GETTING YOUR FLY IN FRONT OF FISH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FLY SELECTION

What question is asked of fly shop owners more than any other What’s the hot fly?What did you ask the guys in the parking lot on the way to the river Any luck today; what fly were you getting ema on?

What are the first things that go through your mind when you are not hooking fish?

• Time to change my fly or
• Change spots.

For lots of anglers, its all about the fly but my experience says Getting your fly in front of fish is more important than the fly selection.

You may be using the most beautiful, realistic fly ever tied, but if the fish are feeding on the bottom and your fly is going well over the fish head, not much is likely to happen. The same applies if the fish are more active on the surface or the middle of the water column and your fly is digging a trench on the bottom.

Here are some alternatives to changing flies or spots!

• Adding weight and/or moving the weight closer to the fly get your fly down quicker and keep it down longer.
• Reducing weight and/or moving it further from the fly will cause the fly to ride higher in the water.
• Adding length to your leader gives dry flies more drag free drift time and gets your nymph deeper if needed.

So next time you are on the water NOT getting ema and contemplating clipping the fly or walking upstream, adjust the amount and location of the weight on your leader or the length of the leader first see what happens.  Presenting the fly in the same zone the fish are feeding usually does the trick.