To succeed on the flats, a precise strip set execution is essential. A successful strip set involves more than just yanking on the fly line when the fish takes the fly. Here are a few tips on how to execute a better strip set while on the flats. 8 Tips to a Better Strip Set…
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setting the hook
Deneki Chronicles: Swinging Flies – Don’t Block Your Hookset
In any avenue of fly fishing, one thing that separates successful anglers from not-so-successful anglers is complete, undivided, fully engaged, focus whenever your fly is in the water. Many fish are lost (or perhaps never hooked at all) from anglers who’s minds were wandering or whom were not expecting a fish to eat the fly in…
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Deneki Chronicles: Trout Fishing-Hold On To Your Hook Set
Today we present you with a simple tip that we’ve seen learned the hard way on, not one, but many heartbreaking occasions. When fishing for trout, particularly when fishing sub-surface flies from a drifting boat, most successful anglers agree that the most effective method of hooking fish on flies you can’t see is by setting…
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Setting the Hook: No Windups
We’ve written a lot of posts on our blog over the years on properly setting the hook on everything from bonefish and permit to king salmon, steelhead, and trout. That’s because the brief moment following the instant a fish grabs a fly is arguably the most critical to eventually bringing the fish to hand. Depending…
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Set Towards the Tail
Today we address one of the most common mistakes we see made on the river; setting the hook in the wrong direction. When fishing in moving water, the direction in which your rod tip moves when lifting the rod to set the hook can be the difference between a fish that makes it to the…
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8 Tips to a Better Strip Set
Executing a proper strip set is critical to success on the flats. However, contrary to popular belief, there’s more to an effective strip set than simply pulling on the fly line once the fish has taken the fly. Our good friend, Kyle Schaefer of Soul Fly Outfitters, spends his summers on the poling platform targeting…
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Setting the Hook: Strip Long, Not Hard
One the biggest hurdles most anglers encounter when making the jump from freshwater to saltwater fly fishing is how to set the hook. A strip-set gets the job done on the flats. Raising the rod in ‘trout-like’ fashion doesn’t. If you’re not quite sure what we’re talking about, not to worry, check out this post…
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Swinging Flies: How to Set the Hook – OPST Video
When swinging flies for king salmon and steelhead, we’d argue that more fish are lost due to a poor hook-set than at any other point during the fight. Unlike techniques associated with traditional upstream dry fly, nymphing, or even streamer fishing, swinging flies requires a different technique to effectively drive the hook home. How so…
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Trout Fishing: Hold On To Your Hook Set
Today we present you with a simple tip that we’ve seen learned the hard way on, not one, but many heartbreaking occasions. When fishing for trout, particularly when fishing sub-surface flies from a drifting boat, most successful anglers agree that the most effective method of hooking fish on flies you can’t see is by setting…
Read More
Swinging Flies – Don’t Block Your Hook Set
In any avenue of fly fishing, one thing that separates successful anglers from not-so-successful anglers is complete, undivided, fully engaged, focus whenever your fly is in the water. Many fish are lost (or perhaps never hooked at all) from anglers who’s minds were wandering or whom were not expecting a fish to eat the fly in…
Read More