Slack or drag?

[ryansheehan]

George Daniel post

Very interesting thoughts, much of my nymph rig setup is done with strike detection in mind. I keep a very short distance between my point fly and shot. If I'm dropping a fly of the back it's normally 4-5 inches, all in the name of strike detection. Never quite thought of it this way though but definitely something I will keep in mind next time on the river.

 

[redietz]

The same goes for fishing wet flies upstream in faster water, the only difference is in the depth of the flies. I'd rather be dragging the flies slightly than to lose contact.

 

[Acristickid]

Lead the nymphs through the drift.

My rod is in front of my line.

 

[cl3]

Thanks for sharing this article. Also, for pointing out what appears to be a great guide / teacher.

So, lead the nymphs... tandem nymphs? No strike indicator, right?

 

[ryansheehan]

cl3 wrote:
Thanks for sharing this article. Also, for pointing out what appears to be a great guide / teacher.

So, lead the nymphs... tandem nymphs? No strike indicator, right?

For this situation, no indicator. I do use indicators in flatter slow water or when I'm too far away to tight line. Do remember that you don't have to lead the nymphs to keep a tight line. In an "ideal" world my rod tip would be moving at the same speed as the flies. As we all know fly fishing situations are rarely ideal and you end up leading the flies more often then not. I think the entire point of the article is if you have to choose between contact or drift speed take contact. That being said sometimes I will sacrifice contact for drift in areas I am highly confident in. I will then set the hook when the fly reaches that "A" prime lie. It works....occasionally.

 

[MKern]

There is a difference between lightly pulling your flies in conjunction with the current and ripping them across it. A fine line.

 

[NewSal]

Be careful if your new to this, I would highly recommend practicing getting a good drag free drift and watching strike detection first. George does not mean pulling them down stream at a wild rate, just tight enough that your in direct contact, which will be leading them, a complete drag free drift will be represented by, among other things, a slight bow in your sighter, "pulling" would be just tightening that bow out. Just be careful with your interpretation of pulling the flies if your brand new to sighter only fishing.

EDIT: This was not aimed at anyone in particular, just my two cents on new fisherman that might stumble across the post.

 

[afishinado]

Good posts above by both Ryan and Sal.

In faster water, especially pocket water, a more tight line approach often works best. In turbulent water any insect or prey will be move in more erratic fashion than slower current with an even flow so the precise drift of you fly is not as important. Plus the the fast current gives trout a shorter time to make a decision to hit or not. Therefore, the most important thing to focus on is strike detection more by feel, with a tighter line, having no or very little slack in your line.

In many other situations a dead drift presentation is best, where you raise your rod to a point to almost have a direct connection to the fly, but leave a little slack aka a slight bow in your line. Strike detection is more visual, often just a change or slight tightening of the the bow in your line. While again, the faster pocket water fishing scenario is often more by feel than by sight.

Finally, there are times when a tight line and leading the flies works best, especially during a caddis hatch or when same types of mayflies are actively swimming around ready to hatch. Leading your flies is sort of like a mini leisenring lift that imitates the active insects moving near the bottom or in the column.

Good stuff.