Frog's Fanny

[Foxgap239]

Hey guys, just looking for opinions here. I fished the Saucon yesterday and had more refusals than I have ever had on any stream during a hatch. I mean not one fish got stung. I tried different sizes and styles of olives (I could see the fsih taking the olvies) and even went down to 7X tippet. I have used Frog's Fanny for years and have never had an issue with it. Do you think there is any chance that it leaves a smell on the fly that the fish sensed as they rose to the fly? I can't believe it does but I am baffled by the amount of refuslas last week and this week there.

 

[sandfly]

its a chemical of course it has a smell. why use it a well tyed olive should float a long time without floatant. could be they are taking a emerger also not the dun..

 

[Foxgap239]

Tried the floating emerger too but I didn't try it as I dropper. I certainly will the next time. I was seeing them taking dry's off the surface. Many were jumping around on the water before being eaten. I even tried a little movement on my flies. Although I have used it on streams after catching a fish to get the slime off and got a fish the very next cast. Maybe it just wasn't my day. Good point about it being a chemical though.

 

[sandfly]

color of olive's is important on the saucon, I like a medium dirty olive with black wings too.

 

[Foxgap239]

Good call out on the wings. All of my flies did have brighter wings. I picked a few off the water the week before and these olives were very light in color almost yellow so I tied a few of up with lighter olive too. No luck. I guess that's why we call it "fishing" and not "catching, huh. LOL

 

[dryflyguy]

Often, on the first cast and float after having frog fanny applied - I've noticed the fly leaving a powder trail on the surface. And that would likely spook a fish.
So, I usually make a test cast - not over the fish - to see if there is any residue that needs washed away first. Then cast the fly over my target

 

[Foxgap239]

Yeah, I have seen that too. Thanks. These fish get pounded so maybe they have just seen every tie known to man or like I said maybe it wasn't my day. I went over the LL and saved a skunking by getting a couple of little ones on the always reliable Griffith's Gnat. Have any of you ever seen where the fish prefer a hackled tie to the flat floating patterns? Maybe I should try that next time too. I didn't see one fish caught by anyone but that doesn't mean they weren't catching them. I had a nice PAFF member come by and give me one of his ties which he caught fish the week before there but again no avail! I shamed his fly!

 

[dryflyguy]

Yeah, certainly sounds like you had some fish that are tired of getting caught.
I fished the saucon once in the park at hellertown, during a trico hatch. And I caught a few - but I remember them being quite fussy.

I tie my BWO's with a small hackle - no larger than the hook gap. Still enough there to float the fly, but giving a better impression IMO

 

[wsender]

Maybe I'm alone on this but I don't think the Frogs Fanny makes a bit of difference. I also seriously doubt that a fraction of a gram of floatant diluted in thousands of gallons of water will produce a smell or taste or any other detectable disturbances.

There are plenty of compounds, organic and inorganic, that are completely odorless. Besides, isn't Frogs Fanny silica, which I'm pretty sure is fairly inert.

I don't intend to be rude, but it was probably you. It's easy to blame the fish, I know I do all the time! When I stop and really focus on the mechanics of my cast or presentation or drift I find a hook up. Sometimes it just doesnt happen either and it nothing to do with you.

 

[troutslammer]

were u smoking cigars ? A friend of mine swears this helps for fussy fish. Def. not the frogs fanny !!! how long was your leader ? how clear was the water ? how close were you to the fish ? Were the fish upstream of you , streight across , downstream ?

 

[Rolf]

I've fished with Andre for a fair number of years now and he is an excellent fisherman. He also uses this stuff by the case!Cases! He also often catches fish when others do not. If you got skunked, I doubt it was because of the Frog's Fanny.

 

[Foxgap239]

Thanks everyone. Not trying to blame the FF, it was almost definitely not my day. Maybe I needed to be humbled because I'd gotten a bit too ****y in my fishing. I very much doubted it was the FF but I was curious if anyone had input. I use it by the case as well but like one of you said, don't really want to blame it on me when that may have been the very issue.

 

[dryflyguy]

Hey, you found fishing rising in late november. I certainly wouldn't say you had a bad day.
Sometimes the fish win. That's what makes this sport so interesting IMO

 

[Foxgap239]

Thanks for putting it in perspective. Point very well made!

 

[fshnbob]

Let me see, you were on a stream fishing, it was a nice day, fish were rising, and you didn't catch any. Sounds like a typical day for me.

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah, I'm not saying it doesn't make a difference, and changing up the floatant is worth the try. Let us know how it goes.

But as a gut feel, I think there are probably 9 or 10 more likely culprits. And actually, changing the floatant, if it works, I'd say is more likely that it changed how your fly rides before I'd blame the smell.

 

[mcwillja]

I put so much frogs fanny on my flies it's ridiculous. Most places where I go the fish are fussy and I have done well with Frog's butt and have never noticed any refusals due to the silica. I actually just bought a quart size bottle of the stuff off ebay for a fraction of the cost of Frogs Fanny.