Fishing Q&A

Fly fishing-How do I land more fish?

When I go fly fishing, I get fish to bite all of the time. (I usually go nymphing.) I am new to fly fishing and I only land one out of every twenty fish that take my fly at best. I am probably setting the hook the wrong way. How do I land more fish that take my flies?

Public Comments

1. once the fish hits....wait for the tug before you set, alot of times, you may be pulling it right out of the lil guys mouth, alot of people get excited by the splash...you have to wait for the tug.
2. Sometimes folks that are new to fly fishing feel that they need a hard hookset such as in bass fishing. In fly fishing, its more of a sweeping action to tighten the line. Very sharp hooks also help. I keep a diamond file attached to my vest at all times and always touch up the hook point on every fly I use.
3. use a strike indicator if your not already, allows you to set the depth of your nymph/wet fly and helps you avoid catching the bottom that sometimes feels like a hit. I like to use a larger dry (8-10) that's easy to spot, or a size 12-14 with lots of hackle (in slower water) tied on a dropper, when the dry goes under set the hook. I won't usually resort to wet flys though unless nothings happening with the drys, I just have more fun with drys. smaller flies may help also (size 16-20 have worked best for me when it comes to nymphs), sometimes smaller fish try like hell to take your fly but just can't seem to get their mouth around it. I've found that if I let a running fish have to much slack they will get off the hook, browns seem to have a real talent for this.
4. Keep a relatively taught line, especially if you are fishing barbless. Something tells me that if you are only landing one in twenty fish that take your fly, you are thinking that you may have a fish on the line, and really don't. You could have hits from fish that are not taking the fly because it's too big, or you may be bumping the bottom, and that may feel like a strike to you. You might switch to smaller flies and make note of the changes. I carry some that are on size 28 hooks, which I consider pretty specialized but you might need to try one or two that small, or nearly so. When you set the hook, it should be more "slow and easy" than "BAM", as if you were whale fishing. You don't want to yank it out of their mouths. If your hook is sharp and your line fairly tight, it should go right to the mark and "setting" it would really not be a very conscience effort. On a positive note, you're out there having fun, catching a few of them, and things can only get better. Keep it up.
5. I also mostly nymph fish on rivers, it is a great way to catch fish. It isn't uncommon to miss a lot of strikes while nymph fishing. If you are using a strike indicator and are fishing the nymphs right then you have the nymphs right down near or on the bottom so your strike indicator is doing a lot of little dips as the flies go over the rocks. Sometimes it is really hard to tell the difference between a strike and a rock stopped fly. What you do in either case is give the rod a semi-sharp upward movement, as indicated, not like setting a hook on a bass, but a short and sharp upward movement. If you are on a rock you may pull it loose or if you are on a fish you may set the hook. Are you catching any small fish or whitefish? They may be grabbing the fly but not taking it into their mouths. Whitefish tend to turn on their sides when taking a fly and sort of suck the fly in. It is easy to miss a whitefish take since often the fly is pulled out of it's mouth. As indicated, sharp hooks are a must and if you have been snagging up on the rocks a lot then maybe they are dull or maybe you bent the hook point out a bit. If you did bend it out the fly will come right out of the mouth of the fish when you are fighting it. After every hard rock hook up, check you fly to make sure it is still sharp and not bent out. You need to fish the fly totally drag free under the strike indicator, and the flies have to be right near the bottom, this is a must. However, there is a lag time between when the fish first takes the fly and when the strike indicator responds to that take, that lag time is determined by the amount of slack there is between the fly and the indicator. That is why you must be really ready to set the fly when you see the indicator move, the fish may already be starting to reject the fly, so keep and eye on the indicator and give it that set every time it does something it shouldn't. Things like a quick dip, or it stops or best of all when it disappears. If you hesitate just a split second you may already have missed the fish. The suggestions for using smaller flies are really good suggestions. Have some size 16 and 18 nymphs and maybe a few smaller for when they are needed. If you are using heavy nymphs, then make sure you have a strike indicator large enough to stay afloat when it is just the hydraulic action of the water pulling on the flies. As I said, it isn't uncommon to miss a lot of takes while nymph fishing, but then you get a lot of takes and that makes it a great way to fish. Yes, for those of you who do mostly or all dry fly fishing, that is also a great way to fish, when the fish are taking dries on the surface, which is only a small percentage of the time. The rest of the time, nymphing is great. I always have two rods rigged when I drift the rivers, one for dries and one for nymphing. Good luck on your next trip. Larry
6. well to put this in simple forms you need to take your time you need to keep tension on the fish so keep yor rod at an angle also if the fish wants to run let it anoter good tip is not always to play your fish on the fly reel but instead use your fingers and slowly retrieve the line also use barbless hooks i know it sounds strange but they set better into the fishes mouth also when you see a fish follow your fly but just wont take it try speeding it up that way the fish will generally take it. also use a landing net when tou get the fish close to the bank
7. I am not the best fly fisher nor do I profess to be, infact until recently I was getting it all wrong. Then I came across a site which provided some sound advice on how to catch more trout. Since then my landing rate has improved. I've posted a link to the site below
8. The first thing you can do to land more fish is: Sharpen your hooks. If you really thing about it, only two things actually touch the fish, your hook and the leader. If your leader is sound, then your hooks need attention. Sharpen them regularly.
9. Hello. One thing you want to look for when your nymphing a stream or creek or even a river is how much slack line you have. Keep your line snug and when you feel a bite set the hook by jerking your rod from the 9:00 position to the 12:00 position. Another thing check to see if your hooks are sharp and if they have barbs on them. I hope i helped you out, good luck. Leadwing2
10. You have received some very good advice from some very knowledgable people on this board. I would offer this: Since you said you're getting lots of bites, don't change your set-up, or the size nymphs you're using, getting fish to hit is more than half the battle. Do keep your hooks sharp. Make sure there is no slack in your fly-line, sounds to me as if you're setting the hook, but it is taking too long, slack line is responsible for many a missed hookset. If you're using the "dead-drift method", mend your line ASAP and keep it tight, if your are "swinging" the nymphs, keep a tight line throughout the drift. A simple upward twitch should do the trick when you get a hit. If using an indicator, do not delay your hookset when you see it bob ,twitch or dart. Are you using a fast action rod ? Soft rods or moderate flex rods are not (IMO) as good for nymphing as a medium fast or fast action rod, since they are not as responsive.
11. just because a hook is new doesn't mean it's sharp.i sharpen every hook before i use it.try it i bet you start catching more fish.a sharp hook is very important.