Wet Fly Fishing Tips
“How deep shall I fish?”
This is a question the beginner at wet fly fishing asks. It also is a question even a veteran angler has to answer every time he uses the sunken lures in his quest for trout.
Beginner and veteran alike have to work out the answer for themselves, since trout never feed at any certain depth all of the time.
One day the wet fly will produce results only when it is allowed to sink to the very bottom of the stream and to be carried along the bottom by the flowing water. At another time the wet fly will produce strikes when it is fished just beneath the surface. Again, the fly may be taken only when it is used at some midway point.
What the veteran knows and the amateur must learn is this rule: Fish the wet fly at a variety of depths until the fish are located, then continue working the lure at that level in the water. If the strikes suddenly fall off, begin the exploration process again. The trout likely have shifted to a different depth.
Relatively few times in the course of a day’s angling will a fisherman be able to see a trout actually strike a wet fly. Rather, the wet fly man has to rely on the “feel” of a strike rather than on sight.
There are those times, of course, when a trout takes an underwater lure with a solid bump, either because the fish is feeding with vigor or because the flow of the current puts tension on the line, leader, and fly.
But usually the strike of a trout to a wet fly is either a gentle tug or a fleeting nip. The angler’s reaction has to be immediate if he is to be able to set the hook. In fact, it is impossible to set the hook too quickly once a strike has been felt.
There is one precaution the angler must add to his list of wet fly fishing tips, regardless if it is a list of rainbow, brook or brown trout fishing tips, and that is to drive home the barb with only enough force to hook the fish. Too hard a strike will tear the hook from the mouth of the fish. After all, it takes very little force to drive the needle-sharp point of a fly hook into the flesh of a trout’s mouth.
Whippy rods, with what the manufacturers call fast action, are best for wet fly fishing. The rod itself will absorb much of the force of the strike if the angler uses too heavy a hand.