[truchas]

I am interested in learning different ways to work (retrieve) flies in the water. Could anybody indicate a good source for that, or better yet, write with some thing line this: " in still waters, for streamers, I strip line 6" at the time at 20 sec intervals". If you need to use words like Psilotreta labida in your reply, you are being more specific than I wanted. Let see how many different ways I can learn and which ones turn to be the most effective. I know there is not a single answer for a complicated question like this other than than: "it depends", please try to be general but informative ;-). Remember, I do not know much about this stuff...

Thanks,

Truchas.

[MrEsox]

It is all in the eye of the beholder, eye of fish, and the fly type you are using. Some flyes work better if you work it very slowly with small short strips. Others work better with faster longer strips. Finally some work best if you strip very little and use the rod to do the action. For most of my bigger flys I use for pike and bass I use a combo of both the rod and line. It all depends on how the fish react to it. I find with a popper for bass, more rod is needed then line pull. Other though work better with a bit of line pull and rod pull. Lastly there are times when nothing at all works. Drifting the fly right along can result in the best action for it. Dry flys work (IMHO) best in this way. Small short twiches just to get the water moving a bit to get a fishes attention sometimes helps if your in slack water or lake/pond fishing. Lastly rivers are nice since they move your fly for you. You dont have to do much for moveing of the fly unless you are trying to reposition it. Again it all depends on what kind of fly your using. The way I use flys for what I fish for might be differant then what you are. I tend to work a bit faster and use more of the rod when fishing with my streamers...but when using smaller streamers and wet flys I tend to slow down let them fall for a more natrural look and use just short strips of the line. It is easy to learn this but you have to realize there are more ways to work a fly then there are people on this planet, each has their own way or ways of fishing them, and since there are several catagories of flys each of them might get a special way of use person to person, then again each fly period might get a differant way of use. Rember what old Esox lucius once said, if it looks good enough I'll eat it.

[BigCliff]

I think what helps most in this arena is to visualize what the fly is doing as you're fishing it. I try to make my fly do one of three things: dead drift along with the current, try to slowly sneak away from a predator, or go full blast as fast as possible away from a predator.

A fourth option is to to hop a weighted fly along the bottom kicking up mud/silt as it goes along. Some predator fish will actually key in on the mud puffs.

[truchas]

Thanks for the tips, I will keep your suggestions in mind.

Truchas.

[Kai]

You should consider buying this book, Active Nymphing, by Rich Osthoff.

Amazon.com: Active Nymphing: Aggressive Strategies for Casting, Rigging, And Moving the Nymphs: Rich Osthoff: Books

It's the best book on nymphing strategies I've ever read. Tons of very specific advice and ideas on how to fish more productively with wet flies.