4 Critical Fly Fishing Tips

Good Fly PresentationLeader Connection
Obviously, the goal when casting a fly is toIf you are a fly caster, you know that a smooth
present the fly to the fish in a realistic manner.connection between the leader and fly line is
You are trying to simulate nature here. If you areimportant in presentation. The best way to do
going for trout in a stream, for instance, thisthis is to nail-knot a six-inch piece of 25-30 pound
means a drag-free float of 36 inches over aleader material to the end of the fly line. A loop
precise spot that marks the window of a feedinglike those found on snelled hooks is then tied into
fish.the opposite end. The connecting leader must also
Also remember that the Evening Secret ( willhave a loop.
swarm fish to your spot consistantly, and helpConnecting the leader itself is done by passing the
you catch more fish.loop attached to the fly line through the loop on
Never randomly cast - you have got to pick athe leader; reaching through the fly line loop. Next,
spot and hit it. Throw tight loops that put the flygrab the butt section of the leader and pull the
on target. One important method that can beleader up through until the tippet passes the loop.
used is to overcast the target and stop the lineLast, just pull the loops together by tugging on
short while it is in the air. The fly should comethe fly line and the butt section in opposite
back to you and fall on the water with slack indirections.
the leader.Strategy
The best trout fishermen fish with only 30 to 35If you are every in a situation where see large
feet of line, but make up for this with accuratebrown trout in open water and hold, your best
casting. They read waters will and put the fly inbet is to use a No. 12 Cinnamon Ant and sink it. If
the p ay zone time after time. One of the mostthis doesn't work, move to the No.16 Adams fly.
important thins they do is to recognize thatStill nothing? Switch to the No. 20 Black Ant.
presentation and approach are much moreLast-ditch effort would be to use a 3X tippet and
important than pattern.use a No. 6 nymph or streamer.
It is different for bass. Whether a surface bug orTypically the bigger trout will leave small morsels
a streamer, the offering must move past a spotto the small guys, preferring the bigger bites that
where a bass is apt to hold. As the boat drifts, itare easy to get. They are very economical
is important to pick a precise time to shoot afeeders.
cast to the target. Too soon or too late, and theHigh Rider Dry Fly's
fly won't be in the right spot. This is where theIf your best dry-fly patterns are failing you, it
double haul form of casting becomes essential. Itmay be time to switch to spiders and variants.
generates line speed and enables the caster toMany times a spider or variant will bring trout to
pick 30 or 40 feet of line off the water andthe surface, then you can switch back to a
shoot another without false casting.conventional dry fly.
When bassing, make your presentation, retrieveThese spiders and variants will delicately drop to
10 to 20 feet, pick up, and cast again without thethe water, usually somersaulting or jumping after
need to false cast. After each one, drop the rodtouching it. Fish find this very alluring.
type and keep the butt of the rod near your beltHigh riding is another attribute of these flies. When
buckle with the tip-top of the rod pointing at thetied properly, their hackles support the hook
line. A simple lift will let you execute the nextabove the water's surface, thus imitating a natural
pickup or strike a fish.fly much more closely than the ordinary fly does.