"There's no greater fan of flyfishing than the worm"- Patrick F. McManus
I love freestones and the creatures who live in them. It's a very fertile environment that just doesn't hold trout food of a certain size (BWO or mdges) but insects and crustaceans of all sizes. Don't forget about the baitfish species that swarm in these streams. I've watched trout practically herd batfish to attack them!! I sampled the bug life with Dr. Ken Simonds on the Millers and captured more insect species then I knew exited there.
You may be asking yourself "what fly do I use"? The answer is any large fly of a dark color. The fly in the above photo has been mistaken for crayfish, dragon fly nymphs, leeches and hellgrammites by many trout and smallmouths.
Your first choice of fly may be the old reliable woolly bugger. Go for it because we all know it works.
Ken
2 comments:
Great points Ken- With February and March not far off do you ever use or add a small (#16-#18) dark nymph to imitate the small stones that can be found on most local free stones at that time? If so what fly to you favor?
Happy New Year!
Dean
Dean F.
I have but without much success. These tiny stones, like all stones, crawl to the shore and then fly to a resting spot (like my back porch). I don't see trout rising for them but swinging a small dark nymph along the shore may work.
They hatch February which is the worst time. High, cold flows and very few trout.
Ken
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