Techy Thursdays - Pimp yo' retrieve!

So if you're one of those anglers who mindlessly strips your streamer while gawking around at the scenery, then your probably one of the 90% who catches 10% of the fish and lies about the other 80... But theres something you can do about it...

Spend time in the shallows, watching how your fly swims, and play around. Boring, uniform strips may bring your materials to life somewhat, but look at what happens when you shake your wrist and jiggle the rod tip. Change the size / speed of each strip, incorporate twitches, pulses and sweeps using the arm more. Simply bring your fly to life to appeal more to the trout.

A couple of tips...

- Take note of how krystal flash, and other flashy materials add life to your pattern and use them accordingly.

- See how your flies react when fished in teams of two or three: the organised, synchronised movement of a couple of whitebait imitations will create an eye catching pattern when pulled through a shoal.

- Try using buoyant, or heavy materials for different effects: a foam backed fly pulled on a sinking line will lift during every pause, and dive under control when stripped, whereas lead eyes or a tungsten bead will give your fly a jig type action when the retrieve is paused on a floating line, especially if a loop knot is employed.

- Likewise see how your flies perform on different density lines: a light / unweighted fly pulled on a sinking line will often have more 'life' than a heavy fly on a floater.

Exercise: The speed of retrieve is the easiest thing to manipulate. Try this... Begin with a slow retrieve down deep using short, 6 inch pulls like a fish that DGAF. Twitch your rod tip to bring your materials to life.

Now as your fly approaches and lifts up across the shallows, strip fast from the elbow in a series of long pulls to simulate a bait fish trying to escape in exposed water.

Now abruptly stop! Keep the line tight and be ready for any fish which were chasing down its fleeing prey, only to come up on it out of nowhere. You've now given them only two choices: eat or don't eat...

Finalky give it one last twitch / pull to convert any undecided fish watching your hastily stopped fly.

A bit more exciting eh, and it keeps you a little more active too....

So take a few moments to experiment, mix it up a little and put more fish in YOUR net.