When fishing down-and-across with subsurface flies, maintain a bit of controlled slack in the form of a "hinge" at the rod tip (bottom). They needn't worry: Gamefish are rarely outrun by prey, and even in cold water temperatures, they can catch a fleeing minnow or fry. I've had students ask whether a trout or bass can catch up to my streamer. Fish react with aggression to a creature fleeing their domain or one that seems to be in trouble. Don't get bogged down in the dead-drift and drag-free float mentality. When you use streamers, whether they're meant to imitate minnows, leeches, or other naturals, think in terms of triggering a strike. But when I teach them to put more life into their flies, they get more hits. When I compare their techniques with mine, I notice that their slow, uneventful retrieves fail to entice fish to strike. When I teach, students often remark about the aggressive nature in which I strip a streamer. I also want those actions to resemble a creature in trouble or injured. Each pattern imitates a different creature I want my fly to mimic the actions of the natural. For that reason, I don't retrieve a crayfish imitation the way I do a Blacknose Dace pattern, nor do I work a stonefly nymph the same way I do a sculpin. I describe the action as making the imitation on the end of the line behave like the natural bait being imitated. The first thing I tell students in my fly-fishing classes about stripping is that they must put personality into their flies. No matter how good the pattern, the cast, or the location, a lifeless or poorly presented fly will not tempt a fish to bite. Yet stripping is one of the most overlooked techniques in fly fishing. A good cast, a convincing fly, and an accurate reading of the water are critical elements in your success, but the right line retrieve can be most important in tempting a fish to strike.
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