Catching Selective Fish

[wongrs]

so, when i arrive at a hole my typical rule of thumb is to fish big flies first like stimmies and if i don't catch anything from a pool then i decrease in size until i'm at an 18-20 olive/black/grey parachute adams.

 

question: if a fish is willing to rise (it may not have risen thus far) then it will always come up for a small parachute adams. if it won't come up for a #20 parachute adams, then i'm wasting my time and i should get the nymphs/streamers. true or false?

 

i know some like to use flies in the 22-28 range. unfortunately i don't fall into this category.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

false...Fish could just not be interested in this parachute, and more interested in a big morsel (especially if they're abundant..)

 

Case in point:

Fishing the oldman with my dad a couple years ago, and i had the same thought process. So i went straight to a 16 adams while he went to a size 8 dave's hopper. He fished all the pools behind me, and caught at least 4-5 times of how many i caught, and he was fishing the pools after i went through them..

 

Plus, isnt it more fun when they smoke something huge!?!

 

Or, you can get to your spot, sit down and watch the water, see what bugs are on, any rises, anything. If so, no need to waste your time tossing the 'wrong' fly, or chancing spooking the next trophy!

[DutchDryfly]

so, when i arrive at a hole my typical rule of thumb is to fish big flies first like stimmies and if i don't catch anything from a pool then i decrease in size until i'm at an 18-20 olive/black/grey parachute adams.

 

question: if a fish is willing to rise (it may not have risen thus far) then it will always come up for a small parachute adams. if it won't come up for a #20 parachute adams, then i'm wasting my time and i should get the nymphs/streamers. true or false?

 

i know some like to use flies in the 22-28 range. unfortunately i don't fall into this category.

 

That is exactly what I do. I have one motto when flyfishing which served me over the years : "When in doubt, use an Adams."

I also never go smaller then a size 18, that would be sufficient.

[ben]

Hi Rob,

 

Aren't you supposed to be in Alberta........?

I understood your job might not allow that, but did not hear about the outcome.

 

Regards,

Ben

[DutchDryfly]

Ben,

 

My vacation was cancelled by the boss, so no Alberta for me this year.

Already looking for next year, found a great offer that will be looked at after my week in Austria. (Which was granted by the boss.)

 

Rob

[lonefisher]

not sure whether we are speaking about a specific species or not but that plays a part in my fly selection...... so does time of year, hatches that are happening, hatches that could be happening, temperature, wind, the amount of activity the fish are displaying..... I won't through a stimmi if I can tell fish are taking BWO's or fish a caddis when all I see is stoneflies..... However I do try and look past the obvious hatch and see if the fish are taking a different insect hatching in smaller numbers....... Some days you see amazing amounts of 1 type of insect (usually small flies) only to discover they are being completely ignored and the fish are taking a different insect (usually a larger one) that might appear to be 1 in 100 or 1 in 1000 to the others....... I feel there are far to many factors involved to set any sort of rigid game plan when it comes to fly selection...... especially when fishing for browns..... With browns I like to know that what I am about to throw is what they are eating right now..... there are to many big browns who do not give you a second chance......

[wongrs]

perhaps i should clarify. you show up at a hole. there's nothing rising. there's no bugs. there's zero activity. i'd rather catch a fish on a dry than anything else. so i start with as big a fly as acceptable for that type of water (say a size 8 stimulator). if nothing, then i go down in size to say a size 10 drake, then down to a 12 caddis/adams, 14 caddis/adams, until i reach a #20 adams or peacock caddis or whatever. once i'm down this far and the fish still refuse, then does that mean that they will not rise for anything.

 

i guess i've already answered my question as i've already thrown every dry at them that i have. it's a lame question in hindsight.

[lonefisher]

not really just a lame question just one that is too heavily dependant on some different variables..... But I see the point of the question..... but i would almost reccomend if you plan on trying every fly until one works I would start small with a long leader and work up to the bigger stuff. Why? Because a small fly on a long leader will be less likely to spook them. If a hole has some smarter fish and you start with a 2 inch stonefly dry and spook them with it they will possibly not turn back on to the smaller flies..... whereas the other way around with a small fly you may not spook them out of feeding unless you really start thrashing the water.... either way I believe a lot of the best fish are first cast or not at all..... even big cutts sometimes. Thats why I would atleast try and base my first dryfly choice (on a day like you descibed) on the hatch that is most common on a stream or river for that time of year and the days conditions..... From there I work through a mental list of hatches that I could potentially see..... Also I have to say if you see no surface action whatsoever...... go subsurface as there is a very high probability that they simply will not feed on the surface......I flyfish nearly year round if I can find the open water and though I do take advantage of the dry flys ops when they are there I believe that 75%+ of the year the subsurface fishing will be the only consistent producer..... I have tricked a fair number of winter browns, whiteys, and rainbow to the surface but honestly nowhere near as many as subsurface....... So I don't let it bug me when I find the subsurface fishing better..... I just do what produces and I find that a light take a good eye and a nice hookset on a nymph rig can be as rewarding or moreso then a dryfly take...... same with a well presented streamer..... the czech style nymphing without an indicator by feel like the TM does can be the most rewarding as you feel somewhat like a jedi picking up on the lightest takes in fast water simply by the tension on the line...... I don't look down on any forms of flyfishing as inferior to another..... they all take skill and they all reward style, technique, discipline, and planning.......

 

Oh and yeah I am no pro these are just my opinions

[Guest rusty]

That's a tough call, because to me it totally depends on the water.

 

If you're talking about cutts, then I'd tend to agree - but it's possible that the only reason they aren't coming up is because they're spooked. Like Gierach says, they may not have disappeared, but they might as well have. Remember that if you can see the fish, odds are it can see you. Best bet is to mark its location, get out of sight and give it 10 minutes. Depending on the depth of water, etc, you might find that the tiny fly is not necessary.

 

However, if you fish the big name rivers in the US or even the Crow sometimes, the fly just has to be perfect or close to it. I had a day on the Missouri a few years back when a #18 wouldn't even be looked at but a #20 took 6 fish in 6 casts.

[Conor]

i guess i've already answered my question as i've already thrown every dry at them that i have. it's a lame question in hindsight.

 

LOL

 

Not true, though. A good presentation with the wrong fly will work better then a bad one with the perfect fly.

 

Some of the AB old-timers will fish cutty streams with just one or two patterns in one or two sizes. I guarantee they would fish circles around me with a full arsenal of flies.

[Shuck]

Hi, i have a question about bull trout. How do you know what water could be holding a bull trout im fairly new to fly fishing and any information on them and how to catch one would be appreciated thx.

Shuck

[ladystrange]

here is my 2 cents for what it is worth...

 

when everything that should work doesnt, try the ugliest, worst looking, ratty, most god awful thing in your case (size 14 - 16) that is similar to the perfect, beautiful dry flies you have been using.

 

if that doesn't work, try something completely wrong that shouldnt work at all for whatever body of water you are in and the fish that are there.

 

it's the monty python theory...

 

"And Now For Something Completely Different!"

 

be damned if it doesnt work 99% of the time. if it still doesnt work, give up and go to the bar, it's been a long and frustrating day. you need a drink

[fishfreak]

Hey wongrs,

 

This happened to me recently on the Highwood. We were fishing this one deep pool and there were a couple of risers at the tail that were constantly going up for something. Since they weren't going for my big hopper, I tried a caddis. I caught a different fish with it, but not the ones that kept coming up. I noticed some smaller mayflies out, so I tried a PMD but no luck. I switched to a size 18 parachute adams, which made them interested, but not enough to take the fly. Times like this, I tend to reach for a size 18 griffiths gnat, as it appears smaller than it actually is. I finally caught that fish, an 18" cutt. Sometimes a size 18 parachute adams doesn't work on the most selective of flies. It was the same case on a cutty lake I was at earlier this summer.

 

I can't speak for anyone else, as all situations are different, but if this happened to me again, I would try the gnat as a last resort. If the fish doesn't go for the gnat, then I'd walk away and come back to it later.