Patience. Skill. Persistence. Consistency. These are all words we hear when describing traits needed to be a great fly angler. We often forget about the most important one, confidence. It affects everything from reading water to a solid hook set.

“I never would have casted there”, is what I typically here after successfully hooking a fish in an unexpected spot. Trust your instincts when reading water. Take your time, look ahead, and break down water systematically. If you think there is a trout in the soft water on the far side of a run, there probably is.

After landing a wild Brown Trout, the first thing a fellow angler will ask me is, “What did you catch it on?” Truthfully, the nymphs you are using are not as important as HOW you are using them. Use your confidence flies regularly. When tight lining, perfect, drag free drifts are needed to be successful.

I see anglers miss takes often. Is it a rock? A stick? A fish? Low-confidence. I tell them, “When in doubt, set the hook.” It is not uncommon for me to set a few times through a good run. It is also not uncommon for me to hook rocks and other debris on the bottom of the creek, which is exactly where our nymphs should be. When in doubt, set the hook. You will land more fish.

A mentor of mine, Joe Humphreys, once told me that I do not move enough, he was right. It is easy to become fixated on a nice run. It is easy to become enchanted by that missed fish and stand at the same hole for an hour or more. Be confident in your drifts. Drift no more than 10 times through a run, then move. Theoretically, the more water you cover thoroughly and efficiently, the more fish you will catch.

As a guide, my role is to set clients up for small successes. Rewarding a cast that lands perfectly in a seam, even if it isn’t the prettiest cast, with a “great cast!” or “nice hook set”, even if it is on a rock. My job is to build confidence, landing fish typically follows.

Be confident when selecting flies. Be confident when reading water. Be confident when making your casts. Be confident in your drifts. Be confident when setting the hook. Be confident when fighting and landing fish. Confidence.