Hookset Timing: It Depends on How Deep the Fish Are

Hookset Timing: It Depends on How Deep the Fish Are 

Fish one river and see the trout rise to your fly–you miss the hookset and are told, “You’re not quick enough.” Fish somewhere else, and you seemingly rip the fly out of a trout’s mouth because you reacted too quickly.

This can be confusing and frustrating.

Tim Mosolf, the late legendary guide on Montana’s Beaverhead River, once told me, after I missed a fish, but ended up foul-hooking him in the anal fin, “Oh, that fish ate your fly, but he shit it out, because you’re too slow!” 

You can’t win, right?

Daniel Hackett, my Tasmanian guide pal, says we need to consider the depth of the water that the fish is in when we factor how quickly to set the hook. If the fish slinks up from a depth of six feet or so to suck down that dry fly, set it when it’s on its way back home, which means give a good pause. This is the situation when you might utter “God Save the Queen” before setting the hook, as our friends from those Commonwealth countries are famous for saying. 

A fish in skinny water, on the other hand, comes up to smack a dry, and you should give it the business right away. I don’t really understand why, but I know this works. Catching fish from deeper water with dries, pause longer on the strike. Fish in skinny water need immediate attention.

Photo credit: The late guide Tim Mosolf @ Liz Steketee Photography