After having a bad day last week, didnt catch anything, had a few bites and i strook but somebody told me i should of left it and let the fish do the strike. Can the masters let me no

im no expert but it may help if you explain your situation? river or stillwater? dry/nymph lure method etc would also be useful

I aint no master but for me it varies. Some times i stop or slow down the retreive then the fish hits it hard then just lift into it, other times i stop and get nothing but sometimes if i speed up the retreive it induces the the take and just lift into it and were good to go. So my theory (which doesnt count for much is.......) Try different things because on different days and different waters different things work. I have only been fishing just over a year so take everything i say with a pinch of salt but i find everyday is a school day and different anglers will have different opinions so i am not sure if there is a correct thing to do?

Keep trying different retrieves, if slow then give a quick jerk or two, if fast slow it down even stop, i have recently had real problems with fish following the fly , i tried allsorts of retrieves and only got one fish out, just mix and match as far as striking or lifting into a take well im the worse one to comment on that as years of coarse fishing has given me lightening reflexes, im far to fast cant help it is just a reactionYou have to judge the take and work out what will be the best reaction for it Gaz

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If in doubt, get the montys out

Intelligence is relative to your environment

Takes will vary a lot, sometimes the fish will hook themselves, other times you will have to set the hook, better to think of lift or tighten in to the fish rather than strike which suggests something too violent and may pull the hook out or even result in breaking the leader.

if dry fly fishing on river or stillwaters ,i tend to count to 2 as soon as i see the first sign of the fish taking the fly ,i then lift into the fish, as i find i lose allot of fish when i strike at the fish.
and when fishing a wet fly set up, i often wait for the initial touch and then when i feel good contact i lift into the fish and the jobs usually a good yin.

so theirs a different way for each fishing method when fly fishing ,and you will find your own way into the methods that work best for you.

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dont you just love nature

When you say lift into the fish what exactly do you mean, sorry if i seam a bit thick

Lift the rod smartly and purposefully, same as a strike really but the word strike describes too fast a movement. Hope that makes sense.