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TIER

Fly fishing for dolly varden?

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How on earth do you do it. I'm fishing in a small, clear creek with salmon. So, I tie on an egg and sight fish. I ,m just bouncing it on the bottom, you know. Not a SINGLE take. They didn't even look at it. I didn't have any nymphs, so i couldn't try those, but i tried a streamer, and i got the same result as the egg. Please help what am I supposed to do? Do they hit dry flies?

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5 hours ago, TIER said:

I'm fishing in a small, clear creek with salmon. So, .... sight fish..... Not a SINGLE take. They didn't even look at it.

They're too busy watching you....

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1 minute ago, chugbug27 said:

They're too busy watching you....

So your saying long casts, and tan vests/shirts.

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More or less, yes. Upstream cast past a likely hold, dead drift blind through that upstream hold, let out some line as it passes, and slowly swing it blind through another likely hold a little farther downstream. Not an expert, and I don't know dolly varden from a brook trout, and never been to Alaska, but that's what I'd try. Clear water, shy fish.

Or they might just be stuffed already.

Re the fly, I just read that the salmon spawn periods in Alaska are June, July, Sept and Oct. So for August an alevin imitation, just a guess.

Good luck, hope you catch some, or at least have a blast trying. 

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Where are you fishing James? Usually Dollies aren't that challenging to catch. I suspect they were just "off the bite". They can get full pretty easily.

How many different times did you try? Not casts but visits to the creek. I suggest trying at first light after they have spent the night in the dark not feeding so much.

If you can see the fish, you can see what they are doing. Are they eating anything? If not, there's your answer. If they are eating, find something to match that.

Egg patterns work well, on or near the bottom. Look at the eggs you see in the water and fish egg patterns that match those eggs. If the the eggs in the water are white (from being washed out) and you are fishing a different size and a different color, it could make a difference when they are full. They get really finicky.

Flesh patterns work well too, this late in the season when salmon are starting to fall apart.

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I am fishing robe river, valdez. I saw them eating, but I couldn't make out what they were eating. I don't go there often, because i need a ride there. What are some good flesh flies? 

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2 hours ago, TIER said:

I am fishing robe river, valdez. I saw them eating, but I couldn't make out what they were eating. I don't go there often, because i need a ride there. What are some good flesh flies? 

White marabou with some pink mixed in. I mix in some white deer hair to simulate bones, just a couple of fibers.

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