the placement of the fly tying relative to the position of the trout

Posted by Jessica Jackson on February 3rd, 2020

I've had a lot of fly fishing guides tell me that the presentation, the placement of the fly tying relative to the position of the trout and the manner that the fly lands on the water, is as important as fly selection.

For example, when fishing rivers, the fly has to drift in a natural way along with the current and be placed so that the trout don't have to pursue it but instead can burst onto the surface for the strike and then return to "the hole".

When fishing still waters (lake and pond) the fly has to land lightly without a lot of leader (the very thin line attaching the fly to the weighted line) around it and definitely without slapping the weighted fly line.

Here's a caddis fly, first with wings folded and then open.

Here's what we tie on the leader to mimic a caddis fly when it lands on the water.

Some look better than others. To our eye, none of them really look like the real thing. But if what we use is close enough to mimic what's flying and landing in the water, we're likely to get a strike.

It's can be helpful to stop by the local fly shop and ask what they recommend as well. If you've been doing this awhile, you probably have a pretty good collection of things that look close enough.