The strike zone is a cushion of water near the bottom, and it’s where all good things happen in a river. The concept of locating the strike zone is absolutely game changing for a nymphing game.

When we learn to find contact and read the sighter, we’re no longer guessing about where the flies are. We know where they are, and we control where they’ll go next.

With a tight line rig, we’re no longer hoping something will happen. We’re making it happen. And that knowledge really l begins with finding contact and reading the sighter.

Many of these nine essential skills happen within the first couple seconds of the presentation — often less. And immediately after we stick the landing on the sighter (putting it in the perfect angle and height) we must begin recovering slack, to gain control of the system and keep it.

In this video, we highlight three different ways to recover slack and talk about why combining all of them is so important.

Sticking the landing is about putting the sighter in the perfect position for a great drift. The fly hits, tippet enters, and the sighter sets up in the air at an angle. Sticking the landing puts us in immediate control and it enhances strike detection.

Tight line drifts are short, so the entry of the fly must be efficient. Line on the water takes away our control, so everything drags. But sticking the landing maximizes our control from the beginning and sets up an efficient and effective drift of the nymph.

The tuck cast is at the heart of a good tight line nymphing presentation. It’s the result of good turnover in the air. It’s a simple fly-first entry. The tucks cast is not a specialized cast; it’s a one-hundred percent cast. Every time, all the time, this is how we cast a Mono Rig. No lobbing. Real casting, with control and accuracy that sets up a great drift.