Northwest Fishing Reports

Wondering what experiences anyone may have with regards to the most effective way of following up after a missed strike. Dependent upon what type of fishing I am doing, I will either leave it sit for a bit...or bring it in, recock and try again. Fly fishing has been a different beast entirely, so would the same apply? Miss a strike or hookset...do you bring in and start over or hang tight. For example, say I were fishing a chironomid under a strike indicator...missed the strike, and hookset...do you just leave the rig where it's at or try another spot. What has been your time tested and proven method for follow-ups in the event a strike is missed? Thanks!


Chad

KTK-

Thanks for your input. I have been really trying to refrain from dragging in my line and casting back out as much as possible. It's an old and bad habit.

I was tossing around a woolly bugger and missed one and stripped the line back in relatively quickly and cast back out. I think I will toy around with varying the retrieves as you mention in the event I miss again.

As far as the chronomid on a strike indicator that was pretty much an experiment after I seen some in my dip net. I saw the indicator quickly disappear and reappear...thinking to myself the whole time I should have kept the line tighter so I could feel the bite instead of zoning out on the indicator and missing it.

Thanks!


Chad

leahcim_dahc wrote:KTK-

I have been really trying to refrain from dragging in my line and casting back out as much as possible. It's an old and bad habit.

I tend to just slowly troll that bugger/streamer. Casting in and out can get cumbersome after awhile. I can see why you try to refrain from dragging it in all the time. The only time I do that is to inspect my tippet, examine my fly to see if it's there or what kind of shape it's in, or add dry fly floatant to a dry that is now sinking.
KTK

If I'm trolling and miss the strike and hookset I totaly stop trolling(by the way I'm in float tube kicking with fins)and give the line a couple of slow strips and let it sit a few seconds then the twitch.Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.On the dry fly if I totaly bomb it on the set.I let the fly resurface and give the line a few twitches.To draw attention to it like a bug in distress on the surface and about 75% of the time they came back for another go at it.Hope this helps.

kutthroatkilla wrote:

leahcim_dahc wrote:KTK-

I have been really trying to refrain from dragging in my line and casting back out as much as possible. It's an old and bad habit.

I tend to just slowly troll that bugger/streamer. Casting in and out can get cumbersome after awhile. I can see why you try to refrain from dragging it in all the time. The only time I do that is to inspect my tippet, examine my fly to see if it's there or what kind of shape it's in, or add dry fly floatant to a dry that is now sinking.
KTK

In my very limited experience all I have ever done with the buggers is troll them along drop offs and weedlines. I was attempting to cast and hop it across the bottom to see what I could stir up. I don't mind casting over and over too much...it's kinda fun...for now, plus it's good practice for me.

shawn wrote:If I'm trolling and miss the strike and hookset I totaly stop trolling(by the way I'm in float tube kicking with fins)and give the line a couple of slow strips and let it sit a few seconds then the twitch.Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.On the dry fly if I totaly bomb it on the set.I let the fly resurface and give the line a few twitches.To draw attention to it like a bug in distress on the surface and about 75% of the time they came back for another go at it.

Thanks for the advice. It appears the important thing to do in the event of a missed strike or hookset is keep the fly in the water, and vary the retrieve a bit. Chances are the fish might very well come back for it.

Thanks for the info.!


Chad

As you can see from the above responses, it all kind of depends (LOL).

If I am dry fly fishing, I recast. If I am streamer fishing, I usually play with a dead stop for a couple of seconds, than a fast erratic retrieve. If I am ...................you get the point, it all kind of depends.

Anglinarcher wrote:As you can see from the above responses, it all kind of depends (LOL).

If I am dry fly fishing, I recast. If I am streamer fishing, I usually play with a dead stop for a couple of seconds, than a fast erratic retrieve. If I am ...................you get the point, it all kind of depends.

Indeed...I'll try a couple different methods and see what works out the best. As my time on the water progresses I'll know what will work and what does not. Thanks!


Chad

In my experience, I have found that aggressively stripping a nymph or streamer after a miss is very efficient. This seems to be most effective when the bite is slow and a lot of fish are "short striking". That extra action seems to get their attention and turn them on.

When fishing chironomids under an indicator, I will immediately throw back to that area, especially if it's the "sweet spot" that I've located....miss that spot by 10-12 feet and I won't get a strike...but dropping it dead into the basket keeps me on fish.

I think what I want to be doing is get into the mindset that I am the target, or prey. What do I think the prey should or would be doing at that particular time. For example, what am I imitating and how would that food source react to a quick bite. If I miss the hookset...make a couple quick erratic retrieves as if the prey is trying to get away, then back it down to a normal pace. This is something I would think to do, as you stated when fishing a streamer or bottom bouncing a nymph. As far as indicator fishing a chironomid...I think just keeping it where it is would be the best approach. Unless of course when trying to set the hook I move it out of the "sweet spot" much. Then I think I would just cast back, start over and hope for the best. Thanks!

Soooo many options!


Chad

Good topic Chad. It's not quite a simple as it first appeared. It's best to retrieve with your rod tip low and pointed straight down the line at the fly, using your line hand to impart action to the fly. This eliminates slack line and allows greater feel of what is happening below the surface. When troutie hits a surface fly you will know about it. The strike will be audible and visible. The situation is entirely different when fishing subsurface. Strikes can be subtle and hard to detect. The deeper you are fishing the harder these soft strikes are to detect. Many trouties you fish on wet flies will hit hard and hookup on the strike but a lot of fish will pick up a fly and remain stationary while they decide it isn’t edible then reject it. I will add this...often times the only indication of a strike is a subtle difference in the feel of the fly line while retrieving. The line may feel heavy, tight, become slack, move sideways or you may feel a bump or vibration. Strike at any unusual movement or feel of the line. A good rule of thumb is when not sure - just strike. Strikes cost nothing and although you will hook a few snags you will also hook a lot more fish. Flies with lots of action and flash are regularly nailed while sinking before the retrieve has commenced. These fish usually hook themselves making for easy fishing. When you feel, see or guess that a fish has taken the fly quickly strip with your line hand without moving the rod. When you feel the weight of the fish, strike firmly, still using your line hand only. Resist the urge to lift the rod as you would with lure casting tackle. I like to follow this with another line hand haul or two, to make sure the hook has been set. You may then bring the rod into play to tire and land the fish. Fly rods are very inefficient striking tools. If you strike with the rod the flexible tip will absorb most of the force of your strike transmitting little to the fly to hook the fish.

KTK-

Good information, thank you!

When you feel, see or guess that a fish has taken the fly quickly strip with your line hand without moving the rod. When you feel the weight of the fish, strike firmly, still using your line hand only. Resist the urge to lift the rod as you would with lure casting tackle. I like to follow this with another line hand haul or two, to make sure the hook has been set.

That's a big part of my problem! I have been doing just the opposite. I have been using the rod to set the hook...or in this case, miss the hook set. So the way to set the hook is to just strip line quickly and not use the rod itself...? I should have searched that on youtube when I was searching for casting lessons.

Essentially, the only time you really want to use the rod, is obviously for casting, but for also playing the fish...do not use it for setting a hook. Just a quick rip of the line will be sufficient. Could be a good reason for missing some of the hits... Thanks for the tip!

Told you I didn't know what I was doing...I'll get it figured out...eventually. LOL!! :bom:


Chad

A couple resources on...ahem...setting a hook.

The first is the transcript from a video on expertvillage.com

[quote="Jim Dowd"]You’ve just made a wonderful cast and your fly is out there floating down the river and a trout comes up and eats your fly. What do you do next? In order to set the hook into the trout’s mouth, you need to strike him as we call it. There are two different methods of striking. Actually there are more but the two that you need to know are the tip strike and the slip strike. Both have advantages.

The tip strike is used most often when you are dry fly fishing. That’s where the fly that is floating on the surface and you see the trout come up and eat it from the surface]

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/1805 ... strike.htm
http://www.alaskaflyfishingonline.com/s ... ipset.html


Chad