Upstream or Downstream

[otter]

Hi,

This weekend I'll be making my first trip up to trout country in about 2 years. Here on the Gulf Coast, I mainly fish saltwater and warmwater. Anyway, it's been awhile since I've fished CW and I'm a bit rusty.

Now a question for you trout gurus out there: When do you prefer fishing upstream or downstream? Why? What cirumstances?

I usually fish upstream when using dries or emergers, as I wade like a water buffalo and coming up from behind the troutskies helps me spook less of them. I usually fish nymphs down stream in a dead drift, or at least as dead as I can get it, and I usually fish streamers, esp wolly buggers, downstream and across and sweep the bottom with them - as its worked well for me before.

I would love to hear how some of you CW specialists approach all this. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks-

[Panman]

I fish upstream whenever I can. Like you said it is easier to sneak up on the fish and you don't muddy the water that you are going to fish. I fish my flies on dead drift to include streamers. In addtion there is one other factor -safety. If you are fishing downstream on a larger stream or river and don't watch what you are doing you can end up wading into a spot where the water is too deep and the current prevents you from wading back up stream. Believe me this can happen. I know from experience.

Tim

[Dot Man]

I had a banner day last Saturday with a black unweighted wooly bugger. Got nothing on the swing, only got hits and takes when I stripped back in at various points of the swing. Alter your strip speed and length, plus wiggle your rod tip too at a pause. The rainbows hit hard and fast that day.

Why did I go to the bugger and downstream? Even tho sulphers were hatching and bountiful there were no risers. The week before I used a GRHE nymph and did ok but I wanted to try something different and it paid off big time.

Dot

[Gramps]

Upstream for dries, and downstream for wets. I don't mess with nymphs.

[Donald Nicolson]

It is one hundred and fifty years since William Clouston Stewart advised upstream wet fly fishing.
He was right then and he is right now. I'll say no more.

[RS2]

Either method produces, so pick one. I prefer upstream for dry fly fishing and most nymphing. Downstream for streamer fishing and swinging wets. I also pick the direction based on other fishermen on the stream. If somebody is there and going up, I'll go down and vice versa.

As long as I'm on the water, I'm happy and will do whatever I need to do to enjoy the most uninterupted fishing I can get.

[DaleW]

I do both ways, too, but would rather fish dries upstream if possible. The very best luck I've had with downstream fishing is during a steady, light rain, using nymphs and streamers.




Dale

[DShock]

Casting accurately upstream with a dry fly just makes sense.

[billknepp]

Dries and nymph's upstream whenever possible.

[Chris Dore 1]

Swinging a pair of nymphs, a streamer or a team of wets down and across alllows you to cover more water when searching, or fishing unfamiliar water. Also productive when not much apears to be happening in the river.

A method I often employ on our larger Southern NZ rivers when fish arent holding in the shallows.

Chris