caddis hatch

[Jessed]

It's really hard to do! But I've ruined lots of good opportunitys rushing!

 

[dc410]

Slowing down is hard to do, but it gets easier as you get older. I've recently been reading through parts of Ray Bergman's book "Trout". He describes times where he has sat in some thick streamside vegetation and just watched trout move and feed for over an hour. Then he would back out and spend the next half hour or so slowing working up into position from downstream until he finally made his first attempt. His advantage was - he knew exactly where the fish were staged and the level of the water column they were feeding in.

Sometimes getting into position and just standing there, with your rod in the crook of your arm and your fly in the keeper, just observing everything unfolding around you can shed a lot of facts on the situation at hand and calm the nerves a little bit at the same time.

 

[SteveG]

I couldn't imagine waiting an hour during a hatch, it'll be over lol. Though outside of a hatch, if it's a decent fish, I'll spend all the time in the world to creep into the best position.

 

[Jessed]

I usually just watch to see if there's a fish rising where I'm gonna go get into position so I don't spook the rest of the fish

 

[Jessed]

But i think if you love to fly fish no matter what you do you freak out when a hatch happends like that!

 

[3oh4]

These guys with all these theories and different views on things probably don't drive two hours to the stream and two hours home (minimum each trip). It's easy to slow down when you live 15 minutes and can be on the stream 7 days a week if desired. When you fish all day and the hatch finally comes and the sun gives way - there is nothing worse than knowing the end is near and time has won again.

 

[DaveS]

Ah Grasshopper, In the end, Times always wins.

But if you CAN pull it off, and stand there in a river of rising fish. Fly rod tucked in the crook of your arm, the impression you give is that you are so good, this is just too easy.

Yea right.

 

[krayfish2]

I usually drive 3+ hours each way and it's quite easy to sit and observe. It's way more efficient that beating a fish until he stops rising. DaveS drives 6 hours to meet me and I know we've sat on for hours, watched and then left without catching a one. Lol. When you run into a heavy or overlapping hatch situation, it's better to observe first, cast second. Make sure you figure out which stage the fish is keyed in on BEFORE you waste the opportunity. Option #2 is to nymph them up as fish are always suckers to eat subsurface.

I'll also add.....when you think you've finally figured it out, you're still wrong. Lol

 

[Jessed]

Chickabou caddis has been my favorite caddis dry. I've never had luck with the traditional elk hair caddis