We often make fly fishing more complicated than we need to. A good example of that is mending our fly line to get a better, more natural drift as our flies work their way downstream. Often, as TU’s Kirk Deeter points out in the video below, our mends are too jerky or move the flies on or under the water in an unnatural manner. We simply put too much effort in the mend—in an attempt to make our drifts better and more natural, we often make them worse.
The tip above shows the best way to mend because, as Kirk points out, most fly rods are 9 feet long for a reason. Lift and place. You’ll move the fly less and you’ll get longer, more natural drifts, whether you’re fishing dries or nymphs.
Happy mending!
— Chris Hunt