Hi there everyone,

Can someone point my at resource that explains the type of retrieve you should be doing for a certain type of fly pattern..

for example: how should i be retrieve when pulling my standard buggas and damsels?
how should I be fishing when fishing a float and nymphs(cruncher, DB, hares ear)?

cheers

I do not think there is any hard and fast rules about retrieves you have just got to mix it up during the day.What works for a certain fly in a certain day might not work on another day,just keep mixing it up and you should find what works.

Buzzers and nymphs generally don't zip through the water at high speed. If the boat is drifting on the drogue pace your retrieve so that you are fishing very slightly faster than the boat is moving. You just need to keep the line straight enough to be in contact.

Fishing damsels & other thingies off the bank I rely on a version of the FTA retrieve. FTA means Fool Them About or some other four letter word associated with fornication. Basically I bung it out there, allow it to sink for as long as I need, then two swift two foot pulls to straighten everything out and this also gets any fish who happens to be in the area interested. I then follow up with a mixture of fast and slow figure eights, dead stops for about ten seconds, then a long slow draw which is often answered by a savage pull from the other end. If not we go through some more fig eights and a few short pulls until the cast is fished out. Just chucking it out and dragging it back the same way every time is boring and not that productive.

Someone once said, "It's not how you chuck it out there that matters, it's how you pull it back again" and that is a very true statement.

Thanks Bob - So you cast out the line, let it sink for about 5 secs.. Do 2 long swith 2 foot pulls to start the retrieve. Then start mixing it up with slow / fast figure 8 retrieves with 10 sec stops and short pulls...
What do you mean by slow long draw? and how do I do this?

cheers

Freestyle,

I generally count down so that I can repeat as necessary when fish are found. So, I start with say 10secs, give the two 2' pulls followed by a mix of fast & slow fig 8's. When I stop, I leave it for 5-10 seconds then a long steady draw of about 2 feet on the line with my free hand. Quite a few fish will immediately grab the fly they have been watching as they think it is escaping. If nothing happens I pause for a second or so then into the fig 8's again.At the end of the cast I will do a roll cast to get the line up, but pause at the top of the movement as again fish will launch themselves at a fly they think is getting away. This then gets a bit tricky as you are standing there with the rod up at 12 o'clock, no spare "arm" to strike with and a fish hanging on to the fly. If a fish takes snap the rod forward which will nick the hook into the fish's mouth long enough for you to get things under control again and don't forget to lift firmly into the fish when you have done so.

If there have been no offers after a dozen or so casts at 10secs, try 15, then 20 until you either hit fish or the bottom. If the latter then shorten the count by a couple of seconds so that you are fishing just above. If nothing after half an hour or so, move and start again.

I generally try to mimic the action/speed of what imitation I have on the end of my line. If I have a nymph on, I try to make it act as much like a real nymph as I can.

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Sam

freestylefish 2006


have a look here there are some videos from hywell morgan ,top right of page just click on that to access them ,these will give you some good insight to your question !!

http://www.fastmailtackle.co.uk/

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WHEN YOU LEAVE THE RIVER, TAKE NOTHING, AND LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINT'S!!!

THA CAN TELL A YORKSHIREMAN ,BUT THA CAN'T TELL HIM MUCH !!

thanks for your advice guys

I presume your refering to rainbow fishing ?

"wrong" presentation is everything.