The problem most anglers run into on the river isn't a lack of skill or attention to details. It's forgetting the fundamental skills of this sport.
Your job is to put flies in front of fish, and make those flies look real.
Do you really need to know the inner workings of furled leaders, tippet rings, and sink-tip fly lines to achieve that?
No, you really don’t.
The needle-moving skills are casting, fly selection, and presentation — putting flies in front of fish, and making them look real!
These are the building blocks of everything else you’ll ever do in fly fishing.
So, while it’s fun to learn and explore every corner of the fly fishing world, if you’re struggling to catch fish because you just feel overwhelmed out on the water, I’d challenge you to take a step back and think about those 3 critical skills:
…casting, fly selection, and presentation.
Are you doing each of them to the best of your ability? Are you maximizing your current skills and looking for room to grow?
Or are you distracted by maybe not using the right size leader, or worrying that your indicator is too small or too large?
If you can confidently say you’re casting, picking flies, and presenting them as best as you possibly can, then you’re well on your way to being a self-sufficient angler.
🐟 Check out the full podcast:
Why You’re Not Catching Fish [And How To Fix It] | Ep. 145 Untangled: Fly Fishing for Everyone
