Fly distance to the fish

[Fish For Life 0]

How close to you feel you need to get your fly to the fish before the fish will likely take it??? For this question lets say you are fishing a clean clear stream. So how close to you think you need to get your fly to the fish?? I know in many situations when a fish is there and not biting it is simply because your fly is not close enough. The fish can usually see the fly but it is just to much effort for the fish to dash that far out into the fast current for one tiny fly. You usually need to get the fly closer, whether you make a closer cast to the bank or get your fly down deeper. So how big do you think the fishes strike zone is/ how close do you need to get your fly to the fish to have a likely strike?

 

Thanks

[Steeldrifter 0]

There's no one answer to that question to be honest. It will vary from fish to fish, plus if it is a prolific hatch then the fish won't need to move very much at all. If it is a light hatch or an insect that is large/lots of protein then the fish will be more apt to move a greater distance.

[mikechell 0]

Since I don't fish for trout, I cannot speak to that type of fish. But with the warm, fresh water species here, the answer depends on conditions. When I fish the St. Johns River, in the faster parts of the water flow, the strike zone is rather small. I don't think the fish move more than a couple of feet. Since the food is usually swept to them, they don't need to move.

In the back water areas where there is little or no flow, the strike zone is several feet. If the fish are actively feeding, I'll get wakes from 5 or 6 feet away when the fly hits the water. If they are lazily feeding, it might take them several minutes to get to the fly. I usually wait for as long as I can before twitching the fly the first time, to give those slow approaches time.

 

I am pretty sure there will be no single answer to the question.

[Piker20 0]

For trout there are too many occasions when a fish has risen to a dry cast right into the rings of a rise for me to ignore it. For fishing wet flies I just try to cast the clock face and cover the depth options.

[Crackaig 0]

For a dry fly the fly would have to come within the trout's "window". That is the area of surface that a trout can see that isn't a reflection of the bottom. This is a cone from each eye with the surface cutting a plane across it. The deeper the fish is the larger this area will be.

 

For a nymph I would say the closer the better. However, I have hit a trout on the nose with a nymph before today, and it still didn't take it.

 

Emergers are an interesting category here. I have seen a bow wave made by a trout moving over 12 feet to take my emerger. The section hanging down from the surface is that much more visible than dry fly on the surface.

 

I suspect water temperature will be a significant factor in how far the trout will move, though it is only an idea. I can't quantify it in any way. It is just that fish are more sluggish in colder water. I would presume as the water temperature rises so will the distance the fish will move to take a fly.

 

Cheers,

C.

[phg 0]

I've had trout attack a dry fly from 6' or 7' away. It just depends on the conditions, and how hungry they are. When casting to a rising fish, though, generally, the closer the better. Still, don't recast just because you missed your target by 12", you run too much risk of spooking the fish. Let it finish the drift, then try to get it closer.

 

As an aside, don't use the stream for casting practice. Do a bit of lawn casting, before you go fishing, to work on your casting accuracy. It will save a lot of frustration on stream.

[mikechell 0]

OH, one other thought just occurred to me. I have cast to dark water, not being able to see fish but pretty sure they are there. Land the fly right on top of a fish only to spook it and have it swim off in a hurry. Of course, I'll never know if it was a catchable fish, or one that would've turned down the offering no matter what. Since there are TONS of gar in these waters, that's what I usually attribute those "spooker" casts to.

[heavynets 0]

While standing on the bridge in Craig, Montana is saw several trout (rainbows I think) move 10 to 15 feet to attack a friend's Panther Martin spinner in the crystal clear Missouri river. I have also seen a steelhead jump out of the water and over another steelhead to take a crawdad fly. It just kind of depends on the circumstances.