Thanks, Paul, I'm not sure what the 'dead wood' is, but you're addressing the issue as I intended. "What if...then".
I have been in circumstances where my visibility was so low I could have never seen anything but a roll or actual take, with the sun's reflection coming at me. I have been in sutuations with the water boiling all around me and no takes, without seeing the actual refusal. They were obviously there, but not eating my fly. There are a few other choices besides presenting the dry fly with or without drag, too. The leader can be a major cause of rejects. Even a gossamer 7X laid across the surface with floatant will look like a garden gose to a selective, finiky, over-pressured fish. I prefer to sink the first 6" of tippet using a flourocarbon tippet of a slightly heavier weight, which is still invisible if submerged. Whether it's a lake or a creek or a river makes a difference, too. Leader style and length can be varied. The depth and speed of the water may be a factor. The fish has to rise from his bottom location, inspect the fly, and then take it. This is sometimes 10' downriver from his lie, depending on conditions (depth and water speed). If one casts to the rise area, they may be casting 10' below the trout where he's holding- who won't rise to a fly downriver. Twitching, skittering (caddis), drowning etc. can all be tried as presentations. Your comments are appreciated and I agree that it's the difficult fish that make it into the logbook and the memory. After much trial and failure (the persistence you alluded to), finally picking the right fly and making the perfect presentation is what this sport is all about. If we wanted it easy, we'd drink beer, drown a worm, and pass out on the shore while waiting for a bite. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Marriner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, November 01, 2004 3:21 PM Subject: Re: [VFB] Re: presentation vs pattern- the great debate rages on... > Come on Don, you're responding to the post I sent in response to Murf. > Read the one I sent in response to yours. > > Nonetheless, let's examine your premise. First, it's necessary to clear > away a ton of dead wood. > 1. the only way you know the fly has been refused is if you can see the > fish; either in whole, or in part (a rise). > 2. assuming we're speaking of "rising" fish, you can present a dry-fly > pattern drag-free, or with drag. Not too many other choices I can think > of except the "secret" little twitch. > > In my experience, if a trout persistently refuses a drag-free drift of a > likely imitation, I do the following: > a. drop the size by one, then two, steps. > b. make sure I'm in the feeding rhythm. > c. no luck; try different designs (ie parachute, no-hackle, comparadun, > etc.). > d. get bugged and try streamers, nymphs, etc. > e. salute the beast that just stuck it to me and go look for a less > discriminating trout. > > Frankly, I find initial failure far more interesting than quick success. > A trout that makes me ring the changes rates a specific diary entry > rather than being lumped in with "took 15 on an xxx today." > > If I had the right answer first time, every time, I'd sell my rods & > library, give away my flies, and take up bird watching. The importance > of pattern has been debated for a thousand years and will be long after > we're all dust. > > Cheers, > Paul > -- > Paul Marriner > Outdoor Writing & Photography. Owner: Gale's End Press. Member: OWAA & > OWC. > Author of Stillwater Fly Fishing: Tools & Tactics, How to Choose & Use > Fly-tying Thread, Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies, Miramichi River Journal, > Ausable River Journal, and Atlantic Salmon. >
