Jerry G, et All, Howdy;
Here is some more that might help to put some puzzle pieces into place.
Same book, pg 121 & 122;
" Now, if I want to catch a trout, first I must know where there are some
to catch, or neither you nor myself can catch any. If I want to catch a big
trout I must first locate a big one or be content with smaller ones. It is no
easy matter to locate big fish in these days of overfished waters. Sometimes
you meet an angler who is just boiling with truth, and he may honestly put
you wise to a big one. But this does not happen often. However, assuming
that I have found my big trout, the next consideration is a fly properly tied
and suitable for his kind of water, as explained in the chapter on Hackle. "
I get the impression that when JL used the Lift method he was employing
it directly to a 'Sighted' fish so he would have a decent idea of when to
employ the Lift. He also goes on to emphasize that we should take our time
as it is our enemy and the trout's friend.
At the bottom of pg. 122 and continuing to the top of pg. 123 it is mentioned as;
" I always fish my fly so that it
becomes deadly at the point where the
trout is most likely to take his food, which is usually at or close to his position in
the stream. I have always contended in my mind that there is a point in fishing a
fly where its appeal-efficiency is low and a point where its appeal-efficiency is high.
Since my flies are tied to act lifelike and look lifelike, I fish them so that the efficiency
of these is at its highest when it nears and arrives before the trout for his inspection.
This is accomplished by allowing a gradual increase of tension caused by the water
flowing against the leader, causing the fly to lift from the bottom and rise with the
hackles or legs quivering after the manner of the hatching natural fly. "
What follows is what I quoted earlier in this conversation. So, I again feel that he is
fishing to sighted or highly suspect places that would hold trout. As he (JL), fished
a lot on some streams he was able to zero in on some locations and experiment so
that he could refine his theories and then carry those theories to other waters to
see if they did in fact hold water. The theories must have because we are still using
them all these years later. Like all true fishermen, he didn't give the
whole process
(hot spotting), but enough for us to have conversations such as this and have a friendly
debate from time to time about the process of "The Lift".
Pete Hidy wrote about it without mentioning the adopted name for it in the Sports
Illustrated book "Fly Fishing" my copy is the revised edition from 1972. On pg.49,
Pete wrote;
" The Leisenring Lift, used wherever the speed of the current is not excessive, imitates
the behavior of a hatching flymph. To execute the lift, cast upstream and allow the fly
to sink. Then, as the fly nears the position of the trout, raise arm and rod gradually to
cause the fly to lift naturally through the currants. The trout may take it at once or he
may hesitate and inspect the fly as he follows it downstream momentarily, making his
decisive move just before the fly escapes at the surface. Stream strategy, finesse and a
delicate control of the fly are decisive factors in the Leisenring Lift. "
Again, in the third sentence above, it is mentioned "as the fly nears the position of the trout"
so ... a known (sighted), trout or a place where the probability is high that there may be
one present seem, to me, to be factors that would influence the when and where to use it.
Solely my thoughts yours may vary, and I'd like to read them...
hank