A dead drift is the target state of almost all dry-fly and nymph fishing: the fly moves with the water and nothing else. No drag, no skate, no unnatural sink rate. When people say they are getting a good drift, this is what they mean.

What breaks a dead drift

• Line drag. The line is in a faster seam and pulls the fly.
• Leader drag. The leader is heavier or thicker than the fly, so it tows it even when the line is mended. Long fine leaders and soft presentation help.
• Angular drag. You are casting across the current, so the fly sweeps sideways even when the line is slack.
• Your own movement. Shuffling your feet moves the rod tip, which moves the fly.

How to get one

1. Position first. Stand so the fly drifts toward you or across-and-down with the line in matching water.
2. Cast with slack. Reach mends, S-casts and slack-line casts put curves in the line; the drift spends those curves instead of moving the fly.
3. Mend early, not late. One mend as the line lands is worth three after the fly has moved.
4. Follow with the rod. Let the rod tip track the fly downstream so the line stays straight to the fly without pulling it.
5. Re-cast rather than salvage. Once the drift is dragging, pick up. A new cast is cheap; a spooked fish is not.

How long should a drift be?

Long enough to cover the lie, no longer. In pocket water a two-second drift through the right seam takes fish; on a slow flat pool a thirty-second drift may be needed because the fly has to travel a long way to reach the fish. Judge it by whether the fly is still dead-drifting, not by the clock.