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TheCream

Hot spots on nymph patterns

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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:

002-17.jpg

 

Its a Soft Hackle but you get the idea.

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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.

post-21899-0-12967300-1328034518_thumb.jpg

dubbing hot spot on the Czech and a purple bead on the Polish

post-21899-0-90633800-1328034524_thumb.jpg

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

post-21899-0-11213500-1328034532_thumb.jpg

Two biot nymphs with fire orange hot spots, one with a dog collar and one with a thread butt

post-21899-0-12289500-1328034542_thumb.jpg

A jig nymph with a pink yarn tail that my friend lovingly calls "Mike's ugly cheater nymph"

 

-Mike

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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.

post-21899-0-12967300-1328034518_thumb.jpg

dubbing hot spot on the Czech and a purple bead on the Polish

post-21899-0-90633800-1328034524_thumb.jpg

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

post-21899-0-11213500-1328034532_thumb.jpg

Two biot nymphs with fire orange hot spots, one with a dog collar and one with a thread butt

post-21899-0-12289500-1328034542_thumb.jpg

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.

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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

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