Fly Fishing: Setting the Hook

Welcome to another installment of "Ask an Orvis Fly-Fishing Instructor," with me, Peter Kutzer. In this episode, I demonstrate how to correctly set the hook when you're fishing for trout and other small fish and when you're stripping a fly for saltwater species or freshwater big game. The way you set the hook makes a huge difference in your success rate, so knowing the correct motion for a given situation is important. Many a flats angler has been ridiculed by his guide for losing a fish to a "trout set." Next, we move on to fish-fighting technique. Although the classic fly-fishing pose involves the rod tip held high above the angler's head, this is actually an inefficient use of the fly rod's power. Instead of fighting a fish off the tip of the rod, you want to bend the butt section. Phil Monahan and I use the scale on a BogaGrip to demonstrate how much more force you can generate by fighting "off the butt section."