Some fish are hard to catch because they are spooky. Others are just too far away. Others still have a chronic case of lockjaw. Then, there are fish that are perfectly willing to see and take your fly… you just can’t get to them. Because they’re under things.

Rocks. Logs. Culverts. Rhododendron tunnels. If there is water, these are prime places for fish like trout to set up shop. They get all the benefits of running water and a steady stream of food, plus they don’t have to worry about overhead predators.

This is a problem for anglers, as we are overhead predators.

How do you get a fly into the tightest spots? Which presentations, casts, and approaches work the best? There are some options, and some are much better than others. Special situations call for unique techniques. Whether it is a typical scene on a mountain stream or an isolated spot on a big river, these are challenges you want to take on. These are fish you want to try to catch.

Here are four ways you get get in underneath, from least to most efficient/effective:

Dap it.

If you have a long enough rod, you could extend the tip under the obstruction. This works. This is not ideal. What happens when the fish takes? Setting the hook is obviously an issue, as there isn’t a lot of space to go up. However, in a pinch this will do.

Apart from the space issue, the physical presence of your rod tip is a presentation problem. Fish key in on overhead intruders. However, if you are able to flick a few feet of line above where the fish is, you might be able to a) avoid the silhouette/shadow and b) buy yourself enough drift for a decent hook set.

The ol’ bow and arrow.

This is nearly everyone’s  go-to for tight spots. I like it and employ it often. However, I don’t like it for upstream presentations when there is overhead cover. I like bow and arrow casts if I can follow a drift under an obstruction, but not if I’m aiming into a tight chute.

Why? The optimal trajectory of a bow and arrow cast is angled downward. If you angle it, you don’t have the benefit of the water to straighten out your fly. An angled bow and arrow cast will often miss its mark, either to the left or right of the target. Can you compensate to get a bullseye? Yes. But that takes practice and accounting for a lot of variables.

Skip it (no… skip it).

I don’t mean avoid the spot. I mean cast so that the fly actually skips into place. How is this done? A bad cast – that’s how:

Approaching the obstructed hole, make sure you have enough line to put the fly where you want it. Then, casting sidearm, aim right above the water with a quick stroke. Your line should dip a bit, causing the surface tension to catch it. The fly, if moving with enough speed, should skip at least once and propel itself deeper into the hole.

It takes some practice, and it doesn’t always end well. But when done right it really comes together. Floatant-soaked  and super-buoyant dries are the easiest to work with; weighted or water-logged flies are much trickier.

Back up and cast.

Proximity is everything. Usually, it is nice to be as close to your target as possible – without spooking the fish, of course. However, rod and leader length might make being too close a problem. If you can back up, maybe a traditional cast will work just fine.

It might seem counterintuitive and/or overkill, but a tight loop on a 35-foot cast is preferable to every option I listed above.

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Getting to a fish that has found a good hiding spot is a victory in itself. Tempting it to take, fighting it into open water, and landing it is usually less than half the battle. But all said and done, these are the challenges that make fly fishing so rewarding.