The morning’s weather forecast predicted chilly temps., high water and rain. Sounds perfect to me. It was time to tinker with new ideas from two-time national champion George Daniel.
There’s something truly special about a New England autumn, and all the more so when you’re out fly fishing. Crowds have ameliorated, the weather can be challenging, and the fish are more eager after a languid and hot summer.
I headed to the Farmington with anticipation. George was right: Tinkering keeps fly fishing fresh and fun (post on his clinic here). I was pumped to fish some new fly variants and beta-test my new-and-thin Euronymphing leaders. Would “thin to win” work? Is it all hype or is there substance? I also had some split shot with me and wanted to try a drop-shot approach that George recommended.
I wanted to focus on the permanent TMA section, which has not been stocked since spring and offers the chance to catch some wily brown trout. I figure that was a great way to pressure-test the new approaches. Find some wild or Survivor Strain browns, if I can.
I arrived at dawn and was glad to cross paths with @d_throw. He too was at George’s clinic and was about to work with the new ideas from George.
Maybe it was the new Euronymphing leader, but I was onto fish pretty quick. Also, having a partially-white Euro sighter really helped me see my leader in the low-light conditions.
My second trout was the fish of the day, a fierce beast that taped at 17″ and featured a nice paddle. It took one of my new flies.
With that done, I started to tinker with a drop-shot rig. I’m still new at it and will blog about it once I have logged more river-miles. But, at the right water, the technique worked well.
Most fun was that the thin Euronymphing leader was amazing. I intentionally started fishing at a stretch I know well to see how the new leader would do. I later visited the most pressured areas of the river and used both both drop-shots and the standard Euro approach with tungsten nymphs.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a better autumn outing at the well-trodden areas. The rig was extremely sensitive, and soft takes were easy to spot. It made me wonder how many hits I’ve missed with my regular-and-more-heavy Euronymphing leader.
I ended the day by throwing a Euro dry-dropper. Fish were rising to take Isonychia, BWOs and Caddis. It was great to see healthy and active trout, rising to take a fly. A fun way to end the outing.
Even though I went 12-for-15, it wasn’t about volume or the chance to see some good fish. It was about trying something new and putting a new approach to the test at highly-pressured water.
It was a fun day, a fulfilling day. Hope you’re enjoying the fall weather.
Thanks for the pointers, George!
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Drop shot on a Euro rig might be just the ticket during Rock Snot season! Look forward to your experiments!
Yes, great point!
Fishing three flies on the drop shot system? Experimented with it last week. How do you attach to your anchor? On a tag or thru the eye?
Just one fly. Dropper tag.
That’s a beast! Great job Jo.
Thank you, Ashu! Hope you’re feeling better.