Just taken up fly fishing again after a 30 year break and I need some help.

Was fishing a blood worm at Cwm Hedd Lake on Saturday and missed the only 4 takes I had.
One or two I could live with, but all four is sheer incompetence.....to put it mildly.

I was casting into the wind on a floating line which caused a bow in the line. The bow was a reverse L.
I did not see the takes but felt them when retrieving.

The first two I struck past my right side, followed by two impressive back-hand swipes over my left ear.
All four put a bend in the rod before leaving me abusive and mortified.

It occurred to me that summat’s clearly wrong, what should I be doing?

Taking vallium or sticking to golf is probably wise, but not what I need to hear!

Thanks.

There may be a few things wrong that prevented you connecting with the trout.
You must take up any line slack and keep in contact with your flies at all times.
Takes occur anytime not just when your retrieving. Takes can be slight or more definate so with slack you miss opportunities. When you did connect you were probably surprised and achieved a late or bad hook set. Your description of striking sounded too savage . Tightening the line is all that is needed most times not a savage strike. Finally, if you do hook a trout which is all about timing don't let your line go slack keep tension on without playing the fish too hard keeping the rod tip high.

After 30 years you will be a little rusty but like riding a bike the old skills will be there you just need practice.

Good luck

BK

When you feel the takes it can help to strike with your left (line) hand. Just by pulling the line you can be quicker on the strike then by lifting your rod.

Tight lines
Johan

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Johan Janssens

Don't think I can offer much help as it sounds like you may be my double - have had many a fly screach past my ear with an over enthusiastic strike. Think I may have managed to calm down a bit and most recently have just done as advsed by Johan which seems to work pretty well & keeps the line fishing.

Will watch with interest as I haven't in any way mastered watching for takes and striking - all my landed fish have been a result of them pretty much hooking themselves.
Chris

Probably a daft question tourt, but did you inspect the fly you were using, I had a similar experience last season, the point on my fly had gone.!!
S.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

Having fished - well trying to get the hang of controlling a nymphing rig, throughout the closed season I connected yesterday with a fish - it has rained recently so they, at least one, has re-appeared. I didn't know what to do, even took about 10 seconds to realise I had a fish on the end and then I stood there watching it beat its skull out on the water wondering what to do, about a minute later it got away.

I wish I knew what it was -

Hello Tourt

First off would like to say I think we all have or have had days like this

Reads like you are not in touch with your fly and the bump you feel is the slack being taken up as the fish says hasta luego(see U later).It is quite strange one did not stick as often the weight of the line will set the hook on a bloodworm which often trout take with confidence.Not to worry it happens to us all especially when fishing is slow and you are taking in the flora and fauna etc when suddenly you feel a bump which sure helps you focus for a while at least.

Casting into the wind as you describe it with a floating line you need to really have only a very shallow bow in the line at best as it is blowing towards you and fish can be travelling in the same direction when they pick up your bloodworm.In these circumstances it is easy to bump fish if you are not on the ball and keeping in touch which in turn will bring the rod past your ear as you struggle to take up the slack line and set the hook.You will invariably feel the weight and maybe a wriggle and then!!Well we all know how that feels.

Stick with it and you will find your way.Fishing your bloodworm around on a crosswind wind is fine and just occasionally mend the line upwind to slow down the drift and control the bow in the line a little better.More so with a floating line.If you can cast and put an upwind mend in the cast it will help also but for now.Important point is to stay in touch with the fly,keep the rod low and watch the rise and fall of the line between the rod tip and the surface.This is where you will see the take before you feel it.Most common is a lift in the line other than your retrieve or a drop in the line towards you.It can just stall and with time you will be at one with it if you keep fishing.
We all have our own preference for setting the hook.I find drawing the line with my retrieving hand as I tighten into the fish to be the best method for me.Zorro was my boyhood hero but striking this way does not seem to work too well on troutHard to explain but with more on the water time you begin to sense as the takes come how to tighten/lift into the fish.Sometimes a vertical lift will set and others a more horizontal sweep if this makes any sense.Often it depends on other mother nature restrictions.This I guess is why I find drawing the line with the retrieving hand helps.Anyway good luck and hang in there.

Best JP

Well we don't hit them all you know. There are a couple of potential cures. First, you could try fishing on an intermediate. This will get the line sub-surface and take out a lot, not all, of the surface drift. It will also put you in more direct touch with the flies.

Next, think about which side you are fishing. I'm left handed and I have noticed that I hit more takes in a left to right wind than in a right to left. This is because when I lift into a take I'm pulling against any bow in the line and this helps to set the hook. In order to achieve the same effect in a right to left I have to strike across my body which costs maybe half a second and that's quite enough for a trout to rumble his mistake and spit the fly out. Little things, but....

Just a thought, if you were fishing an Apps Bloodworm. Following is part of the latest report from Bank House Fishery.

However more recently buzzers and bloodworm have produced some great scores. Many anglers have reported that the trout are nipping the flies and although they are getting lots of takes they are difficult to hook. This has been especially true with patterns with long tails or long bits of flexifloss in the pattern. I.e. Apps worms. Anglers fishing with more realistic buzzers or tighter fly patterns are getting better conversion rates

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"Take not out your 'ounds on a werry windy day" Surtees.

Its still February the water is still cold , the fish are more lethargic hence the nips and not the sloid takes of summer . At this time of the year a stationary fly will catch more than one on the move

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Imagination is more important than knowledge.