The latest video in the series “Q&A” from Brian Flechsig of Mad River Outfitters in Columbus, Ohio, he ansers several questions about hook-setting. He addresses the proper way to maintain control of your line, the correct angle to set the hook with your rod, and how to the current affects how you should set.
Nice job.
Good looking yellow glass rod!
How do you set the hook downstream if you are swinging a fly and the strike occurs when the fly is already quite a ways downstream? Thanks!
As long as you have no slack, just pinch the line and let the fish hook itself; when you feel solid weight or resistance then sweep the rod to the nearside bank. If you’re swinging a large streamer, you can add a slightly delayed strip strike while sweeping the rod to the nearside bank. There’s no getting around the fact that when your fly is downstream from you, that an immediate, quick, and aggressive hook set will more often than not, pull the fly out of the fish’s mouth. “Let them eat it”, is apt mantra. This requires a very different (and difficult) type of muscle memory that is contrary to most hook setting techniques. It’s the same problem that dry fly anglers experience on downstream eats. And as Brian repeatedly reminds us, keep the follow-up pressure below 10 and 2.