How To Present The Fly (12 of 21)

One of the problems some anglers have is they forget the boat's moving. The fly won't move until all the slack in the line has been removed, so make sure that if the boat's moving toward the fish when you present the fly, that you immediately take up all the slack in the line. You may not want to move the fly until the fish get closer, but you must take up the slack so you're prepared to take up the fly at a moment's notice when the fish move into position.

Now that you're into position, let's talk about ways that you, on your own, or you and your guide can work together as a team, to place the fly as naturally as possible. Once you see a moving fish, where should you put the fly in relation to that fish? In shallow water, you want to lead it by just a little bit. You sometimes even want to put the fly right on the fish's head or right in front of his head. The fly's going to sink quickly to the fish's level.

When you get into deep water, it's more like a game of chess where you're more strategic, or it's more like shooting a bird in that you've got to let that fly sink to the fish's level; it's going to take longer. So, you've got to lead that fish, figure out where it's going to be, let the fly sink to the fish so that you can begin stripping right when the fly's at the fish's level.