When I occasionally stomach-pump trout these days, I’m seeing a clear pattern. They’re feeding on small bugs. That’s surprising to me. I read online about these major mayfly and caddis hatches starting to happen on our freestones. So, I would think that the fish would be full of bugs in sizes 14 to 18. There
Tag: euronymphing flies
Soft-Hackled Frenchies
(Oct. 13, 2016 edit: I’m starting to call these “Glam Frenchies” because they’re so in-your-face.) Soft-hackled Frenchies rule. They catch plenty of trout, both new stockies and grizzled veterans. Sometimes, trout want a very simple fly with few details, as it means there’s less to which they can object. Sometimes, “busy” flies with many strike
Jig Hooks
When nymphing, I tend to use barbless jig hooks. I first heard about them from competitive fly fishing anglers, who incorporate them with slotted tungsten beads into anchor flies in a Euro-nymphing set-up. So, I bought some and fished them. I caught fish. So, I bought more sizes. I really like this style of a
Variants
Part of the fun about fly tying, for me, is making variants. I will tweak a pattern to give it a slightly different look. A tweak can be major or minor, but can help attract trout I don’t think it matters much for most waters. But, it has made a big difference for me when