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Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - may2008 - Index

40
Using a fly like an X larva, we can concentrate
weight at the point of the tippet. And then
by delivering that X with an up-and-across
Tuck Cast, the nymph enters the water first,
heading downward, with the tippet and much
of the leader coming in vertically behind it.
That combination allows the fly to get near
the bottom quickly, which is not only important
for putting it near the fish, but also for
reducing necessary drift time/distance. And
since we’re being smart about this, let’s also
make the cast on the near-side of the fish’s
feeding lane.
So, the Q & A: How do we know the fly
is at the right level? The Tuck Cast will help
get it down fast and accurately, but it can
still be hard to judge depth. So, we’ll add a
bit (a little bit) of strike putty, rubbed into
the knot between the tippet and the leader.
If that knot is, for example, four feet above
the fly, we have a useful starting point. If the
leader is a one-piece extruded construction,
then just rubbing a bit of putty onto the
leader itself at a pre-measured depth should
work. We can also grease the butt section of
the leader to make it easier to track. So, how
do we know if our larva is behaving correctly
(in this case dead-drifting)? We can watch the
putty and/or greased portion of the leader,
but our Tuck Cast will also inherently help by
piling the tippet and leader down vertically.
How do we adjust the drift if drag is present
(or we think it will be present)? We mend on
the water (after the fly has begun its drift).
And how do we know if a fish has taken our
dry fly? That’s the beauty of this—we watch
the fish as the fly approaches. If the fish moves
over and back, if its mouth opens and closes,
or if it quickly tilts up and then down, lift the
rod tip. Not quite as nice as seeing lips stick
out, but we still get a visual confirmation, just
like dry-fly fishing.
For those fish out there in the invisible,
our approach may need to revert to using the
leader itself as the dry fly. Instead of trying
to use the leader to float the fly, though, the
leader in this case will telegraph information
about the fly’s level, its speed, and its position
in relation to a fish’s suspected feeding lane.
Surprisingly like a dry fly, actually, and that’s
the whole point, of course.
What we’ll do to make it all work is go
short-line, Czech-style with a heavy fly or flies,
and a leader with a colored, braided or furled
butt section. That colored section is our dry
fly. Since the nymphs will be crawled along
downstream, there is also a tactile aspect to
this technique (like a fish grabbing a skated
dry fly at night—you feel it). But, the visual
aspect is important, too, and the braided
section (the dry fly) gives us the Q & A
answers quickly.
If the nymph is on the bottom, the braided
section will be moving slowly, telegraphing
bottom structure and current speed (this
may be felt, too). If the braided section is just
swinging quickly downstream, the flies are
not where they need to be. Mend, re-cast, or
use a heavier nymph to fix the problem. And
how do we know that a fish has taken? If the