The Drift: How Much Does Accuracy Matter?

I taught my mother-in-law how to fly fish last year. She learned on a small creek where the fish are willing to move a bit for well-presented flies. It’s certainly not the kind of place where you need to land flies on a trout’s dinner plate to coax a bite.

She caught her first few fish on that trip, which was great for building confidence. When my in-laws came to visit in Wyoming earlier this year, I took my mother-in-law out on the local creek. It’s mostly pocket water with few places to make casts longer than 20 feet, and it’s another fishery where the trout are relatively forgiving.

Then, a couple weeks ago, my in-laws came to visit again. We spent the morning fishing, and I decided we’d try out a spring creek I haven’t fished enough this year. The fish don’t grow big here, but it’s in some of the prettiest country I’ve ever fished. With the gin-clear water and good hatches, it’s straight out of the stuff anglers’ dreams are made of.

Despite their smaller size, these trout see a lot of anglers, and they’re picky. I knew my mother-in-law would be challenged by these trout, but it wasn’t until some wind kicked up that I started to question whether I’d picked too tough a fishery. Her casts were all over the place, and I was having a devil of time explaining what she needed to correct.

So, I snuck off upstream to think about the best way to get her into fish. I spotted a trout rising on the far bank, and tossed a size 16 Adams its way. The fish hit it almost instantly, a six-inch brown that leapt a few times before slipping the hook. All along that far bank was a pod of rising fish, tight to the overhanging grass, in spots where accurate casts were a must.

Play The Angles

I went back downstream, grabbed my mother-in-law, and had her stand at about a 45-degree angle downstream of the risers. I told her to land her fly as close to the opposite bank as possible.

Her first few casts were off the mark, but she finally landed one right on the money. Even though the fly was dragging a bit, a brook trout still ate it. The fish spat the hook at her feet, but the skunk was mostly off the board, and we both relaxed a bit.

I’m no expert, but I think giving her a specific target, and setting her at the right angle to make a simple cast, made all the difference in my mother-in-law eventually nailing that cast. For the rest of the day, we fished within shouting distance of each other, but I mostly left her to her own devices. Her casts were still a bit off-kilter, but she hooked more fish, so she was obviously doing something right.

How Important Is Accuracy?

That day got me thinking: just how much does accuracy matter in your run-of-the-mill trout fishing? Much of the marketing around new fly rods touts their inherent accuracy (and I pay attention to those features when reviewing rods, too). We’re told to practice landing flies in tiny windows, because you never know when you’ll run into a fish that demands such precise presentation.

Accuracy obviously mattered on that spring creek with my mother-in-law. Once she got the flies within shouting distance of the fish, the trout cooperated. But how often are anglers fishing water where laser-tight accuracy is the difference between catching a few, and getting skunked?

I’m not arguing that accuracy doesn’t matter, by the way. I’m just wondering if we place an outsized emphasis on it, when most trout seem willing to move to eat a well-presented fly.

I’d be interested in hearing from you. How much does accuracy matter in your day-to-day fishing?