Top tips

On this thread, let all the experienced fly fishers give a few tip to beginners, or even those who are struggling to catch.

My tip is this. Knowing this about the behavour of trout has helped me take thousand of fish and many limit bags in the past.

We all have experienced a huge swirl right under your rod tip at the end of a retrieve and hooked nothing. This particularly happens in crystal clear water when you are stood up or when you are boat fishing.

Most will say: "Look at that, the trout missed the fly." Then they cast out again and get nothing. In fact they will flog that same spot for ages and still get nothing.

The truth of the natter is that the swirl was not a trout missing your fly at all. It was a trout that had followed your fly and on seeing you stood by the water or in the boat, had hightailed it off in fright. You had scared that trout and most likely several others that were in front of you! Trout do communicate danger to other trout. Of this I am convinced.

So how do you avoid this.

Get back out of the water and into a back cast long before the fly is no less than 8 to 10 yards of your rod tip. You do this by lifting a floating line straight into the air, a couple of false casts and out again.

With a sunk line be carefull. If you try pulling it out of the water you might break your rod. Rather roll cast the line out and straight into the back cast.

Even if a fish has been following your fly, you will not have spooked him and the fish remains catchable.

The moral of the story is that it often does not pay to fish out your flies to the very end. You are probably spooking lots of fish.

When fishing with Buzzers use a long leader of at least 15ft and leave a loop of fly line from the rod tip onto the water and watch this for bites; every time it moves strike.

If you are new to a water don't be afraid to ask what the going fly is and the style it should be fished in. This gives you a good starting point and saves time in getting a fish on the bank.

Excellent tip Gimp, I do that myself.

Come on you experts, give us some of your top tips.

Cat? Billy Boy?

Maggots fished on a sleeper rod in the margins save many a bank day!

Not that I have ever done something so underhanded...I prefer dendras as they wiggle more!

If you are having trouble keeping the back cast up in the air, it's due to dropping your arm or allowing your wrist to drop too much, try putting the rod but down your sleeve if you have elastic cuffs on you coat, or use s wrist band and put the rod but into the band. Helps keep your wrist straight.

when fishind buzzers or suspended nymphs, forget trying to spot 'bites' on length of line that hangs from rod tip to water, or feeling for bites,leave that to more experienced anglers,get yourself some mini-fish pimps if your chosen water alows em ,there bloody brilliant and will save you a lot of frustration from ''midge sippers'' that give you unbelievably hard fast bites that you cannot connect with!



p.s. went to press sat afternoon with Cat bloody freezing! had one and missed two, one or two fish chasing around sub -surface but not a lot moving really, not suprising though it was about -3!

Don't start fishing on a large reservoir, start on a small still water and build up your techniques there, then move on to larger waters.

Did Cat get anything Billy?

If anyone thinks I'm going out in a temperature of -3C, they must be mad.
Mini fish pimps - you mean bungs.

I've never used a bung yet in my life and I catch stacks of fish on midges and nymphs. I have used a dry fly on the top dropper of course and have struck when that goes down.

If your fly line starts twisting over on itself in bundles and won't shoot, take of the flies and, paying the entire line out on the grass behind you as you go, take the line for a walk.

You need to give it a good 100 yards, but as it drags along the ground (and only do this on clean grass) it will untwist itself perfectly.

Reel it back on through a rag soaked in ArmorAll car cleaner - gives lines some real zing through the rings!

Presentation is everything in fly fishing. Occasionally you'll hit upon a couple or three flies that cast wonderfully and catch fish.

When you finish the session, put them alongside each other to remind you of good combinations to save all that faffing around at the start of the next session.

Weighted nymph/wet combinations of three flies are particularly good combinations to keep together.

Thank's for that Mark. What you have said is oh so true. What often works fo me on a three fly leader is a red buzzer or bloodworm imitation on the point, a black one on the middle and a light grey one with a bit of orange tied behind the thorax on the top.

If you start getting twists in your fly line it also means that your casting action is going out of plane. Watch that you are not twisting your wrist as you cast. You are also starting your forward cast too soon. This will cause "tailing loops" and put wind knots into your leader.

"You are also starting your forward cast too soon. This will cause "tailing loops" and put wind knots into your leader."

AHAA!!!! Cheers, Ron. Should have been obvious, but I'm dim.