Upstream Presentations (3 of 14)

What I'm doing is starting here, with a straight upstream cast. I am facing right against the current; the current is coming right at me. If you don't strip fast enough, that slack builds up under your rod tip and you lose control. Not only can't you strike, but you can actually develop drag as that belly develops below you rod tip. When you cast straight upstream, you just gather the line as it's coming back to you just as fast as the current is bringing it to you. That way, that fly is moving perfectly with the current just like a natural object. If you take this cast and turn it 45 degrees, that's called quartering upstream. We have an advantage here, in that it just puts the fly and a little bit of the leader over the fish and doesn't put all of your fly line over the fish, so this is quartering upstream. There, usually, you can also strip line to keep up with it, but the line will start to belly, and then you may have to do a little mend or something to keep the line in place. Quartering upstream is a great way to avoid drag, which is an unnatural movement of the fly, and it can be used with any kind of fly; dry, nymph, even a streamer. It's probably the most common way of fishing for trout in a stream, and it works in slow or fast water.