I find you are on the money with this post. I also fish tail waters and in the summertime it is almost a waste of time using big flies. Around the month of May, I start down sizing the flies I use. When the Sulfur hatch is on, the trout start on the small cycle of flies. Size 20 flies are in order. The Bugger type flies I use will be size 14 and 16. All summer I fish mostly size 16 to 18 flies. Used to fish the sz 20's but too hard to tie them on any more. I tie my soft hackles on sz 14 and 16 scud hooks, this makes them look smaller than they are. My fishing partner ties a red bead head emerger on a sz 20 scud hook and always seems to out fish me. He uses a glass seed bead for the head. A fly that works well for me when the trout are picky is a sz 18 or 20 dry fly hook with a bit of yellow foam for the body and a strand of peacock herl for the shell back. No need to tell you they don't last very long if the trout are active on that fly. I just keep fishing it till it is completely torn up. It seems that the rattier it gets the better it works. Tony
Tom Davenport wrote: > Steve, it really depends on where you are fishing and what the fish are > eating. Tail waters (rivers whose flows are controlled by a dam) > often require smaller flies, and any river that has a large population > of midges will have fish that can be taken by a fly like the Yong > Special. > > My local water (Weber River, Utah) is technically a tail water, and > through trial and error I found that my flies kept getting smaller, and > that I also was catching more fish. > > The best way to fish the weber is to dead drift nymphs through the many > large, deep holes formed by irrigation weirs or rocks obstructing the > flow. Often two or more fishermen will be fishing in the same hole. > On many occasions I have been fishing in one of the holes and been > joined by a stranger who fishes the other side. Typically we will both > be catching fish, but sometimes the other fishermen is being skunked. > I usually find an excuse to move over and see what fly he is using. > Invariably it will be a size 12 Prince Nymph, Hare's Ear or Pheasant > Tail (these are flies always mentioned when talking about "what works" > in this river). > > I'll tie on a size 18 or 20 bead head pheasant tail (tied very simply, > without wing case or legs) and sure enough, the stranger will start > catching fish. > > But I could take that same small fly to the Henry's Fork above Ashton > and catch zip, then tie on the size 12 Prince Nymph and start catching > fish! Of course there is nothing stopping me from attaching that size > 18 BHPT on as a dropper, just in case. And I do. In fact I almost > always fish a small fly as a dropper on a bigger fly, figuring the > bigger fly will attract attention to the smaller. It seems to work for > me. > > The bottom line is you just need to find out the fly, size, and > presentation fish want for the particular location where you are > fishing. > > On Friday, November 14, 2003, at 10:44 PM, Steve Brettell wrote: > > > > > I'm kinda new at this, and I've never fished a fly this small. The > > surprise was that it worked at all. > > --- > > Steve, > > In Maryland > > > > > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________ > > Enter now for a chance to win a 42" Plasma Television! > > http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;6413623;3807821;f?http://mocda1.com/1/c/ > > 563632/113422/313631/313631 > > AOL users go here: > > http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;6413623;3807821;f?http://mocda1.com/1/c/ > > 563632/113422/313631/313631 > > This offer applies to U.S. Residents Only
