No tags yet.
Week of March 26 th – The countdown continues until Opening Day! I wish I had more time to get the fly box ready. Is it too early to think about Sulphurs? Check last week’s report to see a few recommended patterns and let us know what you are lining up.
Since the options for fishing are limited to the Trout Conservation Areas and Wild Trout
Streams, be extra careful with the fish you catch! The recently stocked fish take some time to adjust to their new environment and those of us who find them may be frustrated when the hundreds of new arrivals are not taking every offering with every cast. It is the fish – not us. They need to find food for themselves for the first time.
Fortunately, as of this writing, they are figuring out what is edible and what isn’t. Without
hands, trout will take things into their mouths just to see what something is. That’s my theory when my indicator brings up fish or they seem more interest in my line then what is on the hook… I hurriedly switch out the rig for a dry only to never see another rising fish and flash after feeding flash at the bottom of the run. It is easy to see why some folks carry two rods. That is the fun, though, isn’t it? Finding just the right pattern when the fish are active. Starting on the bottom is usually the best bet. #22 – 20 Black or red zebra midges, WD40, and caddis patterns behind little black stone flies, but increasingly #16 – 12 bead head pheasant tails and other darker nymphs. Hare’s ear, scuds, and zug-bugs are traditional nymphs that prove reliable year after year.
When the sun warms up the water the bugs start feeding and swimming; wet flies, spider flies, and swimming nymph patterns can be fished alone, above a midge or below a dry. The La Fontaine Sparkle pupae is probably the midwater column fly pattern to reach for first and can also be great by itself of behind a #16 – 14 deer or elk hair caddis – black, gray, or green to match the Grannom. They are great in front of a gray #20 – 18 RS2 if the pupae isn’t doing the trick.
Proper Mayfly dry fly fishing is not quite here yet, but it could happen this week! Blue Quills, Red Quills, and Hendrickson can fool those curious and increasingly hungry fish. Eager Brook trout will snatch BWOs, bi-color, Griffith’s, and Renegade patterns near the brush line along the edges. Why not throw a big old March Brown just to see what happens – when nothing else is happening?
Swing by the shop for a new leader and more tippet! We have a wide range of indicators,
including some new designs, and more vests and packs from Fishpond to hold everything
securely and comfortably!