“Presentation” Discussion Forum?

[Ceviche]

I often find myself wondering about fly fishing “presentation” techniques. Yeah, all of you out there too. For sure. I mean, no matter how good the conditions or the fly you have on, without good presentation, you will not catch fish and especially trout.

For that reason, it strikes me that this site could use a separate forum for the topic of presentation. And that is obviously a big one at that. Things like casting, mending, types of lines and their applications, how to strip/retrieve different types of flies, etc. I cannot even begin to tell people about all the golden nuggets I’ve stumble across learning from this (and the WFF) community of fly anglers over my past near 20 years of doing this.

So, I don’t know how people would engage the concept. Perhaps the idea is better served here or in the “newbie” forum? Or is the newb section a place where the veteran is not likely to share a story of “cracking the key”? Dunno, but I’ll never forget when Backyard connected Wham’s “Take Me On” with how to strip-retrieve a fly. A place to leave nuggets?

Thoughts?

 

[troutpocket]

You mean this tune?


C’mon man. If we’re talking presentation, the details matter!

 

[Matt B]

I often find myself wondering about fly fishing “presentation” techniques. Yeah, all of you out there too. For sure. I mean, no matter how good the conditions or the fly you have on, without good presentation, you will not catch fish and especially trout.

For that reason, it strikes me that this site could use a separate forum for the topic of presentation. And that is obviously a big one at that. Things like casting, mending, types of lines and their applications, how to strip/retrieve different types of flies, etc. I cannot even begin to tell people about all the golden nuggets I’ve stumble across learning from this (and the WFF) community of fly anglers over my past near 20 years of doing this.

So, I don’t know how people would engage the concept. Perhaps the idea is better served here or in the “newbie” forum? Or is the newb section a place where the veteran is not likely to share a story of “cracking the key”? Dunno, but I’ll never forget when Backyard connected Wham’s “Take Me On” with how to strip-retrieve a fly. A place to leave nuggets?

Thoughts?

My dog thinks his bed is a place to leave nuggets.
Sorry, couldn’t help myself.
If you think the discussion will get lost in the general discussion forum, it might go nicely in Gear and Techniques.

 

[Evan B]

Gear & techniques or the specific sub-forum (trout, saltwater, warmwater) would be the place for this. Could potentially make some tags to separate those posts, too

edit: here's where these best belong:

PNW Fly Fishing

Fly Fishing & Outdoor Recreation in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, BC and Beyond

pnwflyfishing.com

 

[Billy]

I was just going to say gear and technique subforum but you can really talk about it in a lot of different subforums. We worry about too many sub forums (forum creep) I think to create a new one at this time. Good idea though. We can always revisit in future.

 

[DoesItFloat]

Let's start with a grease line argument!

 

[Rob Allen]

Let's start with a grease line argument!

The most misunderstood thing in all of steelheading.

 

[O' Clarkii Stomias]

The most misunderstood thing in all of steelheading.

Enlighten us please.

 

[Rob Allen]

Enlighten us please.

Think about the context.

The greased line method. As all tequniques are developed by one man to solve a set of problems. In this case we had a man who fished a particular beat of a particular river. He developed this technique to provoke strikes in low water conditions from fish that had been in the river for a while and were dour.. yes he adapted the technique to cover a wide range of conditions but the low water dour fish was his primary dilemma.

Now... again he was fishing the same few runs day in day out. He knew where the fish held. He wasn't necessarily covering lots of water. He was fishing a series of individual lies. That doesn't translate very well to many steelhead rivers.. What Wood did was to present flies broadside on a relatively slack line and fishing the fly in the surface film or on the surface. Trout fishermen might think of it this way, he was fishing emerges..

The easiest way for a steelhead fisherman to grab ahold of a piece of this. Is simply to fish the fly broadside and the easiest way to cast 90 degrees across the stream then hold the rod straight downstream. Not true greased line fishing but a close proximation
Now if you have spots where you know exactly where the fish hold. Then you just cast above the fish and steer the fly broadside down to the fish by manipulating the rod tip.
Anyway. Greased lining. Is a lot more than just fishing a floating line or a surface fly..

So go read woods book. But as you do so really consider the context of what he is saying. That goes for any fishing writer actually. Take Jim Teeny for example . Does his "technique " come into more context to know he was fishing rivers that were absolutely stuffed full of hatchery fish and that they were generally small summer run rivers where you could sight fish to dozens of fish per day?
Context is always super important for a better understanding.

 

[Old Man]

My take on this is this. You get to many sub forums and you lose. Trying to follow things gets lost. I feel now that your getting that way. I only go to a few forums. Mostly just fishing. I don't tie flies anymore. Not into writing or poetry. Or all those things that don't have fishing in them.

 

[GAT]

My presentations for stillwaters is much different than that I use for moving water. And of course, the presentation my be completely different depending on what the devil I'm fishing for. So, most likely the subject of presentations should be included in the forums where you would most likely use the presentation. There are simply too many different presentations for different species of fish and conditions for a single thread.

 

[Ceviche]

You mean this tune?


C’mon man. If we’re talking presentation, the details matter!

Exactly! That’s the one! You gotta embrace that “ear worm,” and work it into how you strip and release the fly line to work your stillwater wet fly/streamer.

Faster you’re moving through water, longer the pull and recovered slack to taught-line before repeating. Slower you’re moving through water, shorter the strip, etc.

Aside from that, there is this other factor of this other “surge” acceleration of the strip.

When all that comes together is when I inevitably feel a trout strike. The closest thing I can compare that to is figuring out how to tease a cat with a toy at the end of a string.

 

[Ceviche]

My presentations for stillwaters is much different than that I use for moving water. And of course, the presentation my be completely different depending on what the devil I'm fishing for. So, most likely the subject of presentations should be included in the forums where you would most likely use the presentation. There are simply too many different presentations for different species of fish and conditions for a single thread.

I agree with you completely. Moving water poses many other factors when it comes to presentation. In this thread, I’m focused on stillwater presentation. With moving water, there’s been much that’s already been written.

Nonetheless, much of all that’s been said has all been about classic and “textbook” rivers and streams—and not about our typical Cascade Mountain flows. I would really welcome a discussion about how someone tackled some screwed up pocket water they just knew held a good trout.

I mean, I have my own few stories about such situations, but that’s why I think it would be very cool to devote a forum dedicated to what I call “the fish hunter’s eye and touch.” Like when you read the water and know what to do. When I was a newbie, those kinds of nuggets showed me where the real gold was.

“Take me on!”

 

[Ceviche]

My dog thinks his bed is a place to leave nuggets.
Sorry, couldn’t help myself.
If you think the discussion will get lost in the general discussion forum, it might go nicely in Gear and Techniques.

You have a point.

 

[Ceviche]

My take on this is this. You get to many sub forums and you lose. Trying to follow things gets lost. I feel now that your getting that way. I only go to a few forums. Mostly just fishing. I don't tie flies anymore. Not into writing or poetry. Or all those things that don't have fishing in them.

You have a point.

 

[Ceviche]

Think about the context.

The greased line method. As all tequniques are developed by one man to solve a set of problems. In this case we had a man who fished a particular beat of a particular river. He developed this technique to provoke strikes in low water conditions from fish that had been in the river for a while and were dour.. yes he adapted the technique to cover a wide range of conditions but the low water dour fish was his primary dilemma.

Now... again he was fishing the same few runs day in day out. He knew where the fish held. He wasn't necessarily covering lots of water. He was fishing a series of individual lies. That doesn't translate very well to many steelhead rivers.. What Wood did was to present flies broadside on a relatively slack line and fishing the fly in the surface film or on the surface. Trout fishermen might think of it this way, he was fishing emerges..

The easiest way for a steelhead fisherman to grab ahold of a piece of this. Is simply to fish the fly broadside and the easiest way to cast 90 degrees across the stream then hold the rod straight downstream. Not true greased line fishing but a close proximation
Now if you have spots where you know exactly where the fish hold. Then you just cast above the fish and steer the fly broadside down to the fish by manipulating the rod tip.
Anyway. Greased lining. Is a lot more than just fishing a floating line or a surface fly..

So go read woods book. But as you do so really consider the context of what he is saying. That goes for any fishing writer actually. Take Jim Teeny for example . Does his "technique " come into more context to know he was fishing rivers that were absolutely stuffed full of hatchery fish and that they were generally small summer run rivers where you could sight fish to dozens of fish per day?
Context is always super important for a better understanding.

I have that book and read it. And, you know, I tried exactly what you described on this one spot on the Snoqualmie that looked fishy as all get go but never ever yielded a fish before to me or the guy who introduced me that piece of water.

I had this beadhead Muddler Minnow that I tied on Grease Line style and worked that run in the same fashion. Sure enough, this sweet cutty came up out of nowhere and smashed the muddler in the surface film. Nothing but $$$ the whole way! Now that’s what I call “fun!”

That was a 10" cutty on a 4wt. A good fish for that part of the Snoqualmie.

 

[troutpocket]

Exactly! That’s the one! You gotta embrace that “ear worm,” and work it into how you strip and release the fly line to work your stillwater wet fly/streamer.

Faster you’re moving through water, longer the pull and recovered slack to taught-line before repeating. Slower you’re moving through water, shorter the strip, etc.

Aside from that, there is this other factor of this other “surge” acceleration of the strip.

When all that comes together is when I inevitably feel a trout strike. The closest thing I can compare that to is figuring out how to tease a cat with a toy at the end of a string.

Excellent. I can work with that. Another one that I’ve seen put into action on the trout lakes is Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”. The fish respond to good 80’s music!

But don’t be the boy who cried Wham! That crap is unlistenable. If the fish were on a Wham!-bite I might try somewhere else