Drag Is A Drag...

by Dave Kumlien

After nearly 40 years of guiding and instructing fly fishermen, I can say confidently that dragging flies are the main reason folks don't catch fish. 

All too often, people cast their fly and then "retire" and watch it drift down the river.  This approach doesn't work. None of the natural insects are drifting down the river with a leader attached to them.  They go, unimpeded, wherever the current goes.

Of course, our trout fly imitations are tied to a leader, which is tied to our line, which is attached to our reels... and drag is an inevitable result of this attachment.  However, there are several things an angler can do.

1. Move your rod downstream to match the speed of the drift. 
2. Mend line, but only the line just outside the rod tip.  The best mending action is similar to flipping pancakes.  Lift the line up and roll and flip the line upstream.  For the more sophisticated caster, you can mend the line in the air with a technique called a reach mend, which simply mends the line in the air. The line will land on the water with the "fat man's belly" upstream of the fly. 
3. Attach your trout flies with a loop (I prefer the surgeon's), rather than the traditional cinch knot. The knot is cinched at the eye of the hook, so when the leader moves, the fly moves.  In a loop connection, the leader can move a lot before the fly moves.  Try this loop attachment technique vs. the traditional clinch knot on flat, slow moving water, and you will easily see the difference

Fishing is a game of patience and a game of odds.  Be patient, keep your fly on the water, not in the air, and keep it floating drag free as long as possible.  You will catch more trout, I guarantee it.

Dave Kumlien is the Executive Director of TU's Whirling Disease Foundation [1] and Aquatic Invasive Species program [2].  A 30 year Montana fly fishing outfitter, he has had the good fortune to spend a lot of time on the water teaching and guiding fly fishermen and hosting many TU trips to Montana.