, and gone down to 10 pound when the bite is tougher. This is a clear to stained water technique though, and works much better in these conditions. There are areas here in the Northeast that have extremely clear water at times, and it excels in those areas. We use this around deep points also with great success. Waters such as Spruce Run and Greenwood in New Jersey and New York are great areas to use the Power Drop shot. We use it anywhere you would normally use a Carolina or Texas rig.

When we flip the Power Drop shot rig we use 6 and 6 1/2 inch Yamamoto Cut Tail worms. We have tried a variety of other baits with this rig, but the straight tail and Cut-Tail worms have produced the best results. When you are flipping it in fairly light cover, you can go with a lighter sinker of 1/16 of an ounce, and as the cover gets thicker, we go as high as 3/8 of an ounce. Since the start of 2003, we have been using nothing but the Tungsten weights for all our baits. We believe this is especially important with the Power Drop Shot also, as the Tungsten is heavier than lead, allowing for a smaller profile, which penetrates the cover better, and allows for a better feel of the bottom.

We generally rig the baits with a 2/0 to a 3/0 Gamakatsu or X-Point hook, but we will go as high as a 5/0 on some of the bigger worms at times. The general rule when using this rig for flipping is simple; The distance between the hook and the weight, is no more than 3-6 inches longer than the bait itself.

The rig is simple to use, no fancy tricks are needed. Just drop the bait around cover and let it sit. No other action is necessary because of the way the bait suspends off the line. The natural current of the water imparts all the action you need. We use this on bedding bass also, since we have no closed season here in Delaware during the tournaments. The technique is just like any other type of flipping we do. We drop it in near the cover, let it sit a few seconds if the bass are being finicky, and then lift it up and pitch it to the next target.

Try Power Drop Shotting this year in your local waters when everyone else is throwing a Texas or Carolina rig, and you will get a big surprise!

http://www.reeltimeanglers.com

Steve is a professional guide, tournament anglers, writer, vido producer, radio show owner and host, and tackle dealer.
His main website is http://www.reeltimeanglers.com

When the topic of fly fishing comes up, fishing for
wild Atlantic Salmon in the Gaspe’ region of Canada is
at the top of the list. Even though it can be very
expensive, it is worth every single penny! I can think
of no other place like it where the people are
friendly the water is gin clear, the salmon are
plentiful and also very willing to take a fly. Even
entering the lottery to “win” a chance to try for
these incredible fish is exciting!

The lottery is held during the winter month of
November (Nov. 1st) and each draw costs $6.00 with a
maximum of 10 draws per river. The 4 rivers that I
like are the York, Dartmouth, Saint-Jean and my most
favorite, Petite Cascapedia. If you are lucky enough
to win the draw, you must follow up with a phone call
to the Société de Gestion des Rivières du Gaspé
between January 16 and January 27, 2006 between 8:30
am to 4:30 pm (Eastern time) Monday to Friday, to
reserve rods that have been sold on November 1st.

If you don’t win the lottery for your river but are
going with friends who have, there is still a chance
if you enter the 48 hour draw once you arrive in
Gaspe’. The best time to go is very hard to say as
water levels and when the salmon are in the rivers
vary from week to week. I have been in June and July
and enjoyed both times very much.

After a long day of fishing the last thing you want to
do is prepare a big meal so the best thing to do is
plan and prepare the meals before your trip and freeze
them. That way once you’re back to the campsite, the
evening meal is much easier to make which leaves more
time to sit by the campfire, sip some scotch and talk
about the days events.

Of course if you can afford it, I highly recommend
staying at a lodge right on the river. It just doesn’t
get any better than this. The lodge will be clean and
dry and the food will be nothing short of excellent!

A very important thing to do is hire a guide. A guide
will know the rivers intimately, know where the salmon
are and most likely will have a favorite fly for you
to try. Having a guide will definitely allow you more
chances to hook up and could make the difference
between never feeling a fish on or landing plenty.
Please remember to tip the guide after his or her
services. One time I over tipped because my guide let
me use his “secret weapon” dry fly and I caught a
salmon within minutes of him tying it on!

The weather and water conditions can be hit or miss.
The water could be too low on one day and the next day
it’s too hot or cold or windy with rain but I’ll tell
you something… if you hit it just right, you’ll have
a salmon fishing experience that you’ll never forget!

Bruce Dobbins is an Avid fisherman that has traveled to the Gaspe’ Peninsula on many fishing trips. Visit Fishing Around where you can read more about fishing.