Fly fishers enjoy the challenge of discovering how fish, bait, and insects interact in their environment. We watch trout delicately sip mayfly duns drifting quietly on the surface, we notice the splashy rises that accompany caddis ascending rapidly to the surface, and we see trout roll on nymphs drifting naturally with the current. Trout and salmon anglers have a quiver full of casts for different fishing conditions, and Abrames uses many of these long-standing techniques in the salt.

Like trout or insect behavior, baitfish behavior also varies depending on the situation. When chased by predators, silversides spray out of the water; sand eels remain in the water. In harder currents, sand eels group closely together whereas in softer currents they spread apart. They move fluidly and cover shorter distances than larger baitfish such as menhaden, herring, and mackerel, which can move greater distances quickly due to their size and power.

As with trout fishing, more research helps anglers determine the appropriate fly and technique. Wind pushing with the current speeds up bait movements; wind against the current slows it. Bait moving into the current swim slightly slower and with more movement than bait moving with the wind and current. Waves crashing against the rocks can disorient the bait near the water's edge, or the bait can move parallel to the rocks. Abrames teaches that you should observe your environment and vary your presentations to meet the existing conditions.

Abrames teaches the importance of observing bait, currents, and your quarry and adapting your presentations to the ever-changing conditions.

You should work with moving water and present your flies so they mimic the movements of bait (drift naturally with the current, swim against the current, or suspend in the current) by mending. Position your flies in relation to the fish and control the depth at which your flies swim by releasing or mending more line.

The wet-fly swing is one of the oldest freshwater techniques used in current. With this down- and across-stream cast, you use a fixed length of line and a variety of ways to cover distance. Start with a short length of line to prospect the water closest to you. Continue to cast more line until you've fished all the water you can from your position. If you don't catch fish that you know are there, try a different fly or a different technique before moving. If you must get a deeper presentation, cast farther upcurrent or add additional mends to sink your fly deeper.

Cast farther upcurrent or add mends to sink your fly deeper on the wet-fly swing.

If you are casting blindly, then move down-current or down the beach and begin again. If you have good water on both sides of you, fish both the left and the right downstream sides before moving on.

Walking while swinging your fly is another excellent way to cover the water, particularly if you're working a feeding lane in an estuary, along a bank, or on a beachfront. Start with a series of short casts and work out longer casts while you walk. Use a combination of casts and mends to keep your fly in the fishiest looking water for the longest period of time. Fish above and behind rocks, on the inside of current seams, against cutbanks, in ocean holes, or in front of, below, or alongside mussel beds.

You can also use the wet-fly swing with a sinking line in heavier currents. Abrames uses a sinking-tip line because he can control the line better with the floating portion to keep his fly precisely where the fish are feeding.

You can use a strip retrieve to cover water between your rod tip and the end of your fly's drift on the wet-fly swing. Base your retrieve on the type of baitfish you are imitating. Shorter, quicker strips more closely imitate silversides or bay anchovies, while longer, more relaxed retrieves work better when herring or menhaden are in the water.

If you are fishing a heavy current, slow down your retrieve to match the bait that must swim into the resistance. Baitfish swimming into a hard current swim more slowly than bait swimming in a soft current. Smaller stripers respond well to quick and aggressive retrieves whereas larger bass generally favor slower, more deliberate speeds.

Experiment with a variety of retrieves. The fish will tell you which one they prefer.

The dead-drift prevents your fly from moving through the current unnaturally. It is effective when stripers feed on shrimp, worms, or any other small baitfish that drifts freely with the current.

You can fish the dead-drift several ways. You can position yourself above the area you want to fish and feed out line at the same speed as the current and the fly drops down to the fish.

And you can cast up- and across-stream with a reachcast or a series of upstream stack mends. The mend can be delicate; simply take the slack out of your line and move your rod over an upstream arc. Your mend should be appropriate to your current; current speed dictates that you use either a few large mends or a series of smaller mends. You are using enough mends if your fly drifts naturally with the current.

To swim your fly deeper without a sinking line, use a split-shot or two and the George Harvey/Joe Humphreys tuck cast. To make a tuck cast, pull up on the ring and pinky fingers of your casting hand while pushing down on your thumb as the rod tip passes overhead. It must be a squeeze; as the line straightens, the leader will curl under the fly line. As it drops to the surface of the water, energy of the cast will drive the fly deeply. Extra mends allow the fly to sink lower in the water column and longer leaders and a split-shot or two helps the fly get deeper. Finish both casts with a wet-fly swing.

The last way to achieve a dead-drift is to cast directly upstream or quartering upstream. Upstream dead-drifts are classic for dry flies, deadly for nymphs, and great for striped bass. The upstream approach is most often used to cast to bass feeding on the surface. Drop your fly a foot or two upstream from the feeding fish and gather line as it drifts back toward you with a slow strip retrieve to maintain line control. An upstream mend or a reach cast works best to combat velocity changes. Because the fish are generally working upstream, all you need is steady pressure to set the hook.

The greased-line swing enables you to swim your fly across current and imitate a baitfish moving from one side of the bank to another. Cast the fly across the current. As it swings down, mend (upstream) the loop that forms to keep the fly swimming naturally with the current. If the current pulls the line upstream, mend down. These mends keep the fly swimming broadside to the fish. As the fly swings below you, the greased-line swing becomes a wet-fly swing. The greased-line swing is useful when stripers are holding in a current.

The slipping drift is a way that an angler can achieve a more realistic baitfish drift. First, cast the fly across or up and across-stream and mend it so that the fly drifts naturally. When the fly moves past you and starts to head downstream, mend to create a greased-line swing so that the fly swims broadside to the fish. Then, feed out sections of line in 4-inch segments so the fly swims freely with the current downstream.

Cast your fly up- and across-stream. As the fly passes you, mend the line so your fly swims broadside across the current. Feed small amounts of line into the drift. As the line swims below you, finish with a wet-fly swing.

When all of your line is out, finish the cast with a wet-fly swing. The pressure of the line tightening combined with rod tip placement enables you to swim the fly with or against the current. By moving your tip to the left of the line, for example, you can swim your fly to the left of a fish and across his feeding lane and maintain control of the fly at all times.

The Leisenring lift was originated by Jim Leisenring to imitate the explosive speed of a caddis as it nears the surface. The Leisenring lift works well when fishing sinking-tip lines or weighted flies because it puts your flies right on the bottom.

Start with a short line and a long leader. If you are fishing in a current with a streamer fly, use split-shot or a weighted fly. Cast directly upstream to allow the fly to sink and as the fly drifts back toward you, raise your rod tip and pull in any slack that has gathered. As the fly drifts past you, drop your rod tip and release the gathered line and feed it through the stripping guides.

When the fly line comes tight at the end of the drift, it will swing to the surface. Your next cast should be made a few feet farther out. Continue to cover all the water within your casting range. When you've covered all the reachable water, move upstream or downstream as the tide and the fishing situation dictates.