Ethan's Question:

I'm having trouble setting the hook and miss about 9 out of every 10 strikes. I seem to raise the rod either too quickly or not quick enough. Maybe it's from too many years as a bait and spin fisherman. Can you offer any advice?

Ethan Skagges

Mark's Answer:

Ethan,

This is one of the most frequent problems for beginning (and even intermediate) fly fishers. And the culprits are many.

First, can you see your fly? I know this sounds elementary but you'd be surprised how many anglers lose fish because they can't follow their fly on the water. Try using flies with white calf hair for wings, flies like Adams Wulff or Parachute, Royal Wulff, those sorts of flies you can see from fifteen feet.

You'll learn after awhile to judge where your fly is on the water by following (guessing) the end of your leader. Next, can you see the fish strike the fly? Are you wearing polarized glasses? Do you see the hits as they happen or after? Again, learning to judge where the fly is by where the end of the leader is will help you set the hook.

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Do you have line control? If you are mending poorly and have a lot of line piled up in front of you, it takes an incredibly hard and quick lift/pull of the rod to set the hook. Do you have too much line out? Learning how to mend will help you set more fish.

Where is your non-casting hand? Are you controlling the slack line with your off-hand? Are you stripping in line quickly enough with that off-hand so that when you set the hook by lifting the rod, there is not too much slack in the line? I actually use my off-hand to pull down hard on the line as I raise the tip of the rod.

Is your rod tip positioned properly? The angle of your rod to the water and the position of your rod to the drifting fly can make a world of difference in setting the hook and hooking up with more fish.

I have a friend (nameless at this point) who has a bad habit of keeping his rod tip high, very high, so high that when a fish strikes and he lifts his rod to set the hook, he raises his arm so high he looks like he's signaling for a cab. And in doing so, he misses a lot of fish.

You want your rod tip in a comfortable position wherein you can instantly lift your hand a few inches in a short controlled burst without yanking the fly out of the fish' mouth. Raise the tip of the rod vertically in a short controlled burst (not horizontally).

Try this: Use a dropper rig with a big buggy dry fly on top, one you can't miss. Follow that big fly, and if it moves or goes under, set the hook by lifting your rod tip sharply (but only five to eight inches). This exercise will help you set the hook more efficiently.