Comments on: Hookset Direction — Downstream

By: Glenn Dotter

Glenn Dotter — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 17:56:18 +0000

Good article. Have flyfished 63 years and can honestly say I’ve never given hook set a thought. I have caught, missed, rolled, and lost thousands of trout, not to mention bass, pike, and panfish.
Swinging wet flies, I have found that trout more often than not, hook themselves by swinging as they strike. This is emphasized when you double and even triple. The secondary fish alway hook themselves as you pressure the initial fish as you have little control over the othe flies.
Your article is enlightening, but I suppose hook sets came naturally for me but I honestly never gave it a thought.

By: JP

JP — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 14:22:49 +0000

Some of my favorite situations are those where downstream sets are impossible. Spying a likely holding location and feeling like I just have to give it a try. Usually (at least in Western mountain streams) it’s some combination of large boulders, vegetation, and water depth that prevents any approach except one from a non-ideal casting location where the angles are all wrong. And it’s true, fish often come unbuttoned in those instances. When they don’t, it can seem like a matter of luck. Still, it’s fun to take a moment before casting and ask, how will I set the hook, fight the fish if necessary, and where will I land it? It would be fun and instructive to listen to you and the TB crew describe such situations as you’ve encountered them, and how they progressed. They’re like the fly fishing versions of wacky baseball plays.

By: Mike Garrison

Mike Garrison — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:14:24 +0000

this is one skill I am actively working on and the preparation part, planning according to where the hook set can or will be done is making a big difference.