That's a great photo, Coley.

For sure, when we're throwing long casts, we never feel a lot of the bites we get. The violent "tug" we associate with a steelhead eating a swung fly is often the end result of the same fish (and sometimes others) repeatedly striking at our offering, culminating in a "F*** you... I'm eating that s***, no matter how many times you try to deny me" response. Hence why we so often get "bit" on the hang-down.

A guide I fish with at least once a year takes every opportunity he can get to get up on a high bank and watch this phenomenon unfold. He says he sees many more bites come up empty than find purchase, due in no small part to how long it takes for an angler to feel a strike at the other end of 60+ feet of fly line. If you want to see this for yourself, all you need to do is to have a fishing buddy set up across a fishing lie from yourself and huck a cast to where he can reach it on the drift down. Have him grab it and pull on it, and see how long it takes for you to feel the tug. You'll see that it usually affords the fish a significant amount if time with your bug in his jaws before you know what is happening. Sometimes, they get so pissed off by the elusive prey that they attack it, turn, and start running with it, the result of which is the "tug" that becomes an obsession for many of us through countless years of fishing.

Most dedicated swing fishers get a lot more bites per thousand casts than one. Nymphing shortens the length of line between the visible indicator and the offering immensely, and that may be among the biggest reasons why most anglers catch more fish on those presentations than "on the swing." It may also explain why so many "light" nymphing bites come up empty on the hook set.