A very good friend of mine suffers from the most annoying habit of rising loads of fish but fails to hook most of them.
This has puzzled me for some time and I would like your take on it.
Some facts.
He gets takes from a good few fish.
He almost all the time fails to hook them
He does not seem to hook fish for a short period then they fall off.
He generally uses the same flies as me(nicked from my box) but I can get less takes and hook the lot!!!
He has no problem getting the takes, so issues with leaders etc aint the problem.
He generally fishes a weight forward 6 or 7# floater, that is generally what is required at this loch.
I fish a 5# DT floater with a long, long leader.
His leader is generally a lot shorter.
He has tried striking fast, slow and not at all

The only thing that I can think of is that he generally fishes a fairly tight line.
Could this be the reason for him not hooking the fish????
It seems very strange that this could be the only factor.
We are talking 15/20 takes in a day and landing less than 3 fish.


What do you think on this?
ATB
Graham

__________________
It is in truth not glory,nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting,but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with his life.(Declaration of Arbroath, 1320)

i also fish most a short line max 8ft for lakes and most hook up , it can be usual a long leader some times has this problem. as you share same fly hooks and sharp. after 20 takes and less than 3 fish seems strange. put where you fish as i am sure a forum member fishes too and will help

I can think of a couple of possibilities.

1. Has he REALLY tried to slow down and "slip" the fish about a foot of line before getting tight and setting the hook? A lot of anglers get frustrated after a miss and then they assume that they are missing because they are too slow. So then the snap strike and then just end up pulling the fly away even more.

Only rarely have I found myself striking too slowly. The majority of the time it's the other way around.

2. What rod is he fishing with? Today's fad for hyper-fast broomstick actions can make it very difficult because these fire-poker rods have no sensitivity when hooking and fighting fish. They are too stiff to "give" properly to respond to a take and then they don't offer enough flex with a fish on so it's easy for the fish to slack line the angler. This is especially true of the lighter weight rods.

Right now, given that other things like the fly, etc appear to be equal, my bet is on #2.

Grouse

flyfishy 61 not sure where we fish is relevant, it is just a typical lowland trout loch.
Grouse this is another quirk in the picture he uses a fairly soft rod. In fact I have commented that he takes to long to land fish that he intends to return due to the soft action.
I also take your point about the "speed" of strike. But what confuses me is this, the hook is in the trout's mouth so a strike, should be a strike, should be strike


After giving this further thought does any one have a comment on this theory.
He uses what I would say is a thick line with greater drag on the water, coupled with a soft rod is he actually striking into the line rather than the fish???????

__________________
It is in truth not glory,nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting,but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with his life.(Declaration of Arbroath, 1320)

It'd be an interesting twist if he really was striking too slowly or without enough force due to using a more moderate rod action. In this day and age, it's almost always the other way around.

The other thought I'd had is which way does he strike? Straight back taking the rod from say 9 or 10:00 to 12:00 high? Or does he strike sideways?

Grouse

Probably a bit of sideways and up

__________________
It is in truth not glory,nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting,but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with his life.(Declaration of Arbroath, 1320)

Have you stood next to him and watched him striking at fish can you see what he is doing differently compared to you? Also have you let him have ago with your outfit if not let him have ago with yours to see if its his outfit thats the problem....

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Another possibility is the height he holds the rod point above the water surface. The nearer the surface the more in touch with the flies you are, and is the rod pointing towards the flies or to the side. To the side and you have to counter the drag of the water if you strike up the way rather than to that side, the same for pointing straight at the flies strike to the side and you have to overcome drag, straight up and you are in near instant contact. Also does he pull line with his hand as he strikes? This can also make a difference as it takes up slack and gives the spring in the rod time to react.

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Don't worry, be happy.
Sandy
Carried it in full, then carry it out empty.

Is this about pulling wets or dries Graham.....brownies or rainbows ?

Thanks for your replies everyone.
It really is a strange one.
I think I will need to stand next to him and watch him like a hawk
keep thinking it is something to do with the combination of rod and line with perhaps line tension thrown into the mix

__________________
It is in truth not glory,nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting,but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with his life.(Declaration of Arbroath, 1320)