Is this the right forum to ask about stillwater tactics or is their a proper place for it?

yep, the guys here are very helpful, what do you want to know?

You could stick it in the general section, but this section will do.
welcome to the forum.

Jim

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

My question has to do with fishing the hang. I was recently at a competition and everyone was fishing floating lines hanging buzzers. I thought it would be faster to throw a sinking line a short distance and then hang. I was getting more 'hangs per minute". It worked but something was interesting. It seemed that when my retrieve curved from horizontal to vertical the fish would take. If the curve happened to deep they would not take. has anyone else found this?

IMHO, when fishing a team off buzzers with a floating line it is not really fishing on the hang.this is only done with a sinking line as you bring the line up through the levels then hold the line at your chosen depth. a retrieved floating line will always try and bring your flies onto a level plane with the line.
the change from horizontal to vertical reteive give the fish an impression that it's food is escaping by doing what it does naturally .rises to the surface.

jim

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

The people using floating lines were using HEAVILY weighted buzzers. Many with Tungsten beads.

This is not ''normal'' fishing on the ''hang'' as is normally fished. but if it works for them, and they tell newcomers that they got them on the hang
who am I to comment.

jim

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

Can you descibe a little more how you fish the hang? Have you taken fish on the drop? I have had friends talk about this but i have yet to make it effective.

Gamder has just posted an answer about ''on the hang' and as for 'on the drop' you really dont have any say in this matter,it only happens by accident(a fish being nearby when your fly lands) or when stalking fish in very clear water.

Jim

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

I agree with the 3lbGrayling IMO when people refer to the hang it's at the end of a retrieve using a sinking line.

For example:- If I'm fishing a DI5 with a blob on the point and one on the top dropper, I will quite often put a buzzer or cruncher on the middle dropper (better casters possibly use two middle droppers). This then allows me to hang the flies right at the end of the retrieve, you quite often find that as the trout turns away from the blob on the top dropper it will sometimes take the cruncher on the middle dropper on it's way back down.

James