Pop Strike

Native Brook Trout in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia

Released Brook Trout with a Pop Strike

Pop Strike Blog – Murray’s Fly Shop- Edinburg, Virginia

How do you measure trout fishing success? If I am fishing good hatches on streams like the Little Chazy, the upper Lamar or the upper Hughes when the trout are feeding heavily, I use my “Pop Strike”.
When the trout comes up and takes my dry fly and I hook him, I consider this success. After all, I got a drag drag free drift and I showed him a fly that must have looked appealing to him. The instant I feel the hook penetrate the trout’s jaw I release all of the line pressure on the fly. In the majority of the strikes the trout slips the fly and swims away.
The “Pop Strike” reduces stress on the trout that results from fighting him and possible gill damage from handling him. For many years my “Pop Strike” has been my main strike and I am sure it has saved many trout.