3 Fly Fishing Tips to Catch More Fish!

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Here’s 3 ideas to try and help you catch more fish;

1> Try an instant retrieve 

I have found this really successful on still waters where trout can be seen feeding on nymphs just below the surface but are turning their nose up at everything you throw at them. If you start a quick smooth retrieve just before the fly hits the water (so the fly is moving when it lands), this can quite often induce a take.

2> Opposites attract!

Sometimes the fish are switched on to feeding on tiny flies and despite choosing the smallest imitation in your box, they don’t seem interested. In these situations it can be useful to try going for a great big fly instead. Recently on the river Derwent the fish were gorging on tiny greenfly but would not touch my size 22 green fly pattern. They did however go for a great big daddy long legs. Experiment!

3> Neither up nor down 

Sometimes when you arrive at the water you can see some fish rising to the surface but not quite enough for you to be confident using the dry fly. In these situatuions I normally start by fishing a searching method such as “New Zealand Style”. This allows you to fish both a dry fly and a nymph pattern together. Simply tie a length of line on to the shank of the dry fly and tie your nymph on the end. If a fish takes the nymph, the dry fly will disappear. If fish start only rising to the dry or only taking the nymph then you can quickly cut off one of the flies to fish the most productive method. Here a couple of great flies for fishing the duo:

For still waters:

 

For rivers: