Right, I need some advice.

I was out on Saturday at my local fishery Frensham in the pouring rain and loving my new found love for the sport but one thing was getting me down...

I caught two fish (great) but lost 3 times that many by not converting bites and touches into takes. I don't just mean little taps on the line but a couple of real strong takes where the line tightens up only for me to raise my rod and their off!!!

Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong or is it just 'par for the course' to lose as many as that????

Cheers,
Craig

Were you fishing with a floating line, or with an intermediate or faster sinker ?

If the floater, were you watching the line closely as far along as you could see it for twitches, pulls and unexplained changes in the curve of the line on the water ? These are all takes. Get into the habit and gently tighten in response, it's one of the keys to catching fish.

Dunno about anyone else but my experience is that most times what Craig describes happens, it is very recently stocked fish ar5ing about. Fish that have been in the lake for a while and are use to natural feed seem - oddly - to be easier to hook when they take the fly, as they mean business.

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

Many times the classic ''lifting the rod to strike'' is just pulling it out of their mouths,try moving the rod sideways in the opposite direction to the take.this sometimes works better.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

We all miss takes and loose fish....if we didn't it would get quite boring however you can maximize your chances by taking the following steps:-

When you've cast out give the line one long pull to straighten out you cast..this will allow you to be in direct contact with your flies, and feel any takes on the drop.

Keep your rod 1-2" above the water level and then watch the loop between your rod tip and the water (even on sinking lines) this will lift as soon as you get a take, you will see the movement of the line a split second before you feel the take...simply lift into the fish.

In high winds or if casting into the wind dip your rod tip about 1-2" under the water so the wind or waves don't created a loop that absorbs the take...simply keep in direct contact and feel for takes, rather than watching for them.

If you get lots of taps...go to a single fly....then keep going with the retrieve until everything locks up.... sometime's it's best to ignore the small taps and just wait until the fish almost hooks itself.

A low Stretch line will help you convert more takes (ie Sixth Sense range in sinkers and intermediates)

Finally induce the take.....change the speed of your retrieve, go from slow figure of 8 to a fast(ish) pull , the sudden change of speed will cause the trout to take your fly as their natural reaction is to attack a food source that is going to escape.

Finally if all else fails change from lures to nymphs...they'll usually take them with more confidence

You've just experienced the reason they call it fishing and not catching. Sometimes you're the pigeon, sometimes you're the statue.

Grouse

Jim..........

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

You might also want to invest in a hook sharpener to make sure your hooks are razor sharp.

IMO this is key.
Make sure your hooks are as sharp as possible - this will almost certainly reduce your missed takes.
Then you can correct operator-error as needed.

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