ORIGINAL: Cold

Just when you think you've got their number...the trout show you how little you really know...

I fished some sloooooow water last night, and got only 2 "takes", which I think were really just very polite refusals. In the evening the fish were...kind of rising? They'd get real high in the water, to the point that their dorsal fin, tail, and back in between were all poking out of the water, but their nose was still underneath. Then they'd..."swerve" about 6" to one side or the other, then back down deeper into the water. A minute or so later, and they were back to the top, drying their backs.

Most times, their mouths never did clear the water, so I figured dries were out. I thought maybe emergers of some sort, and DID end up getting one on a slow swung partridge & peacock soft hackle, but they didnt really respond very well to that either.

It seemed pretty weird behavior to me. Any ideas? I also considered "drowning" a dry fly to drift by, but never got around to it.

The last time I fished really slow water like that, I noticed the same thing happening. I read somewhere on here a while back someone letting their dries get pulled by the drift and sink just below the surface. I managed one hookup with the dry on top that night, but the three or four more as the drift pulled the dry under into the swing. One of those I as I was stripping the dry back just under the surface - stripping an inch or so at a time. Maybe it looked like a caddis that fell into the water and was struggling to get back to the top...?

Whatever it was, that was what worked. I kind of liked it since I have such a hard time keeping my dries dry and on top.

ORIGINAL: jimhalupka

I know its out of the ordinary, but how many of you have caught steel on the dry?

Never seen one landed, but I did watch Indsguiz hook up with one last year on a dry (big drake, IIRC). Should have had it too, but it got itself looped around someone else's line. So it can be done.

ORIGINAL: Cold



THEN, the trout that had taken it had held it in his mouth for a good 15 to 30 seconds before I noticed something amiss! How often does that happen?

Every time I loose track of my fly 

That kind of night would (and does) drive me insane. But by the time I got home I'd be laughing.

I never noticed a trout to hold my fly and "sit" in one spot so long either, but other fish do. It reminds me of perch and crappie fishing with live bait. Sit for five minutes without a bite and lift the rod to move it and all of the sudden there is weight on it. But, as you say, with trout, they usually go nuts when they get a hook in 'em.

Heh, the fish is always right.

When I fish one of my favorite holes in Neshannock, the far bank is "far" enough away that it is easy to loose a dry in all the surface decoration. Especially in the early morning it seems. It's a slower moving section of water too. I feel your pain.

ORIGINAL: clinchknot

Here's a weird dry fly moment. Last night I was fishing a local FFO area without much success when I decided to try a #16 Light Cahill. As the fly was drifting normally it suddenly disappeared for no reason. At the end of the swing I picked up for the back cast and noticed something stuck to the fly. Thinking it was a piece of grass I pulled it in and found a 3" fathead minnow had come up and taken the fly! Hooked in the corner of the mouth and everything.   

I've had that happen -- Thinking, "Jeez, I almost gave that little guy the ride of his life!"



(This is actually the very first fish caught on my very first fly rod. A little runt on my 6wt.)

THEN, the trout that had taken it had held it in his mouth for a good 15 to 30 seconds before I noticed something amiss! How often does that happen?

ORIGINAL: Cold

A little update on the timing of the hookset:

Some wait a moment, some set the hook immediately...but I had a real "D'oh!" moment yesterday evening on Indian Creek.

For some reason, it seemed that the fish were either sporadically rising to a consistent hatch or consistently rising to a sporadic hatch. There would be no rises for 15 to 20 minutes, then, for about 5 minutes, there would be a rise every 5-10 seconds from somewhere in the pool. After about 5 minutes, nothing again. I was fishing nymphs at first, but after seeing the flurry of surface activity to something I couldnt see, I tied on a #18 griffiths gnat and got to work.

The water was slow, almost to the point of being stagnant in the pool, which meant alot of "stuff" had collected in the surface film. It's surprising how much of that stuff looks like a #18 griffiths gnat. I found I'd have to stare at my fly constantly, or risk losing it in the mess of other things in the film.

First cast rolled out beautifully, barely rippling the water as the line settled. Almost immediately, splok! A take! I was a little too eager on the hookset and I think I just pulled the fly right out of the fishes mouth, as I felt the weight of the fish for the briefest moment, and then nothing. A moment later, I saw the flash of the disturbed trout heading upstream.

A few false casts and I laid out the fly again. As it settled, I turned to swat a mosquito, but when I looked back I followed my line to a speck that I felt sure was my fly. As it slooooowly made its way to a few trout, another flurry of activity started up. It took a fair bit of discipline not to jump the gun when two trout nearly simultaneously sipped within inches of my fly. I felt sure it'd get bit next. I waited...waited...and waited some more, as the water carried it down toward me.

Suddenly, I realized something wasnt quite right.

The speck was moving, but my leader hadnt moved one bit over the last 15-30 seconds. Confused, I lifted my rod tip slightly...

...and a trout went insane. A headshake later, my fly was, once again, free.

Apparently, in that one moment I'd looked away, I'd confused some other "speck" for my fly, and watched who-knows-what drift down, thinking it was my fly. One of the two rises had indeed been to my fly, but I didnt set the hook because i was watching the wrong speck!

THEN, the trout that had taken it had held it in his mouth for a good 15 to 30 seconds before I noticed something amiss! How often does that happen?

 
Cold, not to bust you out but I recall something like that happening below the projects on Walnut on a rainy afternoon where there wern't any steelhead.

ORIGINAL: Cold

Another question for you guys: any tips on getting a solid hookset with a small fly? I was getting hits on a #22 fly yesterday, but couldnt keep them on the line. They'd strike, I'd set the hook, and after 2-3 headshakes, every single one of them got free. I thought maybe pausing a moment would help, but, of course, they'd have to keep biting to let me test the theory, and of course, they shut off.

Slow and easy raise the rod, apply pressure, not a "set", until it's tight.  keep the pressure on, little room for error with tiny flies.  Losing fish is part o fthe game with small bugs.

try a soft action rod and leave the beginners rip at home.  It will come in time...just keep at it.

ORIGINAL: doubletaper

ok, i'm ready, where you fishing at? i'll show ya how to catch'em.

Cold ,
       I would drive across 4 states to fish with Jerry ; you will not find a more genuine guy to help you with anything ... He thinks like a trout ! Poor fishy bastads' ........ See ya soon DT can't wait to give dem fishes sore lips ............ BTW if I can hook em on a 7 wgt you are gonna have a ball and a lesser feeling of arthritis than I .
 
 

I'm fishing a 4wt...but its glass, so I have time for a quick cup of coffee before I start my forward cast..

I think I'm just getting too excited. Can't put the rod to 'em like I can with a #14. My #22's are 2X fine hooks, though, which should help with the penetration a little. At least I know that my other 2X fine dry hooks out-perform my standard ones about 2-to-1 in terms of successful hooksets in sizes 14 and 18.

ORIGINAL: duncsdad

Did you offset the hook point to the shank?  The small hook gap is sometimes a hinderance.  By bending it outward (without going to the breaking point) it creates a bigger gap.

I usually give em a slight twist sideways (looking down at the hook from above, the point is slightly out of alignment with the shank).

With the standard-wise hooks I do open them up just a bit if I'm having trouble on the hookset, but these light-wire hooks lose alot of durability when you bend them out like that. The only hook I've had straighten on me was one of the light wire hooks that I bent out a little.

Mustad R30...formerly 94833.

ORIGINAL: dano

I had a similar problem with that exact hook. Hook bend opens up too easily. Once they bend, they become even weaker.

I now use Daiichi 1110 straight-eye/big-eye hooks for spinners and parachutes. 1100 for standard dries.

Yep, they're great until it opens up (looking at it from the side...until the shank and point aren't parallel), but once it does, its a matter of time till the hook straightens to the point that its unusable.

dano, are those 1110 and 1100's fine-wire?

Since it's only happened to a handful of flies (5 or 6), and of those, only once due to fish (the others due to trees), I'm inclined to continue using them for their superior hookset results (for me). But if those Daiichis are also fine wire, I might get some of those as well.

Got one on the glass rod yesterday afternoon.

Had a hit on the #22 but he escaped again. Threw that 22 for another 15-20 minutes and I could see the tiny caddis fluttering around over the water, but the trout just didnt seem interested in actually eating them.

Out of ideas, I tied on a big #12 olive wulff I tied up a few days ago. I tossed it out in front of a brown in his feeding lane. He swam up to it, made a lap under it as it slowly drifted, then casually came up and sipped it down. First cast.

Loomis, since your post, I made a trip to a creek I've only fished once before, so I dont know it well. Its a fast, heavy-flow, regardless of most conditions. Once again, I successfully fished that big wulff in lieu of the prevailing tiny caddis that were flying around.

Yesterday, I got the chance to get out and fish with my dad for a few hours. We hit a DHALO section, and since this is only a few days before it gets a fall stocking, we had the place to ourselves. He has no desire to use a fly rod, but in DHALOs he sometimes will fish a fly under a float on his ultralight spinning rod. Yesterday, he was using a "maggot ball" fly I tied for him that had taken trout for him in the past.

While I agreed with the idea that the best action to be had was probably subsurface (no visible hatches or risers), I still wanted to try and persuade a fish or two to come up for me. It was a somewhat breezy day so I left the glass 4wt at home in favor of my 3wt Avid, knowing from past experience that in wind, the crisper action of the 3 more than made up for its lighter line, allowing fairly accurate fly placement in all but the strongest gusts.

Picking out an emergent sparkle caddis, in a #16, I followed dad to the water. I started out upstream from him, and a little time working a deeper run on the far side of the creek only saw me spook a small rainbow that was feeding actively on the bottom, but not at all interested in the surface. One sloppy cast had him skittish. He was still feeding, but every time the line drifted over, he'd dart around. Time to move.

Fishing again in the tailout of a small riffle below my dad I heard him whistle and looked up to see he had a fish on. He'd been fishing in a deep slow section that usually holds several of the bigger trout in the stream, and from the way the rod was bent, I thought he might have a big fish on. As it turned out, he'd hooked into a small, but scrappy smallmouth. Still, smallies are fun, and he was happy for the catch.

Not 5 minutes later, I saw movement in the water, and a small, but beautiful rainbow rose form the bottom and took my fly just like the books say they're supposed to: shift slightly to align with the fly, nose up into the surface current, sip, and dive. A quick fight and a small female came to the net.

A while later, dad made his way down to where I was still fishing the tailout, and as we talked, I fished a tight area: trout, in the past, usually held within 2 feet of the opposite bank, under low-hanging branches and just ahead of a partially submerged bush. Only about 1 in 3 of my attempts got the fly in the correct drift (too short, and it was in the fast current). Finally, as we talked, I saw a nose come up and pick my fly from the top.

It was probably the best fighting fish I've had since May, and a 15-16" rainbow was the result. Probably in the top 10 for size of trout this year, and top 3 on dries. He had some of the best color I've ever seen in a rainbow too, which was nice, with a bright pink stripe that looked painted on, no worn down fins at all, and the fins themselves were a deep pink, with some darker spots and a lighter band on the leading edges. It was a big, healthy fish that fought hard for a long time, and after the catch, took time to catch his breath, then swam away strong, right into the fast water, where he started feeding on nymphs within a few minutes. He certainly looked like he'd been eating well all summer.

Later on, I managed one more fish, a smaller, lighter brown, and then we headed home. A great afternoon on the water with my dad, and a great way to get us in the fishing mood before we make our first trip to Erie this weekend.

One thing I noticed, however, was how, in sharp contrast to the summer dry fly fishing I'd done, these fish seemed far more casual and deliberate when taking the fly. If they were fresh off the truck it might make more sense, but these are fish that have been pressured since April. I'm not sure if it was due to the cooler temps, maybe some underwater caddis activity, or even a difference from the browns I'd been catching to the two rainbows I caught yesterday (didnt see the small brown's rise).

Its just that all summer, the fish were very cautious in their surface takes, but these two, when they got the drift they wanted, had no second thoughts.

So what do the experienced dry fly fishers think? More comfortable trout? Different species? The right fly? Improving at my drift? Just one of those good days?