Fly Fishing For Trout Archives

Fly Fishing Midge Dry Flies in the Winter

29 Aug

0 212 Post by Nick DelVecchio

When anglers think of winter fly fishing, it’s not often that dry flies come to mind.

Rare is the January or February day when we ditch weights and indicators in favor of fly float and parachute dries. They do happen, however, and the ambitious fly fisher can catch trout on dries throughout the coldest season with a little extra care and a tweak of tactics. The start of this change usually has to do with the type of insect we are trying to match, which in this case is the midge!

See It

Midges dominate the winter in most trout streams around the country. While many anglers focus their efforts on nymphs, it’s possible to catch fish using dries! One of the great challenges of fishing midge dries, and a major deterrent for fishing them is how small they are. Colors typically range from brown to black, with maybe just a white thrown in. Once flies of those shades are on the water they vanish. We are left squinting wondering where our fly is and how the heck we will detect a hit.

The good news about using midge dry flies in winter is the competition from naturals is limited. During blanket hatches of summer, our fly can get totally lost in a sea of bugs which creates a problem in its own right. Even if our midge dry has seemingly vanished, look for any rise in the water being fished. Since there aren’t many other bugs around, set the hook on any dimple that looks suspicious. More often than not the result will be a fish on our line!

Fly Choice

Despite our best efforts, it's still borderline impossible to see those tiny flies on the water. In these situations, our fly selection can be a huge help! Most anglers have a variety of Adams in their dry fly box. This is a favorite pattern to use throughout winter and a small version of it with a parachute can really help our visibility issues. In fact, any midge imitation with a parachute should be brought along during these cold months. If the white parachute post is still not enough, bring a pink or red sharpie along and color in the post to give your fly a color that’s easy to spot.

Another fly choice strategy that can help us involves using multiple flies. If fish are keying in on a midge in really small sizes, say #26 or smaller, it can be helpful to use a double dry setup. In these cases tie on a Parachute Adams in a “larger” size #20 or whatever is the smallest that we can still see. Then, tie on a section of 6X or 7X with a size #26 griffins gnat trailing behind. The trailing fly will be difficult to see, but watch the larger point fly and set on any rise within the vicinity!

Where To Fish

Since our fly choice is centered around small offerings, faster water can be impossible to effectively fish with dries. It can be productive to focus on slower water where we have time to spot our fly as it moves through the drift. This is also beneficial because trout tend to hold in slower water throughout winter. Taking the time to meticulously work slower water will allow us to focus our efforts where the trout are in a way that makes it possible to see and fish our flies.

Categories: Dry Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing For Trout, How to Fly Fish, Learn By Technique, Winter Fly Fishing

Fly Fishing Cicada Hatches

29 Aug

0 111 Post by Nathaniel Treichler

A good bug hatch is always a welcomed occurrence for fly-fishers. Very few hatches however, are backed by the anticipation surrounding what thousands of eager anglers will experience this summer. Starting in mid-May, and lasting through the early days of July, the Brood X cicadas will emerge.

Brood X cicadas were born underground in 2004, and are one of 12 broods with a 17-year life cycle. They’ve spent all this time beneath the earth feeding, tunneling, and preparing for the final stage of their lives. Once they surface, Brood X will spend approximately six weeks above ground droning their mating songs before dying and falling back to the earth, or better yet, the water.

Known scientifically by the name, Magicicada septendecim, the insect’s black thorax is highlighted by the reddish tint of its eyes and wing veins. Emergences are expected in 15 states including Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.

When cicadas hatch, the fish are ready. Trout, carp, striped bass, catfish, smallmouth and largemouth bass will all actively target cicadas, which provides some very exciting opportunities for fishing on the surface. The best part of cicada fishing is its simplicity. If you find the bugs, you’ll find the fish. Here are five tips for fly fishing a cicada hatch.

Seek the trees

While above ground, cicadas will cling to trees to feed, call, and mate. As they die they fall from the branches and expire on the terrain beneath. Trees that overhang streams, rivers, and still waters will discard the dying cicadas on the waters below, resulting in a fish feeding frenzy. Avoid open water and treeless banks.

Beef Up Your Tippet

You want a heavier leader or tippet than you would throw for other dry fly and surface presentations. Cicada patterns are large and wind resistant, and you’ll be targeting larger fish that are feeding aggressively. The presentation will have little relevance, fish are often fighting over these bugs, so use 3x tippet or heavier if needed.

Give it a Twitch

Cicadas will often end up in the water before they’ve fully expired. Their fading twitches and buzzes can really liven up a quiet pool. If you find yourself in a section where cicadas are present but not plentiful, and the fish don’t seem to be feeding, twitch the fly and give it some action to inspire a strike.

Fish Above and Below

The topwater action can be great when fishing a cicada pattern, but you may be able to entice even the largest fish to feed below the surface. Submerge a floating pattern with some split shot on the leader and target areas with moving water to attract large warm water fish.

Don’t be Shy

Cicadas are chubby bugs and are often one inch or bigger in size, so don’t be afraid of making a sizable splat when presenting the fly. Fish aren’t looking for a delicate presentation as they target these insects. So relax, let it fly, and have some fun tossing these bugs.

If you don’t have any cicada replicas in your box, don’t fret. Large, dark colored terrestrial patterns will suffice. If you’re on the water in the next few weeks and see or hear cicadas around, grab your biggest bug and try your luck.

Fishing during the Brood X emergence should last a few more weeks, but if you aren’t able to capitalize on the hatch this year, don’t worry. The next 17-year brood, Brood XIV, is set to break ground in 2025, and anglers from the midwest to the east coast will have a chance to fish the next 13-year brood, Brood XIX, in 2024.

Categories: Fly Fishing For Trout, How to Fly Fish, Summer Fly Fishing

Fly Fishing Scuds And Sowbugs For Trout

29 Aug

0 187 Post by Justin Hunold

There are times of the year when an angler may go to the water anticipating catching fish in a particular way and it just doesn’t happen. This can be especially true during the colder fall, winter, and early spring months. These times are the perfect time to tie on one of two different flies and give them a shot. Scuds and Sowbugs are great year-round baits. These are the basics of these flies and the best ways to fish them.

Scuds

Scuds are small crustaceans, freshwater shrimp, and they are present in the water year-round. They molt multiple times a year and are a big source of protein for trout. So, when the bite on other nymphs is non-existent and the fish are turning their noses up at streamers, turn to a scud. They also produce very well on still bodies of water like lakes, or ponds. Scuds also help an angler who may not have experience in that body of water catch fish efficiently without needing to drill down on matching the hatch nearly as much. The bottom line is in the cold months you will find my line loaded with a scud when venturing to new water, and my box with a lot of Scud Flies when fishing any stretch of river.

Sowbugs

Sowbugs are less like shrimp and more like a doodlebug. Turn over just about any rock looking for stonefly or mayfly nymphs and you likely find Sowbugs. They are again present year-round, constantly floating up and down the water column. These are another great pattern to swing past trout species during all times of year, but they really shine during the colder times.

Technique

If you’re successful at fishing nymphs that’s great news, you’ll probably be successful at fishing Scuds and Sowbugs as well. The ways to fish them are the same as nymphing, most folks will run an indicator and shot. These flies can be drifted through feeding or resting lies and cover watching for movement in the indicator’s float. Generally, both of these patterns excel in deeper water and probing shelves and other changes in bottom features. Anglers should adjust weight and indicator placement to try and get these flies on or very near to the bottom. Very often anglers choose to run these as a two-fly set up with a dropper line running below the indicator and another bigger fly on the end or bottom of the line.

Another way to run these flies is on a sinking line. This is great for truly finicky fish because the drift will be more natural. When running sinking lines a more natural strip can be imparted as well as a hand twist retrieve. A bit of small movement goes a long way. These aren’t big creatures so the movements are very small and very subtle, strip a few inches at a time.

Patterns

A few things to remember, size may matter more than color in these patterns. Scuds are constantly molting, six to seven times a year, so this can be the matching that has to happen to optimize the fly. Where color tends to come into play is on the Sowbug side, colors may greatly vary by the body of water or time of year.

Bead Headed Scud is where it’s at for me, if I was pinned down to one actual pattern for this fly the simple this would be it. Tied in a natural hue, I would toss this and have plenty of backups in multiple sizes. Remember I’m trying to get this as close or as far into cover as possible.

As far as Sowbug patterns go I stick to famous musicians, I like Ray Charles or a UV Eddie Vedder. The second one is named after the singer and guitar player of my all-time favorite band, so take that with a grain of salt, but The Ray Charles is the classic Sowbug. I would lean on a smaller choice of sizes on these and diversify on the colors for sure. Remember a dull natural color can always draw a strike in a pinch though.

These are year-round, everywhere producers. No fly box is complete without Scuds and Sowbugs and no skunks should be accepted without giving these a few drifts before the end of the day. Everyone likes some good old-fashioned seafood.

Categories: Fly Fishing For Trout, How to Fly Fish, Learn By Technique, Nymphing

Why Am I Not Catching Any Fish Fly Fishing?

18 Aug

0 251 Post by Nathaniel Treichler

When nothing is working.

You could be doing everything right and still have no luck catching anything. Sometimes matching the hatch and making near-perfect casts doesn't guarantee landing a fish. However, there are a few fly fishing tactics that you can do to maximize your efforts and improve your chances drastically.

Keep moving and cover more water

Your best fishing will come from fish having no idea that you are present and, thus, sense no threat. Their guard will be down and allow them to comfortably feed per usual. It often comes down to your 1st cast. Some streams are extremely sensitive, and one poor cast could spook an entire pod of fish.

You could be doing everything right and still catch nothing. It could come down to just overfishing the same hole over and over again. Your best bet is to keep moving upstream or downstream to the next pool and try your chances there. What's not working now may work in the next pool.

Don't make the mistake of discounting an open stretch of water just because it simply doesn't look like it would hold fish. It only takes a few seconds to make a cast or two. You never know where your personal best will be. Sometimes trout break from the typical pool to slower slack water or faster riffles for feeding. You'll usually find loner trout hunkered down in seams where food is funneled directly into their path. Exposed roots, fallen limbs, boulders, undercut banks, and shorelines are great examples of where trout will gorge themselves on insects being funneled into tiny channels that they have to themselves.

Change your fly.

Changing your fly is a simple solution. The goal should be to narrow down your fly selection to what you suspect trout are eating. Start out with your favorite go-to patterns and then dial it in based on what feeding activity and insect activity you see around you.

When You're Heading In The Right Direction:

Trout rises to your fly, but turns away last second.
Insects that resemble your fly are swarming the surface.
Trout are rising steadily in the pool.

You can also double up with a multi-fly rig to test 2 different fly choices at the same time. One might perform better than the other, which allows you to double up with two -- doubling your chances. For example, you may tie on a size #16 Adams Parachute (imitating a wide variety of mayflies) and a size #16 Elk Hair Caddis (imitating a wide variety of adult caddis flies), and the Adams Parachute ended up turning heads and getting a few bites. Great! Now you can double up on the Adams Parachute or try another mayfly pattern by removing the Elk Hair Caddis. You just doubled your odds.

Go deep. Use nymphs.

While this may not be overly effective in shallow small stream systems, nymphing may be the only thing that works. Over 80% of a fish's diet is subsurface, meaning nymphs, baitfish and minnows, larvae, and pupae. Read more on what nymphs are here.

When nothing works, aim for the bottom. The current on the bottom of the stream is actually slower due to the friction caused by the water moving over the bottom. This is an ideal place for fish to lie low and feed without expending too much energy. All you have to do is get your flies rolling near the bottom.

Focus on the quality of your presentation.

Poor presentations mean poor line control, which means excessive drag. If your fly is moving differently through the water than all the other naturals, trout sense the difference and will avoid it like the plague. Learn how to present your dry flies here. It’s not that trout can spot the line and that you need to use thinner leaders and tippets that they can’t see, it’s that thinner tippets aren’t as stiff which means it moves more naturally. Trout will see it no matter what, no matter the thickness. Let me tell you a quick story.

Many years ago I spoke with a fishing buddy who proved this theory correct. First, he took his hopper pattern and cast it out perfectly into a seam that he knew held trout --- nothing took after multiple seemingly perfect drifts. Next, he took a 6-inch section of 1x tippet and strung it through a grasshopper he caught on the streamside. Then he tossed it out back into the same stretch of water and watched it twist, pivot, and float a few feet downstream before a large brown took the whole thing on the first run. That section of tippet was obvious on the surface and easily seen, just like his identical hopper pattern, the difference was that it moved naturally -- just like how the trout expects it too. It came down to having a better presentation that made the grasshopper meal undeniable.

To achieve a natural drift -- mend, mend, mend. Learn how to control and move your line against or with the current to avoid drag.

Categories: Fly Fishing For Trout, How to Fly Fish

How Do You Approach A Trout Stream?

17 Aug

0 121 Post by Nathaniel Treichler

When you see visible signs of trout feeding on the surface don't immediately make a beeline for the water's edge. Your most definitely going to push them away and pause them from feeding. Trout can see quite well directly on their sides about 90 degrees front-to-back. The best places for you to approach a trout are from the front or from behind. This means you'll need to be proficient in downstream casting upstream casts.

Approach with a light footstep has trout under the bank or near the shorelines can feel the vibrations of your foot.
Wearing clothes that match the skyline or the surrounding brush is always a good idea to help you blend in.
Approach slowly and carefully keeping an eye on the trout you're looking to cast to.

While unfortunate, if you do spook the trout just wait a couple of minutes and they will return to actively feeding. I have heard many times of fly anglers crawling into the pool that they are looking to cast into and, simply, waited for the fish to return. Then, they were able to make short casts just a few feet in front of them to land some trout. Of course, this is an extreme example but often wait for trout to return from afar before casting again with great success. If you don't act like a threat, they will soon rule you out -- well, at least for low-pressure streams.

Hatch Schedules

Some of the best spring and summer hatches occur before noon between 7:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. You'll typically find trout rising just below the surface to midge larvae in the sun's warmth. When temperatures rise quickly in the summer you will want to go earlier in earlier to find these hatches.

Categories: Finding Fish, Fly Fishing For Trout, How to Fly Fish, Learn By Technique

Is Euro Nymphing Easy?

17 Aug

0 112 Post by Nathaniel Treichler

Euro nymphing is not as easy as watching a strike indicator plunge under the surface at every strike, but not by much. However, Euro nymphing is definitely more effective and, arguably, more entertaining due to the attentive nature you need to do it effectively.

I would say that dry fly fishing is more difficult to master than euro nymphing or tight line nymphing. To start euro nymphing, you do not need to memorize the technical details that experts know to get the job done, such as bead size, bead weight, hook gaps, and leader length or thickness. Nor, do you need to be proficient at casting or mending as you do with fly fishing dry flies.

To give you an idea of a basic euro nymphing cast, it’s more swinging the weight of your fly or flies and a flick than a back-and-forth cast. With tight line nymphing, your leader and fly rig does not have the same thickness as a typical tapered leader you would get at the store or online. The euro leader is made up of multiple sections that vary marginally in thickness and is constructed by thin, flexible monofilament and fluorocarbon sections. It is designed for short casts and reaching into pockets.

More on Euro Nymphing:

Categories: Fly Fishing For Trout, How to Fly Fish, Learn By Technique, Nymphing

Why Should I Use A Euro Leader?

17 Aug

0 111 Post by Nathaniel Treichler

Why? Literally, every reason is a huge bonus compared to not using a hand-crafted European nymphing leader. The leader is specifically designed for maximizing your nymphing for strikes and feeling takes.

Overall, here are a few great reasons why you should be using a euro nymphing leader versus a traditional tapered leader.

Increased Hook-Ups

This belief is a little deceiving because European leaders do help you catch more fish, but it is more than likely your ability to feel every little take compared to before. You could have missed 5 out of 10 hits on a traditional leader modified for nymphing compared to 9 out of 10 on the euro rig. The thickness of the line used in the euro rig is much thinner and much more sensitive to movement and strikes.

Faster Sink Rate

Because a European nymphing line is inherently thinner by design, they do not have as much drag or resistance when moving through the water. Therefore, your nymphs are restricted less and sink faster against the current. Another benefit of line thickness is that the presentation is more natural and drifts freely within the current rather than being unnaturally stiff.

Easier To See With Sight Indicator

While Euro nymphing leaders provide more sensitivity to the point where you can literally feel the nymph dragging, banging against the bottom, and every strike, your ability to see in low and bright light situations only increases your chances. Euro nymphing leaders, typically, have a section of neon green and neon red built into the lower section of the leader. This provides a distinguishable indicator for strikes when the line goes from having a small amount of slack to a tight, resisting line.

Tippet Rings Make Changing Line Fast

We usually add a section of fluorocarbon as the tippet to tie our nymphs to extending from the smooth edges of the tippet ring. In our worst-case scenario, snagging on something and needing to snap it off, we can be back to fishing within a minute or two after tying new sections on and a new set of flies. Otherwise, we can quickly switch out flies or entire rigs with a simple clinch knot to the ring.

Cons To Consider

Euro nymphing rigs are prohibited over a certain leader length in the artificial fly-only sections -- depending on the state and local regulations. In many cases, commissioners have taken out a measuring tape to measure leaders if they feel it may be too comparable to monofilament conventional tackle lines.

Additionally, euro nymphing leaders are more difficult to cast as the thickness and stiffness of lines you’re used to fishing will not be present. However, this is by design as tight-line nymphing is not meant to reach more than 2x your fly rod length. With euro nymphing leaders, you’re largely swinging the weight of your flies and relying less on the weight of your line to cast.

Conclusion

With all things considered, you’re leaving a lot of room for improvement on the table when you’re not fishing a euro leader. You will dramatically notice the difference in your sensitivity to strikes, dings, and bumps below the surface. Personally, I carry two reels at all times in my pack -- one with a euro leader on the spool for nymphs and one with a normal tapered leader for everything else.

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Categories: Fly Fishing For Trout, How to Fly Fish, Learn By Technique, Nymphing, Winter Fly Fishing

Tips for Using Sinking Lines and Leaders

11 Aug

0 288 Post by Nick DelVecchio

When you pass a deep pool with no bottom in sight, there’s always the wandering thought of what could be down there in the depths.

There’s no imagination required for those comfortable with sinking lines and leaders! These great tools should be utilized by all anglers in an effort to better cover water and more thoroughly explore holes and deep runs that might not be accessible with a floating line. It’s a relatively easy concept when using these setups since the goal is to get a fly down to the desired depth. The real world application of sinking lines and leaders can be a bit more daunting, though. Here are a few tips to help make the challenge a bit more manageable!

Sinking Tip Line

A sinking tip line is essentially just what the name says: a section of the fly line is weighted and sinks down at a certain rate. Sometimes the sinking portion can be a few feet or it can be upwards of 20 feet. When looking at purchasing a sinking tip line, the faster the sink rate the heavier the weight is. Most anglers who use sinking tip lines are fishing bigger rivers that feature pools that aren’t fishable with a floating line. For those fishing from a boat, it’s a great strategy to have two rods rigged up, one with a sink tip and one with a traditional floating line. If the float is fast enough, there typically isn’t enough time to switch reel spools and totally re-rig the setup, so having both rods at the ready can save time and produce more fish.

Full Sink Line

Full sinking lines are most often utilized by anglers who frequent stillwaters. Even the deepest pools of a river usually can’t even sniff the same depth of a lake, meaning your flies have to get down to depths not usually found in moving water. While sink rate is still important in these situations, something that really helps is the luxury of time found without fast current. If it takes your flies ten seconds to drop down to the desired depth, that’s okay! The same time frame in a river might mean your flies are all the way through the targeted area, making the cast and drift ineffective. Having a full sinking line is quite the commitment, however. For this reason a faster sink rate isn’t as critical as other situations. If you’re fishing stillwater for trout, odds are at some point there will be a hatch and fish feeding on the surface. To be ready for these scenarios, carry two reel spools with you at all times. The first obviously has the full sink line, but the other can have a floating line to fish dries or dry-dropper.

Sinking Leaders

Using a sinking leader is a phenomenal way to cover those deeper areas of a stream without fully committing to a new reel spool. This setup might not be best for depths of ten feet or more, but it’s certainly capable of getting a streamer down in a hurry in heavy water where anglers don’t have the ability to wait several seconds for the fly to sink. The sinking leaders typically come in a few different sink rates, and the proper one will depend on the type of water you’re fishing. A sinking leader is also perfect to have at the ready on a raft or drift boat. Heavy boulder-strewn pocket water is known to harbor big browns, and hitting a streamer into those pockets and having it sink down quickly because of the weighted leader is a killer strategy to target these fish!

Using leaders or lines that assist in flies sinking is a great way to target bigger fish and thoroughly cover more water. Anglers who stick with floating lines are leaving quite a bit of meat on the bone when fishing a lake or river, and unfortunately for them they’re also not getting flies in front of the biggest trout out there! Knowing the specific circumstance is important, though. While stillwater folks may opt for a slower-rated full sink line, other waterways might call for a sink tip line or sinking leader. Regardless of how you choose to use them, getting flies deeper will eventually result in bigger fish hitting the net!

Categories: Fly Fishing For Trout, Stripping Streamers

Summertime Western Hatches for Trout

08 Jul

0 549 Post by Nick DelVecchio

Once runoff subsides, it’s game on for anglers in the Western U.S. as they flock to their favorite trout waters.

With flows receding and water warming, bugs start popping across the Rockies and trout feed hungrily to take advantage of this brief feeding frenzy. The dry fly action is not to be missed, and being armed with the right patterns is key because even though the fish are opportunistic, they still know what naturals are coming off. Fishing high mountain freestones might not be quite as technical as spring creeks, but matching the hatch will go a long way in turning good days into great ones!

yellow sally stonefly, yellow sally fly, yellow stonefly, golden stonefly, eastern pennsylvania yellow sally

Yellow Sallies

A member of the stonefly family, yellow sallies are one of the most reliable hatches in the Rockies. They should be carried in a variety of sizes from #12 to #16 and usually inhabit rocky bottom streams, making them prevalent bugs in high mountain streams. This is also a great hatch to hit for those who sometimes have a hard time finding the dry fly as it's drifting along. Brightly colored flies tied on large hooks make it easy to pick up in even the roughest water where trout are going to be looking up for their next meal.

Red Quills

The red quill is one of the most storied hatches across America, and even though this isn’t the old school bug from the Catskills, it certainly holds a place of prominence in the Western states. It’s another extremely reliable hatch for the high mountain freestones, and as such, it should be carried in a few different sizes and colors. Local waters might hold red quills in shades of rust to light red, and because of that unique coloration, they can be easy to spot and identify. This is helpful for beginner anglers who could confuse lightly colored mayflies with yellow sallies or caddis. A parachute post on the red quill really helps visibility and its ability to float since it’s a fairly thin-bodied fly.

Salmonflies

If you’re lucky enough to fish a waterway that has these gigantic bugs, then they need little introduction! The chance to throw gigantic dry flies for large trout isn’t something to be taken lightly, and it isn’t something that happens everywhere. The sheer size of these bugs makes it possible to throw dry dropper rigs with a stonefly trailing underneath so that every phase of the hatch can be imitated, which is always an added bonus. In terms of timing, this hatch is shorter than the other two, but if you can hit it just right the action can be unbelievable. If throwing dry flies the size of small birds sounds appealing, then this is the hatch for you!

Enjoying the warm summer sun beneath snow-capped peaks while flipping dries to hungry trout is the stuff of daydreams. Both the bugs and trout take advantage of this short growing season, so it only makes sense that anglers should, too! This isn’t the classic 'match the hatch" that comes with Eastern limestoners or Montana spring creeks, but getting the right imitations can transform your fishing experience. Few bugs are as reliable and widespread as the yellow sallies, red quills, and salmonflies, which makes them must-haves for those venturing into the Rockies this season!

Categories: Dry Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing For Trout

How to Fish Terrestrials for Trout

08 Jul

0 531 Post by Nick DelVecchio

Once mid-June hits, the big hatches in the Eastern U.S. are mostly done, leaving anglers looking for the next thing to keep getting their dry fly fix.

For most, the attention should then turn towards terrestrials in the form of ants, beetles, and hoppers. There is some sporadic caddis, midge, and mayfly activity on certain waters, but terrestrials will consistently produce the most fish for those wanting to fish dries. They are also the perfect flies for using dry-dropper setups and really working a bunch of water in quick order. Trout might not have the same hesitancy for a #14 hopper as they do a #20 sulphur, but there is still plenty of nuance in using these patterns and knowing how to best fish terrestrials can really help lead to some unforgettable days during summer!

Flies 101

When it comes to terrestrials, there are a few good options that anglers should have in their box. Hoppers (especially parachute hoppers) are a must, as are flying ants, beetles, and inchworms. These can all be carried in a variety of sizes and colors, specifically when it comes to hoppers. Many guides and veteran anglers carry them in olive, tan, brown, and yellow in a few different sizes. Bigger flies can handle larger dropper nymphs (spoiler for the next paragraph!) while smaller terrestrials are best for those bright, sunny days when spooky fish are the name of the game.

Dry-Dropper

Watching a fish come up and smash a dry is certainly exhilarating, but the truth is trout will feed subsurface a vast majority of the time. Therefore, when fishing terrestrials, there’s no reason you shouldn’t tie a nymph trailing behind a favorite hopper or flying ant pattern. You get the fun of fishing dries with the effectiveness of nymphs all in one rig! Since you’ll want to pick apart shallow spots, don’t tie the nymph too deep. Start at maybe 15 inches of tippet separating the dry from the nymph and adjust accordingly.

Hit Everything

You’ll read plenty of articles about pounding the bank, and that’s obviously a very productive method for fishing terrestrials. Hoppers, ants, and beetles crawl around in the grasses and trees along the bank and sometimes fall in, providing a protein-rich meal for trout. It, therefore, makes sense to target those areas, but don’t forget about the rest of the water! If a beetle lands in the water along the bank and isn’t gobbled up by a trout right away, it’ll get pushed down with the current which could bring it into the middle of the stream and elsewhere. It’s wise to throw a few casts in every little riffle, run, and pool that might hold a trout, because odds are pretty good that they’ve seen terrestrials before and might take a run at your fly.

Move Quick

This is a big shift away from how you’d fish during a heavy BWO or caddis hatch. If there are rising trout and bugs coming off, it’s not uncommon to spend an hour cycling through flies in an effort to get the right one and match the naturals. With terrestrials, you’re looking for those opportunistic feeders that happen to be looking up for a meal. Give each likely spot a few casts, then move on to the next one. Odds are a trout is going to let you know pretty fast whether or not they’re interested, so plan on covering as much ground as possible and by extension showing the flies to as many fish as possible. It’s a numbers game with terrestrials, and the more trout that see your offerings the greater chance you run into some looking up!

You might not encounter sections of stream boiling with hundreds of rising trout, but the action on terrestrials can be outstanding through summer. It’s a way to scratch that dry fly itch even when hatches are sparse, and the meaty flies can bring some solid fish up to the surface to investigate what we’re throwing. Picking apart every run, pocket, and pool with a hopper or flying ant is a really fun way to fish, and the constant movement and action can be addicting, and that’s all before a 16-inch brown blows up on the fly the second it hits the water!

Categories: Dry Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing For Trout

Category: Fly Fishing For Trout

See It

Fly Choice

Where To Fish

Seek the trees

Beef Up Your Tippet

Give it a Twitch

Fish Above and Below

Don’t be Shy

Scuds

Sowbugs

Technique

Patterns

Keep moving and cover more water

Change your fly.

Go deep. Use nymphs.

Focus on the quality of your presentation.

Hatch Schedules

More on Euro Nymphing:

Increased Hook-Ups

Faster Sink Rate

Easier To See With Sight Indicator

Tippet Rings Make Changing Line Fast

Cons To Consider

Conclusion

Sinking Tip Line

Full Sink Line

Sinking Leaders

Yellow Sallies

Red Quills

Salmonflies

Flies 101

Dry-Dropper

Hit Everything

Move Quick