Great time on a new stream!

I actually got to fish with both of my sons this weekend! I went out on Friday evening for about an hour before the rains came with my youngest, Mark. We tried a new blueline, spooked a bunch of fish and got a few hard strikes but did not land one. On Saturday, I got out for about 2 hours with both Mark and Andrew. Again, a lot of strikes, a few LDR's, and we even saw a nice rainbow rise up and chase a fly, but alas, no pics. All of the strikes were on nymphs, which was surprising, since we thought there would be more dry fly action. It was obvious that I need to improve my hookset techniques (any hints?). In any case, we found a new stream and now know which holes the fish are hiding in and I got to spend some good time hopping rocks and flinging flies with my sons, so all in all, a great time! Hopefully, we will have pics to post on the next trip.

Sounds like a great trip! Great way to beat this heat.

Proper hook sets take some practice. On small streams here in the Southern Appalachians, fish almost always react quickly and grab your fly quickly. Usually there's no scrutinizing involved. If they don't grab it quick, the food (in this case, your fly) will get away. Most of the time, they'll hook themselves without a hookset. Sometimes a sharp, but delicate pump of your rod will hook them. If you set to hard on these small streams, you'll fling the fish overhead..

As long as you keep your hooks sharp and check them (especially if you've hung up and eventually got your fly back) most of these wild fish need virtually no hookset. In pools that are clear, you can see the fish rise to your dry, so you'll have a split second to get ready.