Line Management

Everyone has one of those days when fish come up to look at the fly and then swim away without taking it.  Sometimes they get so close it seems like they can taste the flies a fake.  Well, the truth is they can’t and usually the problem is with the drift rather than the fly.  Anytime you have a trout swimming up to look at a fly, they probably want to eat it.  But it didn’t behave like a natural insect.  Imagine you are about to eat a hamburger.  You reach down to pick it up, and just then it wiggles.  Most folks won’t put that in their mouth and neither will a trout.  Most aquatic and terrestrial insects can’t swim and drift down the water like a leaf.  They are moving with the current, which pushes and pulls the leaf downstream.  Trout are accustomed to seeing the insects move with the current, and so should your fly.   Anglers call this a “drag-free drift.”

Drag

                Drag is tension in the line that moves the fly unnaturally.  Remember the current is pulling on the fly and your line.  Your line is attached to the fly and guess what, the fly weighs almost nothing and will lose that tug of war.   Why is this so important?  Not only can drag move the fly, but the fly will produce a wake or tiny V-shaped waves.  Trout can see this easily.  Anglers view the stream from above looking down and may not notice the subtle wake.  Sometimes, drag can be hard to see, but not to a trout.  Trout view the fly from below and the wake is like a neon sign when haloed from the sun.  

                Whether nymphing or dry fly fishing, anglers need to learn to control drag using line management.  Line management is what the angler does after the cast and revolves around controlling the rod tip.   There are five line management skills that anglers will employ, tracking, lifts, mending, feeding, and stripping.  Most commonly used are tracking and lifts, especially when short lining or fishing close. 

Tracking

Tracking is the process of moving the rod tip to eliminate tension on the line, which would produce drag on the fly.  Most often, one will follow the fly or float downstream as it drifts past, but it’s more than that.  A good track moves the rod tip parallel to the drift line of the fly…yes, parallel.  It’s harder to do than most think.   A well executed track involves contracting and extending the arm as one moves the rod tip downstream.  Your rod tip will typically be upstream pointing at the fly right after the cast.  As the fly (or float) moves downstream, your rod tip moves downstream too and you bring your rod hand closer to your body.  As the fly moves past you, your hand extends to add slack to keep the fly moving naturally.  This should keep the rod tip moving in s straight line parallel to the fly.  Practice on an edge of a driveway by suspending a strike indicator a couple of feet down from the tip of your rod.  See if you can keep the float moving along the edge of the driveway. 

                The position of the rod tip relative to the fly line can add slack or create tension.  As you track, keep an eye on what the line is doing below your rod tip.  If there is a pile of flyline below your rod tip or worse a horseshoe bend downstream, you will need to make an adjustment.  Usually, this adjustment is accomplished with a lift. 

 

Lifts

Lifts are a process of raising and lowering the rod to control the slack on the line.  You do this for two possible reasons.  First, tension can be caused by the line being in two different speeds of current.  An easy solution is to simply lift the line out of one of those currents.  Usually, one will lift the line out of a fast current to fish the slower current beyond. 

The second reason is to maintain the proper amount of slack for setting the hook.  Think about it.  It’s easy to get a good drift if you throw a bunch of slack between the rod tip and the fly.  But if they eat the fly; can you pull all that slack in fast enough?  Usually not and if you manage to set the hook you have probably jerked the rod so quickly that you will break the tippet or pull the hook clean out the trout’s mouth.  An easy solution is to simply raise the rod tip as the fly floats toward you to remove the slack.  Take just enough to make the hook set a short snap of the wrist, but not so much you start to drag the fly.  As the fly floats past you, start to lower the rod to feed the line downstream and keep the fly drifting naturally. 

                There are two common faults during lifts.  One is lifting the rod too much.  Remember the goal is to get a natural drift.  If you lift too high, you pull all the slack out of the line.  This causes tension on the fly and moves it unnaturally.  Think of small movements.  Raise the rod tip 6” at a time and check the results.  Is there enough slack for the fly to move naturally?   Keep a foot of slack on the water to accomplish a natural drift and not much more. 

Another issue with some is not getting close enough to lift the line out of the current which is causing drag.  Typically, there is a fast current between you and the area the fly is drifting.  If you stand back too far, your rod won’t be long enough to get the line out of the fast current.  When the water is turbulent, the trout have a hard time seeing you, so get close to get that ideal drift with a lift and track. 

Summary

Lifting and tracking are your bread-and-butter techniques for short-line fishing. During the summer trout will migrate to the pocket water.  Long casts rarely work in pocket water and you will need to hone your short-line techniques.  Practice your tracking and lifts to get the super smooth drift and you will find more fishing taking your fly. 

 

By Patrick Weaver