I haven't had too many favorite flies. I have never really found a GO TO to fly that always produces. It seems that the pea sized brain in these trout make them a little smarter than we think. However, I have found some pretty good flies, and I will post them from time to time.
This fly, the Squirmy Worm, has to be my favorite emerger/nymph. I say emerger and nymph, because it depends on how you tie (make) it and/or how you put it on your line. Most of the store bought come with a short piece of Squirmy San Juan rubbery material on the hook...Sometimes tied twice, sometimes tied three times, and some people wrap them with wire from head to toe. Don't criticize until you have tied one - They are the slipperiest little dudes EVER. I may make it look easy (NOT), but I get probably the most frustrated tying this fly.
Back to the tying this fly, you can tie this directly to the hook, or you can also put on some lead weight on the hook before tying on the squirmy material when tying. This will allow you to have a nymph without putting as much weight on your line. I learned to put on some small wire from a local fly shop - It does help keep the material under a little more control, but it also squishes the worm a bit too much for my taste. Just put on your patience cap when dealing with this fly.
Back to rigging this fly, I have fished this in pools without any weight at all, and the fish will bolt up from the bottom and just take it with a hard strike. In swifter moving water, I will put a weight or two 12-18" above the fly to get it in the strike zone. Add them slowly and see if the strikes pick up. When you add weight start with small weights, you will also get some false strikes from the fly grabbing the bottom. This lets you know you are on the bottom - generally a good thing, and do not add more weight at that time. The swift water requires you get the fly down. The BIG fish, unless really hungry, just don't move for food much. I have bonked this fly off a 25" Rainbow for about 99 casts. On the 100th, he took it - That is sight fishing though, and I can post about 20 stories on tactics of catching fish even with my limited knowledge.
Also, I fish the ledges to the pools where the water goes from knee deep to over my waist, and I will put the strike indicator from water level deep to 1.5X. I will cast almost 1/2 in the knee deep, and let it drift down and into the pool. This fly will produce like no other I have in the bag when the fish are feeding to the before and after times when hardly anyone is getting a bite. I love this fly.
I will then move my strike indicator (if I use one) to 3'. I will fish the fast moving sections going to my fishing hole and to the truck when done. Most days I will catch at least two fish just tossing the line in and walking the edge of the rock river edge. Now, all flies have their disclaimer...I have been skunked on the river with this fly, but it's a FUN fly. The fish will eventually get wise, and you have to flex to something else. That's when the day seems to slow down.
If you get a chance, stop by the local fly shops to Arkansas (or your area) and buy at least two. If they have this fly, then they are worth a salt. If they are out of stock...That is normal. If they have no idea what you are talking about...Don't walk out...RUN!
Hope this helps!
RobF
Arkansas Fly Fishing
No comments:
Post a Comment