NEED HELP LANDING THE FISH

HI IM NEW AT FLY FISHING I'VE BEEN FLY FISHING FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS BUT AM NOT VERY GOOD AT IT IM NEW TO THIS SIT BUT IT HAS GIVEN ME ALOT OF GOOD INFO
I THINK I'M PRETTY GOOD AT CASTING BUT IM SURE I NEED ALOT MORE PRACTICE MY THING IS I GET THE FLY WERE IT NEEDS TO BE I SEE THE FISH TAKE THE FLY BUT BY THE TIME I TRY TO SET THE HOOK HES ALREADY SPIT MY FLY OUT. IM TRYING TO HAVE NO DRAG ON THE FLY AND THAT MEANS I HAVE ALOT OF LINE ON THE WATER I'M DOING SOMETHING WRONG JUST NOT SURE WHAT ANY SUG. THANKS DAN

Hello Dan25,
If you're making casts over say 40 ft, you aren't alone in having probs with hook sets. If you have to cast that far and once your fly lands, you could always drop and point the tip of the rod at the fly momentarily so you can strip the curves out of the line, then continue with the drift normally. I think that's what you mean anyway. Hope that's useful.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

As Moose states you need to maintain contact with the fly. One can have a drag free drift and still have almost no slack in the line itself. The issue you are having is called line control. You need to cast, mend the line so you have a drag free drift and still keep the line relatively without alot of slop between you and the fly.

As you let a nymph drift, at the end of its downward course let the line get tension and allow that tension to bring the fly to the surface. That simulates a nymph emerging and hopefully also stimulates a fish into biting.

Those who master line control are usually about 190 years old and the rest of us are still strying to improve our technique.

Do exacatly what Jed said, ALWAYS mend your line with a dry fly(on moving water), unless it is already a good float. Also, mend your line with anything else that your just having a dead float. Good luck.

JZ

A guide I fished with a couple years ago had us cast slightly upstream for the fish we were targeting with dries. Take ALL of the slack out of the line before starting the drift that will carry the fly the last couple feet to the fly.

That way, you have very little slack on the water and you're set up nicely just before the fly enters the fish's window of vision. If they're shallow, you can do this closer to where they're at than if they're deep...

I think your problem is the exact opposite of what you think. Even with a lot of slack line on the water the leverage you have with a flyrod allows you to put tension on the fly very quickly, if fact more quickly then a trout can take the fly and turn his head downward. I would be willing to bet that you are pulling the fly out of the fishes mouth before he gets a chance to close it. It sounds as if you a reacting as soon as you see the take, try giving the fish a second before raising your rod tip. Remember you don't set the hook flyfishing for trout like you do when bass fishing. All you do is raise your rod tip to put pressure on the fish, the small sharp hooks penetrate very easilly into the tissue in the trouts mouth, remember your not trying to penetrate bone, all you need is to catch a piece of soft tissue to land the fish.

Ray,
Great tag line.

jed

the lifting the rod tip set is great for dry flies (wait for the turn) and nymphs :D
but if you are streamer fishing only around 50% of your fish will be hooked when you strike by lifting your rod tip, you would do much better with a streamer if you did a strip set :)

chris

THANK YOU EVERY BODY I WILL TRY ALL OF YOUR SUG
AND RAY THAT IS A GREAT LINE

IF SOME ONE WOULD LIKE TO EXPAND ON MENDING YOUR LINE THAT WOULD BE GREAT I DONT THINK I GET THAT IDEA YET LIKE I SAID I'M JUST NEW AT THIS BUT I LOVE EVERY MIN I'M ON THE WATER
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN A GREAT HELP THANKS AGAIN