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Fly Fishing
Firmly Planted

When fly fishing the numerous productive stillwaters of western Canada and the United States presentation is key. Fly anglers must have total control over how their offering appears to the trout. This means fishing from a firmly anchored platform be it boat, float tube or pontoon boat. Boat anglers should have a double anchor cleat system fore and aft to maintain total boat control, especially in windy conditions. A boat swaying back and forth is frustrating to fish from and makes strike detection challenging. Anchors should be heavy enough and have an appropriate profile to grab the bottom. My personal preference are flat-bottomed anchors from 10 pounds and up depending upon boat size. Flat-bottomed anchors vacuum themselves into the soft bottoms and dense vegetation that are common to many productive lakes. 

When fishing out of a float tube a smaller single anchors is fine as double anchoring is neither practical nor wise. Most pontoon boats come with a rear anchor system but they are still prone to sway.  I mount a Scotty anchor cleat to my left foot peg and use a small anchor to eliminate sway.  No mater the craft presentation control is crucial when fly fishing stillwaters, especially from an anchored position.

Have an ample length of rope on hand. I prefer at least 60 feet as anchoring in deeper water to avoid disturbing a shoal is a common scenario. If you do not have a sounder mark the anchor rope very 5 or 10 feet to provide a simple measure of water depth. When fly fishing stillwaters knowing the water depth is critical to success.


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