16. How to mend line when fishing nymphs. (16 of 21)

Mending is often needed when fishing with an indicator and you can usually extend your productive drift with mends. Just be careful to mend enough that you go all the way to the indicator but without moving it. Moving the indicator moves the flies as well and it can introduce the move that might turn the fish off. If the water next to you is faster than the water your flies are drifting in, mend upstream.
But sometimes the water between you and the flies is moving slower. In this case, in order to avoid drag on the flies, you need to mend downstream. But trout will sometimes take a nymph that is dragging, especially if the drag is not too severe.Strikes to a dragging nymph often come at the end of the drift when the flies rise off the bottom and it may look like an emerging insect but if you want to play the percentages, 90% of the time, dead drift is the way to go.