I’m lucky to live where I live, in close proximity to the RIO Fishing Products home offices here in Idaho Falls. The staff at RIO is among the best in the business at the “science” of fly line manufacturing, and the vast majority of them are impressive anglers, too.
And, once in a while, I get to run into folks like Simon Gawesworth at the pub. Gawesworth is RIO’s brand manager, and while he doesn’t live here in Idaho Falls anymore (he now lives in Washington and chases steelhead on the Lewis River), he’s here often enough to make a chance run-in seem pretty normal. And what I like most about Simon is that he’s a true fly-fishing teacher. His demeanor is pleasant and calm; he is an unabashed fan of the products his company makes, and he’s really, really good at showing other anglers how to use them effectively.
Above, Simon takes on a discipline of fly fishing that confounds a lot of anglers, particularly those of use who don’t fish a lot of stillwater for trout. Using RIO sinking fly lines, Simon walks through some highly effective methods for casting and fishing for trout in lakes.
Sinking lines can be a bear to cast, but as Simon demonstrates in the short film above, it’s not so much about the cast as it is about the sink rate, the rertrieve and learning a few simple tricks, like fishing the “hang” and counting the depth. And, of course, he shows off a few uniquely RIO product features that make fly fishing easier.
If you’re “lake curious,” and realize that, in order to get to the fish, you’re going to need to use a sinking line, check this video out. It’ll get you started.
— Chris Hunt