[slack]

I see for my steel fishing, so many plus benefits with the DH but, noticed since I cast much farther now and wading in water deeper than the knee is inefficient for casting , my question is about the swing? When standing in water waist deep with my SH, which I needed to be in to get the fly to where I want it to land.Now at the end of my swing or dangle I am in 3 1/2' of water not 18" like with the DH. Is their a benefit of ending the swing in the deeper water? Maybe I am over thinking this? Thanks in advance slack

 

[MaeWest]

Obviously there are nuances that could be in play in a particular situation, but in my opinion, all else being equal, there can be fish holding in 18" (particularly in low light or low visibility situations), so as long as you are otherwise covering the run from that position, you might be giving up opportunities by wading too deep. That's one of the advantages of the DH, in my opinion - being able to cover water more easily without wading as deep to clear the stuff in back of you.

 

[slack]

Thank you MW, point well taken. Reason I asked that question to begin with is, the first thing I thought they tell you in 101 basics Steel head fishing is look for water 3 to 7' in depth moving speed about a fast walk. And thinking well, if that's my best percentage why not try to keep it in that range depth. Again thanks slack

 

[Speyducer]

There's a definite downside to wading deeper as a casting position, apart from the obvious of being more dangerous (in principle) to wade deeper, and it may be more difficult to cast as well from a deeper wading position, the most simple issue with casting and fishing (swinging) from a deeper wading position is that you will be 'missing' some lies or stations where the fish will be, and that includes swinging through to the dangle (directly below your wading position).


Mike

 

[SpeySpaz]

I have to agree with speyducer.

A lot of guys are out there standing in the water their fly should be swinging through. Especially at sunrise. Blue Creek boneheads come to mind...

Unless you know there's buckets waiting for you out there or you have local knowledge that indicates your side of the river never holds fish, I think it's wise to stay shallower, fish the water at your feet first, and cover the near side water thoroughly.

 

[Rick J]

if you feel you need to wade out a bit deeper to better cover some far seams you can always manipulate your rod by angling the rod towards the bank to extend the swing to that shallow 18 inch water. another benefit of the longer rod - you can extend the swing to cover that water behind you

 

[slack]

Transition from SH to DH fishing stratogyAgain

Again my original thinking was to end my swing in water depth, that percentage wise, would be more likely to hold steel. But you have convinced me to forget percentage, steel could be any where. I am now thinking by adjusting my swing and angle and additional mends, I can finish any where I want. So here is my last thought. I swing and end in the optimum water,which has been good for me (close to the end of the swing), then hold for the hang down,them mend down stream and take it to my bank for the finish? Or should I just let that puppy swing right through to my bank? Thanks for your patience. slack

 

[Rick J]

if you are first one through under low light conditions I would typically fish it all the way in, within reason. How you get it there is some dependent on time of year and how active the fish are - you may want to move it there and through the entire drift as slow as possible while at other times you may want to lead that fly and move it there more aggressively.

If you are not first through and the water has not been resting for a long period of time then typically I would say there is no need to swing into shallower water than optimal