About the Author

Joe Rotter

Joe is the "blogger in chief" here at Red's in addition to being our guide service manager and partner here at Red's. He is a father of 3 spunky children his wife Kelly can only be found fishing when the temperature gets above 85 degrees and the fish are gobbling up dry flies.

In addition to being a fly fishing junkie, Joe is a hard core bowhunter, is a volunteer Hunter's Eductation Instructor, and loves riding horses with his kiddos. Joe still guides a small part of the time but spends most of his time working on web marketing, travel, and helping customers find the right tools and information for the job.

Cross Leading Larger Flies // TJ Hooker Fly Review

February 23, 2021

Last week we reviewed "What Big River Trout Actually Eat" with a video featuring crawfish, stonefly nymphs, and sculpin. This week we want to teach you a really great way to imitate these critters that live on and near the bottom and show you a fly that can do it all!

Since these creatures swim and crawl over the bottom, we use a technique called "Cross Leading" to work your fly over the bottom. When trout see this action they attack! It's not a passive strike like dead drifting a nymph. Not all nymphs helplessly tumble downstream! Don't be afraid to work your fly laterally in the current and imitate a creature that proactively moves along the bottom.

Setup Used:

11' 3 Weight Echo Shadow X Rod
TJ Hooker Fly
5X SA Absolute Fluorocarbon Tippet
RIO 1X Sighter Material (no strike indicator this is "direct line nymphing"