Leisenring lift

[laszlo]

Can someone explain or video direct the Leisenring lift maneuver.

 

[redietz]

It's simply letting a fly sink (by using a dead drift) and then letting the line tighten to make the fly rise in water column at a spot where there's a fish holding.

In Leisenring's own words:

"Now watch the fly. It is almost to him, and would only have to travel about four more feet to pass right by his nose without his looking at it unless it can be made to appear alive and escaping. At this point the progress of the rod following the fly is checked, and the pressure of the water against the stationary line and leader is slowly lifting the fly."

"The trout notices it. The hackles or legs start to work, opening and closing, and our trout is backing downstream in order to watch the fly a little more, because he is not quite persuaded as yet. Now you can see the fly become even more deadly. As more water flows against the line, the fly rises higher off the bottom and the hackle is working in every fiber. It will jump out of the water in a minute, now, and the trout is coming for it. Bang! He's got it"

It's not rocket science, you probably already do something similar. The trick is to time to make sure the fly rises right in front of a fish.

It's related to Sawyer's "induced take." The difference that Sawyer was fishing upstream and needed to actually lift the rod to get the fly to rise. Leisenring only needed to let the line go tight, not lift the rod.

 

[Acristickid]

When your drift is done , you lift your line up and it looks like a bug is emergining and taking off.

 

[troutbert]

redietz wrote:

It's simply letting a fly sink (by using a dead drift) and then letting the line tighten to make the fly rise in water column at a spot where there's a fish holding.

It's not rocket science, you probably already do something similar.

Leisenring only needed to let the line go tight, not lift the rod.

So Leisinring lift = drag, amirite? ;-)

 

[redietz]

troutbert wrote:

So Leisinring lift = drag, amirite? ;-)

Something like that. Deliberate drag, initiated at a chosen spot.

Leisenring was talking about fishing unweighted wet flies with no shot. To get them to have sunken far enough to get vertical movement indicates he's not fishing a simple down-and-across swing (which I suppose could be interpreted as constant drag.) There's a paragraph or so before the bit that I quoted, which I didn't include because I don't have my copy of The Art of Tying the Wet Fly and Fishing the Flymph handy - I had to grab it off the web. It talks about casting above a sighted fish and letting the fly go "bumpity-bump" across the bottom. There's a lot technique implied beyond simply letting the line go taut.

The controlled use (or non use) of drag is the essence of presentation in moving water.

 

[troutbert]

How do you get an unweighted wet fly to go "bumpity-bump" along the bottom?

 

[redietz]

Use heavier hooks, cast upstream, avoid drag and let the fly sink.

OTOH, I've long assumed that there was a bit of wishful thinking involved about just how far he got the fly to sink.

 

[outsider]

Many times fishing a long rod and a very short line (what they call high sticking today). I cast directly upstream and when the line/fly is directly in front of me I strip the line (not too fast, sometimes in an erratic motion) straight up, to duplicate an emerging insect rising from the bottom of the stream to the top of the stream. Surprising how fast some insects can swim from bottom to top.

 

[DGC]

Leisenring probably used a silk line and gut leader. Both were likely thinner and heavier and sank if desired. Casting upstream first to gain depth still applied and was probably easier than if using modern tech. That is not to imply he wasn't also talented.

 

[Bopper]

It works best in long uniform runs of current.

 

[tomgamber]

So Leisinring lift = drag, amirite? ;-)

You say that like it's a bad thing...,