Fly Fishing the Stock Market: How to Search for, Catch, and Net the Market's Best Trades

SETTING THE HOOK WITH THE STRIKE INDICATOR (ENTRY)

Few things are more exciting than making a perfect cast upstream for a 21-inch trout that is rising repeatedly. When the fly softly touches the water, your adrenaline begins to flow, sharpening your readiness for the “strike.” When the moment comes, reacting with lightning speed provides you the experience of hooking the “fight of your life.” You can't be too fast or too slow; in either case, you'll miss the opportunity.

There are tools that help fly fishermen with their timing. Most use polarized sunglasses—not just to look good but to help them better anticipate strikes. When donning these magnificent sunglasses, you have “see-through” vision that screens out the glare on top of the water. You can actually see the fish coming before the strike occurs!

Another popular tool that is very useful with timing the hook-up beneath the surface is a “strike indicator.” It consists of yarn or a brightly colored foam ball attached approximately 9 to 10 feet from the end of your fly. Without this indicator, a fish can take your fly and spit it out, sometimes leaving you with no clue about what has happened. With the strike indicator, though, you have a direct link to what is occurring beneath the surface of the water when fishing with nymphs. The slightest movement of the strike indicator as it dead-drifts atop the water is your cue to set the hook. When I first started using a strike indicator, I found it hard to trust because I couldn't ...