The secrets to catching trout

'Observation, imitation, presentation' is the mantra when dealing with wily wild fish and first impressions are critical to success

- Tobias Coe

MOST SEASONED anglers will no doubt have heard the phrase 'observation, imitation, presentation' or OIP. This three-step mantra neatly condenses the complexity of fly-fishing (and arguably many other forms of fishing) down to a stark summation of its parts.

Fly anglers place a huge amount of emphasis on the 'imitation' part of OIP. The tens of thousands of different flies that have been invented and tied over the centuries attest to this. Our fixation on hatches, when and where they happen, how fish react to them and the resulting visual aspect of our sport means that 'observation' is a fundamental attribute of any successful angler. An angler who can't spot fish or pick out the signs of what they may be feeding on will struggle to catch fish. At a more granular scale, once a fish has been found and a fly chosen, it is critical to then observe how the fish reacts to the fly.

This stage of observation crosses over into the last element of OIP. Watching how a fish responds to a fly (where possible) and altering either the retrieve or the next cast (if one can be made) combines the two elements.

How the fly is delivered is critical and it is this component of our sport where I think many anglers make mistakes, resulting in missed opportunities to hook fish.

Dragging and sliding