A fly in need

[rocklife 0]

ok ,i hate to say this but, my flies are not working

 

im fly fishing two year and tying one year ,yes not long but!!!!!!

not a bit on my flies

 

can anyone give some helpful advice for brown trout in rivers and rainbow trout in lake

 

or is this a game of luck ????

[rockworm 0]

Brown trout can be a challenge! Sometimes, especially during a hatch, they will not touch a fly that isn't the right size, shape and colour. But usually they can be tempted by anything that looks "buggy." Unless your flies are all tyed on railroad spikes I would guess you may want to hone your presentation skills. I am a firm believer that presentation is more important than imitation.

[Piker20 0]

You say on your flies, so are you catching on shop bought flies? Browns in my local waters will take surface flies that are close imitations. You need a long fine leader. Decrease the last feet so the line doesn't wake and make the fish jumpy. Wet flies in my experience need to be retrieved in a steady motion. Stop start doesn't work on wild browns. Also wild browns are territorial and don't chase about like stocked fish. So every 3 casts I will walk a few yards further right. Cover the water to find wild browns. They won't come to you like rainbows fresh from the lorry. Finally, the bigger fish will take up the best spots and especially on running water. Keep trying. It'll all click.

[nick2011 0]

Since your new to tying, keep your head up.start with some really easy traditional patterns that are known fish catchers and as you get the hang of materials then branch off

[SCOwens 0]

I remember my first fishing trip with a new fly rod the guy next to me is pounding them, I am not catching anything, rainbows were the target. I could see them. The guy walks up and says, "what are you fishing with" I show him he says your doing it all wrong grabs my reel throws a dropper on with a nymph and an egg, and it was on, Couldn't keep the fish off of the hook it was incredible how much difference 18" more of leader can make. Match the hatch, visit your local store they will put some flies in your hand. I always find a fly I like, buy one or take a picture and tie a few, then hit it from there. The database on here is something incrdible and I am insired daily on here.

 

Good luck

[mikechell 0]

If someone hear you is catching, beat him up and take talk to them and see if they'll show you what they are using. Match the hatch if you can, match the other anglers if you must.

[ditz2 0]

Just a little story....I have lots of stories....Many years ago I worked with a fella that had a cottage in southern Michigan and he invited me up with him for a weekend of icefishing. The first afternoon we walked onto the ice and right past the fishing herd and found 4 holes that had already been cut. We were fishing yellow perch with some small shiney minnows. I got one rod ready and started feeding line and bait into the water and when the bobber hit the water it never stopped and fish on. I must have hauled out at least half a dozen like this before the bobber ever floated once. It took another 8 or 10 perch before I could get the other rig into the water but I could not keep up with 2 rods so I left one rod out of the water. My buddy had not caught a fish this whole time so suggested he fish the other hole which he did and still only caught a fish now and then. I asked him what line wt he was using and he had on 12# and I was using 2# so I suggested that he use my unused rod but he refused. We quit just before dark and we had a pile of fish to clean but my buddy had probably only caught about half a dozen all evening. The moral of this story is line size does matter sometimes. The fishing herd behind us were catching very little and as soon as we vacated our holes the herd moved out to our area. I would loved to wait around to see if any fish were caught but we had a lot of work ahead of us cleaning perch. I always use as light of line as I think I can get away with anytime I am on the water. In open water I never use anything heavier than 6# in freshwater and most of the time I use 4#. A lot of savy icefishermen use 1# mono for panfish.

[mikechell 0]

I've also got a story, and like you Ditz2, I too have many years of stories. This one is about fishing line too, but the fish we were after were LMB. I was fishing the back deck of my friend, Jerry's, boat. He was fishing with a weighted, Texas-rigged, june bug colored 7" Culprit worm ... line of choice, flouro-carbon 14# test. I was fishing with a non-weighted, Texas-rigged, watermelon candy colored sticko .... line of choice, Stren superbraid, smoke green, 20# test (8# diameter).

He couldn't get a hit ... I caught 7 LMB, all over 3 pounds ... fishing the same holes he was casting at, before he finally gave up with his choices. He went to a crank bait, I continued to out fish him. He went to spinner bait, same situation. I refused, at this time to fish what I was fishing and went back to his original choices ... with a lighter bullet weight.

 

We packed up and went home when he couldn't stand it anymore. Final count for the day, I caught 32 bass, 2 over 5 pounds ... Jerry caught 4, none over 2 pounds.

 

Obviously, line "shyness" wasn't a factor on the St. Johns River that day. The only rods I have with mono on them are my fly rods. I only have mono on them because I don't like the suppleness of braid as a leader. I believe a certain amount of stiffness to the mono helps turn the fly over at the end of the cast. When I tried braid, it just seemed to follow the tip of the fly line to the water ... just too soft to "vault" over.

[ditz2 0]

Interesting story Mike. Just goes to show that each individual's experiences are different and illustrate why we all fish and tackle up differently. I have even changed many things over the years as my experiences have expanded.

[mikechell 0]

Wouldn't be any fun if everything worked the same for every one, every time. Variety is the spice of fishing, and all that stuff !!!

[Chris H 0]

Your not the only one! Ive been out about 7 times lately, and only had 1 bite. Just the way it goes I guess, i have zero presentation skills and knowledge. I am working on a day with a local guide to teach me fly fishing skills, river reading and hopefully some other skills to help me out

[Fly Fishing Idaho 0]

Brown trout aren't skimpy little rainbows ( no offense. its actually my favorite fish). I like chucking big streamers. Whatever bait fish are in the area can be immitated by probably different color combos of decivers and clousers will work. wolley buggers are always good but there are better flies. I sometimes catch themon big hoppers or drakes. What ever the 3 biggest insects in your area are the brown will feed on them. For rainbows in lakes, I have to admit, I hate using wolley buggers but its probably the best. Midges hatch on lakes very well, but I would stick to streamers.

[rocklife 0]

thank you all for the friendly words

i keep at it till the end

 

best thing i ever did was put a fly rod in my hand ,just have to put fish on the end

[Peterjay 0]

Not really a matter of luck. Sounds like you could use some input from local fishermen. Check around and see if there's a club in your area and attend a few meetings. Go to a fishing show if there's one nearby and attend some seminars. Make it a point to visit fly/tackle shops when they're not too busy and talk to people there. If you get the chance to fish with a veteran angler, by all means, go. Most fly fishermen are happy to share what they've learned through experience, but it's up to you to make the first move. Everybody struggled in the beginning; fly fishing takes some practice, but once you pick up a few skills, you'll have them for the rest of your life.

[switch10 0]

Dead drifting midges (buzzers) will always produce big fish in rivers and lakes. They are also super easy to tie. Try different variations of the Zebra Midge. A few of my favorite variations include the tiger midge (copper bead, copper rib), and bloodworm (red body, silver rib, gold bead).

 

I guarantee you will catch fish on midges, any time, any place.

 

Good luck.

 

**EDIT**

I have had even better luck with this Bloodworm pattern.