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FISHING FLIES - HOW TO SELECT A FLY
Selecting a fly to fish is a question that long books have been written about. We have a number of suggestions on where to start with fly selection. My father once said long ago that the difference between a fact and a rule is rules have exceptions and facts do not. What follows are rules to which any knowledgeable fly fisher can cite exceptions, however, they are a good measure of what you need to know for making a good fly choice. DON'T RUSH TO CAST Observation is the first order of business and the more you know and have read about insects the better you will be able to interpret the clues you see. So hit the books so you know the difference between mayflies, caddis flies, stone flies, terrestrials, etc. The Latin names of these bugs are not important. What is important is size, general shape, color, and aquatic habitat (fast riffles or slow runs) and, finally where we come in the critical question, "do I have flies to imitate them?" Every fishing trip is a riddle, and solving that riddle is a lot of the fun. If you don't think so tie on a size 14 Elk Hair caddis and pitch it out. OVER WATER ACTION? Watch for signs of fish feeding at or near the surface. NOTE: Trout tend to feed at the top or at the bottom not so much in the middle of the water column. Shake the stream side bushes to get a look at what type, size, and color of the bugs have hatched in the recent past. Are there ants, hoppers or other terrestrials about.? Watch the insect eating birds around the water particularly on streams. Many birds feed on the same hatches as the fish. Hatches occur on the same schedule for days at a time. The birds will gather and get nervous just before a hatch begins. Look for groups of birds on over head perches with occasional individuals swooping down to the water for a look. When a hatch is beginning the birds can take every bug leaving you none to observe. But many birds working the water is a sure sign that something is going on. UNDERWATER ACTION? To check the
underwater action build or buy a
seine. Get a couple of broom handle
pieces about 20 inches long and staple window
screen material between them. On flowing
water place your seine across the current
and kick over the rocks or weeds up stream.
A buddy helps, but a lab can work. It is a little more difficult on lakes but if there are weed beds you can pull up a small quantity of weeds lay them on the screen to prevent escapees and sort through the material. Note that baitfish don't end up in nets and that most big trout eat things like small fish, crayfish and other large food "packages" that take less energy to catch than they offer. So don't overlook streamers and such. FLY FINE TUNING GENERAL SIZE: A particular type of insects hatching at the beginning of the season are the largest and each succeeding group will be smaller. For instance Callibaetis May Flies typically start at size #12 for the first generation of the season, size #14 for the second generation mid-summer and #16 for the late summer and early fall. The basic rule is to start your season with the larger flies used in an area and get progressively smaller as the season progresses. Two glaring exceptions to this are hoppers which tend to get bigger during the season and the October Caddis ( size #8 ) of western rivers. STREAMER AND OTHER CRITTER NOTE: Baitfish start with large numbers of smaller fish and grow over the season so you end up with a smaller number of larger baitfish. Crayfish and hoppers also increase in size during the season. So start small and work up! COLOR: During the cool weather months of spring and fall as well as on overcast rainy days the flies that generally hatch will be dark in color. This allows them to absorb heat and get their motors revved up for flying. During the hot weather season adult insects will be light colors ( Light Cahill - Little Yellow Sally - Pale Morning Dun ) to reflect the suns heat to prevent dehydration. Nymphs: These underwater bottom dwellers will be the same color as the bottom they live in, pick up a piece or rock or gravel and take a look. TIP: During times of high or off colored water and lowered visibility use larger black nymphs which will be more easily be seen in these conditions. FLOATATION & WATER TYPE : Take into consideration how fast and rough the water surface is. In life there are trade offs, to get more of one thing you must forego something else. For dry flies floatability and exact imitation are at cross purposes. The Adams family of flies is a good example. The Irresistible has a plump, spun deer hair body and is heavily hackled. In heavy fast water the fish have only a split second to hit or let it go and this pattern was designed to stay on top of this water. The next Adams descending order of floatability is the standard Adams. The fly sits on the water on it's tail and hackle. The hook is suspended above the surface. This is a medium water tie giving up some floatation and gaining imitative value. The next is the Parachute Adams. This fly sits with its tail & body in the film and the hook below the surface. This is an emerger pattern achieving more exact imitation by sacrificing floatability so it suits calm and stillwaters. Adams Crippled Mayfly is an interesting design. To fish it properly you wet the marabou body and tail with saliva. Use floatant on the hackle and post and the fly will ride vertically hanging by the hackle. Finally there is the Compara Dun style in Adams color. The Compara Dun style has no hackle and when viewed from below is as close as we have come to a may fly as seen from below the surface. This is the style for slow moving, smooth topped spring creeks and glassy smooth still waters. With some experience you can take one look at a dry fly and judge its relative floatation vs. imitative place.
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