Pocket water is the broken, white-and-froth stuff most anglers fish through on their way to the next "real" run. Underneath every plunge and behind every boulder is a small calm spot — a pocket — where a trout can sit out of the main current with food washing past. The trick is fishing each pocket with one or two perfect drifts before moving to the next.
A dry-dropper rig is built for this:
- 9-foot 4-5 weight rod. Long enough for reach, light enough to mend in tight spaces.
- Tapered leader to 4X, about 9 feet.
- A buoyant, visible dry as the indicator and primary fly. A size 12-14 Stimulator, Chubby Chernobyl, or hopper pattern floats reliably even in froth.
- A 16-24 inch dropper of 4X or 5X off the bend of the dry, with a tungsten-bead nymph (Frenchie, Perdigon, weighted hare's ear).
Fish it close: 15-20 feet of line out, rod tip high. Cast directly upstream into the pocket — don't quartering-cast across multiple currents. High-stick the drift: hold the rod tip up and lead the indicator dry with the rod, eliminating the slack and drag that fast water normally creates.
A good pocket gives you one to three drifts before the fish wises up. Cover ten pockets in a hundred yards. The fish that gets jumpy at a long-line presentation will eat a high-sticked dropper at his nose.