Swinging

[Abalone]

Ok! The question was asked on another thread about what lines to use.
I don't want to hijack that thread so my question is,

" What are you trying to achieve with your line ? "

" How do you know you are at the right depth while fishing ? "

" Do you bounce the bottom as if you were drift fishing or ?

Please explain the technique..

[StickFish]

Ghesh, and I thought this was going to be a fun thread destined for moderation - get my mind out of the gutter

[Abalone]

Ghesh, and I thought this was going to be a fun thread destined for moderation - get my mind out of the gutter



OK ! Swinging Flies as opposed to nymphing. :hoboy:

[sothereiwas]

Your trying to get 2/3 of the way down in the water column. The bottom is obviously uneven in most runs so you should occasionally feel bottom. Fish will take the fly on the dead drift as its sinking before you put tension on the line. But a swinging presentasion is ment to be done under tension with the fly moving perpedicular to the current.

Brad

[AndyK]

Pure swinging is different then a greased line presentation. I fish both ways, sometimes alternating between casts.

The thing to remember, whether swinging, nymphing or whatever your selected presentation: steelhead and salmon look up. They are not bottom feeders like carp. If your fly is below them, they won’t see it. They will move up to take a fly; how far they will move depends on water temperature and fish temperament. Winter fish won’t move far, so you need to fish deeper; summer steelhead may come up through twelve feet of water to take a fly on or near the surface.

[bobber dance]

You will drive your self crazy with all the lines, not to mention waste lots of valuable fishing time trying to find the perfect line. In most sink tip fishing applications I prefer a type six line. If I am constantly in the rocks I will tweak my cast to more of a down stream angle. If I feel I am not getting down enough I will do the opposite and cast further up stream. Hope this helps.

[Two Fister]

I think I look at this a bit more like AndyK. I almost never take the clear intermediate sink tip off my 9 weight spey. The 7 weight spey always has a dry line on it. If I'm fishing in the dead of winter on the east side or in high flows on the coast I'll go heavier. Fish look up, not down. In really cold water you have to put it right in front of their nose. I really like the Rio multi-tip systems.
TF

[Slow and Low]

I'm with Andy and Two Fister. I fish 10' of t8 or t14 depending on winter or summer, high water or low. I do not like to touch bottom at all, if I do I know I am too deep. I will change my presentationin in an effort to keep my fly off the bottom instead of changing lines. cast upriver with a giant upriver mend to get deep, cast down at a 45 to be shallow. Try not to mend after your initial mend.

Hope that helps.

[steelheadjunky]

When I am sink tip fishing I sometimes want to barely fill the bottom once in awhile when I at the finish of the swing. Say maybe 1 out of every 6 or 7 casts that way I know that I near the bottom. If I am not ticking every so often I think I might not have a heavy enough tip on so I either change tips or take a step back towards shore to make sure I an nearer to the bottom.

I do not want to hit the bottom like drift fishing as all this means is I am spending my time re-tying leaders and loosing a lot of flies.

For me the yank is the thing.

JJ

[Abalone]

I get it. You guys have made me realize what I need to do. I have an assortment of Teeny Mini Tips and shooting heads. I have probable been
fishing too deep. Leader length and fly wieght are going to be factors too.

Thank you I'll give it an effort over the holidays.

[sothereiwas]

The best thing you can do is learn how to control how deep you are. There are mant adjustment you can make when you cast and setup your line for the swing. Nothing is more frustrating that having to change tips often.

Brad

[cphatts]

When swinging when the water is cold (low 40s upper 30s) you want to keep your fly somewhere in the range of 1-1/2 to 2 feet off the bottom. I like to occassionally tick "bottom" .....as mentioned above the river bottom often varies based on boulders, ledges, etc. You are occassionally going to bump a some big boulders, ledges, etc. which is good because it means you are fishing water with some structure. However, if you are getting hung up during the swing on a frequent basis you are too deep.

You will likley get hung up more often after your fly completes its swing and settles in the softer water near shore. Don't worry too much if your fly gets hung up here, as your fly has already completed its swing where it was actually "fishing". Albeit, it is a pain in the butt sometimes to free your fly in the soft water.

Later in the winter and early spring when the water gets in the upper 40s you can get away with having your fly up a little higher in the water column. In addition to the higher water temps, more natives will be in the rivers later in the season and they will move further for the fly.

P.S. - In addition to depth, pay close attention to the the speed of your fly. You want your fly to cross the current in a nice slow tantalizing concentric arc. This is particularly important in winter. It takes a little practice to get the "feel" for the proper pace of the fly. The easiest rule to follow is to try and have your fly move accross the current at the same speed as the current is moving downstream.

[Jig]

Ditto to AndyK's answer...

[Wiggley1]

Great advice by all, thanks.