The natural drift’s purpose is to provide a drag-free drift of the fly. During hatching and egg-laying activities, mayflies are motionless creatures. They are mimicked well by this method. Drifting along the surface, mayflies are at the mercy of the current. To drift unnaturally is termed drag, and it’s caused by the leader pulling on the fly. Drag pulls the fly across the current in an unnatural motion. Effective presentations are drag free.
The following is a list of methods designed to present a fly in a natural, drag- free manner; they are used to imitate placid insects.
Classic 3/4 Upstream
1. Cast is made 3/4 upstream by a straight cast or a reach cast.
2. Mends are appropriately made to extend the drift so that the line/leader does not float at a different rate than the fly.
A. Upstream mending generally slows the fly’s drift.
B. Downstream mending generally speeds the fly’s drift. 3. Ideal target position is directly or slightly downstream from the angler’s position.
4. Line is released to extend float to the 3/4 downstream position. 5. Fly is fished under tension as it swings in an arc directly downstream from the angler.
6. Fly/line/leader is picked up and recast.
Fly Fishing: The Lifetime Sport 93
Young’s Presentation
A. Reach cast is made 3/4 upstream. 1. Cast is made deliberately too long.
B. Raise the rod upward to pull the fly into lane.
1. Once fly is in position, drop the rod downward. This allows slack line to extend the float across the desired feeding lane.
2. When raising the rod upwards, do so in an upstream motion because this mends the line for a longer, drag-free float. C. Mend line to prolong the drift. 1. Upstream mends generally
slow the fly’s drift.
2. Downstream mends generally speed the fly’s drift.
D. Raise rod upwards to reposition the fly into Lane 2.
1. Repeat B1, B2 and C.
E. Fish fly under tension as it swings downstream to E.
F. Pick up and recast.
Note: As rod is pulled upwards it is also extended upstream to reposition the line belly upstream. (This acts like a reach cast by precisely repositioning the fly and mending the line upstream.)
Advantages of Young’s Presentation 1. It is an easy presentation to accurately
position the fly into the desired feeding lane.
2. It allows the angler to fish multiple feeding lanes in a single cast. 3. It readily provides a long drag free
drift precisely where you want it. 4. It is an exceptional method for sight
fishing to rising fish.
5. An accurate cast is not needed. Only a cast made too far is used.
Downstream
The downstream presentation is useful for calm spring creek and tail water streams. The fly is presented to the fish first without any disturbances from the leader or line. When the casting planes are
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made away from the fish’s location, the fish are undisturbed by overhead false casting and line spray. Many times fish are wary of overhead motions which may simulate birds of prey. Additionally, the downstream presentation is simple and effective; perhaps its only disadvantage is that the fly needs to be accurately cast.
Downstream Method
A. Make a reach cast slightly upstream with the fly accurately landing in the feeding lane. Next, lower the rod tip horizontally to the surface; track the fly downstream by reaching with the rod pointed directly towards the fly. B. Allow the fly to drift well past the
fish’s position and then make the line swing away by moving away from the feeding lane. Pick up the line for another cast.
Other Useful Downstream Presentations
There are various other methods of presenting a fly downstream. Simply feeding out slack line is one of them. An up-and-down rod shaking or a side-by-side wiggling motion can play out additional line; also, a wiggle cast made directly downstream extends the fly’s drift as the line uncoils. Both the slide and the mini-slide methods afford additional downstream presentations.
Again, the advantages of a downstream presentation are: the fish sees the fly first without any disturbances by the line and leader; the line/leader is never false cast over the fish, and a natural dead drift is created.
Both of the above methods present the fly downstream by playing out slack line in a serpentine manner. When the line straightens the dead drift is over.
Slide Method
1. Use a downstream cast directed purposefully distant to the feeding lane.
2. Reposition flies straight into the feeding lane so that the fly is about 3- 5 feet upstream of the fish’s position. This is done by extending the rod to position No. 2, then watching the line/leader/fly move to the targeted area.
3. Quickly lower rod to the No. 3 position to allow slack line and a drag- free drift.
Fly Fishing: The Lifetime Sport 95 4. If fish refuses the fly, move the rod to
position No. 4; allow the fly and line to swing well past the feeding lane. 5. Extend the rod to position No. 5;
pause it to straighten the line; next recast the fly.
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1. This is an easy method to place the fly precisely to a targeted fish.
2. The fly is delivered first ahead of the leader and line.
3. False casting over the fish is eliminated.
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The straightened leader is vulnerable to mini-turbulences which may cause unnoticed drag. Employing a long, flexible tippet helps correct this fault.
Mini-Slide Method
The mini-slide presentation offers the fly to 2 or 3 fish in different feeding lanes with the same cast. The fish must be progressively farther away from you in a downstream order.
1. The rod is raised and repositioned to fish #2.
2. The rod is lowered and line is fed out allowing the drag-free drift.
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1. With a single cast the angler can present the fly to several different fish. 2. This method reduces the number of
casts which minimizes alarming wary fish.
3. With ease the angler can cast to pods of feeding fish.
Upstream Presentation
The upstream presentation places the leader directly over the fish’s back and the fly lands directly in front of the fish. Try to cast precisely between the fish’s eyes. Fish see poorly directly above their backs and a fly gently delivered on a flexible tippet may go unnoticed. This presentation can be a deadly method demanding extreme casting accuracy and delivery. Using an open looped delivery cast helps slow down the fly and line speed which prevents water splashes from the line. However, this method is limited to shorter casts.
The distance to lead a fish depends upon the depth that the fish is holding. Since a fish’s vision window expands the deeper it holds, a deep holding fish must be led farther than a shallower holding fish. This allows the fly to land just outside of its vision window. Use caution to make sure that the line and leader junction lands well in back of the fish.
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Also a deeper holding fish takes longer to rise than a shallower holding fish. Simply, the deeper fish has a greater distance to travel than a shallow fish.
7/8 Upstream Delivery
The 7/8 upstream delivery presents the fly without placing the line over the fish. The cast is made at about a 1:00 o’clock position with 12:00 o’clock directly upstream from the
angler. Only a small tippet segment travels over the feeding lane. This presentation easily furnishes a drag free float.
However, this 7/8 presentation has two disadvantages. First, the false casting over the fish’s position may
alarm a wary fish. Second, the cast must be accurately made to land precisely into the feeding lane. Fine, flexible tippets and delicate casting help overcome these disadvantages. A rippled surface helps disguise this delivery.
Cast precisely to a targeted area about six feet upstream from the fish. Retrieve the slack line as it drifts back downstream.
Line Mending
Line mending is a repositioning of the line on the water so that its new position extends the fly’s drift. Plainly, mends are upstream (upwind) or downstream rod flips which reposition the line belly while it is adrift.
Mending is essential to many presentations; both dry and wet fly methods call for line mending. A simple flip of the wrist mends the line. Upstream flips tend to slow down the fly’s drift; likewise, downstream flips hasten the fly’s drift.
A stream’s diverse current speed causes the need for mending and determines the direction of the mend. For example, when the fly is in faster current than its line, a downstream mend extends the fly’s drift. On the other hand, when the fly is in a slower current than its line an upstream mend extends the fly’s drift. Since streams seldom have a uniform current, the angler is constantly confronted with mixed current speeds. Common sense determines the direction the line is mended.
An upstream mend repositions the line belly to float at the same position as the fly; hence mending lengthens the fly’s drift by preventing drag.
Fly Fishing: The Lifetime Sport 97 As you fish out a cast, constantly watch
the fly and line position. As the fish’s relationship to the line changes, correct the line by mending it in the appropriate direction. Optimally, the mending goal is to keep the line, leader, and fly in a straight line. Mending retains this straight alignment.
Wrist Roll Mend
As the wrist roll starts, the rod angle is about 0 degrees and arches to a peak of about 90 degrees and back down to 0 again. This wrist movement causes the rod to reposition the line closer to the angler. Additionally, the rod maneuvers through a half circle, (180 degree arc), as viewed by the angler.
Roll Mend
The roll mend produces more line movement than the standard wrist roll mend. This roll mend calls for adding
additional slack line by rod shaking. Next, gently elevate the rod tip, and finally make a small roll cast causing a little hoop of line to roll ahead repositioning the line belly into the desired position. This roll mend is of benefit when fishing faster currents.
Shoot Mend
The shoot mend is implemented in waters with current traps such as dead spots, swirls, and up dwellings. These spots catch the line belly, and the shoot mend frees the line from these traps.
The wrist and rod motion is identical to the wrist roll mend. The only difference is that a loop of line held by the line hand is shot during the mend. This repositions the mended line past the current trap. Additionally, the rod may need to be extended upwards and outwards while the mended line drifts past the current trap.
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