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Trout Flies

Started by pjstevko, February 28, 2018, 06:22:12 AM

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pjstevko

I picked up a few trout flies from Sportsmans Warehouse the other day to use tomorrow when I break in my new fly set up. I ran into a guy from the local fly fishing club who gave me some advice on what to buy.... I already forgot the names of a lot of them but there's a few woolly buggers, a couple crawfish imitators, double bead stone flies, a few prince patterns and a few others..... I added a few smaller saltwater files that look like smaller shrimp....

I don't tie files so if you do and tie trout patterns let me know if you wanna make a few extra $$$

Pj


Benni3

The guys in the trout clubs  :(  get some black nymphs and "birds nest"!!! at sportsmen warehouse  ;D

jurelometer

Focus on general purpose patterns.   The trout guys call these "attractors" (as opposed to more specific "imitators").  Ironically the best attractors are usually the the least attractive to humans.

Two other things to think about:

1.  size: often more important than pattern
2.  Water column.    As the fly gets swept downstream,  it has to be at the depth the trout is feeding.   Usually, this is right off  the bottom in an eddy in front or behind some structure.    A sparse heavy fly will ride the fast water and then drop into the eddy.  This type of fly is easier to  manage on the drift, as you need to rely less on fancy mends to give the fly a chance  to get down.


If you get the right sized neutral colored fly in front of the fish,  you are almost always in the game. 

Those saltwater flies are a commercial version of Bob Nauheim's "Crazy Charlie".   They were designed to fish bonefish in shallow sand flats.  Short strips to kick up little puffs of sand.  The commercial ties are not sparse enough, but this can be managed with a haircut.   I would throw these in the surf for surf perch,  but these are probably Hail Mary flies for trout in the form that they are tied.

The photo shows my vote for an attractor dry - parachute Addams, and a fast sinking attractor nymph-  copper John.  Get these in a couple sizes.   Just about every reputable fly shop in the planet will carry them.

For a curveball,  I included a clouser in the photo.   If  I could have only one fly to fish for every species in every condition,  it woud be a chartreuse over white clouser.  I am hardly unique in this opinion.   Every fly box I carry has an appropriately sized chartreuse or olive over white clouser, " just in case".  This is a fly you can work with a strip, as opposed to a drift.  if you catch a nice big brown or smallmouth  at dusk with a clouser,  the guys at the fly shop won't be shocked.  It is a nice fly to have handy if you want to fish a lake, especially if there are kokanee, bass or sunfish/ bluegill present.  Otherwise, throw that olive/black bugger, let it sink, and strip with short tugs and pauses.


BTW:  That bird's nest fly looks like a good attractor as well.


pjstevko

Which one is the birds next?

Gfish

#4
Fly Fishin is kinda a refined form of fishing and now you're really gettin into the nitty-gritty aspect of it: flies. It gets complicated, but man it's fun!
You got "attractors" "simulators" and "imitators".

Attractors are for when you don't know what's goin on(new place, unknowen species, or "what do the fish here eat?") and usually consist of a couple of old stand-by's for each type: streamers, dries, wets, nymphs, crustaceans, aquatic worms, and terrestrials(hoppers, beetles, etc.).

Simulators have worked best for me: you find out what they'er feedin on and you focus on size and silhouette, possibly color(I've never really knowen for sure, perhaps shades?), but you'er lookin for it to float, or sink, drift, or swim like the stuff bein eatin. I say simulate, because exact imitations are difficult to tie and oftentimes don't present a live lookin critter in the water,  and can even be difficult to cast. Simulating makes it easier to tie, and can reduce your need for real specialized materials. Hollow bodied hair for example, can simulate wings on many diffrent dry fly patterns.  Does that "educated 3 puond trout" see above him, your fake mayfly looking just like the naturals? A sailboat-like wing that's sized properly, a tapered body, 6 legs (or 50?)? A nice V shaped tail? And is it drifting in the surface film on it's legs & hind end, or is it siting too low, and dragging from leader pull? All hard presentation aspects to put together, but mabey size and silhouette and a mostly drag-free drift will do it!

Then there's imitations. If tied and presented properly, they are the best thing to use when you've id'ed their food and they are real picky. Much easier said than done.

The flies Juerlometer posted have that sparse, buggy, simulator look to me.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

jurelometer

Top: clouser
Middle:  parachute addams
Bottom:  copper john


Benni3

Birds nest  ;D

Gfish

The 2 left side Prince Nymphs are real productive attractors, and the Birds Nest bead-heads look like great mayfly nymph simulations. They could also be pupal stage caddis fly simulators. I've heard it said that bead-heads can simulate a bubble of air that the real insects have as they asend to the surface to hatch into the winged adult stage.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!