Coley,

We must be fishing way different water types then. I get half my strikes in the first 1/3 of the swing and most of the rest in the next 2/3, with maybe 2% on the hang down. Hang down strikes usually don't result in a solid hook up, and usually occur in unique layouts. I try to avoid a hang down strike by fishing in a way that keeps swinging past the holding lie if at all possible.

Agree that the fish are usually within reach of one bank or the other; easy depends on stream channel morph, cuz those high bank sides that are vertical are impossible to fish from, wading that is. Steep high bank is why I bought my first Spey rod.

The way to have your fly spend more time in the zone is to use more lead or tungsten, but then this conversation is about fly fishing. Less time in the zone is an inherent compromise to fishing a deep sunk fly with traditional fly fishing methods. It is exactly that which lead to split shot indicator nymphing methods. There is only so much efficiency that can be attained with floating line/sink tip/unweighted or lightly weighted flies. I look first for holding water and then assess whether I can cover it effectively. The downside of swung fly fishing is that in most rivers there is always a bunch of what we call "conservation water." That's moreso the case in winter fishing than summer.

Sg