Wind knots and tailing loops.

 Dennis has been waiting patiently for the answer(s) to his casting questions so here goes.  First of all I am self taught as a fly caster. Back when I started in the mid fifties there were no guides or casting instructors (or videos on how to avoid wind knots and tailing loops either for that matter).  Corrections to my casting stroke came slowly and without much thought on my part.  It was almost as if my right arm and the rod got together and said "Lets help this guy out, he's never going to get it on his own". When a guide 20 years ago told me to make a reach cast I had no idea what he was talking about.  Not much has changed since then.  It's the best explanation I can give before saying I don't even know what a check cast is.  What I can tell you is that my right arm and the good old Winston IM6 work in wondrous ways to often create drag free, on target casts that leave the rest of me in awe of what just happened.

With regard to  my positioning before casting -  First of all I'm not obsessed with hunting big fish. The only fish I try not to throw at are yearlings. I try to time the hours I spend fishing so as to maximize the number of rising fish I get to throw at. When I see a rising fish, I cast.  Seldom do I take the time to get into the best position for a cast at a particular fish. When I do, I try to get at least even with the fish and close enough to make an accurate cast the first shot. Straight down stream shots are deadly if they are on target but they are an all or nothing cast as the pick up after the cast almost always puts the fish down.  Upstream casts (which was the "proper way"  to fish dries in the 50's and 60's), are best saved for fishing riffs and in the half hour before dark.  If straight downstream is 6 o'clock on an imaginary clock, the areas between 4 & 5 and 7&8 would be my "power allies". I'd have to consult with my GHOF on this, but it seems that I have the best depth perception in those zones.

Dave - The WB above the reservoir is stocked, has hatches, gets very warm in the summer, it use to close September 30th but  now (I believe) it's open year round. If I were to go there, it would be in the fall to  see if there were some big spawners coming up out of the reservoir.  If there is someone willing to provide better info please jump in.

Brian - You asked about late night fly selection - In the early evening I fish the flies that should be hatching or the spinners that should be falling. When its too late to see them I tie on a big yellow fly if I am fishing into the "black" water and I tie on a big dark fly (iso) if I am casting towards the light reflecting water (usually that's in the direction of the setting sun).

A shout out to Dick for picking up my error in calling large olives Grannum rather than Cornuta. Undoubtedly it was the result of bad ice in my perfect manhattan.  On behalf of Dick, I apologize to any grandmothers who may be reading the blog for his twice referring to them as caddis.