Spent spinner refusals

[trubski]

I had an odd thing happen last evening. There was no hatch to speak of, but a lot of various bugs around. I tried a few and then started doing pretty well with a spent spinner. But after about an hour I started to have trouble hooking - lots of fish coming to the fly, though. At first I thought it was me - too much slack, timing off, whatever - but it was too consistent. They were clearly refusal rises - sudden, splashy rises but no takes.

I've never had that happen with spinners before. My experience has always been that trout either take them very deliberately or don't take them at all. Anyone have any ideas? I was using comparaduns - maybe they looked like emergers? Maybe a size too big?

 

[CaptMatt]

So were they taking the fly and you were not getting a good hook set or just "flashing at it" and not eating it all together?

 

[trubski]

Well at first I thought I was just missing, but I don't think so. I think they were flashing/splashing at it but not taking it. I had done well enough by then to consider it an experiment so I stuck with the spinners and it kept happening. Weird.

 

[CaptMatt]

Well my initial reaction would be that your hook was dull, sense you did well at first and then started missing them. But I’m not sure?

 

[shipnfish2006]

That's kind of weird to hear happening. On more pressure driven streams like the Letort and Falling Springs, quite often I'll have trout come up and just bump my fly and breaking the surface in the process but no take occurs. Usually then I'll try a variation pattern to the hatch im fishing or size down to the next size. I'm not sure if this is quite whats happening to you but I'd say give it a shot. You'll never figure it out unless you try it I guess.

Hope this helps some.

 

[trubski]

shipnfish2006 wrote:
That's kind of weird to hear happening. On more pressure driven streams like the Letort and Falling Springs, quite often I'll have trout come up and just bump my fly and breaking the surface in the process but no take occurs. Usually then I'll try a variation pattern to the hatch im fishing or size down to the next size. I'm not sure if this is quite whats happening to you but I'd say give it a shot. You'll never figure it out unless you try it I guess.

It did seem to be something like that but much splashier. Now that I think of it, it was almost like the kind of reaction you get to big attractors like a Sofa Pillow sometimes, where fish will splash all over it without ever trying to take it.

I didn't have anything smaller than a 16 but I think I'll tie a couple of 18's just in case it happens again.

 

[CaptMatt]

unless they were taking emergers near your fly that made you think that they were "on" your fly

 

[shipnfish2006]

CaptMatt wrote:
unless they were taking emergers near your fly that made you think that they were "on" your fly

Forgot about that one. I've had that happen a time or two where theyll rise right beside my fly and it would be a gut reaction to strike back thinking they had it. Then Id switch up to emergers and theyd take it. Thats kind of what I meant by variations to the hatch, an emerger, a dun, a parachute, a comparadun, a spinner, and even a nymph fished without any weight can all be effective during a hatch.

 

[trubski]

shipnfish2006 wrote:

CaptMatt wrote:
unless they were taking emergers near your fly that made you think that they were "on" your fly

Forgot about that one. I've had that happen a time or two where theyll rise right beside my fly and it would be a gut reaction to strike back thinking they had it. Then Id switch up to emergers and theyd take it. Thats kind of what I meant by variations to the hatch, an emerger, a dun, a parachute, a comparadun, a spinner, and even a nymph fished without any weight can all be effective during a hatch.

Something like that would probably have done it - thanks!