The Wonder's Of The Tap-tap

[Guest bigbadbrent]

After reading Silver Doctors post, i thought about the tap-tap feel on the swing (which is all i do anyway when im using the spey really)...I get LOTS of taps, and most i believe are fish, but all of the fish i've caught have seem to have set them selves, as they don't tap, they slam or give it a solid pull..

 

So, what is the proper way after u get the tap, do u set the hook, or what?

 

Brent - 'still useless at streamer fishin' on the bow

[SilverDoctor]

After reading Silver Doctors post, i thought about the tap-tap feel on the swing (which is all i do anyway when im using the spey really)...I get LOTS of taps, and most i believe are fish, but all of the fish i've caught have seem to have set them selves, as they don't tap, they slam or give it a solid pull..

 

So, what is the proper way after u get the tap, do u set the hook, or what?

 

Brent - 'still useless at streamer fishin' on the bow

 

Well that's a great question. I often see folks who expect fish to hook themselves and sometimes they do. But not that often. Remember a trout has no hands. Taste is the key to knowing and finding food. Bugs I'm sure have thier own taste and texture. Bait fish have the exterior coating that triggers the trout into saying (this is definitely food).

 

You only have a split second on the swing to set the hook before the fish realizes it's not food. If you try to set the hook by lifting your rod tip here's what happens. the rod tip lifts (this takes a couple of seconds), the line tightens out slack in the rod itself (another couple of seconds), the line itself tightens out it's slack (another couple of seconds). The transmitted line tightens up through the leader to the fly another second or two is gone.

 

The key to any fishing whether it be dry fly nymphing or stream fishing. is keeping a SOLID TIGHT LINE, even on the swing. When swinging wet flies or streamers I use my left hand to hold the line and "feel" the fly swim through the water. At the slightest tap I pull straight back a quick 6 inches. At the same time a split second later (if it fees like a fish) followed by a rod sweep towards shore. Sounds simple but it does take practice. Fish are FAST. I think most people most likely have large numbers of trout that touch their flies while fishing but never know it.

 

I often impart action on my flies using my line hand in different retrieve styles. We'll get together some weekend and I'll show you.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

Hardest thing for me still with the spey, is what to do with my hands on the swing, i can cast just fine now, but its kinda a mumble-jumble when i'm trying to strip streamers or anything.

 

 

Say i'm holding the spey, left hand on bottom, right hand on top. Do my cast, mend then start the swing (direct contact throughout it, by following the line with your rod tip). Should i be holding the rod only in my right hand, and line in my left and stripping with my left (just like i would with my single handers?)...Do you still have a finger from your right hand loosely on the line coming in...guess it's just awkward with a 2 hander for me at the moment...

 

got all week to practice ..I know Din is up for fishing..anyone else?

[rusty]

Can't imagine that spey swinging is any different than with a single hander.

 

I keep the rodtip right on the water and try to give a good hard pull with the line hand when I feel something. If there is still resistance, lift the rod. Lifting the rod on a hit or a hangup on the bottom will pull the fly out of the zone or away from a fish. Lots of times you'll get a tap, pull the fly, and then get a solid hookup a few seconds later.

 

This is the same strategy I try to use fishing streamers off the banks from a boat and it consistently works for me. It takes some practice to not lift every time you get a bump.

[headscan]

Hardest thing for me still with the spey, is what to do with my hands on the swing, i can cast just fine now, but its kinda a mumble-jumble when i'm trying to strip streamers or anything.

Say i'm holding the spey, left hand on bottom, right hand on top. Do my cast, mend then start the swing (direct contact throughout it, by following the line with your rod tip). Should i be holding the rod only in my right hand, and line in my left and stripping with my left (just like i would with my single handers?)...Do you still have a finger from your right hand loosely on the line coming in...guess it's just awkward with a 2 hander for me at the moment...

 

got all week to practice ..I know Din is up for fishing..anyone else?

 

What I did yesterday was hold the butt of the rod against my gut and held the top grip with my right hand just as I would a single hander. Held the line with my left and used it to strip. Don't know if that's the accepted/recommended way of doing it, but it just felt natural to me to do it like that.

 

Almost forgot - I think either Peter or Colin mentioned that it's a lot easier to set the hook by sweeping the rod to the side than pulling up with the double hander.

[bhurt]

Hey Brentt u running a poly float leader?

 

Here's what I do, dunno if its correct but seems to work for me.

 

I run a Scandi set up with a 32 foot 380gr head then I got on a 13 foot poly float leader to my indie. After that by loop to loop connection I ran today about 5 foot to barrel swivel then ran another 4 feet to my first fly.

 

I found I could Single Spey upriver and just when my line lays out on the river I do a short mend, just my scandi head not polyleader, I get gret presentation for up river nymphing.

 

What I liked about this the most was that I was still able to nymph from 20 feet infront of me to 50 feet and still have control over my line, weather it was upriver nymphing, down and across (note, I know little about this so could be doing it 100% wrong) I seemed to have a good system going.

 

Can't wait to get my Skagit going, so far just got the 7/8 12 1/2 TFO Pro rod for this, but most likely only time I see me using it will be for bull trout hunting and having to turn over big heavy flies.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

I'm running sink tips, usually using a type 6...i don't enjoy nymphing with the spey

[ogilvie]

You have a very good question here that often goes overlooked until too many fish are lost... a very important issue with a swung fly is actually which side the reel operates. If you are right handed normally the reel operates with the left hand(natural; not recommended for Spey rods),but if you ever look at the Spey reels coming from Europe they usually reel right,and for a reason..Should you have the reel tucked up against your body/jacket/or what have you and it operates left for a right handed person or right for a left handed person and you get a solid hit or pull ,the handle will catch hold of your being and often results in loosing a fish! In the Spey world you will find most reels operateing for your prominent handing.

I am right handed,my reels mostly operate with a right retreive...I have lost too many fish doing it the other way. Also,a question about your "left hand" or "right hand" which ever, whether casting left or right,it is a good practice to hold or feel the line with your free hand. Normally you might ,as I do, once the line is swinging freely,I will create a bit of a play loop simply by holding which ever hand off to one side...this allows for just about all takes whether they are taps or distinct pulls,dry fly or wet.In fact your sensations are that much more in tune with whats going on with every aspect of that particular swing. Sometimes I will as do many otheres leave a complete loop dangleing in the water in front of my person,allowing me a bit of time in case of a large fish, or to engane my reel once the fish is clearly hooked. If you were to fish beside me and we were catching fish you will often hear me say "opps", I sense the fish better with my line hand,same as with a single handed rod. This also allows you time to position the large rods into your gut or wherever you choose.

C

[Guest bigbadbrent]

I'm one of the wierdos that cast right reel right...

 

thanks for all the tips guys, gotta put them into practice, hopefully a tank like Silver Doctors will come out to play

[CDone]

I'm one of the wierdos that cast right reel right...

I do the same with the big stick, first thing I was taught when I got into the spey game (thanks Courtney).

[Guest bigbadbrent]

i do that with all my sticks, ever since i started....can't go back now..reeling left handed is hell for me when i borrow a rod from a pal

[toolman]

I cast right/left hand and reel left hand only, without a lot of bad memories to make me feel a change is necessary. Is right hand retrieve technically better, probably, as it manages the line/reel better, preventing snags on the handle etc. and you can usually wind faster with your dominant hand if you are RH'ed as well. But it's not for me and I'm willing to live with the perceived handicap for a while longer.

As for hook sets on the swing, it depends on what mood the fish are in and the direction they are pointing/swiming when it takes the fly. Meaning, whether the fish moved laterally to take the fly or did it turn downstream and strike etc. or did it rise up in the water column and turn back down, or simply inhale/mouth the fly and not even move etc. A different reaction may be needed for different situations and most often the only indication of a grab, strike, bump, pull, tap or tug, is through that thin little line in your hand. From the information transmitted through your line, you react.. hopefully correctly.

Decoding the message through your line is difficult, untill you learn how to discern the subtle differences between a bump, tug, grab and what this information tells you about the fishes behavior and how it is approaching and reacting to your fly. Sometimes the fish is telling you to change your presentation and that is often the best course of action, not changing your hooksets.

Trout also behave differently in varying water temperatures or when there is competition for food, different lighting conditions, different types of insect hatches etc. We as fisherman need to adapt to the current conditions at hand.

I spent a couple of seasons fishing the swing for trout in the dark and feel that it has helped me to develop these skills.

Sometimes you just need to let the strike loop tighten up on the reel, then sweep to the shoreline, other times it's just a lift to tighten at the end of the swing, and other times a strip set is needed. Experience and practise will teach you when and how.

I helped Hawgstoppah learn how to Spey fish the two hander this past year and hook sets were really giving him a problem. He must have lost the first thirty fish he hooked and then things quickly changed for him and he landed something like, the next 22 out of 24. Eventually, you will learn how to get in the zone and start stickin' em any time they even look at your fly. As we all discover, there are a lot of details to consider in the swing business.