4 habits of highly successful fly anglers

#3  SHARPEN YOUR HOOKS

I recently passed my box of pike flies around a group of anglers, and every single person who plucked a fly out of its compartment got pricked. That’s how I knew my hooks were razor sharp and, judging by their surprise and leaking plasma, theirs weren’t. Nothing in fly fishing offers more benefit with such little effort as sharpening your hooks. Sharp hooks penetrate and hold, giving you a margin of error to overcome a poor hookset or miscues during the fight. And all you need is a $10 sharpener and 20 seconds per hook. I suggest sharpening every hook before a fly goes into your box. Then when you tie the fly on, the hook only needs a touch-up, at most. And make sure you check the point after every connection with a fish or the bottom.

#4  CHECK YOUR LEADER

Both the fight with a fish, and removing the hook can damage your leader. Fortunately, detecting a leader problem takes just seconds. By simply running the leader through your fingers, you can feel even the tiniest nick. Also watch for wind knots—those little overhand knots that can appear in your leader after a sloppy cast. They will tighten under the pressure of a fish, causing the monofilament to cut into itself. If you do find a nick or knot, take five minutes to cut it out and replace the bad section.

Believe me, it beats a lifetime of wondering just how big that lost brook trout actually was.