https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o788hFwCJCs
Printable View
Interesting- I know when I first started it was always cast, mend upstream and swing. This must be the reason I catch so few steelhead.
As an aside, amazing to see how matter of fact this guy is with a 100 ft (+?) cast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr T
Thinking outside the box is so important for steelhead fishing it’s not even funny. 75% of the people I teach or go fishing wish tell me these words.... “ man you cast, mend and swing so unorthodox to the way I have seen it.”
The guy in the videos words ring true for me. And I catch enough to say it’s so. We need to get out of our comfort zone more often. Might be surprising what it can produce.
Tight Lines!
It's very rare that I mend when I swing. Yes it is unorthodox but I feel I cover more water more efficiently when I dont mend, plus your fly swings with a perfect side profile all the way through the swing, which drives the fish crazy and you get more grabs. If I need to get deeper faster, I'll throw on a heavier tip, heavier fly or cast further down river with a longer cast to have less current pushing on my fly and line, but I will not mend.
I always felt the upstream mend not only killed my swing but also the idea behind swinging and the act of what a swung fly is supposed to do in the water. Like he says in the vid you loose half of water you are wanting to fish, and sometimes the best water during the swing where the fish typically hold.
There are ways to get around not mending and getting your fly down and also doing this while adjusting to water speed, depth and how to properly swing your fly through the zone and get more grabs. This is what I teach all my clients, whether new to swinging or long time swing vets. It's been a proven technique for them to the point where they can tell they are hooking more fish on the swing. I have personally tried both techniques over the years, and not mending flat out produces more fish. I've been known to even mend down river to speed my flies up, just call me nuts.
Im all about being outside the box, being unorthodox, have even been called untraditional, but it works great for me and my clients and I'll never stop doing it. Why not show these heavily pressures fish something different, you may be surprised.
Good video right there.