Well, I’ve tied a bunch of midge emergers in sizes 26 down to 32. It’s not fun to do, but I’ll do what I must to hook trout.
The last time I was at the Swift, I put on one of those flies. I saw some actively-feeding fish and cast out. I saw one of them open its mouth, and I did a quick strip set. A 17″ rainbow later came to the net after peeling off a ton of line.
Here’s what the fly looks like:
I know it doesn’t look like much, but I think a simple fly can work well with picky trout. There’s much less there for them to which they can say “no.”
For the fly, I use black thread for the bodies and a touch of olive CDC puff. I try to taper the body a bit and make it thicker towards the head. I also leave a little thread in the back for a small tail.
Wish me (and my eyes) luck!
I have just started fly fishing and my 14 year old son also. i am a striper fisherman turning to sweet water. i cannot tell you how hooked i am. even if i dont catch anything i could stay all day , well i just want to say i love this blog it has taught me a great deal. i was at the swift yesterday, Sunday and caught 2 and lost 2 to trees one big brookie. i have turned to the leaders with a piece of the indicator mono tied into it just a straight piece and it has helped quit a bit. looking forward to your next post. also just started to tie also God help me im in to deep.
Awesome! What a great way to spend time with your son. I guarantee that he will cherish those memories for decades.
Hi – Interested to know how you fish a fly like the emerger above. Is it meant to float like a dry, or subsurface like a wet fly. Are you casting upstream and dead drifting or down and across and swinging like a wet fly looking for hookups at the end of the swing?
I fish it like a dry. I cast up stream or down stream, depending on my location and the current. I'm dead drifting.
Thanks for that. Always interested in how folks fish/work a fly: strip, dead-drift, swing etc.