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Rivers

All riversHatch chartWhite River, ArkansasDavidson RiverPenns CreekLetort Spring RunFarmington RiverPere Marquette RiverNorth Umpqua RiverDeschutes RiverSan Juan RiverFryingpan RiverYellowstone RiverBighorn RiverTraun RiverBeaverkill RiverRío GrandeGreen River below Flaming GorgeRiver WharfeHenry's Fork of the SnakeSoča RiverAu Sable RiverTongariro RiverSouth Platte — Deckers and CheesmanRiver TestMadison River

Insects

Brown troutRainbow troutMountain whitefishBrook troutCutthroat troutSteelheadEuropean graylingMarble troutSea-run brown troutResident brown trout

Techniques

Reading waterMatching a hatchNymphingDry-fly presentationStreamer fishingSwinging a flyCatch and release, done properlyTying flies you will actually fish

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Techniques
White River, ArkansasDavidson RiverPenns CreekLetort Spring RunFarmington RiverPere Marquette RiverNorth Umpqua RiverDeschutes RiverSan Juan RiverFryingpan RiverYellowstone RiverBighorn RiverTraun RiverBeaverkill RiverRío GrandeGreen River below Flaming GorgeRiver WharfeHenry's Fork of the SnakeSoča RiverAu Sable RiverTongariro RiverSouth Platte — Deckers and CheesmanRiver TestMadison River
Brown troutRainbow troutMountain whitefishBrook troutCutthroat troutSteelheadEuropean graylingMarble troutSea-run brown troutResident brown trout
Reading waterMatching a hatchNymphingDry-fly presentationStreamer fishingSwinging a flyCatch and release, done properlyTying flies you will actually fish

Technique · Cold water, big rivers, and any anadromous fish.

Swinging a fly

Covering a wide river with a controlled arc, the way salmon and steelhead are fished.

By The Fly Desk

The step-down method

Cast across and slightly downstream, let the fly swing until it is directly below you and the line is straight, then take one step downstream and repeat. A pool is covered in a fan this way, and because the fly fishes at a constant speed the take usually comes at the same point in the swing — which lets you predict it.

Speed is the variable

Salmon and steelhead respond to the speed of the fly, not its colour. If nothing happens in a pool, the first change to make is the retrieve rate: slow the swing down with a longer belly, or speed it up with a tighter line. Only after you have tried three speeds should you change the fly.

Do not strike the first show

An anadromous fish often rises to a swung fly, misses, and comes back. If you strike at the first boil you pull the fly away from a fish that was about to take it properly. Keep the fly moving, keep the line tight, and wait for the weight of the fish rather than the sight of it.

Rivers in the ledger where this applies