..
So, the question is, what is your favorite dandruff fly and where do
you use it?


I fished #24s almost exclusively the last part of Sept and early
Oct .... although each day also provided a time for bigger patterns
too, thank goodness. Mainly this was fishing baetis ties at Silver
Creek. Favorite? a ModelA emerger ala Harrop ( think floating
nymph ) .... CDC Sparkle duns are good, too


At the same time of year ( early and late ) the midges are very
important and I like a Raccoon for a dry ... for tiny ones I use micro
zelon for the shuck, instead of the original materials.

Tricos are an obvious answer to your question earlier in the year and
the cute little buggers rule some places in August .... you'll want
nymphs, duns and spinners, maybe a couple/three patterns of each,
tricos can make fish VERY selective where they hatch in large
numbers ... where I fish they run #22s ....ah, generally .... but come
prepared for smaller and don't be afraid to try a size "too big" ...
every little bit helps when fishing tiny

The various string nymphs, with slight variations, are good for all
small bugs, not just midges .... I find that making the segmentation
a bit cartooned, more obvious that the naturals, usually is a good
plan, but real "bright" not one

Luckily, small flies don't have to be very detailed to work well

TroutHunter's new 6.5X tippet really is worth checking out ...


IF anyone really has an "answer" for the late season ( I don't see
this species early ) baetis that crawl all over you, lay eggs on your
waders, and every fish pods up and feeds, apparently on drowned
spinners, but NOT really on the surface, .... let us know. I
can catch "some" fish at these times but I've never met anyone that
felt he had really found the "solution" to this hour or two each Fall
day on a couple waters I frequent. Towards the end of the Trico's
season they would hatch/fall a little before this baetis spinner
activity. I could usually catch fish on the Tricos at a reasonable
rate but when they switched the rate dropped to "feels like luck."
During the true baetis emergence I'd also do just fine.

It was very frustrating. I even went to the point of calling a
'famous' angler who talks and writes a good "baetis game." and asking
advice .... to no avail .... I was told "you need a good drift" which
is obvious but when I explained I could catch the exact same fish in
the same spots and on equally tiny flies EXCEPT during this "baetis
crawling on me" time the reply was "try a beetle" THAT, IMHO, is a
guides answer,not an anglers answer ... I don't just want to catch the
fish, I want to solve the problem. I've seen and tried a couple
"sparkle wing" wet flies and such mentioned in books relative to egg
laying baetis .. but I'm still looking for a pattern that really
meets this situation. OH, I get into these at Silver Creek and I
have zero idea about exact species and such ... they are small #24s -
#26



Boxes? I use little Morrel (sp?) foam boxes that close with a
magnet ... the foam they use seems to hang onto tiny barbless hooks
pretty well .... I use C&F for everything down to #20, but below that
I don't like them