New to Nymphing

Frenchies will pretty much work anywhere, I like to hang a pheasant tail, hare's ear, prince, etc off the back of a parachute adams, small buggers are good in faster water sometimes. I usually fish in the Resica Falls section at the Boy Scout camp. I make the donation every year, it's beautiful water. The Little Lehigh has a lot of water that is reasonably fishable from the bank without wader, though a landing net with a longer handle would be useful.

You have a PM.
 
Thanks, yes, I used to fish the Lehigh with spinning gear from trexlertown to 8th st in Allentown. Awesome stream.
Funny that you mention a net. I've never had a trout net and have decided recently to purchase one.
I've been fishing near the same strangers at the same creek for 2-3 weeks and they finally got me catching fish. There was allot more to the technique than just casting. They catch right along behind me like a clean-up crew and have been coaching me . They catch 5 to 1 over me but at least I'm catching fish now. Zug under a prince or Flashback under a prince......exactly what they're using... They said they are getting ready to add Green drake as they do every year this time.
I'd like to try the Para. Adams with Flashback or prince.
What size Adams. My droppers are 16.
 
Depends on the size of the nymph and if/how much it's weighted usually #10-14, usually an Adams parachute, but with BWO an unweighted pheasant tail under a #16 is common for a lot of people I know. Don't fall for the myth that all nymphs need to be weighted to the max either, best to carry some unweighted ones as well. For instance when stoneflies are migrating to the margis of the stream to hatch a double tungsten bead nymph isn't going to do you much good.

Not sure the rationale on the green drake nymphs, they're silt burrowers and the fish rarely see them, but hey if it works who cares?
 
I question allot. There are allot of knowledgeable and helpful folks around trout streams. Total strangers got me catching fish. I had been buying flies that were way too big and wrong color or life cycle. These guys set me straight and got me catching and they were catching machines themselves.

When you say weighted are you referring to beads and beadhead versions.

So the 7.5' mono leader tied to 2' of 4x tippet with a 16 P. Adams, 18" dropper 4x Floro tippet tied through the eye of the Adams with a 16 Zugbug, Prince or Pheasant Tail under that? No weight, floatant on the Adams.
if the droppers are beadheads won't they pull the Adams under?
 
Yeah, I was trying to say if it's working and you're learning more about fly fishing then roll with it, it's good to have friends on the stream helping you out. I give plenty of flies and help out to people who want some help.

Vary the length of the dropper based on depth, I typically don't use beadheads, or big ones at least in a dropper dry set up, others may argue and there are no rules with this. The simplest guidance is the obvious, if it's pulling your dry fly under find something lighter which is another good reason to carry unweighted nymphs. whether it be a bead or a weighted undrbody, but these days for many tyers it's going to be a bead. I definitely dress a dry with silicone and Frogs Fanny to keep it on top longer.
 
Thanks for the encouragement. I 'll keep things flexible. I do have just a few more questions. I hate to bug you but
-Should the dropper fly be jig tied?
-Should it be bouncing on the creek bottom? If so my dropper tippet would really be long one minute and short the next as I move along the creek.
-I'm thinking a 20 or 22 beadhead nymph under the 16 P.Adams will work. I'll buy unbeaded also.

I'm thinking this will work well for May.
 
Dropper doesn't need to be jig tied, but that does help with less hang ups, but jigged nymphs still get stuck sometimes. I usually use a heavy Walt's Worm, small heavy bugger, stonefly, etc as the dropper and try to bounce it off the bottom, I tie my nymphs inline, don't really use a blood knot dropper or tippet ring dropper much since I haven't seen an advantage and the inline set up casts easier. Personally, I'd go with a larger unweighted nymph than a tiny weighted one in a dropper/dry set up, but YMMV. If you don't have any LaFontaine caddis pupas you might want to pick some up, they're killers as dropper flies under a dry during a caddis hatch.

I did send you a Private Message, might want to check that out.
 
It will be a couple weeks until I get a LaFontaine but I will get a few. What size would you go to for the dropper. I have 16 Pheasant and Zugs but they're all bead.
I attempted to answer your PM. Let me know if you got it.
 
We have plenty of caddis hitting the water but not exactly a hatch.
 
I use a lot of #14 and #16 GLF pupas, the best colors over the years have been cream/tan and olive. If you see fish flashing deep and you see any caddis, they're usually a decent bet. The pupas will be active on the bottom hours before you see and caddis popping.
 
Hellboy you used the term "Caddis popping". What did I miss here. The Caddis I see are adult winged caddis. Are you saying they had just hatched from pupae? They seem to just drop in from anywhere and I never thought where they may have come from.
Haven't seen any fish flashing and I think that is because they are still behaving like stocked trout.
 
Hellboy you used the term "Caddis popping". What did I miss here. The Caddis I see are adult winged caddis. Are you saying they had just hatched from pupae? They seem to just drop in from anywhere and I never thought where they may have come from.
Haven't seen any fish flashing and I think that is because they are still behaving like stocked trout.
 
The GLF look like they may be good for post spawn bluegill as well.
 
Caught Trout #3.
Not a big deal to all of you trout bums but it was eight o'clock last night, about dark, I said one more swing for the bank, Blammo! I caught the smallest trout of the season and the third on a fly rig.

Light colored #12 shrimp nymph.
 
Sorry, just some some slang some of use for hatching, yes the pupas rise to the surface and the adult breaks out of the pupal case just below the surface so when you see trout slashing aggressively at the surface when caddis are hatching their usually intercepting pupas or targeting caddis struggling to hatch. Most people throw dries at them but an emerger that sits at least partially below the surface is usually a better producer.
 
Okay, will look more closely.

Is this normally the time of year to use shrimp or did I get lucky last evening.
 
What Nymphs are trout hitting in your creek
 
Baron wrote:

Is this normally the time of year to use shrimp or did I get lucky last evening.
Click to expand...

A shrimp fly - at least the ones associated with trout fishing - are usually referred to as "scuds" in FFing lingo.

They are active year round and can be fished year round (I use them a lot in the colder months of the year). They like weeds and are fast swimmers in short bursts. I fish them with lots of movement, twitches, and sometime swing them like a wet fly, however most folks fish 'em dead drift like any other nymph.

They are much more common in limestone streams rather than freestone. In many valley limestoners, they are an enormous amount of the trout food biomass far outnumbering nymphs and other food sources, so trout eat lots of 'em.
 
Scuds, Sounds Iraqi. Well it work fine. Today another member gave me a caddis and also a fellow (Ryan something) recommended I use a Stonefly. Bingo, Ryan, thanks now I have dinner.
After a bit I changed to spinning reel. I had two Pink eggs on a #6 hook and got cleaned. I reloaded two more eggs and soon got all four eggs back. When I cleaned him there they were.

Martins Creek is a Limestoner! I don't know what that means vs Spring creek but it is a limestone creek.

Thats My story.
 
This week the water temps are bound to rise with the air temps. Will this spike a rise in the hatches of various trout foods.
What should I be looking at on the Martins creek?
I caught one yesterday on a black beadless stonefly. Is there anything else I should be stocking up with?
What are you loading?
I've been using very small nymphs up until now but yesterday a fellow fisherman handed me what looked to be an 8 or ten sized tan stone. It worked.
 
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