Missing Strikes

[speck]

I need some help here. I have been a member of a quality stillwater rainbow trout fishery for 3 years now. One of the reasons I selected this venue is that float-tubing is encouraged. (At least by the management; the dry fly purists usually grumble something like, "The only ones catching fish are those guys in the tubes.") That's the good news. The not so good news is that I have never missed so many strikes in my life. If I landed every fish that hit my flies I'd be dangerous and the dry fly guys would "burn me in effigy."

Especially on days when the fishing is a little tough the fish seem to be nipping the marabou tails or whatever I've got hanging off the rear of the hook. So, okay lets go to mini buggers and damsels and stuff tied on #10 hooks, thinking that the fish will engulf the whole thing and end up hooked. This works sometimes but believe it or not they sometimes hit these smaller flies so hard that they break me off. (Even on 8 pound tippet.)

I have caught 2 double digit rainbows in these ponds this year so I know there are fish capable of breaking that kind of tippet. Any of you ever experience this? This is basically since I started tubing for trout but it happens as much on cast and retrieve as it does with the slow troll or drift.

I just read Bassyakker's post on the Warm Water forum about his suspicion of a leverage issue when fishing from his kayak. I wonder if this could have something to do with me failing to hook up so often while tubing for trout.


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"...whatever is true,whatever is noble,whatever is right,whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

[ducksterman]

Where's the tip of your rod?

Is your line taut?

How do you set the hook?

[speck]

Just above the water surface directly in front of me. Line is taught as I am imparting twitches and jerks with my line hand. I attempt to set the hook with a strip from the line hand and a lift of the rod. Perhaps striking to the side would be helful.

An interesting thing in all this is that I have become nicely aware of the subtle takes where the line just sort of stops or does something different. I usually hook these fish everytime. It's the smashing takes sometimes felt right into the rod handle that I'm missing about 50% of the time.

I should also mention that I'm fishing all my flies with the barbs crimped down.

[This message has been edited by speck (edited 21 July 2006).]

[ducksterman]

The rod tip is best pointing directly from you and IN the water and the line a direct extension....no slack...try to avoid lifting the rod...little strip hook set with the line hand....

and if some are hammering it the way you say they should be hooking themselves...don't hank back and....

personally I never have the drag set too tight...

you say double digit...inches or pounds?

Various types of retrieves is a whole new subject....

[speck]

Pounds duckster! This season I have caught 2 fish of a lifetime from the stillwater ponds at my trout club. Ihave caught trout there up to 7 pounds in the past but these two fish this year were real hogs. Both spanned the opening in my Outcast Fat Cat with head resting on one pontoon and tail on the other. 30" long with real substantial girth. Wish I had pictures to share butmy regular fishing buddy was working. Ive only gone two or three times without my friend. As luck would have it that's when I hooked up with the "hogs".

"if some are hammering it the way you say they should be hooking themselves"

That is what is so frustrating! I'm going to try and discipline myself to strip strike. It won't be easy as I've spent a lot of years fishing for warmwater species with spinning and baitcasting gear. Even though I'm an experienced flyfisherman my reflex reaction when they hit that hard is to attempt to set the hook with the rod.

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"...whatever is true,whatever is noble,whatever is right,whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

[billknepp]

Do you "Feel" the FISH before setting the hook ??

In still water....You want to feel the FISH before setting the hook...this only applies in still water fishing...and is a must...

Also as Duckster says keeping the slack outta the line is also imperative...Just some thoughts

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"I've often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before" A.K.Best

Everyone wants to excel in this sport but at the same time we let traditionalists place restrictions on our tactics, methods, and ideas. I always assumed that fly fishing was a sport that allowed imagination, creation, adaptation, investigation, dedication, education, revelation? : Fox Statler, On Spinners (Not the dainty Dry Fly kind) "Spinner'd Minner Fly"

"Wish ya great fishing"

Bill

[Jed]

Three thoughtsL

1. Are your hooks sharp

2. Are your flies built properly, not too long for the hook,

3. Put a bend in the hook to offset the point.

jed

[speck]

Thanks everyone. I bought a Dremel on the weekend and have been making foam bugs. My good friend uses his to grind down the barbs and superhone his hooks. Maybe I will try that.

[Bob Williams]

I was having similar problems many years ago. A more experienced fly fisher told me to keep my rod down and set the hook by pulling back on the line with my "line hand". At the time, I was fishing large bows in a small lake and, get this, it was my first time fishing from a float tube. Some of those fish were double didgit and the smaller fish faught like banshees but we never went to more than 6 lb. tippet. It was a private lake and the maximum hook size allowed was #12.
Believe me, it made a big difference in hook-up count.
This is, of course, totally dependant on your keeping the slack out of your line.

[RG/AR]

OK, I'm gonna go against the established majority here, and suggest that if you want to hook these "smashing" strikes without breakoffs, that you hold your rod at a 90 degree angle to the line and make no effort to set the hook. If a fish strikes that hard, and is a large fish to boot, it's an automatic tear-out or break-off if your line is taut without a way to yield tension. The rod is your spring, use it.