Down and Across Presentations

We do a good many trips on the tailwater rivers of East Tennessee, most notably the South Holston and Watauga Rivers, and frequently encounter situations where downstream presentations are required. The South Holston is this way. The down and across presentation using a parachute reach cast and with the fly landing slightly to the near side of the rise/fish is hard to beat. I find that whether I am fishing or guiding someone it is the deadliest presentation you can make on a larger, streamwise, mature fish that is rising. The reason is the cast produces plenty of slack which makes for a long drag free drift and it shows the fish fly first instead of tippet, leader, and line. Here Robert Ruzicka scores on a downstream presentation, as he did about 80 -90 times in two days of guide trips with me on TN's South Holston- - - -which could be called the 'Henry's Fork of the East'.