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The Toughest of All--Fishing Across
By Gary A. Borger
Of all the angles that fly fishers angle, the across-stream angle is the toughest. It’s the approach that forces the caster to toss as much fly line over as many currents as possible and try to make something out of it. The Across-Stream Approach is “drag central.” Don’t even think of fishing across unless you are razor sharp with all the mending and curve casting tactics. You’re gonna need every ounce of drag prevention that you can muster, and that may still not be enough.
So, some rules for fishing across: Number one —only fish across when no other approach angle is available. Number two — fish as short a line as possible. Number three — practice all the mends until they are second nature. Number four — practice every curve cast and variations thereof until they are second nature. Rule number five — follow every cast (even curve casts) with an in-the-air mend. Number six — be ready to mend, mend, mend on the water with great skill. Number seven — is the right leader.
It would seem from the above list of rules that I am trying to discourage you from fishing across stream. Well, yes I am—if any other approach is available. I’m also a realist and end up fishing across far more often than I like to. Streams just don’t follow the plans that we’d like them to, and often there is simply no other way. Now, if you love challenges and not catching fish, then you’ll take the across-stream approach every time’ otherwise, you’ll make rule number one your mantra and look for every other possible solution to the problem of approach. This will also cause you to discover how many ways there are to approach a piece of water other than the straight-across tactic.
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I cannot tell you how many times I have witnessed anglers wading nearly up to their armpits in the Madison and other big rivers trying to cast straight over the heaviest currents to reach a fish that is rising on the opposite bank. It’s just not smart or wise. Big rivers have a mind of their own and can sink you in a heartbeat. Heavy currents make the job almost impossible.
Don’t waste time on fish that are not accessible. The angler’s prayer should be, “Lord give us the ability to discern which fish are reachable and which are not, and the wisdom to choose the first.” Besides, think of all the fish on your side that you have put down in your imitation of a wounded hippo as you wallow in and out of the fishable water on your side. Let me repeat, rule one is number one because it is the primary guiding principle for fishing across — don’t do it unless you have no other choice.
OK, let’s accept the fact that you really don’t have any other choice. You can’t cross, you can’t angle a cast in from upstream or downstream, and boy! that sure is a big head poking out over there. Now it’s time to implement rule number two: Get as close as you can. This second rule has the same prudent provision as number one. No fish is worth putting your life at risk. As a rule of thumb you should never, and I mean never, wade above your center of gravity in fast water. That’s basically never above the center of your hips. Heavy currents will tip you over and then we’ll see just what kind of Olympic swimmer or diver you really are. Play it safe and not sorry. |
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Rule number two is necessary because you want to shorten the line as much as possible to reduce drag as much as possible. I know I’ve said it over and over, but here it is again: on a scale of 1 to 10, drag is 1,000 and everything else is 5 or less. What? That special fly is only a 5 and drag gets 1,000? Yep. We all have flies that we like to fish because we like the look of them, they hold a nostalgic or romantic attraction, or simply because it’s a fly that we thought up. And right upstream from you is another angler honking them out just as fast as you are on a completely different design. There are thousands of flies, and they all catch fish — otherwise there wouldn’t be thousands of flies, only a few successful ones. No, the problem is not the fly, it’s the driver.
Fishing in this sense is a lot like target shooting. It’s a bit of a “ho-hum” to plug the bull’s eye at 25 yards with your handy-dandy, 4X scope equipped, 22 Magnum, long-barreled, match rifle, counterweighted, fiberglassed, and equipped with a custom, adjustable tournament stock. But let me set you back at 400 yards with that same weapon, and we’ll see what you’re really made of. Casting accurately, mending in the air proficiently, holding line off the water readily, mending on the water efficiently, and watching the subtleties of the fly’s movement are all much easier from 25 feet than from 60. KISS (keep it short sweetie) is the acronym that stands for fishing across stream.
Now, let’s temper this with a smidgen of judgement. First, remember our discussion above about currents and the obvious danger they present. Second, don’t wade so close that you spook the fish. How close is too close? Well if you spook the fish, that was too close. I know that’s a bit flippant, but every fish and every fishing venue seems to have its own set of rules.
One night during the Hex hatch I put Nancy on my best “hot spot” on Michigan’s South Branch. I went upstream and found another spot that turned out to be the hot spot that night. There was no splashing and squealing from downstream, and I just knew that somehow I had messed up in making the call. But, we fished through the hatch, and I headed back down to Nanc’s position.
“Nothing!” was her reply to my obvious question. “Just this tiddler.” She pointed at a small rise right off the end of the rod.
“Did you try for it,” I asked.
In more of a mood of resignation than response to my question, she took the fly off the hook keeper, and literally dapped it to the fish — it was that close. The fly disappeared in a little ring and Nanc lifted just hard enough so that she didn’t jerk the little guy completely out of the water. The “tiddler” turned into a two-footer that shot up and down stream amidst a lot of squealing and my misguided attempts to “instruct” in the process. The huge hook-jawed male was 8 inches longer than anything I had caught that night and it was caught at a rod’s length from my wife.
Most often, however, you’ll discover in your fishing that the best strategy is to fish fine and far off so as not to spook the fish you’re stalking. By far off, the general rule is 30 feet between you and the fish. It’s a good starting point that rarely fails. OK, with rules number one and two covered, we’ll head to number three in the next column.
Gary Borger’s column on Techniques and Tactics appears regularly in Midwest Fly Fishing™ magazine. This article appeared in the September 2006 edition. |
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