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I have caught a half dozen fish in the last couple of days by smacking the fly hard on the water right where the fish are lying in pocket water . They charge up from the bottom and smack the fly hard. I know Kelley Galloup advocates this tactic for streamer fishing to provoke a strike but I do not recall hearing or reading this for euro-nymphing. I was wondering if the strikes I was getting were from hatchery fish that have been conditioned to react to pellets hitting the water . I have listened to presentations by competitive fishermen who talk about making the fly bite, which I interpreted as striking the water hard so it would sink faster. Could anyone clear this up for me. I am in my first year of euro-nymphing so a lot of things are new to me.
04-16-2009, 06:27 AM
alanb_ct
Re: nymph smack down
Yes, this is a fact, you have it right. Aaron spends a lot of time talking about this very phenomena in his lectures. This is why it is often better to make lots of shorter drifts instead of fewer longer drifts. You can often provoke the "reaction strike." It is also the reason why you need to have your rod at the proper angle as soon as you make the cast.
04-16-2009, 07:56 AM
wwelz
Re: nymph smack down
Thank You Alan - I will adjust my tactics .
04-16-2009, 10:46 AM
sholgate
Re: nymph smack down
Good to know. I often use pretty large and heavy anchors even in smaller water, triggering fish to take in a spash may be good. I am often worried in being too "loud".
04-16-2009, 12:29 PM
Adam
Re: nymph smack down
look at this way as well...if trout aren't totally scared off by the monster mepps spinner landing in the water...then I don't think the too loud fear is one to spend a lot of time with.
I think the opposite has been proven true by most of the folks...the splash and flash lead to that reaction strike. I am finding that if I am ready...I get more strikes that way than say mid drift...
04-16-2009, 10:28 PM
LopatNympher
Re: nymph smack down
I've always held that fish are looking up more than forward. When they see a disturbance on top of the water, they almost can't help themselves, they gotta have it.
04-17-2009, 06:36 AM
alanb_ct
Re: nymph smack down
This is most important in small areas of faster water (pocket water). In these areas, it is standard technique to cast every 3 seconds or so. The streams where I fish don't really present many opportunities to fish like this though, they are a bit too big.
