Why did I lose 7 of my last 9?

[tynetraveller]

I fished the spey last week in ideal conditions and had a great time, landing 7 salmon and grilse and three sea trout, but towards the end of the week my landing rate went through the floor. Not including pulls, only fish on for at least ten seconds, I lost four and landed one on Thursday, lost one on Friday, and lost two landed one on Saturday.

I have always fished off the reel, but in desparation on Saturday fished a Falkus style loop. Results- Exactly the same- Lost two, landed one.

Most of the fish were hooked on long lines in a fast stream, All the fish I hooked on the dangle all week I landed. A weird week. The week before I landed at least 75% of fish hooked.

Just bad luck, or should I be trying something else when fishing a long line in fast water?

[stuart]

I've had the same problem, loosing 2 out of my last 3 fish. Both were on for over 30 seconds and like you they were hooked on a long line in a fast stream. Wood be good to know what I was doing wrong or if it was bad luck.

[robbie]

I think it is simply Gods way of saying enough is enough for one man!!! Russia twice, Spey etc etc etc etc ;D

[tyneandrew]

It is strange isn't it. I can't recall loosing any fish on the NE rivers in England this season.

I can remember a week on the Wear and a week on the south tyne when i lost 7 fish in a week on each and landed non. It certainly gets you thinking doesn't it.

If I am loosing fish now i just follow WGs advice. 'When the fish takes just hold the line tight and wait for the fish to splash to the top'. Seems to work.

Another thought - blunt hooks???

[rpsalmon]

Dear tynetraveller

When you started to lose fish, did either the river level drop to below ideal conditions for the beat you were fishing, the water clear, the weather turned brighter or the water or air temperature increase?

[colinjack16]

Oddly enough I have lost my last two fish also. One on the dangle in reasonably fast water at about 20 yards and the other in very slow water at about 45 degress and 15 yards. Hooks were sharp and enough pressure applied to drive them home. Have noticed the same with others including wormers and have heard reports of many others on the river being lost. No flies or hooks left in the fish. Very odd.

[jkboy]

Maybe it's just you're donald duck TT, I notice when I lose a couple of fish in a row, confidence always goes down and you just expect the next one to fall off too

I don't have that much experience in this area since hooking fish has been somewhat of a rarety for me of late, but I reckon it's just one of these things that's out of our control .

Never mind, I bet you still had good fun with that kinda sport and I'm sure the next 7 will stick for you .

[tynetraveller]

Thanaks guys- Tyne Andrew- every time I lost one the hook file came out again.. Those hooks could have penetrated a chieftan tank by the time I had finished with them!

RPS- Probably yes to all of those questions- Certainly the last two days the water was a bit lower than the beat ghillie would have called ideal, it was certainly a lot sunnier, and although the water temp had maybe crept up from 50 to 56 through the week, I would be happy enough with that. Air temps were relatively stable.

re: WG's advice, maybe - I was fishing with fresh grilse in mind with a pretty light drag, maybe the hooks were never properly in in the first place. The thought did occur to me, but it was too much of a leap of faith to respond to all those losses by giving the next one more welly...

[rpsalmon]

Dear tynetraveller

I'd put a bet on you having had more fish take your lure than you knew about, but that they ejected it before you knew anything about it as this was as a result of increased ability to feel hook points quicker in warmer water/the reduced water volume/speed on hitting lure/increased feeling of insecurity etc. When fishing fast water, if the fish aren't hooked straight away because basically their momentum hasn't caused them to hook themselves, the fish have less ability/chance to eject it straight out and are therefore often poorly hooked. And this is often irrespective of which angle they come from or go to.

When a situation such as this occurs in fast water, you could fish at a narrower angle downstream and keep a tight line in order that you can feel contact with the fly, on contact with anything pull four inches of line and only if you've hooked a fish-then raise the rod. Or, cast more from the side of the stream and adjust fly size to suit, keep as tight a line as possible in order to fish the fly correctly, as you are pulling from the side you should increase your hook ups-if you do this regularly, but depending on the water, you may be able to learn to spot the direction that a fish is moving and time the strike appropriately.

Another way to do it is to use plastic tubes that weigh next to nothing, and who's hooks aren't too big, fish a slack loop of line, when the fish takes it is less likely to feel anything unnatural and should therefore give time for its own weight/momentum to hook itself.

Another possibility is that the fish continued to move upstream after taking fly, felt the hook or drag of line and simply spat the fly out. Fishing to the side helps hook these.

[williegunn]

I hope you did not tell IB you lost all those fish, he would not be speaking to you.

[rennie]

Dont despair Tynetraveller, once while fishing the Dee I lost 11 fish on the bounce and they were true lost fish not takes or offers all lost well into playing or ready to land and I tried everthing,singles,doubles,trebles,fishing off the reel,holding a loop,clamping solid,striking in the true Mark of Zorro style,nothing worked and boy did I get desperate even suicidal.Thing is the next three that had a go all stuck and were successfully landed.To this day I dont know what I did wrong and then did right.Oh well maybe one day, Pedro.

[tynetraveller]

WG- IB would have had his 200th if I had landed everything. He was as annoyed as I was. I'm just glad they kept falling off after I started fishing with his loop of line method- and he witnessed it. He actually mentioned your hit and hold style himself at one point, so desparate were we becoming

Rennie- Striking in true Mask of Zorro style

[rpsalmon]

Sometimes in the summer, but more usually for me in the Autumn, entire runs of fish off certain tides can have soft mouths. You can but get below them ASAP and play them gently. Some rods are so stiff that you can't help but tear the hooks out of their mouths, some makes of fly line have so little give that they don't help either.

Rather than accept terrible hooking to landing ratios, work out what you think is happening (speed/direction of fish pre/post take etc)and make whatever appropriate changes. This may be changing type of hooks or change to/from shrimp/fish imitating lure, casting/fishing from the side rather than above, fishing from the other bank, fishing faster/slower to increase/decrease the salmon's momentum at the time of take.

[williegunn]

rpsalmon said:

Sometimes in the summer, but more usually for me in the Autumn, entire runs of fish of certain tides can have soft mouths. You can but get below them ASAP and play them gently. Some rods are so stiff that you can't help but tear the hooks out of their mouths, some makes of fly line have so little give that they don't help either.

Rather than accept terrible hooking to landing ratios, work out what you think is happening (speed/direction of fish pre/post take etc)and make whatever appropriate changes. This may be changing type of hooks or change to/from shrimp/fish imitating lure, casting/fishing from the side rather than above, fishing from the other bank, fishing faster/slower to increase/decrease the salmon's momentum at the time of take.

You can do all of the above and it makes little or no difference, it is the salmon who decides whether it will be hooked properly or not, at least my method the either come of early or seldom at all.

If I never lost another salmon I would begin to worry.

[tynetraveller]

There is a lot to be said for that approach- If they are going to come off, let them do it early. I may even try it on my next one.

[Sloggi]

Firstly, congratulate yourself on getting 9 takes. Secondly, relax and don't change anything - do as you usually do - it's the fish that decide

[fishingd0]

Have to agree with WG on this one. I have seen one of the very best fishers I have known loose 18 fish one after the other. He landed the following seven.

If the fish takes the fly well you have a good chance of landing it, as long as you dont make a complete arse of the playing game.

Fishing and playing fish is not a science.

[rpsalmon]

Dear Willie Gunn
A salmon can not decide whether it will be hooked properly or not, if a salmon could think or "decide" then it would decide not to be hooked at all, but it can certainly attempt to shed/eject the sharp or hard thing it has just engulfed/sucked in. We can not necessarily know in advance how a salmon will take, though with experience of certain lies and methods we can make an educated assessment. Since the angler is presumably going to claim to have actually caught any salmon then surely the angler must be acquainted with the skills to ensure most of the fish are hooked and caught, otherwise the angler can not claim to catch the salmon but only claim to have been moving his fly in such a way that would allow a salmon to attach itself to the end of the line!

If I didn't lose another salmon then I would consider myself to be fishing in an unsporting way and change methods. After all, the object of salmon fishing isn't purely to take catch the maximum number of fish.

Dear fishingd0
I do think salmon fishing is a science, and would go back to playing the great game of golf tomorrow if I found it were otherwise.

[williegunn]

A salmon cannot decide but the angler can have little influence.
What is your percantage this season? I'm having a poor year 25% lost, but doing nothing different from last year, the variable is the salmon, so in effect they are deciding or call it luck or whatever word you like.

Salmon fishing is NOT a science luck plays a huge part.

[rpsalmon]

Dear Willie Gunn

I note your opinion that salmon fishing isn't a science, my opinion is that it is a science. For me, and as an ex golfer I know and believe a famous golfing remark...That luck is the residual effects of hard work, practice and use of the Mk.1 brain. In consideration of my opinions, I suspect I would naturally wind many people up the wrong way.

My ratio of attracted to hooked fish (the ones I know about) is probably about 80%. (My loss rate this year is also probably about 25% of those hooked) I think the attract to hooking ratio is lower than a normal 90% because I have found the salmon taking more slowly fished lures and have found them further back in more moderate and quieter currents, there they are able to spit/eject the fly. When the main runs eventually, obviously I'm presuming they are coming, come into my two rivers I am expecting to get back on track.

When I fail to hook a fish I treat it as my fault, and boy do I give myself a hard time about it!

(Sorry-have just corrected that post!)