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Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - Fly Fish America - September 2007 Issue - Index

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emergence. To cover this possibility, add a
trailing fl y to your rig. Tie a foot of tippet
to the bend of the fl oater, then tie a matching
emerger or nymph pattern to the tippet.
The distance between the fl oating fl y and
the trailer should be about 8 to 10 inches.
This approach has several advantages. First,
a slightly larger, more visible fl y in the up
position serves as a locator if the hatch is tiny
and you have diffi culty seeing your fl y. I fi nd
that an upright poly wing makes spotting a
fl y much easier. Second, it is easy to change
tippet sizes and fl ies with this set-up. Finally,
every once in a while, that big up fl y proves
irresistible to a big, hungry fi sh.
When fi shing the trailing-fl y rig try imparting
a little action to the fl oater. Just a
jiggle will do. I did this last year on Montana's
Big Horn River during a hatch of pale morning
duns. I was having trouble seeing my
emerger, so I added a size-14, poly-wing dry
and trailed the emerger. On the second cast
the fl oating fl y disappeared and line peeled
wildly off the reel. That rainbow turned out
to be the biggest one of the week for me.
As the hatch gets heavier it usually becomes
more diffi cult to interest a feeder in your fake.
For me, this is a good time to give it a rest.
Just stretch out on the shore and observe the
action. Quitting at such a moment may seem
far too diffi cult for the average dry-fl y addict
to handle, perhaps something like quitting a
heavy nicotine habit during a period of great
stress. But you can deal with it because you
know you're going to get some more shots
when the odds tilt a bit in your favor. If you
absolutely can't tear yourself away from the
stream, try probing the physical margins of
the activity, where fewer naturals could mean
better chances for your artifi cial. Slower water
just off the main current, and reverse currents
along the shore, often carry fewer duns giving
yours a better chance.
As the hatch winds down some fi sh continue
to feed. I like to think these are the hungrier
fi sh, perhaps the hungrier big fi sh which
did not fi ll up during the peak of the hatch.
Go looking for these persistent feeders. Follow
the same preparatory steps as at the onset of
the hatch, with one exception. In the apres
hatch period a fl y pattern somewhat different
from the natural often produces, and it can
be a larger, more visible pattern. An incident
that illustrates this occurred on southeastern
Pennsylvania's Tulpehocken Creek last year.
One of the state's few tailwater fisheries,
the Tulpehocken produces an annual trico
hatch that starts in late July and continues
into September. Every morning these tiny
mayfl ies bring trout to the surface along many
stretches of the creek, where it is possible to
stand and observe swirls upstream and down
as far as the eye can see. At these times the
principle of heavy hatch selectivity applies in
spades, and I've watched some excellent anglers
go fi shless despite putting perfect drifts
over steadily feeding fi sh. On this particular
day I garnered only disdainful rejection of my
size-20 poly-wing trico spinner on 8x tippet
for two most diffi cult hours. Perhaps smaller
stuff would have worked, but at these sizes
my vision hit the wall.
Finally the rises tailed off and I zeroed in
on a prospect holding tight against a brushy
bank. Clipping off the trico spinner, I went
to a 5x tippet and a size-16 poly-wing Adams
dry. Glancing around to make sure no one
observed this bit of foolishness, I tossed the
Adams to the bank a couple of feet above the
riser and let it drift. The size-16 fl y looked like
a tug boat, but fear of foolishness vanished
when the trout jumped all over that fl y. After
sulking against the bank for a few seconds
he took off downstream, and when I fi nally
got him turned around and into the net he
measured 16 inches.
Remember, this fi sh took a size-16 Adams
after a couple of hours of feeding on size-22
(or perhaps smaller) tricos. I've had similar
success with March brown, and yes, even royal
coachman patterns in both size-16 and -14.
From early August into September a small
hopper pattern has also worked well.
There's nothing like the thrill of watching
many fi sh rising during the height of a hatch,
but for the best chances to make a hook-up
I'll take the margins, early and late.
Ed Howey is a long-time contributor to FFA,
and lives in Denver, Pennsylvania.
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