Hello all
Ive recently been shown how to fish wets down stream and after trying it out last night,id like to pick your brains ....i must of had 5-6 takes last night but no hook ups,should i strike/raise as soon as i feel the tap or wait?..should i keep my rod angled up or point it at the river(mine was down).
Would an 8lb tippet be too visible for trout using this method,as i had a sea trout fly on point(edging my betsand i was worried about a breakage on my 4lb tippet.Also could i use a sink tip instead of my intermediate line,so i can just keep to one reel?
Id be grateful for any advice on this,cheers

Gareth

Comes with the territory when fishing wets, plenty missed takes. What size of fly are you using ? What is the average size of the trout your chasing ?

Keep the line well mended so you are in constant touch with the business end.

Keep the rod up at an angle and let it do its job and cushion the takes.

Hold some line with your other hand to enable you to feel every touch quickly and lift smoothly into a take.

At this time of year a floating line should suffice and might increase your chances.

I would say 8lb line was way too heavy.

Clunk.

I'm no expert at this as I prefer to face the other way, but I seem to recall seeing an article by Oliver Edwards in which he recommends holding the rod at about a 45-50 degree angle above the water and watching for the loop of line to lift when a fish takes. Worth a try I would have thought.

As far as hedging your bets goes I would think that you need to decide what you are going to fish for. Sea trout with 8lb or brown trout with 4lb. Gearing up to catch both seems to me to be a pretty sure way of catching neither.

I tend to keep my rod sort of horizontal, striking as soon as I feel the take or see the line move, still miss a fair few...keeps the interest up though lol

Cheers


Stephen

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Thx for the reply's lads appreciated!
Clunk,size 12 id say(im not 100% sure) tradition wets,green wells spider,butcher/pennell and teal and blue,im after trout around the pound mark,or anything biggerIm holding the rod down,i also had the line tucked under my index finger(i presume there's not enough slack for the fish with this method?).Id cast across,then mend and track the line down and across.
BopP,i fished until it was dark upstream dries(had a Salmon and trout),then i switched to downstream wets so i couldn't look for takes only feel them,as i said i had 5-6 offers,i think i should hold my rod higher like Olly does tho.
Ill give it a go Blood ,how fast do you strike m8?...it def keeps the interest up lol,definitely the best day/nights fishing ive ever had.....had fish,takes,misses and one fell off ,dries the trio and wets brill!!!

Thanks again


Gareth

The less control you have over the line, the fewer successfull hookups you will have. This is not a particular rule to only downstream fishing, but a general rule of fly fishing, but in down stream fishing, there is a tendancy to let ther current carry the line, and diminishing the control that he angler has over the line and therefore the leader and fly. My suggestion would be to concentrate on "making the fly do things", rather than simple allowing the fly to do things... this way, you will become more successfull.

I always try to take an overview of the pool I am about to fish, look at the currents and try to envisage where the food will be carried by the currents, normally I don't strike too hard, more a sharp twitch of the rod, I have found the bigger fish I have had this year....just under the 2lb mark I have just more or less tightened in to them rather than striking, meh, I don't profess to be an expert lol just what I have learnt this season after more than a few years away from river fly fishing, I always (well almost always) start with a gold head GRHE on the point and something like a Partridge and orange on the dropper.

Cheers


Stephen

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for striking, I strip strike, especially in the dark. If you miss, the fly is in the same place and the fish can eat it again. If you stick, then lift into the fish. With sharp, barbless hooks it works perfectly.

Thanks,
Rick

When fishing wets or nymphs downstream i will be kneeling or crouching in the water unless deep wading and I will have the rod held up about head height and to a varying degree depending on how much line is out i.e more line out the high the rod tip (leave yourself some space to strike though). This keeps as much of the line off the water as possible meaning there is less resistance for the fish to take the fly
You should not be waiting to feel the strike (by this time it'll be sucked in and ejected) look at the dip in the fly line and look for it being "straightened" out or at the tip of the fly line for it darting forward. You will notice that you see alot more takes than you would feel.
As soon as the line moves just lift the rod briskly and this should set the hook (if it was meant to be!).
If you are fishing for brownies i would think fluro of 2/3lb would be adequate.
The key in all this is keeping as much line off the water as possible, letting the artificial ride around in currents as enticingly as possible and observing the line constantly.Jon

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I recently moved to Yorkshire, and after many years of fishing 'down and across' on Scottiosh streams, was fortunate enough to be able to get some pointers on fishing North Country Spiders Yorkshire style - same down and across, but with the rod tip held high and short-lining so flies can be controlled (held back through likely lies) whilst wading (quietly and slowly, obviously). This has resulted in much more positive contact with fish - you watch the 'line hang' between water and the high rod tip, and tighten on seeing any 'suspicious' movement. I find this is much more effective than 'feeling for' and invariably missing fish. Generally I find that by the time I feel anything with a low rod tip, the fish is long gone, whilst by using the eye and 'seeing' the take you can anticipate and avoid that well-known phenomenon - the lightning spit-out of a trout/grayling! Also, floating lines and varied weights of fly and length of leader allow prospecting at varied depths while still allowing good fly control and the 'visual aid' of that all-important loop of line between rod tip and water.