one for the waders

[Piker20 0]

For you who wade, given a choice do you move up stream, assuming the fish are facing upstream and cast your fly over them, retrieving down stream back toward you, or do you wade down stream. Casting down to fish and if you kick up silt/sand it drifts down to stir fishes attention and appetite?

[Simon Lidster 0]

I'm an upstream dry/nympher! Pick off the back markers, approaching from their blind spot hopefully.

 

Simon

[Piker20 0]

That's my gut feeling, bigger trout I've found claim the better lies higher up stream and catching the downstream fish first doesn't spook the ones up the way.

[phg 0]

I've never found it to be that simple. I definitely prefer wading upstream on smaller high gradient streams, but most streams (20' or more across), I go either way, depending on conditions, and whether or not there are other fishermen upstream or downstream. If the water is clear, casting over the fish tends to spook them, but if there is a bit of color or significant turbulence, it's not a problem.

 

I guess my real preference is to fish from one side, casting up and across with dry flies, or down and across with wets or nymphs. I've had considerable success fishing a soft hackle or caddis on a across and down swing.

[ditz2 0]

I fish warmwater and I prefer to fish upstream but in fact I do fish a lot downstream. The local creeks have vary limited and most of the better water is downstream from the access. 95% of the banks are too high and too steep to get in and out of for this old man. Even using a rope to aid getting down the banks can be difficult. We do what we can do.

[Crotalus 0]

Yes

[netabrookie 0]

I usually fish upstream and then walk a path or road back out. Sometimes I will go up a creek for a good distance and then come back down and try to pick up a few. If I go up a creek for a mile or more and then come back down stream I think the fish has already forgotten about me coming through a couple hours earlier. Dries and nymphs up and wets on the way back out. Take Care, Tony

[Piker20 0]

Are you talking narrow waters? You haven't found wading up stream puts the fish down when you have come back the way?

[netabrookie 0]

Piker, some of the mountain creeks that I love to fish aren't very big. You could jump across some of them, but you would break a leg or something trying so. The country is rugged and it is easier to come back down the creek than to go cross country. If I start at daylight and go up the mountain until mid-morning or noon and then take a little break and eat something then the trout seem to have gotten over the spooky feelings and I usually get a few on the way down. By the time that I get near my put-in point on the way out its been 6, 8 or even 10 hours so those fish don't even seem to remember me lower down the creek. The river is a little different for me because I never know which way I'm going until I get in. Sometimes I only go up and sometimes I ease my way down. Swinging a streamer or wet down and across usually works good, but throwing a crayfish pattern in front of rocks and letting it "swim: by the rock sometimes gets an explosive strike from the small mouth. Take Care, Tony

[flyrodman 0]

I always cast upstream of fish and let my fly drift down to me. I have trouble getting good hooksets when fishing downstream.

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

I'm with Tony on this one I fish alot of really small creeks and the terrain they go through is some of the nastiest marshland around with sink holes that will swallow you to your waist so we fish up stream sit and eat lunch then spin around and fish down back to our get in spot The next time I go to one of my brookie creeks I love to fish I will take a pic of it I can step acrossed it without any troubles. For almost a mile it is no wider then 2 feet acrossed and the brookies will stay right there in their little cutbanks and under logs. Plus I also fish a dry with a nymph dropper on the way down. Now in some of the bit larger creeks and rivers I fish up with a dry if the water is clear. But if its a bit stained I will fish down with a streamer or wet.

[SkinnyPole 0]

. Casting down to fish and if you kick up silt/sand it drifts down to stir fishes attention and appetite?

 

Shuffleing?? Nope don't do it never will. If it's leagle where you fish have at it.

 

Skinny

[perchjerker 0]

Aaaahh, wading downstream and fishing in front of one's self with nymphs; a.k.a, "The San Juan Shuffle". Rumor has it that if you get caught doing it there today, they put you under the jail; not in it!

[hairwing 0]

The shuffle, be it "the San Juan".."the Yellowstone" or whatever river the trout feed underneath an anglers feet has been immortalized in Schubert's "Die Forelle" as an unsporting way to catch your trout. I think most of you know the tune, but most don't know the words probably. Have a listen.

I fish upstream for the most part on small to medium moving water. You just won't scare as many fish. I'll fish down and across for presentation purposes when needed but I'm generally moving in an upstream direction.

[troutguy 0]

I like down and across with wet flies or streamers and an active retreive. I would rather face my quarry head on.