hi,
confused with the best tactic. I fish a small chalk stream maybe 20 ft wide 5 ft deep on average. I believed I should progress upstream flicking the flyhere and there but then I have just picked up a book that says to cover the water by going downstream and covering the water.. confused.. which is the best/advised way?

Bazz, in the absence of someone that knows what they are talking about, up is generally considered sensible, as you progress you approach fish from behind with less chance of spooking them, they can see behind themselves but they wont be looking if they are feeding and focused on food arriving from upstream, and casting upstream may help you minimise drag on the fly,

bout 45 degrees up is a nice compromise maybe, you can still cast down and throw a bit of slack of course, drag being the main thing, the rest is easy

ive only done upstream fishing as it feels right but im no expert but as i see it i guess it would also depend what you flie you are usein to maybe?

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There should be NO Confusion! Fish up stream; and it's always best to move up stream, especially when stream fishing. cast the line up stream, covering the water in an ark in front of you! Similar to the clock face, say quarter to - to quarter past!

On larger rivers? it is still best to fish up stream, in the same manner as described above, but covering the margins of your own side of the river FIRST!

The exception is with spiders , wet flies and nymphs, if up stream method is not producing anything? Then try casting across and down, while high sticking your rod length to keep line drag to a minimum! You can fish this method moving up or down stream, although, up stream is best! less chance of spooking the fish.

Hope this helps a little.

M

I'll disagree here. I fish both. It depends on the circumstances. As said, streamers and wets that you are swinging are far easier and more effective to fish down and across. Nymphs I prefer to fish almost dead across the water. Dries depend on the lie. More often than not if there isn't a good way to get at the fish from across I'll go upstream and drift down to it. You can pay out line to get the exact drift. Think like a centerpinner and you'll see that drifting down is the easiest way to hit the exact current speed. The difficulty of course is that the fish it facing you. When you strike, you have to make sure he has the fly in his mouth and has started to aim down.

Thanks
Rick

Bazz - if you're fishing a chalk stream, you will almost certainly be restricted to only fishing upstream by the fishery rules. Downstream fishing on chalk streams is generally forbidden. To fish downstream on a chalk stream would not be the best approach even if allowed. On rain-fed rivers, you will generally have the option of fishing either up or down and both have their merits. On a rain-fed river, I will happily fish in either direction depending on the conditions and how I'm feeling on any given day, but another generalisation - you will be more likely to catch the better fish with an upstream approach when for example fishing nymphs or spiders.

thanks for all the replies - very useful.
I will continue to try to master upstream.

My main challenge at the moment is avoiding all the trees and branches while on the backcast!

how quickly would you move upstream on a small "stream"?
i.e would you cast/cover 15ft in front of you - left, right and then middle two times? and then move upstream 10ft? or would you stay on the spot for xx number of casts until you move onwards.

thanks

bazz

depends on the stream and how you're fishing it. If it is a small stream and you're prospecting (blind casting) then I'd give it a good few casts where you know you've gotten a good drift in the fishy water. If nothing, then take a few steps and try again.

If fishing to sighted fish, then I don't stop until (1) I've caught the fish or (2) the fish has spooked.

Thanks
Rick

thanks Rick for that, its made it much clearer in my mind. I casted to a fish yesterday again and again from a distance of about 10ft until I couldn't take his mocking anymore! I'm sure he was laughing at the end - do fish laugh?

Bazz,

I fish small streams quite a lot! Sometimes I have only a foot or two of fly line outside the tip ring; and as for casting? Well, ask any good stream fly angler; and they will tell you there are days when you will hook in to everything around you - Trees, Bushes, bank-side vegetation, water weeds, stones in the river and even your self! It goes with the territory, but you learn to adapt to it!

Stealth is the most important thing to learn when fishing a small stream, the fish are wild and extremely spooky! They can see you even as you approach the water. keep low short gentle casts, no more than a 7ft, leader and learn to side cast perfectly, it'll cut down on the tangles your experiencing!

Fish everything in front of you, even the small pockets of water, and keep moving! As you will have spooked a pool quite quickly, especially after catching one or two!

Hope this helps

M