To Large Of Hatch??

[flytime]

was back in the kootenays for the week and managed to get out on the columbia river around castlegar for a while. saw fish after fish surfacing for caddis flys. the hatch was so intense that if you opened your mouth you would have one in it. tried every thing i thought possible to match the hatch without luck. seemed like the only way you could catch them is if you placed the fly in their mouths as they were surfacing for their real meal. it may be just me but my casting is not that accurate. what should one try in this situation? or are they just going to be that picky with such a large hatch on??

[Conor]

I know of two options in a situation like that. I'm sure there are more than that, though.

 

First is to put it in the fishes mouth, like you mentioned. Trout get in a groove in a hatch like that. They will rise in a very regular pattern, and won't move more than an inch or two to the side to rise. You can predict where and when they will be rising. Time your drift to be the easiest fly to grab just when the fish is ready to rise.

 

Second is to do something to break the trout's groove and convince it to do something different. A twitch or a swung fly might do it. A unmatched fly, like a terrestrial or some attractor pattern, might do the trick as well. Also, try a different life stage than what they are eating, like an emerger or a cripple.

 

I guess a third option (probably the most sane option) would be to sit on the bank and watch until the hatch thins out.

[Tako]

Happened to me this spring in a huge baetis hatch. After about 20 casts, I finally timed it right and caught the one fish I wanted, 21" rainbow. The only reason I got him (no hatch matcher), was because I put a big fat juicy stimulator within a half inch of his head.

 

Actually, twice. A big brown was rising near the shore on a stocked lake, and I put a #18 adams right beside his next obvious meal (a big drowned dragonfly). I hooked him, then lost him. Fairplay? Probably not.

 

I think the best option is just to put it as close to their feeding lane as possible.

[Guest Jeremie]

i've had this happen a couple times were you can't seem to hook fish that are going nuts over a big hatch i would suggest to use something bigger as when i have done this the fish for some reason will take the bigger thing. ie. i've had size 16 caddis' hatching and gone to a size 8 sedge and caught just about every fish in the pool. But all you have to do is either piss the fish off and it wil strike viciously or put it in the feeding lane and and cast as the fish is about to come up!

 

hope this helps

 

jeremie

[flytime]

thanks for the info

i will try switchin it up a bit with an attractor next time. and pay attention to where they are rising, not so much on how many are rising. instead of throughing flys every which direction whenever one surfaces. im heading back mid august to have another go. i'll keep you informed.

[nebc]

was back in the kootenays for the week and managed to get out on the columbia river around castlegar for a while. saw fish after fish surfacing for caddis flys. the hatch was so intense that if you opened your mouth you would have one in it. tried every thing i thought possible to match the hatch without luck. seemed like the only way you could catch them is if you placed the fly in their mouths as they were surfacing for their real meal. it may be just me but my casting is not that accurate. what should one try in this situation? or are they just going to be that picky with such a large hatch on??

 

Was down on the columbia as well and found the same thing. Went very early in the morning before the hatch began and tried the usual...no luck then but as the water warmed with sunshine the feeding frenzy began with the start of a caddis hatch and had good action for a bit. Drifted from 8:30 pm to 4 am two nights in a row and had good action using black ant flies. One was just under six pounds.