Yesterday i fished L. Carra and encountered 5 good fish using a dry daddy. I hooked one ,nicked two and caught none.Would some fellow lough fishers advise me on timing the strike from their experience.I look forward to your replies.....Jemo

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I don't think there is a definitive answer. I just pause for a second after I've seen the initial rise. Some days you hit every one, some days you miss most.

I believe that sometimes the fish try to drown a fly and sometimes they just nudge it. you can't win 'em all.

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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When I was first taught I was told to say 'God save the Queen' as the fly had been taken before I struck, effectively this is just the time needed for the fish to turn down with the fly so you stand more chance of a hook up rather than pulling the fly out of the fishes mouth. As a 7 year old I used to say it religiously, nowadays I just pause naturally without thinking about it.

Remember fish take in different ways when you are fishing the dry, sometimes just taking it confidently, other times they 'swirl' and drown it first before taking it subsurface (in which case the pause needs to be longer or sometimes you can give a little pull at this point to encourage the take), you need to read the different rise forms to understand what they are doing so that you can react accordingly. Personally I strike quite gently now, lifting into the fish rather than striking sharply, I just find it more successful and if I have missed the fish the fly has then not moved far and often I get another take.

Just my thoughts...

Andrew

That's an interesting point . On many different angling situations , course,sea etc sometimes that small movement will induce a positive and sometimes aggressive take from the fish .

I use this method if something is nibbling away at bait (course or sea) i think the fish gets worried it may miss a meal and instinct tells it to just get it eaten before it goes.


billy

I'm with buzzerfan in that i was taught/told to say "god save the queen" before lifting into the fish.Like him also i just pause now,but it does take some doing not to strike to quickly

Neil

Me too, although i was told to say 'Morning Mr Trout' instead of 'God save the queen'

I agree with the advice given for general dry fly fishing but sometimes with daddies and hoppers it pays to wait until you see the leader start to draw away, especially as sometimes the fish "drowns" the fly and then comes back to take it.

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Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary

Good advise SB, this works well with mayflies as well especially in the early part of the mayfly seasons when the fish are only just switching on to them.
Regarding other dry fly patterns my advise would be to time the strike to the speed the fish takes the fly. You want to strike as the fish turns down with the fly in its mouth but before it spits it out, this is so that you are striking against the fishes weight.
When fishing dries in slower water the fish often roll slowly over the fly, these are the times when you would pause a second or say something like 'thank you Mr trout', while in fast water when the fish snaffle the fly quick as a flash you need to strike almost instantly. Of course trout being trout they don't always follow the statements set out above, so get used to reading the speed the fish takes the fly and strike accordingly.

Frank

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Frank Williams APGAI

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Spot on Franky boy

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It's an age thing. I say God save the King. Morning Mr Trout is probably better if you're using a furled leader.

M