TheCream 0 Report post Posted January 30, 2012 Most of my trout fishing comes on small streams with wild brookies and rainbows. I don't nymph that often, I tend to fish dries most of the time on the small stream fish, but I do nymph on occasion. The idea of adding hot spots to nymph patterns is something I want to try for this coming year. Any tips folks would wantto share? Do you add a hot spot with dubbing or with a bright bead head? Any input on colors? Orange or yellow? I'd be curious to see how well a hot spotted nymph pattern would do compared to the traditional nymph patterns. Thanks in advance for any input! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
primitivepete 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2012 I've tied a few with hot spots, but not enough to make me believe they're a silver bullet. I'm a terrible nymph fisher anyhow, but the ones I've caught I figure bit cause I put it right in front of their nose. I'll try it some more cause a lot of people swear by the hot spots. It can't hurt anything. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joops 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2012 hello, Just tie your nymphs as usual but use a red/orange/pink thread to put a tag or collar in. I use hot spots on my still water patterns but I like my river patterns natural or just with a copper bead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DUBBN 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2012 hello, Just tie your nymphs as usual but use a red/orange/pink thread to put a tag or collar in. I use hot spots on my still water patterns but I like my river patterns natural or just with a copper bead. What he said: Its a Soft Hackle but you get the idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crackleback 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2012 Hot spots are like everything else in fly fishing. Sometimes they make no difference, sometimes they make all the difference and sometimes the fish want nothing to do with them. There are a few situations where I find they really shine(usually). Murky water is one and fast water is another. In both of these situations the fish won't get a very good look at your fly. The hot spot helps it stick out when it might have gone unnoticed. Vice versa, they generally scare fish off when nymphing slow clear water. During normal condition their effectiveness is a coin-flip, so it never hurts to put one on and see how the fish respond. The spot doesn't need to be very big. It might be what gets the fish's attention, but the rest of the fly is what seals the deal. I generally use a thread collar or a small band at the butt of the fly. Dubbing hot spots generally work better on larger flies. On the smaller flies the dubbing seems to take over the fly. I generally don't use the hot beads and probably won't use them at all once I run out but I know plenty of people that love them. They're a little too gaudy for my tastes. Color is just preference, both yours and the fish. I like fire-orange and chartreuse the most but that's because they respond to those colors where I usually fish. On another stream pink is the way to go. Get a couple of spools of florescent threads, experiment and let the fish tell you what they like. dubbing hot spot on the Czech and a purple bead on the Polish one hare's ear with a chartreuse tag, another with a pink wing case made of Uni-stretch and a Frenchie whose entire thorax is a thread spot Two biot nymphs with fire orange hot spots, one with a dog collar and one with a thread butt A jig nymph with a pink yarn tail that my friend lovingly calls "Mike's ugly cheater nymph" -Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheCream 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2012 Hot spots are like everything else in fly fishing. Sometimes they make no difference, sometimes they make all the difference and sometimes the fish want nothing to do with them. There are a few situations where I find they really shine(usually). Murky water is one and fast water is another. In both of these situations the fish won't get a very good look at your fly. The hot spot helps it stick out when it might have gone unnoticed. Vice versa, they generally scare fish off when nymphing slow clear water. During normal condition their effectiveness is a coin-flip, so it never hurts to put one on and see how the fish respond. The spot doesn't need to be very big. It might be what gets the fish's attention, but the rest of the fly is what seals the deal. I generally use a thread collar or a small band at the butt of the fly. Dubbing hot spots generally work better on larger flies. On the smaller flies the dubbing seems to take over the fly. I generally don't use the hot beads and probably won't use them at all once I run out but I know plenty of people that love them. They're a little too gaudy for my tastes. Color is just preference, both yours and the fish. I like fire-orange and chartreuse the most but that's because they respond to those colors where I usually fish. On another stream pink is the way to go. Get a couple of spools of florescent threads, experiment and let the fish tell you what they like. dubbing hot spot on the Czech and a purple bead on the Polish one hare's ear with a chartreuse tag, another with a pink wing case made of Uni-stretch and a Frenchie whose entire thorax is a thread spot Two biot nymphs with fire orange hot spots, one with a dog collar and one with a thread butt A jig nymph with a pink yarn tail that my friend lovingly calls "Mike's ugly cheater nymph" -Mike Thanks for the info! The fast water of early spring is exactly why I was asking. In the faster water I thought the hot spots might be a good idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riffleriversteelheadslayer 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2012 I use hot spots alot in the spring also and a color that I use sometimes gets overlooked as a hot spot but white used on a small black nymph is sometimes the cat's meow also try some with purple uv ice dub Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voodoo 0 Report post Posted January 31, 2012 i tie a chartreuse caddis with a purple hot spot and it kills fish up here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EdMauss 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2012 There was a good article in fly tyer mag couple of months back, I have it PDF for some ideas. Pm me your email and I will send it to you. Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites