Synopsis
This book is written for the angler who wants to consistently catch large trout over 20 inches. Whether fishing with regular length fly rod or a specially designed 15’, 17’ or 20’ fly rod or a tenkara-style rod, Don Miller explains in detail the processes and flies that he uses to accomplish his mission. His 40 years of learning how to catch that rare and elusive large, dominant, heavy-weight trout, that the ones very few fly fishermen ever catch, has been a never-ending pursuit– one that has caused him to endure many sleepless nights pondering: “If I was a large trout needing large meals to sustain life and energy, plus being cautious and wary, where would I reside?” Once I discovered the answers to that question, I concluded that dapping was the only method that would work. If you apply all the techniques and methods described in this book over time, you too will succeed. Some you will learn now and others you will learn with experience. Some of the chapters in this book are: Pre-Locating the large trout; Locating; Stalking; How Trout See; Different Drift Techniques; Realistic-Tied Flies and Tying Equipment/Materials; Equipment for Dapping; Landing, Handling and Releasing Trout Alive; and Personal Thoughts and Tactics. I want to share my years of love and respect for large, older trout. Now, as I have aged, (I’m 74) I can understand and relate my knowledge and understanding better. I’m a perfectionist and it has helped me learn that no stone will go unturned in my pursuit of these large fish. Dapping requires full concentration of my basic “stealth” fundamentals to succeed. I firmly believe that my techniques, thoroughly learned, will increase your knowledge, love and respect of, and for, the older large, dominant trout. I would rather catch and release one trout over 22” than 100 trout under 20”. These trout are special. Large trout get that way because of exceptional survival instincts. Fishermen seldom see them because the fishermen inadvertently betray themselves from 50 to 100 yards away. I believe that there are more large trout today than ever before due to catch-and-release fishing. And, due to so many anglers walking the paths along river banks and making all kinds of noise, catch-and-release fishing has actually made it more difficult to catch large trout. But by using my techniques catching the trout of a lifetime (repeatedly) is still possible. I seldom fish blind, and I sight fish only for large browns, rainbows and cuttbows. My experiences have provided me with the ultimate rewards–quietly observing large trout behavior in streams and learning the unique dapping techniques to take them primarily on large dry flies. The rewards are thrilling because they are all visual. I hunt the fish, present the fly in a special way, and watch the take using techniques that are as valuable today as they were in the 16th century. I’d like to explain them as my gift to new generations of fly fishers. My wife describes me as “the extreme perfectionist.” That may explain my specialized behavior around trout streams.
About the Author
Don Miller: A Fly Fishing Life - Don Miller was born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado. He started fishing when he was thirteen years old and soon became interested in fly fishing. His early years were spent pursuing trout in the traditional manner but quickly he got interested in the large, dominant trout that ruled the pools or areas he fished. For more than forty years he made it his goal to consistently catch them. His home waters were the rivers west of Ft. Collins, especially the Cache-la-Poudre River. But longing to catch large trout, he began to explore waters in California, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Montana. Today he has a summer home in Island Park, Pine Haven, Idaho and calls the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River his home river. His winters are spent in southern Nevada, which permits him to fish the Walker and Truckee Rivers, world famous Pyramid Lake, southern and western Utah, northwestern Arizona, Lees Ferry below Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead for striped and largemouth bass in its numerous coves. Don is a member of the Las Vegas Fly Fishing Club and The Federation of Fly Fishers and supports the environmental projects of these organizations and others like The Nature Conservancy and Trout Unlimited helping to preserve our natural resources for future generations. In his pursuit of large trout, Don always tries to get into their minds. How they exist, what they think, and how they survive are some of the questions that he constantly asks himself. After decades of observation Don has concluded that their survival depends on natural looking and acting food.
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