On Monday I fished the Tricos with a downstream presentation in broken riffles and runs. On Wednesday I used all straight upstream presentation on flat water. The difference was notable. The straight up stream presentation was the poorer of the two as far as the current conditions allowed. The problem with the upstream presentation was NOT getting my fly to drift correctly, it was the spooking the fish with the cast line falling on the water that was the problem. The best technique was picking a fish closest to you and being careful not to land your line proper over the top of any feeding fish. The line WILL invariably spook some of the fish in the rising pods. It truly would not have mattered if I was casting a zero weight line or a five. You may pick off one fish but he will rutt up the pod and move the fish. Anglers have a hard time with this and usually cast wildly because there are soooo many fish up. Isn’t it amazing how many fish are in these rivers! It is a much better strategy to pick your fish during this hatch instead of casting willy nilly. The downstream broken water strategy was more sucessful, quite possibilly because of the line drop in clear water problem. This approach gives the angler more cover from the fish and line drop is more camoflaged. Furthermore, the fly is the first thing entering their window of vision. Pattern selection can also be a critical link in the equation, don’t discount this factor. One problem associated with the downstream drift is the ability of spinner patterns to turn into tiny propellers and twist your tippet into a Slinky. The fishing and the observing during this hatch can be the most rewarding, humbling, and educating fishing of the year so don’t miss it. One customer put it in perspective yesterday. He said “I could have more luck with a rock!” He was one of the honest anglers, we’ll talk about the others next.
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