The Leisenring Lift

Big Jim’s nymphing technique is an easy to learn, effective technique every angler should learn

In the late 30’s and early 40’s Big Jim was the US king of wet fly fishing. He developed a simple and effective technique to incite a strike. He would stand at the edge of the current and Tuck cast (stopping the rod higher than normal) a weighted fly on a short line up and across dead-drifting the fly into a prime lie, where he would make it rise.

Try it. Keeping the rod tip up; allow no slack as the fly drifts toward you. As the fly passes you lower the rod tip and follow the fly to compensate for the current. Keep the fly in the cushion. When lowered allow the drag to cause the fly to ascend (lift) to the surface like an emerging natural.

Point to remember

The Leisenring Lift, the staple of the nymph fisher's arsenal, is so easy to learn and so effective it seems almost unfair. Using Leisenring's technique, a neophyte fly fisher can be transformed into a fish-catching machine in minutes.