How to High Stick When Fly Fishing | Catch More Fish With Drag-Free Drifts

This simple fly fishing technique will help you catch more fish, especially in clear, technical river conditions.

In this video, Pat breaks down high sticking, one of the simplest yet most effective ways to achieve a drag-free drift when fishing rivers. Whether you’re fishing dry flies, dry droppers, or nymph and indicator rigs, high sticking allows your flies to drift naturally through complex currents where trout are sitting.

Pat fishes tight pocket water, cascades, and slower pools, perfect water for this technique, and explains:

- What high sticking actually is, and when to use it
- Why drag kills your drift in rivers
- How lifting fly line off the water improves presentation
- Proper rod position, wrist control, and reach
- Common mistakes that cause drag
- When high sticking works best, and when it doesn’t
- How this technique changes for dry flies vs nymph rigs

High sticking is most effective at short range, and when done correctly, it can be the difference between a fish eating your fly or completely ignoring it, especially in spooky summer conditions. If you want better drifts, more natural presentations, and more consistent eats, this is a technique you need in your arsenal.

Presented by Pat Ryan
Filmed and edited by Dean Johnson & Pat Ryan