Hey!

Yesterday I fished carsington, I was using size 12 buzzers and nymphs throughout the day and had plenty of takes! but these wasn't supple takes...Id be figure of eighting and WHAM! but no fish how is this possible with such a small hook I get a huge take but it doesn't set the hook?

Surely the trout cant nibble it or only take the tail as they do on lures!

frustrating really, I didnt get alot of fish because of this... It happened more than maybe 10 times!!!!

Any views greatly appreciated!

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PawPrinT
"I'd rather be fishing"

With nymphs and dries give them a second or 2 to tae it, then don't srike just lift the rod up

I fished buzzers yesterday I had five fish in three hours and missed three takes. I was too quick with my tightening up. I found that once the fly line tip had moved I need to pause a second then tighten.Strike too hard and there is no hook up.

BK

BK

Might be striking too hard and pulling hook out of the mouth as said before just lift the rod up .

Have to agree with the answers you have had already, lifting into the fish when the line twitches rather than striking sharply also works much better for me. I fish buzzers almost exclusively these days, until the evening rise starts on the water I fish when I move onto emergers and drys. Re. your comment on size 12's, I usually fish size 14 - 18 and have noticed that I invariably catch larger and better quality (resident/overwintered) fish than my friend who fishes larger flies.

That said...we all miss takes, and I have had some very frustrating days when I wished I could see what the hell the fish were actually doing to my fly as I lifted into nothing for the umpteenth time

I have to learn to trust what im using at the minute, I agree so much with that comment!!!

The trouble being is I used to love pulling lures, not small ones either and although I have caught alot of fish on buzzers recently I still find it hard (trusting what im using) and ask myself:-

1) Why do these fish want to eat this buzzer (HOOK) rather than a nice wiggly marabou humungous lure! lol
2) are they even going to see my buzzers

I know that buzzers are a staple diet for trout all year round and a lure creates alot of interest but is unatural I have started to trust what im using now, this being buzzers and have caught far more than stripping lures (although very fun in winter!)

Dont no where all that come from lol but back to the point im gonna get me some even smaller buzzers and give them a whirl

Cheers mate,

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PawPrinT
"I'd rather be fishing"

Pawprint, the stillwater I regularly fish is stuffed with crayfish, as are the larger trout I catch on small buzzers, I always examine the stomach contents of the fish I catch and find it quite extraordinary that a fish stuffed to the gills (literally) with juicy crayfish would decide to take my size 16 buzzer... but they do!

The friend I mentioned in my previous post was also a devoted 'lure stripper', but has now converted to imitative patterns and smaller flies and it has renewed his love of the sport. I am not decrying the use of lures, I just get more pleasure out of tying up and fishing imitative patterns. Definitely give smaller buzzers a go, and I trust your results are as successful as mine...tight lines.

One possible cause is that too straight a line was being fished. A trout can take in and spit out a fly faster than we can blink and so it is possible that the tug being felt by Pawprint was not the fish taking the fly into its mouth, but spitting it out after feeling the slight resistance caused by too tight a fly line. May be worth fishing with just enough slack in the line to enable the fish to move off a couple of feet. It also depends on the line weight. A 6 weight line is going to give less resistance than a 7 weight - something I identified at Farmoor many years ago.

Fishing clear water on a mainly catch-and-release syndicate, I sometimes can't help but cast to fish mooching along the bank, close in.

Generally, these experienced trout may inspect the fly, rarely they may take it, but several times I've seen them chasing and grabbing the leader knots!

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'line-bites'

Because of the rain today... I'm tying leader knot flies, a few knots of mono on a b110

__________________
PawPrinT
"I'd rather be fishing"