Advantages of the Balanced Fly in Fishing

Finally, spring appears to be here. We are seeing the hints of green and all the low elevation snow is gone.

We are still dealing with lower than average temperatures, but they are a welcome change considering the fire ravaged summers of the past few years. A cool wet spring and a pleasant summer make getting out to our favorite fishing spots a whole lot more comfortable, even if it does slow the fishing a bit.

We are lucky to have some early opening local lake fisheries in North Central Washington. My favorites include Dusty, in the Quincy Lakes area, and Spectacle, south of Loomis. This year my plan was to fish Spectacle with my friend, Scott from Tonasket and see how the Rainbow population made it through the winter.

Fishing with balanced flies can help bridge "the seasons"

We launched our personal watercraft in the early afternoon and puttered around making casts and trying to locate fish. With the cooler weather, we weren’t expecting the fishing to be red hot.The constant influx of changing conditions was bound to put the fish off, but "a bad day fishing blah, blah, blah." I’ll save the cliché.

Anyway, the challenge was on us anglers to find a way to produce in these less than ideal conditions.

Often with all the pent up fishing energy stored over a long, cold winter and no steelheading, the tendency is to get out there and flog the water until we ultimately give up--that's what we mean by "bridge the seasons."

The number one thing I have to caution myself on is not just finding and targeting fish, but remembering to make a conscious effort to get them to commit to the fly.

Why the balanced fly works in cooler waters

When we hang up the rod in the fall, we were often throwing and stripping streamers, or twitching terrestrials, or some other form of active fishing and doing remarkably well.  So as a result, when we crack back out in the spring, we are dying to do the same thing... This is when we must exercise caution.

We all know that fish are cold blooded. Unfortunately, we often fail to realize that just because it’s a beautiful day, doesn't mean that the water has warmed enough to allow the fish to pursue prey at speed.

Their prey hasn’t really been traveling at any pace.  So, what do we do?

If you are a consummate chironomid fisherman, with the time and the patience to endure, you’ve probably already got an angle that will put fish into the net.  If you are like me with the attention span of a gnat and the patience of a wirehaired fox terrier, these conditions are as brutal as they come.

So what can we do to slow the presentation, but still keep the mind active?  Enter the "Balanced Fly."

I don’t know who to credit with the first balanced fly, and I don’t dare speculate.  If I could, every time I saw this person their beer mug would never go empty.  It’s not the most earth-shattering development in fly fishing by a long ways, but it is definitely one that deserves a mention in the fly fishing hall of fame.

Physical properties of the balanced fly, suspension + action

The physical property of the balance has been around forever.  I know you’re saying, what’s the big deal? Get on with it.

A year or so ago I watched Mr. Phil Rowley on the "New Fly Fisher" fish along a shore and pull out some rather remarkable specimens.  His approach was methodical but active.

We hosted Phil for a more in-depth seminar. Read it here. 

There was a slight chop on the water. He explained what he was looking for as far as holding water and the like. Then, he explained the fly "Rowley’s Balanced Leech."

He explained that by using a balanced fly, he was able to suspend the fly, hold it stationary and still keep it animated.  He went on to say he was doing this without an indicator.

An indicator is still an effective way to fish a balanced fly. However, often when fish in super clear shallow water notice the plop of an indicator on the surface, it is enough to put them down. Whereas, a shorter leader on a floating or intermediate tip line can give you the same result.  Personally, I like Rio’s "Midge Tip" line and a 7-10’ mono leader with 2 feet of fluorocarbon tippet.

Check out our selection of leaders, tippets, and backing here. 

How to effectively fish the balanced fly

The idea is to cast out to where you believe the fish are holding off a ledge, shoal, or near a weed line. Let the chop or roll on the surface animate the fly while you subtly retrieve it with either a hand twist, long slow or short slow retrieves.

Want to see if a Balanced Fly works for you? Shop our selection here.

This is an amazingly efficient way to cover these areas and find fish.  Prior to this method, I would often try a similar technique with the traditional wooly bugger, but would often hang bottom or pull back a wad of weeds.

The balanced fly allows the hook to ride point up and with the bobbing motion, it tends not to foul loose material like a traditional bugger. This is another huge advantage to keeping your fly in the water longer. The longer it marinates, the more succulent the victory.

Balanced fly bonus: fish tacos and perch

Another, super cool thing about balanced leeches is that they have become one of my go-to patterns when fishing for perch in the spring and the fall.  Perch often school in shoals during these periods. They can be a real treat to catch on a fly rod (and enjoy in a tortilla, with a little white sauce).

The funny thing about perch is that they aren’t robust swimmers. So, keeping things slow is pertinent to the success of the balanced strategy. It allows you to do just that, and it also preys on their natural curiosity, without alarming their sometimes tentative nature.

I hope to see you in the shop so we can discuss more of the relevant strategies behind the limitless imagination of the "Balanced Fly."

We have a vast selection to choose from and all the components to get you started tying your own--if you have any questions, use the form below or reach out to us on Facebook.