Wait for hatch or nymph first?

[Millsertime]

This evening, I got to the stream a couple hours earlier than I wanted to for various reasons. The sulfurs will come off this evening at some point. Right now I am relaxing with my butt on a rocky beach and a cold beer within arms reach.

My question is if you were in the situation, do more of you nymph/wet/soft hackle until you start seeing rises or do you park and wait? I’m the latter 90% of the time.

Oh by the way… the sailboats are starting!

 

[Mike]

It’s a personal preference, but when I go fishing I’m there to fish. I’ll nymph or fish emergers. If I’m doing well I may not even switch to dry flies.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Oh man, next you'll be gambling

 

[hooker-of-men]

And I would be fishing a dry dropper. I get impatient

 

[redietz]

Wet flies/soft hackles all the way. I usually only switch to dries when I'm bored with catching fish on wets.

 

[tomgamber]

As Bruno said at the Jam, "I didn't drive all the way up here to nymph. "

 

[krayfish2]

If I've only fished a few times so far this year, I'm nymphing it up. If I've been fortunate enough to be out a bunch, sitting on the rock waiting

 

[dudemanspecial]

9/10 I am nymphing in that situation.

1/10 I will just relax and watch

 

[KELORGO]

I nymph. I fished Pine Creek hard the last five days. I was out all hours and only saw fish rising steadily in one section. Most of the time I saw no rising trout at all. I caught tons of trout on nymphs, which made my trip!

 

[TimMurphy]

This evening, I got to the stream a couple hours earlier than I wanted to for various reasons. The sulfurs will come off this evening at some point. Right now I am relaxing with my butt on a rocky beach and a cold beer within arms reach.

My question is if you were in the situation, do more of you nymph/wet/soft hackle until you start seeing rises or do you park and wait? I’m the latter 90% of the time.

Oh by the way… the sailboats are starting!

Dear Millertime,

Waiting around for 12 hours to catch a hatch on the if-come is kind of foolish. I say that as someone who was historically on the water by 8:00 AM at the latest, even in Fall or Winter.

It's with a great deal of irony that I say the greatest regret in my fly fishing career has been the gradual drift away from beginning with nymphs and streamers to the present day where I sit around waiting for risers. Especially since by 5:00 PM I am both hungry and thirsty!

Get out early get sh*t done, and if you are so inclined, return to the evening hatch has become a motto that I will never break. I'm old as dirt though!

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Swattie87]

As Bruno said at the Jam, "I didn't drive all the way up here to nymph. "

If I’m on one of the big streams during prime hatch season this is largely how I feel too. Once it’s warm out, I’ll usually sit and have a beer. Or, at the risk of exposing myself further to poking from krayfish about having beer and food streamside, if it’s in the evening I’ll take along a sub or my backpacking stove and grill some sausages or something while I’m waiting. Hey, at least I’m on a big stream! 😜

If it’s cold out, or early season hatches that tend to hatch more during the day as opposed to right before dark, I’ll be more likely to nymph some until things get going on the surface. But if it’s warm enough to be comfy just sitting on a log, it’s my preference.

I should add that I don’t really like pure nymphing, but acknowledge its effectiveness, and am willing to tolerate it from time to time. 😝

 

[Bamboozle]

This evening, I got to the stream a couple hours earlier than I wanted to for various reasons. The sulfurs will come off this evening at some point. Right now I am relaxing with my butt on a rocky beach and a cold beer within arms reach.

My question is if you were in the situation, do more of you nymph/wet/soft hackle until you start seeing rises or do you park and wait? I’m the latter 90% of the time.

Oh by the way… the sailboats are starting!

What no IPA....? You're bucking the influencers...

I was fishing the other afternoon at a favorite local stream hoping for Sulphurs where historically the hatch pretty much is done by late May.

The usual situation here and other places with a Sulphur hatch that I frequent is duns popping off later in the afternoon, a lull, then a balls out hatch beginning around 8:00 pm until around 9:00 pm when spinners start.

Well three days ago when I got there around 3:30 pm, the water was a bit higher and slightly off color and it was dead as a door nail. I tried nymphs, caught one one a Little Black Caddis and kept working until I got to a favorite spot where I usually catch a bunch to end my day. That hole was also dead, save for a two risers that I caught.

I was tempted to sit and wait for "prime time" but that was TWO HOURS away...!!

Since I never take any beer, food or snacks fishing with me to kill time, I stuck at it for another hour. However, I know this stream & hatch so well at this time of year that I knew it would be fruitless to wait any longer so I packed it in so I could drive home in daylight.

 

[turkey]

I wait for the bugs to happen. However, I'm going to change that up from now on. I've always liked swinging wets or soft-hackles but got away from it.

 

[PennKev]

So is it kosher to arrive at a popular stream and "claim" a hole and sit on it for two hours during the busiest part of the fishing season?

 

[Swattie87]

So is it kosher to arrive at a popular stream and "claim" a hole and sit on it for two hours during the busiest part of the fishing season?

Not really. If I’m sitting, and not fishing and you walk in on me, that’s fair game IMO. Opinions will likely vary though. I’ve had guys ask me (typically nymphing) if it was ok to fish through. I usually say have at it, just make some room for me if they start rising.

If I’m just relaxing and I see guys coming, I have my rod rigged and ready and I’ll walk out and “fish” for a bit, to keep my spot.

I do think this is fairly regular practice though. If I see guys sitting and waiting I know what’s going on and give them the respect of having gotten to that spot first.

 

[Mike]

So is it kosher to arrive at a popular stream and "claim" a hole and sit on it for two hours during the busiest part of the fishing season?

I wouldn’t know. I rarely fish busy streams (at the time that I’m fishing) or busy sections of streams except on opening day. Even the Tulpehocken isn’t busy when and/or where I fish it. The same is true for the Jordan. But I can tell you that if I see some guy sitting on a bank with no line in the water I’m fishing through, and I do mean fishing through. I’m not a trout teaser/coaxer.

 

[coyoterahn]

So is it kosher to arrive at a popular stream and "claim" a hole and sit on it for two hours during the busiest part of the fishing season?

Nope not in my opinion but ……..Isn’t that what a lot of people do during the green drake hatch on Penns?

 

[Andrwhite610]

Nymph. I like catching fish not waiting to maybe catch fish! Also prefer some cannabis over a beer. Improves focus and appreciation for the scenario. Beer makes me dumb and groggy. But that’s just me!

 

[Nocktavius]

You’ll gather a lot more intel about what bugs fish are actually keying in on by fishing prior to risers showing.

 

[turkey]

Nope not in my opinion but ……..Isn’t that what a lot of people do during the green drake hatch on Penns?

I was going to note that I've seen it on Penns too.

If I'm loafing on the bank waiting for a hatch, it's not to claim a pool or good hole. If I'm standing in a pool or good hole waiting for a hatch, I'd hope for some space from other anglers.