Three Common Fly Fishing Mistakes of All Ability Levels

In 10 years of owning my guide service, I’ve had the privilege of guiding thousands of wonderful anglers of all ability levels. Many anglers come to me specifically to help them up their game, often in Euro nymphing, another solid portion hire me because they are new to the area and have not quite figured out trout fishing in the northeast, some want to be shown around new rivers and explore new areas, and then there are a portion who are simply on vacation and want to give fly fishing a try.  Three common mistakes anglers of all ability levels struggle with are approach, line control, and accuracy, regardless of skill level.

The first mistake I want to cover is in the approach. I could write articles for days just on different aspects of approach, but the most common issue is that anglers of all abilities will forever want to cast to the other side of the river. The grass is always greener on the other side right, or in this case the trout are always on the far bank? It seems like this attitude is baked into the human DNA.  I encounter very very few anglers who don’t fall into this trap. If I let my clients, 90% of them will walk right through the inside seam or stand in the pocket that once held fish in order to cast the good looking water on the far bank.  The result is trout swimming for their lives, thus, often spooking the next trout. Suddenly the whole pool or run is on edge before a cast is even made, making them a little tougher, tho not at all impossible to catch. Try looking at the water and asking yourself, if I was standing on the other side of the river, would I want to cast to this side?  The answer is often yes. The same thing happens on a lake, the people in boats all want to cast to the bank and the people on the bank all want to cast to the middle of the lake!


Second is poor line control. Poor line control is responsible for more missed and lost fish than maybe anything else and is one of the harder things to master.  While beginners struggle mightily, experienced anglers brief loss of line control cost them opportunities at fish very often.  What do I mean by line control? The act of managing slack, tension, leader positioning, and fly line both when casting and retrieving line.  Common issues are inability to manage fly line when casting, failing to properly transfer fly line from line hand to rod hand, too much slack on the water, mending, and poor stripping of fly line during the retrieve or while fighting fish. Every one of these issues requires concentration and good mechanics. Practice until muscle memory takes over. Poor line control effects the most important aspects of fly fishing; presentation, strike detection, hook setting and fighting the fish.  Long story short if you cannot manage your fly line, you cannot successfully fly fish.  It is as important as fly casting.  


With an emphasis on line control in the back of your mind, and your approach spooking fewer fish, the last issue is accuracy.  Rivers and lakes are dynamic environments and being able to put the fly in front of fish is paramount.  I often start on a bigger pool, or wide riffle with clients. In these situations landing your fly within 10’ of where the cast is aimed is often ok.  We then will move into tighter pockets, riffles and runs where suddenly hitting a 1-2’ pocket is required. Suddenly casters don’t look like rockstars when they realize they cannot hit what they are aiming at.  Still water offers similar challenges.  Simply because an angler is casting in a big piece of water does not mean that there are no targets.  We all know fish relate to structure. The ability to land a fly within 1’ of a submerged rock or inside the v of a downed tree will result in more opportunities.  It is important to focus your eyes on your target.  Studies have shown that advanced fly casters vary greatly when it comes to accuracy.  By scanning the pupil of each caster it was determined that those who were able to focus most consistently on the target were more accurate.  That sounds obvious, but the study showed even elite casters eyes often tend to look at the fly, the line, or an overall area near the target, instead of staying locked on to it.    


If anglers can work to mitigate these three mistakes, the result will undoubtedly be more fish to net, and more rewarding days on the water. Good luck out there!

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