I have been trout and grayling fly fishing now for 2 years and have tried various techniques. The methods that have been successful, all involved an upstream cast.(wind permitting)
Whether it is a dry fly, wet fly or nymph,I have cast up river and tried to control the drift down at the speed of the current.
Question-
I have watched other anglers cast downstream to about 11-00 o’clock and let the flies swing round to directly below them, some then twitch the flies back. I always thought that you need to present your flies at the speed of the current to imitate the natural food of the fish coming down the river. Surely by casting downstream to that position you are getting very little dead drift as most of the time the flies are swinging unnaturally across the current and then coming upstream.
I see a lot of anglers do it so it must produce the fish.
Can someone please explain the principles of this method.

That is traditional wet fly fishing, you are enforcing the trout to make a snap decision to go for what it thinks is a food item. The line should not be left just to come round in the current, rather it should be worked through individual currents. You can make it speed up, slow down, fish deep or skate on the surface with small mends. Works with nymphs too.

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So it’s not just casting across and letting it swing round.
Next time I see someone fishing that method I must have a good look at what he is doing.
I tried a similar method with 3 spiders spaced out on a 12ft leader but I couldn’t get much control on them. Plenty of tangles though.
There is more to this fly fishing than I originally thought. I’ve only been at it five minutes so I have a lot to learn. Thanks for your advice, going to give it a go when I can get out

If you are fishing in a fast current the line will come round to quickly if just left. So either a small upstream mend or even better hold the line off the water and and follow the flies with the rod (easier shown than explained) this allows it to fish for longer.
The converse is also true if fishing a slow pool a downstream mend will help the flies come round quicker an aerial mend is preferable as it means less disturbance on slow moving water).
Theres quite a bit of skill to fishing the wet fly. If you are watching somebody watch how they search the pool or riffle starting in close and working out further, some people like to keep a line out pretty much the same distance all the time, others will stand in one spot and lengthen the line to cover new areas. You might also notice that if someone is fishing a weighted nymph they will let it come round in the current and hold in that position for a few seconds to allow it to ascend in the current sometimes inducing fish to take.
Its a whole other facet to flyfishing and a very enjoyable way to fish.
I'd like to thank BrianMcG who showed me how to do it properly. Jon

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http://www.edenangling.co.uk/

If you can get a copy of the dvd Essential Skills with Oliver Edwards: Wet Fly Fishing on Rivers I think you would find it interesting and relevant to your post.

On the dvd he covers-Down and Across, Square Across, The Escalator and Fishing The Wet Fly Upstream. He demonstrates each method by fishing in that particular style. Without going into detail and thus spoiling the 'filum' so to speak, Oli suggests that fishing down and across does catch fish but it does rather limit success.

Chris.

One killing technique is to use a point fly with a little weight and two other unweighted flies that include at least one spider pattern.

You should not be fishing the water completely blind but concentrating on the surface movement that gives away sub surface features that provide shelter and lies for fish.

As the flies approach a lie lower the rod to let the flies sink a little deeper then as they pass the lie, check the rod or even lift it slightly to make the flies rise and this often provokes a take.

I have on occasion out-fished buggers and Czech nymphers using a team of three down and across but more often in the autumn than the other side of Christmas.

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Oliver Kite
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A Fisherman’s Diary

Please don't judge me on this, but when i was much younger i used to fish a traditional stocked chalkstream, (the whitewater in Hook, Hampshire) i found that casting a nymph, or even a sunk dry down and across a weir pool would ALWAYS produce a take. Of course it was strictly against the rules, but i was young and knew no better than to catch fish however possible. I had a day on the test last year and tried it with a sunk dry mayfly. sure enough, 3 fish came to one cast. I landed a 4 pounder and immediately reverted to more normal (and legal) tactics. I just had to see if it still worked, and it does!

Am i forgiven?

Cheers

Alex

Ahh yes, the traditional 'Wet Fly Swing' but don't be afraid to tweak things the way you need them. I make a lot of swings that end up 'down & across' and eventually on the dangle strait down from my position. However, like you I always cast up and across unless the water is shallow. By pitching my fly up and over I am able to manipulate the line of drift, speed, and direction the fly will swim when it reaches 'down & across'. I have been fishing streamers for trout and salmon for many years and do not intend to change this approach to presenting my flies.

When I began using a 13' two hand rod I quickly fell from the rank and file Spey fishers that have became almost a cult here in the States. The reason was simple, all of the casters I saw were executing casts that would not be effective on the rivers I fish where I live. My rivers are deep and swift so if you plan on casting across and down you better be able to sling a boat anchor with that rod bud. So it was to be that I could not join in discussions about the finer points of a well executed Snake Roll followed by a smart Double Spey. I was left alone in the wilderness (literally Alaska) to develop casting techniques that would put fish on the iron consistently. I even had to invent my own language or nomenclature for my casting since I was not running with the heard. I 'reposition and set' prior to casting as opposed to establishing the anchor and the D loop.

All in all things seem to work out swell. If you are using a style of casting that is consistently catching fish, we have a saying about such things. "If it isn't broke, don't fix it".

Ard

I am taking all this in lads-thanks again for all the info its a great help.
Cant wait to get back on the river.

Like Chris says try to get hold of this dvd, its great. As oliver explains if you fish down and across then the flies dont act naturally and swing in the current. He goes onto explain better techniques which make the flies behave more naturally. Casting a short upstream line is the orginal way of fishing north country spiders according to him, so im not going to disagree.

John.