2 min. video

A couple of minutes of video shot on the Grand today. Don't let those clouds of trikes fool ya. T'was not to be.

Video From August 30th.

Hatch Matching on the cheap.

I’ve often heard it discussed, whether verbally or in text, the high cost associated with getting into fly tying. Besides the assortment of tools one needs just in order to lash feather to steel, there’s the materials needed. One look through a book of patterns will be enough to clue one in on the vast assortment of fur, feather and fabrics that a tier has at his disposal. That list is ever expanding and only limited by ones imagination.

But for the beginner, the vast amounts of materials can be daunting when he gets into the tying game. Fortunately, your not going to have to buy a hackle neck every time you want a new fly. I’m going to recommend a system for trout flies that can allow you to imitate most caddis or mayfly dry, with minimal outlay of cash. This isn’t groundbreaking stuff. Its been covered in many publications by any number of authors………but since it is unlikely that you and I have read the exact same materials, I’ll pass this along for your perusal.

What your going to need.

Dubbing Kit: You can find these made by a number of companies. I use a set from Spirit River I bought well over a decade ago. It was less than 25 bucks for 2 compartmented containers containing 10 colours each. If a color doesn’t exist that I need, blending usually quickly gets the results I’m looking for. Other companies offer similar selections. Flyrite comes to mind.

Wing Material: Deer and Elk Hair. CDC. Snow Shoe Rabbits Foot, Antron/Z-Lon.

You could actually use either or really………I tend to gravitate between the two. You’ll need it in a few different colors to match the wings of the natural. Light tan, Medium Dun, Light dun, White, Black are a few that pop immediately to mind. You don’t wan’t the oiler puffs. The Z-lon if for spent wing spinners. It is also handy for adding trailing shucks to your patterns.

Tailing Materials: Micro Fibbets, Paint Brush, Antron………..

Are two I use. Micro fibbets are inexpensive and come in any number of colors.

Patterns.

For Mayflies, Comaparaduns or CDC Comparaduns. For the Spinners, Spent Wing tied with Z-lon/Antron/S-lon…..CDC Wing Spinner, Usual

For Caddis: Deer/Elk Hair Caddis, X Caddis. CDC/Skitter Caddis.

For tying instructions you folks are far luckier than I was. You having access to this wonderful little tool known as the internet can go on over to you tube and pretty much find instructions for any pattern your immediately going to want. Youtube has a vast treasure ( and trash ) trove of Fly Fishing related videos for you to learn from. On all aspects of the sport, tying aside.

And there you go. You match the colours of the natural ( either through observation or copying others recipes ) with your dubbing, wing and tail materials. As I mentioned before, adding a trailing shuck can help imitate an emerger. The colour of the shuck should be along the lines of the nymph your trying to copy.

Not only are these relatively inexpensive to tie……….they`re also very easy patterns to tie, ideal for beginners. They are also very effective. These patterns will give you what you need to match the hatches you come across, and they will catch fish. From there, you can expand your repertoire outwards. While these are effective patterns, having a variety of ties for the same hatch is never a bad idea. Personally, I like having parachutes ( probably my favourite style of dry )as well in my box to compliment my kit. However, good hackle is certainly not cheap. Snowshoe Rabbits foot is. Not only is it inexpensive, the stuff floats great. It can also be tied as a Comparadun, or as a downwing Caddis. Also makes functional spinner wings to boot. Turkey/Goose Biot’s are also relatively inexpensive and can also bolster your repetoire. You’ll find, this short list of materials, can get you a lot of bang for the buck.

Getting a complex.

So many hatches. So many choices.

Trikes, Bwo's, cranes, the various caddis............. all on the water at once these recent mornings. Dance through the fly box to keep time these days. Trico duns seem to have been over powered by other hatches these last few outings. I'm still managing fish when the spinners hit, but the duns are rather unpopular the last bit. I can't see its because I'm missing on the action. I'm usually on the water pre-dawn, and the trike females usually come off with the first light to my knowledge. Bwo's as well, have been available in decent numbers, but haven't produced that magnificently. Far more productive has been the Crane Fly. If they don't take that after a few good passes, then its time to check the drink to see whats floating by. But the reality is, when I do check, I usually see a mixed bag at any given time. Cranes, Bwo's, Trikes, Crippled caddis.........can all drift by in a 20 second look see. Putting together the rise forms with whats in the floating food floatilla is usually a good starting point. No point in fishing spinners to a splashy rise form now is there? If there is spinners in the drink though..........thats usually a ticket for a few fish.

A 1/2 dozen fish landed over a couple of hours is decent enough I suppose, but a month ago that would have been a dismal performance. Not the same ball game though. I did manage a fish pushing the high teens that was as good as any fish I caught this year. He sucked up a #20 Pennsylvania Tailwater Crane just after sun up.

The white flecks in the pic are Trike spinners, and can be seen better if you click the pic to enlarge.

Be aware, these are my observations. Others can be out at the same time and find a different situation. I have heard of buddies doing well on BWO's on days when Cranes have been my key. Different sections can have different results. What you get here is not an ANSWER. You get a look at my observations and findings. What worked, or didn't work, for ME.

............ :(

So, as you can see by the pic, and vid to follow, there were clouds of spinners in the air during my last outing. Initially I did well moving fish with trico female duns, just as planned. When they stopped producing, on went a male spinner................no dice. So on went a female spinner. Little interest, but nothing to justify the number of fish rising on a steady rhythm. There were caddis........so on went a couple of likely candidates. It wasn't til lthe end of the emergence I finally took the time out to sieve the water for an answer. Whenever I just glanced at the all I saw was trike spinners. But it was BWO's. What a moron.

If I've fished a trike hatch that fish ignored in favour of other fair, I can't remember it. Oh well. Live and learn. Its a bitter bill to swallow though. A great day of fishing missed because I was slow on the draw.

Trico Spinner Cloud vid.

Trike's

The lack of any recent postings does not mean I haven't been angling. The exact opposite. I've been consumed with the Trico's on the Grand.

I suppose it's probably not the easiest hatch to fish. There's a few things you need to know in order to be successful with them. Some obvious, some not so.

Whenever you get into the tiny flies, you encounter a wonderful little nuance known as micro drag. Besides the currents and seams we can see, there are also tiny swirls and jogs we cannot. If you watch tiny naturals on the water, there will be subtle little pauses in their drifts, or they will swirl back against the current, affected by the small variance in current. Tippet material can be to stiff to allow these micro currents to affect our fly as they should. This requires using a very light tippet. 8x being appropriate. Short casts can also help. When I say appropriate tippet strength, the general rule is to divide your fly size 3, and thats your tippet. In example, a size 24 Trico, divided by 3, gives us 8. So 8x.

Precise casting is also a priority. The number of Trikes on the water at one time can be enourmous. Fish do not have to move to find their next meal. If you watch a trout on a steady feed, they will be coming up in exactly the same spot. Being 10" of off its feeding lane will likely not get results when targeting specific fish. Your also going to want to get your fly over top of him in time with his rise rythym. Fish on a steady feed tend to rise in a steady cadence. By timing your presentation with his pattern, your increasing your odds of a hook up.

As far as I know, the hatch tends to work like this. Male duns come of at dusk and late at night. They hang around waiting for the females to show up. I've seen it written that they don't provide much angling opportunity because of it. I really can't speak to that myself. I'm familiar with the morning activity. Then, almost as soon as you have light, you'll get female duns emerging. This will get the fish moving. Fish can be taken in the early stages of the emergence with duns, even before the lock into a steady feed. Not long after they start emerging, after spending sometime streamside and molting, they start forming great clouds of spinners over riffles. There they are joined by the males. After the mating starts, the males hit the drink first. So, in terms of fishing the hatch, you'd prefer to be on the water at dawn, and fish the female duns. Once that stops producing, its onto the male spinners, then the female spinners if the males stop producing.

This is also the time you want to be using your light rods.......2wt, 3wt etc...........Lighter rods protect lighter tippets better. They also allow for a more delicate presentation. Hopefully be out again shortly, taking advantage of this hatch while its hot.

And just like that..........

So you can imagine my consternation when the MC22's were more or less getting ignored. Yeah, I got some fish on them, but nothing that would be justified by the number of fish rising..............and there were lots. There was obviously something different.

It took me awhile to figure out. I kept checking the water, and air. .....and came up with a couple of candidates, but it wasn't till near the end of the session I finally nailed it. Trico's.

Some folks love this hatch, some hate it. I fall into the love it category. I've had some great days fishing this hatch on the (Upper Credit). If I had clued in quicker it would have been another killing spree. As it was I did decent.................but missed out on the majority of the action. Lack of 8x didn't help. I could see the micro drag affecting my drift and there was little I could do to remedy it. This undoubtedly cost me fish.

The picture? Think of that as checking out the web for information. The old fashioned way.

Continuing on a theme...............

The fish on the Grand continue to respond to Micro Caddis. Mind you, they now seem to prefer a 22 to a 20, and 7x tippet seems to be required as well. Weeks back, the whole river was rising to the hatch. Not so much now. Still great fishing though, but the rising fish have certainly thinned. It has been some time since I've had to change to a different pattern. Fish that have been sipping ( as opposed to the splashy rise forms often associated with caddis ) are also usually on the MC's..........just the cripples and dead.

You'll notice the patterns I use are really simple. Deer Hair/Elk Hair, dubbing and antron on the X-Caddis. They're tied onto Tiemco 206BL's #20's. There a curved shank emerger hook. I tie it on the straight part of the hook, making for a slightly smaller pattern. The wide gape does make hook ups far easier than a standard hook.

Yeah man, I'll be out again tomorrow. With a box stuffed full of Deer Hair and X-Caddis MC's. Gears rigged and ready by the door, a 22 on the end.