New fly tying season: what to work on?

Another "situation" that needs work, judging from the success level I have
and see around me

Come up to the Firehole in late June and late in the day. Fish the area
downstream from the Firehole picnic area about 1/4 mile and on down a good
ways.

There is some activity that looks like fish on caddis that drives me nuts
.... patterns that work on the Firehole, late in the day, late in June, when
it looks like the fish are taking caddis, don't work. These are really
pretty small fish, but the problem is still intriguing

On Nov 30, 5:03 pm, "Larry L" wrote:
Another "situation" that needs work, judging from the success level I have
and see around me

Come up to the Firehole in late June and late in the day. Fish the area
downstream from the Firehole picnic area about 1/4 mile and on down a good
ways.

There is some activity that looks like fish on caddis that drives me nuts
... patterns that work on the Firehole, late in the day, late in June, when
it looks like the fish are taking caddis, don't work. These are really
pretty small fish, but the problem is still intriguing

Those fish are easy. I get one every cast.
:-)

"Larry L" wrote in message
news
the most consistent failures I encounter revolve around "Tiny Fall Baetis"
Each day in the late season has a hour or so when the baetis are crawling
all over your waders, fish are feeding like crazy, and only a few can be
caught .... never with that "problem solved" feeling. I "think" the
fish key on subsurface spinners, egg layers awash, but I've tried every
pattern I've seen and made up a few myself ... none worked with that
mentioned efficiency of a "solution"

tie a few of these over the winter:
Hook--standard wet fly, sizes 16-20
Thread--Danville 6/0 olive brown
Rib--yellow silk or cotton buttonhole twist
Hackle--starling

Tie on thread, run to bend, tie in ribbing, run thread back
to a bit short of the eye. Rib with yellow thread, tie off.
Hackle wet fly collar style with starling, 3 or 4 turns will
do. Tie off a neat head and finish. For some reason, this is sort of the
only fly that works for me during large periods
of Sept and October here in PA, where little olives are the daily fare.
Enough to be a "solution" fly?? Try it and get back to me......
Tom

"Tom Littleton" wrote

Hook--standard wet fly, sizes 16-20
Thread--Danville 6/0 olive brown
Rib--yellow silk or cotton buttonhole twist
Hackle--starling

Tie on thread, run to bend, tie in ribbing, run thread back
to a bit short of the eye. Rib with yellow thread, tie off.
Hackle wet fly collar style with starling, 3 or 4 turns will
do. Tie off a neat head and finish. For some reason, this is sort of the
only fly that works for me during large periods
of Sept and October here in PA, where little olives are the daily fare.
Enough to be a "solution" fly?? Try it and get back to me......
Tom



I will tie some soon, and I will report .... thanks, Tom

Larry L - your psuedo Klingon thang really speaks to me. I've been
puzzled for decades on PA spring creeks when the autumn afternoon
delivers great Baetis-ing to emergers, cripples and duns, and then as
the magic hour approaches, little rusty variants to the spinner fall
in the fast water. With normal Ephemera, this is when I expect to
really clean up.

Then ---- the alpha trouts drop down to the slick tailouts and start
gobbling, almost like a gonzo Trico fall. And hookups? Nada. A few
cursory, tail flipping inspections to the usual Baetis spinner
suspects, and once in a while, a foul hook on the cheek or outside of
the chin - clearly a miscalibrated rejection.

After decades of this humbling, I had a revelation viewing Ozzie's
last videos of the olive spinner fall: the spent females, which of
course swim around as their penultimate act, were just under the
meniscus, upsidedown! And the air bubble entrapped by their wings was
underneath the bod.

Now: how in tarnation do you imitate that geometry? What would Isaac
Newton do? Or Galileo? LaFontainish tricks like sheaths, air bubbly
thangs, etc, would make the fly turn rightsideup, which is to say,
wrongsideup.

Hmmmm?

tl
les

"lestrout" wrote in message
...
the spent females, which of
course swim around as their penultimate act, were just under the
meniscus, upsidedown! And the air bubble entrapped by their wings was
underneath the bod.

Now: how in tarnation do you imitate that geometry? What would Isaac
Newton do? Or Galileo? LaFontainish tricks like sheaths, air bubbly
thangs, etc, would make the fly turn rightsideup, which is to say,
wrongsideup.

Hmmmm?

and further....what do you think the trout keys upon?
Do you think they consider rightsideup, upside-down or
whatever, or merely judge size, color, motion and position in the water
column? Hmmmmm, indeed!
Tom
.....the fun things winter brings to ponder!

"Tom Littleton" wrote


and further....what do you think the trout keys upon?
Do you think they consider rightsideup, upside-down or
whatever, or merely judge size, color, motion and position in the water
column? Hmmmmm, indeed!
Tom
....the fun things winter brings to ponder!


I't been hard for me to believe that nearly any properly sized fly won't
work ... I can barely see the damn thing, how does a trout see it well
enough to reject it !!





I don't seem to be able to find barbless wet fly hooks small enough for the
pattern you suggest ( I have them down to #18, but bet #20 to #24 will be
needed on Silver Creek ) I'll use some dry fly hooks .... that will
probably work OK?

"lestrout" wrote

meniscus, upsidedown! And the air bubble entrapped by their wings was
underneath the bod.

Now: how in tarnation do you imitate that geometry? What would Isaac
Newton do? Or Galileo? LaFontainish tricks like sheaths, air bubbly
thangs, etc, would make the fly turn rightsideup, which is to say,
wrongsideup.



I've noticed the bubbles, but not that inverted position ...

I've tried a few "air bubble" imitation efforts,

one, with a tiny piece of crystal flash tied spinner wing style, I
remember, drew a strike on the first cast, and the second

.... and I was starting to strut a bit at my incredible angling abilities
( a difficult task in thigh deep water for an obese old man with bad
arthritis :-)


That second cast was the last successful one for days ( during the mystery
hour ) ... and after it, that fly no longer even drew a playful look and
trouty chortle ... humble is a word I continue to fully understand, at
least in the realm of fishing.

"Larry L" wrote in news:_2h5j.17108$MJ6.4424
@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

I've tried a few "air bubble" imitation efforts,

Nothing imitates an air bubble like -- oddly enough-- an air bubble.

Work some CDC into the nymph and coat it with Frog's Fanny. You'll need
some weight to sink the nymph, and you'll need to swap nymphs fairly often.

--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

"Larry L" wrote in message
...
I don't seem to be able to find barbless wet fly hooks small enough for
the pattern you suggest ( I have them down to #18, but bet #20 to #24 will
be needed on Silver Creek ) I'll use some dry fly hooks .... that
will probably work OK?

they should. However, there is a point(no pun) to using the hooks I chose:
Small wet fly hooks, with standard shank length, are very strong, and wet
fly hookups can be powerful, especially with larger fish. I use Dai
Riki(090?) hooks and the barbs are very small, easily flattened with small
pliers. Do you have to tie onto a barbless hook, or can you adjust afield??
Tom

p.s. Note also that a #20 wet fly hook is the same length
as a #22 dry, in most hook lines. So, if you do use
standard dry hooks, use #18-22, as opposed to
the #16-20 I stated.