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Selecting the right pattern can be a frustrating event. We have all been in the situation where the trout are actively feeding and you do not, or can not see what is the bug-o-choice. I have found in most situations that it is presentation and size that will get results, other than an exacting imitation of the bug. Here are some tips that can help you decide what fly to choose and when. HOW a fish is feeding can tell you alot about WHAT a fish is feeding on. You are on a slow moving body of water and there are heads quietly poking through the surface film sipping insects. Most likely may flies. Duns or spinners will fall to the water and have no escape mechanism. Fish know this and will act accordingly. Spinner falls will trigger feeding hysteria with intervals between rise forms sometimes only seconds apart. Duns spiraling in an eddy will also have the same rise form, only the takes will be slower and longer between rises. The sun is just peaking over the top of the ridge and trout are beginning to make loud splashy takes sometimes leaving the water. Most likely a caddis fly emergence, or Troutzilla looking for breakfast. Many caddis swim to the surface during emergence. The trout will hit them quickly before they clear the surface film, hence the aggressive behavior. |
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The surface of the high desert lake is glassy. There are periodic splashy rises, but you do not see any winged insects except for a cloud of black midges above. Try a chironomid pupa. As the insect rises in the water column they may be shedding their shuck before emergence. The trout glide along the bottom in the flats of the lake, eyes looking upward. They key on the movement the insect makes while removing itself from the shuck. The fish skyrockets upwards turning at the last moment after snatching up the helpless pupa. Small bugs, hard takes. It is cloudy, dark and windy. You may be on any body of water. Nothing going on that you can see. Try a streamer pattern. A baitfish imitation. What color and size you ask? A good rule of thumb...Dark day, dark color. Bright day, bright color. Higher background contrast. Larger patterns will produce on these days. Big trout and wild fish are photo-sensitive to sunlight. It is well documented that big browns feed nocturnally. Dark days are great for big dark baitfish patterns. Bright sunny day, you may want to try something with crystal flash in the pattern. Drop a hook size or so for this situation. Silver or gold tinsel bodied flies work well on sunny bright days. We can get very technical about this also. Examining the undersides of streambed rocks for nymphs, seeing what is holding in the vegetation along the banks, using a specimen net to skim the water for exacting information. Pumping the trout's stomach is the fun...You got to catch one first is the problem! Hope this will help you out a little when you have a problem deciding what pattern to use. Be the fly...Tom Loe |
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