WHY CAN'T I CATCH THAT FISH? - Neil - October 10, 2011

[rtidd]

WHY CAN'T I CATCH THAT FISH?
We have all been there; we can see the fish, it's rising or we can see it feeding underwater, but everything we try fails to produce a take. You can hear yourself thinking, "Why can't I catch that fish?" What, if anything, can you do the next time you encounter such a frustrating situation? While I don't have all the answers I will make a few suggestions that may help.

[Rick Z]

You have more patience than I do. I move and look for fish that are more receptive.
I tell my wife that I am letting the fish grow bigger.

Rick

[The Chronicler]

Rick,

You're just smarter than me!

Neil

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Neil,

Sometimes the challenge of a tough fish is what makes the whole day worthwhile. Just getting a discerning fish to have a look at my imitation can be exciting. Actually hooking the fish is icing on the cake. Picked up a few pointers from you that I'll be trying out on the next hard fish.

REE

[Uncle Jesse]

Rick, You're just smarter than me! Neil

Neil, you have the disadvantage of being married to a lady who recognizes an obvious fishing lie when she hears one. I do not recall Rick mentioning his wife venturing into the flinging of line.

[NJTroutbum]

Excellent article! Enjoyed reading it very much. A person can never gather too much wisdom.

[Bad Luck Larry]

Neil,
Nice article!

Nice to know I'm not the only one who'll take a 'time-out'; I do it ALL the time! In fact, BEFORE I fish anywhere, I'll sit, light up the ol' briar, and do nothing but watch everything going on around me; the water, the air, the trees...I try to soak it all in just because it's so darn beautiful and peaceful, but it also slows me down ( like I NEED slowing down!) and makes me think about the proper line of attack as to how to catch those darn things. And when I'm flogging the water with nothing to show for it, I too will stop....STOP...sit down, put down the rod...caarrrfulllllllllllly....AND.. START CURSING!!! (HA!HA! just kidding.....) Like you, I'll stop and think through it all.
I also have a habit of talking to myself on the water. I know it probably looks stupid, but it really DOES help me re-evaluate what I'm doing, and consider what to do next.

You've given me some more things to think about. Thanks!

Cheers!

[Silver Creek]

"This also brings up a very important point when casting to a fish that is feeding on or close to the surface of the water. Many anglers cast too far in front of the feeding fish and that allows all kinds of problems to develop by the time their fly reaches the fish. ??.. When I'm fishing to fish visibly feeding on or near the surface I rarely place my fly more than a foot above the feeding fish and often I drop it even closer. This requires that you can cast accurately and delicately but the results are that your imitation doesn't have time to drag before it reaches your intended target. Works for me and it will work for you."


As you said, you can cast just above the fish only when the fish is close to the surface. Allow me to be more precise in how far above the fish you should cast.


The depth of the fish changes the size of the window. In the diagram below I have added arrows for the size of the window and the depth of the fish. You will also notice that the angle of the window from the trout's eye is 97.5?. Half of that if 48.75? which is about 45?. At 45?, the distance = r from the center of the window to the edge of the window is exactly equal to the depth =r of the fish. So we can approximate the the size of the window from the depth of the fish. The window diameter is 2r or about twice the depth of the fish.


This means the front edge of the window is equal to the depth R of the fish.







So cast no closer to the fish than the depth it is holding during feeding. I should note that objects in the water look more shallow than they are. Depth is distorted. So if a fish looks a foot deep, it is deeper and the window is wider. So cast further above the fish to compensate for this distortion.

[Doug Poudre]

Just read an article so I can't take credit, but midges? Check out Fly Rod and Reel.