Rainbow wrote: Interesting concept and generally well known. However it does not account for the fact that trout take an almost transparent smelt such as a grey ghost at 25m in preference to a dark fly. This preference is explained by the universal relationship between predators and prey which is always in favour of prey. It follows that predators seek out the young, the old and sick as an easier and safer "wounded buffalo" option. So how does this relate to the above smelt fly example when there are a million other smelt close by? IMO the unnatural jigging action identifies the grey ghost as a "wounded buffalo" that triggers the predatory attack instinct of a trout that might not even be looking for food at that time. It may also account for the attack on completely unnatural looking "Attractor Style" flies. That brings into focus the importance of the jigging action. What action comes closest to imitate a wounded smelt? Is it just a slow lowering and raising of the rod or could that be improved? On my last trip I watched a nearby guy in a dinghy hooking up regularly. Interestingly he employed a few very pronounced short, almost spastic wrist flicks followed by a pause then more flicks. Before long his rod bent down with another strike. The guy was not just fishing a smelt imitation he was fishing a "wounded smelt." I studied that action for a while and did it myself. It definitely worked better than my monotonous lift and drop. Rainbow
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