Mike had landed on a common phrase that usually triggers a response from me. It’s one of the myths of fly fishing, and it carries too much consequence to let it go. Hook sets are not free. There’s a price to pay. Oftentimes that cost is built into our success. And other times, the costs of too frequently setting the hook pile up, stealing away our limited opportunities . . .
Fly distance restrictions unnecessarily limit the common angler from taking full advantage of tight line systems. If you choose to fish under FIPS rules, do so by choice, with your eyes wide open and for good reason. Take a fresh look at why you are choosing your flies, your leaders, your fly rods and your tactics. And be sure that you’ve thought through both the benefits and the consequences inherent.
Eggs drift slowly. They roll over the rocks with a neutral buoyancy of sorts, ready to rest and settle on the rocks, but easily transported by whatever currents pick them up . . .
Playing it safe will have you cautiously trying to keep your egg pattern from sticking and hanging up. And you might get really good at bringing that little morsel through the strike zone, without touching and snagging up at all. But you won’t catch trout . . .
For effective, convincing underwater presentations of flies to a trout, the tight line advantage is the cornerstone concept. Nothing else is more important.
Because a river is composed of changing and moving seams, defeating that unwanted drag is the nymph angler’s ongoing battle. How do we defeat that drag? With the tight line advantage. Watch this video to see it in action.
Choosing the right indicator is the first step to setting up and effective system. Balance between indy and weight is the key.
Presenting natural, convincing or looks-like-real-food drifts is the responsibility of every angler. Whether the flies are light or heavy, whether we’re drifting weighted flies, drop shot or split shot, it’s our ability to adjust, to refine and endlessly improve that keeps us wading into a river anew with each trip.
It’s why we love the nymphing game . . .
Fishing a full Mono Rig system allows for abundant versatility — but not without the line hand. You have two hands, so use them both. Get that second hand off your hip, and use it for slack recovery, opening up a range of options, adjustments and efficiencies.
Convinced or curious? Sometimes, it’s that intersection of the two states that elicits the irresistible urge from a fish. And trout eating on the drop is one of those times. . . .
Gaining the bottom, feeling that contact with the riverbed and then gliding over it, tap, ta-tap, tap-a-tap, maybe five to ten times throughout the drift is success. But I’ve noticed that anglers tend to get complacent. Tickling the bottom is only half of the job. And that’s not good enough. We still need to find the right speed for a drift and keep everything in one seam.
Drop shotting puts the angler in ultimate control. Be aware of every element of the drift, and make good choices, because all of them are yours. Control is the advantage of a drop shot rig. Remember this always — your rod tip controls everything . . .
There are plenty of ways to build a drop shot rig. This one is built for finesse. Rarely is much weight required, because the rest of the leader is literally designed for getting the flies down — to allow light weights to fall quickly . . .
The weight is at the heart of drop shot nymphing. Putting that weight at the end of the line is what makes it unique. And using the right kind of weight makes it pretty special.
You want streamlined? You want dense, concentrated weight in a package with no material resistance? You want pure efficiency in a weight form? Drop shot is your answer . . .