# couple of questions. tailing loop and perch.



## mike1987 (Feb 27, 2014)

what are some common things that cause a tailing loop? quite frustrating at times. some days my loops are good. when i say good i mean my line doesnt cross lol. ive been at this for less then a year. other days i have a tailing loop. i try weighted and non weighted flies. same with both and i seem to not be able to fix it while im on the water. i double haul almost every cast as well. second question. i saw some perch in a river i fish today. it was about a mile upstream of the mouth that empties into lake erie. i tried quite a few flies. i couldnt get any perch to bite. all i got were creek chubs. i guess my question is, what flies do you guys catch perch on? if any? i tried foam ants, murdich and clouser minnows and little poppers. i was really there for pike but saw the perch and never got to the pike water lol. could it of been the 8 wt line with the 40# 20# 15# 6# leader scaring them? i added the 6# on the water cuz the 15# wasnt doing so hot with the little top water flies. total leader length was about 15ft. crystal clear water. any help is appreciated. thanks!


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Try opening up your cast a bit on the back cast. (lower your arm to the side on the back cast, then come straight forward) It's called a Belgian cast. Your timing can be a bit off with this style of cast and you'll still get good loops, that don't cross. Over time you'll be able to just keep the rod straight up and down vertical. Your timing will improve, as will your loops.


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## Longhorn (Oct 26, 2014)

Here's a pretty decent summary of the causes of tailing loops: http://www.sexyloops.com/flycasting/tailingloops.shtml


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

To fix tailing loops, well there are a lot of long winded ways to fix this. Luckily there is a short answer, one, slow way down. Two, keep the rod behind you as you wait, most people creep forward as they wait and it kills them. Also, slow down


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## ejsell (May 3, 2012)

Never caught perch on a fly but I'd think any minnow pattern, clouser, or woolly bugger in white should work. They like small bait fish.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Olive woolly bugger is what I have caught them on.


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## mike1987 (Feb 27, 2014)

that is a big perch! the river I fished is also riddled with pike. so there might of been one around somewhere. ill give the woolly buggers some more time in the water. everyone raves about them but ive never caught a thing on one.
I think this is my issue as far as a tailing loop.
*6. Finishing the haul too soon*

If you finish the haul before the Rod Straight Position the tip will rise and the loop will tail. This is not a common fault and only seems to happen when one first learns the Double Haul. The ever-so-exact timing is “Stop-Release”.


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

mike1987 said:


> that is a big perch! the river I fished is also riddled with pike. so there might of been one around somewhere. ill give the woolly buggers some more time in the water. everyone raves about them but ive never caught a thing on one.
> I think this is my issue as far as a tailing loop.
> *6. Finishing the haul too soon*
> 
> If you finish the haul before the Rod Straight Position the tip will rise and the loop will tail. This is not a common fault and only seems to happen when one first learns the Double Haul. The ever-so-exact timing is “Stop-Release”.


For what it is worth, I find that casting downstream at a bias over a current line and then letting the woolly bugger swing through it gets the best results. The fish seem to hammer it on the up swing many times as compared to just stripping the bug. Give it a try, this might prove worthy for you as well.


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## mike1987 (Feb 27, 2014)

so cast down stream on an angle and let the current drag the line over and swing the bugger into a seam. ill give it a shot. thanks


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

for your bugger, or swing technique, I would add a quick upstream mend just as your fly lands. (also use a loop knot to the fly) You are trying to set the fly line directly upstream in a line from the fly. This forces your fly to sink immediately and continues to sink as the water is usually faster on top where your line is, then down below where your fly is.
A west coast guide taught me this and it works well in normal flows. On slow water, do not worry about the mend. On faster water, like PM, you may need 2 upstream mends.

I read once in a nymph technique book that tension in the line goes both ways. If you simply cast down and across, the current will immediately create the tension and the fly will not swim as well. Fish know that. If you mend upstream, the tension is released and your fly mimics a wounded minnow floating in the current. Then at the end of the drift, the tension brings your fly to life and it looks like it is fleeing. If a trout sees that, instincts take over and BAM! Most of your takes will occur during the transition your fly makes from faster water to slower. Or from drifting to swinging. Sometimes they will follow it to the end. Let it hang at the end a bit, I've had them hit then too.

Rickerd
If I don't get out fishing soon, I'm going to lose my license.


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## mike1987 (Feb 27, 2014)

thank you very much. I went for/learned about steelies this weekend. I did just that same thing. still don't have it down yet. casting from slow water to a fast moving flow is kind of difficult. with all of the line belly and mending that has to go on. the upstream mend seems like it will make a world of difference now that I think about it. im not sure if I said this but im as amateur at this as you possibly can be. its a learning process. a long tedious one.


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

Learning and teaching yourself is what I enjoy most. If I can help someone shorten the learning curve, I'm proud.

My first full season I must have fished 18 times in the Fall and Winter. I had 5 fish going into Winter with 3 coming on one day within 40 mins. So success was not regular for me. During the Winter I kept going out and it was tough. Another half dozen trips with no bumps, takes or fish in freezing temps. I kept fishing this one run below a riffle with slow deep water because I was told the Winter holding fish stay in the deepest water. One early cold Feb. morning, after trying a couple flies through the run, I tied on an ugly fly. A fly I tied with extra materials one night. So ugly I named it the "Woogie," after the character in "Something about Mary." In the middle of a dead drift, I felt some extra weight, raised the rod, felt a head shake and set the hook. Yeah Baby! I won the battle and 10 mins later a beautiful 26" rainbow was in my hand. Few fish I've ever caught means more to me than that fish. It wasn't big, it was success.

Now I grew up in an "Ohio" that didn't have trout, at least not that I knew of. Rivers were burning, debris and storm overflows made a few of our rivers a sewer. I grew up on the Black in Elyria. Since I caught that fish on the Rocky, I became confident, for no reason, but I can tell you my fishing improved. I've since caught trout in every month in O-H-I-O. I've caught them on the Cuyahoga, Black, Rocky, Vermilion, Chagrin, Grand, Ashtabula, Conny, and a few places in between. I also enjoy Apple Creek, Clear Fork, and Cold Creek.

Sorry I drifted off topic, the point I was making is, your fish stories are out there too. Spend a little time writing them down so you can tell them during old age. Most of all, enjoy the journeys, adventure, learning that fly fishing offers.

Rickerd


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