What to tye when you don't know what you're fishing for?

[beeryboats 0]

Growing up in California, all I fished for were trout. there was nothing else in them thar lakes. Here in Indiana, I have no idea what may bite my hook. I've bait fished and caught Bluegill and had a small mouth on a spinner once. And that's about it. What are some good flys for a beginner to tye for this part of the country. I'm signed up for tying classes in a couple weeks and hope to get some more pointers. I did get a change to talk to the teacher, and he told me the class has moved away from strictly trout flys to more warm water fish.

[SCOwens 0]

Clousers, seem to be pretty well liked for baitfish imitations nation wide

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

mudler minnows, poppers, ep baitfish

[agn54 0]

when in doubt go with a popper, wooly bugger, or a clouser. If you don't get anything on any one of those, fish somewhere else

[dusty153 0]

Tie a few of everything. I figure that if a finicky trout will eat it, so will all the other fish. Some days you just have to hold your mouth right to get anything to bite. You can spend a lifetime what the perfect bait is. ( ask me how I know)

[LeakyWaders 0]

If i'm searching for fish, any fish, my go-to pattern is the Tequeely. There aren't many fish that it won't catch.

[mikechell 0]

My goto fly for Indiana water is a top water popper. I usually go just a little larger than the commercially available "bluegill" poppers you see at Wal-mart. Most of the sunfish will hit a larger fly, and the larger size is more likely to attract a good largemouth bass. In all my years of fishing Indiana (My home State), I never caught a pike or a walleye, but I caught tons of bass, crappie and sunfish. All of those fish will take poppers and small minnow imitators.

 

[flytire 0]

trout flies catch bluegills and bass will be happy to take them also

[Bryon Anderson 0]

For the record, there are trout streams and lakes in Indiana: http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-2012_Trout_Locations.pdf

 

As for the other fish that swim in Indiana, I would agree with the suggestions made so far, but I would also add a simple "bunny streamer" -- regular rabbit strip tail the about the length of the hook shank, body of palmered cross-cut rabbit strip, and conehead/bead/eyes of your choice to get it to the desired depth and give it the all-important "jigging" action. This is always my first choice subsurface fly (even before the hallowed Woolly Bugger). It will mimic every freshwater baitfish and crustacean in the correct colors, and it has a far more fish-attracting action underwater than a Bugger or (especially) a Clouser Minnow, in my opinion.

 

My go-to topwater fly is a simple deer-hair popper or slider in sizes 2-6. Configuration and colors are your choice: If it makes noise and has some feathers and/or rubber legs that wiggle, the bass and panfish will eat it, bless them.

[beeryboats 0]

Thanks all. This is a new hobby, and I need all the help I can get. Moving to Indiana from California was like landing on Mars. We have "Blue Laws", ice storms, and salty roads all winter. Some of which I expected. But I moved into a very strange, to me, fishing enviroment. One thing I really miss is National Forest Land. I can't even find a retention pond in a local housing developement that allows non residents to fish there. They're the best as you rarely see tress nearby to snag your line.

Jay

[mikechell 0]

Beery ... I was morn and raised in Logansport. What area did you end up in?

[netabrookie 0]

I would have to go with nymphs. I don't think any muskie or pike will bother with them, but just about everything else that swims will. I agree with all the other suggestions from the other members also. Take Care, Tony

[beeryboats 0]

Beery ... I was morn and raised in Logansport. What area did you end up in?

Brownsburg....

[JSzymczyk 0]

Clouser Deep Minnows, Woolly Buggers, and topwater poppers/sliders. Rabbit fur flies are nice, but they hold so much water that IMO unless they are very small, they become a real b**ch to cast. Watch real minnows, most of the time they dart and swim with a fairly "rigid" body- that is why bucktail (such as in a Clouser Deep Minnow) is an almost perfect suggestion of a baitfish.