Question From A Rookie

[relk19]

I was out at a local pond in Lethbridge the other day. Lots of little fish rising, saw lots of BWO on the water, threw one on myself and started casting. I would get a bunch of nibbles (pretty much every cast), but the fish would never take it. Its my first year fly fishing, and I haven't ran into a situation like this before. Are they swimming up to inspect the fly, and then simply not taking it? Are they too small to swallow it enough for me to set the hook? I am just a little perplexed at the moment, looking for some advice.

 

In terms of the fly, I was using a size 18 BWO. The ones I was able to catch on the water were smaller, probably size 20, maybe even 22. Could that be the case? Thanks for any help!

[maxwell]

are you striking on the rise or letting te fish take it down? my gues would be your to fast and pulling the fly away you need to strike post rise let the fish close his mouth then strike that is a small fly fish down to 2" should be able to fit we in there mouth could be refusals to but I your striking on the rise I think you need to wait a second seems odd but give it a go! good luck

[jtaylor]

If I have matched the hatch and getting refused, I usually go smaller and for the most part it works out.

[RCable]

You could also drop down a tippet size, go from 4x to 5x for example. It's a trick that's worked for me in the past in similar situations.

[relk19]

are you striking on the rise or letting te fish take it down? my gues would be your to fast and pulling the fly away you need to strike post rise let the fish close his mouth then strike that is a small fly fish down to 2" should be able to fit we in there mouth could be refusals to but I your striking on the rise I think you need to wait a second seems odd but give it a go! good luck

 

At first, I was striking on the rise. Then i decided to see what was happening, and they would approach it, but it doesn't seem like they take it. Its as if they are nudging it over and over. Ill go out and buy some smaller BWO, see if that makes a difference.

[DaveJensen]

I'm not sure if those are blue winged olives. They could have come from the river but if their wings are laying flat on the body vs upright like tents, then they are most likely midges. And I bet they might be #24. You might try going with a small Elk Hair Caddis and tying a 6" dropper with a small / tiny copper john or copper wire midge. The Elk Hair might get a take or two, but use it more as a light landing indicator. Cast in the vicinity of the risers and let it sit. Dead. Still. Avoid the bigger indicators in that kind of fishing to avoid spooking what's nearby - and you might be surprised what's actually there (or not!).

[DonAndersen]

Rely 19,

 

There are two species of mayflies that your mystery bug may have been

If your mayfly was about # 26 or smaller and a very light colour bordering white, it was likely a Caenis. Where Caenis do exist, their populations will be vey high. I have never had a lot of luck fishing this hatch do to what I suspect is a natural very 6 square inches.

Another late season mayfly are Baetius commonly called BWO's by most anglers. The Baetius typically found are Callibaetius but very late in the year a very much smaller Baetius appears that is quite similar to their stream cousins. I typically use #20's tied parachute style for this hatch.

I suspect that your imitation was just too large getting you refusals. Matching this tiny of a fly to a 5 or 6x tippet should help.

 

 

Good luck - late season mayflies can be a plague.

 

Regards,

 

 

Don