[Chiefly Fly'n]

Set the hook! One of the frequent suggestions in trout fishing is to regularly tighten the line and set the hook if you feel resistance. Because....trout frequently pick up a fly and the angler doesn't detect a pickup or the strike indicator doesn't "indicate"....or the angler doesn't think the signs of a take are sufficient to justify a hook set.

Here's an interesting video. Then angler reportedly only saw one indication of a "take"...although there were many.

http://troutunderground.com/2013/05...-the-angler-wonders-why-the-fishings-so-slow/

 

[OptiMystic]

When I lived in Denver and fished the forks of the Platte a lot, I would often drift nymphs into small deep eddies in narrow sections of rapids with swirling current all around it. I found it almost impossible to get a good drift without what is generally too much slack making it very difficult to see any indication of a take. Sometimes I would just do a hook set without any sign I needed to. Lost a lot of flies doing that, but got enough nice surprises to make it worthwhile to me. It may be that I was starting to notice little signs almost subconsciously as I got better over time, but I think a lot of it was timing; doing it somewhat randomly as it drifted I noticed I got more blind hookups at the "almost too early" point. Anyway, my point is I think erring on the aggressive side gets more fish. On a related note, I think the "spookiness" factor of trout is over rated. I have yanked a fly away from one (seen it chased), cast back and got the fish many times.

 

[Chorister]

Timely post! I was noticing a major lag time in my hook sets. Gin clear water is a great teacher. Several times I watched the fish take my egg/GRHE so daintily that I couldn't feel even the slightest tug. I would then set the hook, but it was too little, too late. Sometimes I could get them to go a yard or two, but then they would throw the fly. Do I need to set harder? Or keep better tension on the rod?