By Stephen Tomasovich
Angles play a large part in our angling success, and once you pay attention, you can improve your catch rate by changing them in many situations. Here are a few tips on when to consider your angle.
Angle of attack – We often fall into the comfortable trap of fishing areas from the same side of the river. Consider fishing straight upstream or from the opposite side of a run, riffle, or pool. A different angle will almost always change the way your flies drift through and may be the preferred look the fish has been waiting for. I immediately think of a run I often fish that will outproduce from one side one day, and the other side the next.
Dangle Angle – When you are indicator fishing (suspension nymphing) you need to have a good feel for the angle from indicator to bottom fly. Too steep and you may be fishing too deep. A very shallow angle often puts your flies in the upper part of the water column. In either case, that may or may not be the area you want your flies to drift towards, so adjust accordingly by adding/subtracting weight and/or moving your indicator to lengthen or lessen distance. In my experience, a lot of anglers fish with too much distance from indicator to bottom fly.
Line/Leader Angle – When suspension nymphing, don’t get stuck fishing with most of the line on the water at all times. When there is a big difference in current speeds between you and your indicator, it often helps to lift the rod tip, pulling line up off the water creating a steep angle, to prevent over mending to produce a better drift. If you euronymph, changing the leader angle from shallow to steep is a great way to change the depth at which you are fishing. A shallow leader entry angle produces a shallow drift. A more vertical angle and you get your flies down deeper.
Fighting Angle – It will make a big difference fighting fish (especially big ones) if you pay attention to your rod angle. If the fish is downstream, drop your rod to a horizontal position parallel to the river with the rod tip pointed upstream. This not only puts more pressure on the fish than an upright rod position, but it also encourages the fish to come upstream. If the fish travels upstream from you, transition the rod to a horizontal position with the rod tip facing downstream. Try to keep a 90-degree angle when looking at the rod butt and your forearm. The time to go upright with the rod is when you are ready to land the fish. For a good instructional video on this you can go to https://youtu.be/tvFcqCZilH4
Fish On, Big T
Stephen “Big T” Tomasovich is the owner of Big T Fly Fishing, Outfitter and Ecommerce Fly Shop. Visit them at 106 Grand Ave, Suwanee, Georgia, or look them up online at bigtflyfishing.com