Hi @Thomas, thanks for asking this like 5 years ago. I found myself at the Dordogne yesterday, wondering the same thing. I don't have much experience with dry fly fishing and what I have, is of the easy kind (e.g. fish hooking themselves). Last night, it was great to see how the fly would submerge, but with lots of slack line on the water (because of the rather rapid stream) I'd miss all the time. Thanks for all the great pointers:
- timing (quick take, quick strike; slow take, wait, quick strike)
- use your full arm (e.g. not just a strip strike)
- strike in the opposite direction, the fish is taking.
So a question I'd have, would you recommend me, a beginner, to fish in calmer parts of the water and more close-by, so I get a better view on the strikes? (where I am fishing, you can't really see through the water, because of the current)
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Techniques for setting the hook
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Techniques for setting the hook
Since the inception of this topic I’ve had a lot of experiences which have led me to the conclusion that a lot of missed strikes are caused by missed takes which can be improved upon by using thinner tippets. It became very clear to me on my last trip to Tasmania. Same fish, same waters, 8 years of difference later there is much more pressure. Dropping tippet sizes was my solution to many missed takes.
Cheers, Paul
Cheers, Paul
Techniques for setting the hook
PaulPaul Arden wrote:Since the inception of this topic I’ve had a lot of experiences which have led me to the conclusion that a lot of missed strikes are caused by missed takes which can be improved upon by using thinner tippets. It became very clear to me on my last trip to Tasmania. Same fish, same waters, 8 years of difference later there is much more pressure. Dropping tippet sizes was my solution to many missed takes.
Cheers, Paul
Interesting! I learned to down size my tippet years ago. Like you, doing so got me more hook ups, with surface as well as subsurface flies. There's less restrictions, the flies have more movement, the presentation is important, at times over looked.
Lou