Midges And Tiny Mayflies

In case you haven't noticed, flyfishing has become fashionable lately.  This kind of snuck up on me so I can't tell you exactly when it happened, but I knew it had happened when well dressed, youngish but middle-aged, demographically correct people began to appear on TV casting with fly rods or looking over expensive tackle, not in those insipid Saturday morning fishing shows, but in slick commercials hawking credit cards and painkillers. - John Gierach
 The Gnat - Size 20

I love Autumn flyfishing!! I get everything at once - unbelievable surface action with fine leaders and tiny flies. Then there is the streamer action which everyone believes in for all the wrong reasons.  Conventional reasoning states that big trout, knowing that winter is a-coming, will put on the feed bag and chase streamers.  But there is a glitch is this theory. Tom Rosenbauer of Orvis once stated that most of the calories that a trout consumes during the year are consumed in May and June. There's a lot of trout food then.  A trout doesn't know what a calendar is and will eat when the water temperature is in that range that controls the trout's biological system.  October is a good month for good trout temperature and so is November but December - not so much. The water is colder and the trouts metabolism is slower.  One can have good fishing but the game is slowing down.  I still fish small streamers in the Fall especially on the Swift with all of it's pint-sized brookies that serve up a buffet table for the browns and bows.  And I fish streamers much like I fish nymphs - a short line high-sticked through likely looking holding areas.  Don't fish streamers quickly. Small baitfish don't move through a stream with the agility of an otter.  They may dart from one spot to another but it's usually to seek cover or be eaten. High sticking a streamer mimics an injured baitfish as it drifts downstream.  It's an easy meal!!!!
                                                                                    Blue Wing Black Body Dry - Size 24

As I said earlier I love Autumn and it's tiny flies. Last year, before the FLOOD, I had great dry fly action down in Cady Lane working size 22 and size 24 emergers and adult duns in the same sizes to very secretive browns and outsized brookies.

This action continued through the Winter at the Y Pool (where else!!) and worked in the Tree Pool for most of the Summer.

It also worked with a different color scheme of fly a year ago on the Farmie, home of that late July, early August Needhami hatch. That little fly is referred to as the tiny Hendrickson. The fly that you see on the right, in light brown, is perfect for it.
  Blue Wing Olive - Size 24

The BWO may be the most popular tiny fly being cast today.  Now, some say that size 24 isn't small enough.  But you can tie a size 26 fly on a size 24 hook and fool trout and get better hooking with the larger hook.  The trout don't seem to care if the fly is presented correctly.

Let's not forget the Gnat. With a peacock body and a palmered hackle it's a buoyant fly and can mimic the Winter Caddis that we find on the Swift and the Farmie.





These flies (with more to come) are offered on this site.  You can find them, and others, at the bottom of my home page.  P.S. All flies are tied by me and I ship quickly!!!

BTW - Thank you for all the comments that you send in. These are REAL comments about your fishing experiences, successful or not.  And you're not afraid to let people know where you fish which is much appreciated.  We get more than double the the comments of other blogs!!!

BTW AGAIN - We have double the page views of any other fly fishing site in central New England.  THANK YOU AGAIN.

Oh yeah, Fishing has been very good.

Ken