(Watch our video that demonstrates this scenario)
If you’ve been fly fishing for a while, you’ve probably become pretty proficient at dropping your dry flies in tight quarters to catch trout that are either tucked in under foliage or holding tight to an undercut bank. What If I asked you to make that same presentation, however, with a tandem nymph rig on a small stream with a strike indicator and split-shot? Could you pull it off with the same percentage of success? If you answered yes, hands off to you, because you are not the norm. I’ve found that most of my clients in this situation lack the confidence and know how to make consistently accurate fly presentations with a heavy tandem wet fly rig.
Below is a video Louis and I shot a while back, explaining how I pull off tight quarter casting on small trout streams. I had my rod rigged with a tandem nymph rig to show you the most important things I focus on when casting to targets in these tight quarters.
Tight Quarters Fly Casting on Small Streams
Tip 1: Position yourself where you can get the correct casting angle to your target and also get a nice drift.
Tip 2: Strip off plenty of fly line but only start out with a foot or two of fly line when you begin your cast.
Tip 3: Cast smoothly and watch your forward and backcast to get your timing perfect, and keep your fly rod traveling in a straight line path or flat plane.
Tip 4: Reach the last remaining few feet to your target by shooting your line. You won’t always have enough room to false cast the entire length of fly line without getting hung up in foliage.
Give these four tips a try next time you’re fly fishing on a small trout stream and have to make tight quarter presentations with your tandem nymph rig. You should find it much easier and more effective.
Keep it Reel,
Come fish with us in the Bahamas!
Kent Klewein Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!