What are the odds?

[wildtrout2]

I was fishing a remote Sullivan county freestone yesterday and caught a pretty nice native that had someone's fly in it's jaw. I guess that's not all that odd, but it was the same exact Parachute Adams I was using, right down to the size 14!

That was the first time I've ever caught a wild trout under those circumstances. but what are the odds of it being the same exact fly/size I was using?

 

[Swattie87]

Pretty small. Other than fresh stockies around opening day, I don’t even recall the last time I caught a Trout with a fly (or hook of any kind) in its mouth. Given the relative pulling power of even a good sized native, I’d have to assume someone just tied a bad knot and didn’t check it.

I do remember catching a large Fallfish (like 16”) that broke off a snelled bait hook and had it down its gullet not that long ago.

 

[Tups]

If it’s not too much trouble, could you mail it back to me?
I thought it was gone for good.

 

[troutbert]

The odds of this happening seem very low.

But, catching a brook trout with a fly in it's mouth is evidence against the notion that "nobody fishes brookie streams."

 

[laszlo]

The odds that it was Tups fly is even lower

 

[Bamboozle]

Talk about odds (true story)…

I once broke off a fish on Cross Fork on a Purple & Snipe I was fishing as a dropper under a EWC.

I was somewhat pissed at myself because I only had a few Purple & Snipes and they were working great on those fish that day. I even considered walking back to the car to get more from my extra fly stash.

In the meantime, I tied on another and after a fish or two, I caught another fish on the dropper HOWEVER, the hook wasn’t in the fishes mouth, it was snagged on the bend of the hook of the Purple & Snipe I broke off earlier…

In other words, I hooked the same fish with the same fly, ON the same fly I lost a short while earlier!!

This time I released the fish, recovered ALL the flies and never bothered walking back to the car for more.

 

[Lkyboots]

My dad lost his pole fishing on a lake. The next time out he hooked something and pulled in his pole with the fish attached. A couple years later I was on a charter Walley fishing on Lake Erie and a pole went overboard. I was telling that story to the fishing guide when another fisherman got a hit. He pulled in the pole with the fish attached.

 

[FarmerDave]

The odds of catching a trout in a remote stream with another fly in it's mouth are low. However, if one happens to catch a trout in a freestone stream with another fly in it's mouth, the odds of it being a size 14 Adams are not all that low. It is probably the most common dry fly used for freestone trout in the most common size.

Why? Hatches are not as predictable on freestone streams, and the Adams looks a little like everything and a lot like nothing.

All of you freestone trout anglers out there... raise your hand if you do not have any Adams in size 14 in your arsenal.

I'm not seeing any hands.

I'm also not the greatest knot tier, either.

 

[wildtrout2]

FarmerDave wrote:
The odds of catching a trout in a remote stream with another fly in it's mouth are low. However, if one happens to catch a trout in a freestone stream with another fly in it's mouth, the odds of it being a size 14 Adams are not all that low. It is probably the most common dry fly used for freestone trout in the most common size.

Why? Hatches are not as predictable on freestone streams, and the Adams looks a little like everything and a lot like nothing.

All of you freestone trout anglers out there... raise your hand if you do not have any Adams in size 14 in your arsenal.

I'm not seeing any hands.

I'm also not the greatest knot tier, either.

Thanks for the dissertation, I was aware of it's popularity. ;-)

 

[McSneek]

I have plenty of #14 Adams in my arsenal and that’s just where they stay. Why would I use a fly that’s so hard to see to catch brook trout on a remote stream when an elk hair caddis works so well and can actually be seen?

FarmerDave wrote:
It is probably the most common dry fly used for freestone trout in the most common size.

All of you freestone trout anglers out there... raise your hand if you do not have any Adams in size 14 in your arsenal.

 

[FarmerDave]

McSneek wrote:
I have plenty of #14 Adams in my arsenal and that’s just where they stay. Why would I use a fly that’s so hard to see to catch brook trout on a remote stream when an elk hair caddis works so well and can actually be seen?

FarmerDave wrote:
It is probably the most common dry fly used for freestone trout in the most common size.

All of you freestone trout anglers out there... raise your hand if you do not have any Adams in size 14 in your arsenal.

Yea, I understand that. My go to fly is also Elk Hair caddis or something similar, but it wasn't always that way.

I think the first fly I ever tied was an Adams in size 14 and I probably still have it. But it didn't take long to figure out that there are easier flies to tie that work just as well.. like EHC.;-)

 

[dryflyguy]

FarmerDave wrote:
The odds of catching a trout in a remote stream with another fly in it's mouth are low. However, if one happens to catch a trout in a freestone stream with another fly in it's mouth, the odds of it being a size 14 Adams are not all that low. It is probably the most common dry fly used for freestone trout in the most common size.

Why? Hatches are not as predictable on freestone streams, and the Adams looks a little like everything and a lot like nothing.

All of you freestone trout anglers out there... raise your hand if you do not have any Adams in size 14 in your arsenal.

I'm not seeing any hands.

I'm also not the greatest knot tier, either.

My hand is raised high.
I don't tie or fish Adams - period.

Not because I don't think it's effective.
I just think that there a lot of easier to tie flies that work just as well.

IMO, a slate drake/ Iso pattern - simply tied with all gray materials - works fine
And I don't have to tie in a brown hackle with it.

Although I did have a rather odd experience with an Adams just last week.
I was fishing a large central PA stream, in which the fish were midging quite well.
As I was landing one of them - on a #26 midge - I noticed a large grayish fly hooked firmly hooked to its side. It was a #14 parachute Adams.
And even though I carefully handled the fish to avoid getting stuck by it, I still ended up getting jabbed pretty good.
Found out that the Adams had what looked like a sulphur nymph dropper dangling off the bend of the hook.
And it got me pretty good.

But I ended up getting 2 bonus flies back after the release.

 

[wbranch]

Well this will really sound like a fish story but it is 100% true. Many years ago I was fishing the Douglaston water on the Salmon river for steelhead in November. I was there with a friend and we were way down river in what used to be called the "Bus Pool". It is the first pool below the meadow and above the Lower Clay hole. Anyway I was swinging a chartreuse marabou with a couple of BB's on the leader and had what felt like a great take. Ten minutes later I was beaching a resident lake run rainbow. The amazing aspect of the catch was that my fly was not in the fish's mouth at all. Some other fly angler had been fishing a fly on a tippet with a Perfection loop at the end of the tippet. He broke this fish off at the loop. Somehow as my fly was drifting in the water it went through the Perfection loop and stayed there throughout the entire fight which is quite amazing.

You can tell it was caught many years ago because I'm wearing what appear to be brown canvas waders and I'm holding the fish in a very politically incorrect way. It wound up being mounted with the fly and a driftwood display at a fly shop.

 

[FarmerDave]

dryflyguy wrote:


My hand is raised high.
I don't tie or fish Adams - period.

Not because I don't think it's effective.
I just think that there a lot of easier to tie flies that work just as well.

IMO, a slate drake/ Iso pattern - simply tied with all gray materials - works fine
And I don't have to tie in a brown hackle with it.

Although I did have a rather odd experience with an Adams just last week.
I was fishing a large central PA stream, in which the fish were midging quite well.
As I was landing one of them - on a #26 midge - I noticed a large grayish fly hooked firmly hooked to its side. It was a #14 parachute Adams.
And even though I carefully handled the fish to avoid getting stuck by it, I still ended up getting jabbed pretty good.
Found out that the Adams had what looked like a sulphur nymph dropper dangling off the bend of the hook.
And it got me pretty good.

But I ended up getting 2 bonus flies back after the release.

So, you do have a 14 Adams (see your last sentence). I didn't ask if you tie or use them. Put your hand down or change your deodorant.

P.S. I agree with most of what you said. I view recipes as just suggestions. I only followed recipes when first learning to tie. Now I don't follow recipes unless I'm making bread and even then I make adjustments. Yesterday I took a peach cobbler recipe and substituted wild blackberries and elderberries for the peaches. It was quite good. What shall I call it? Whitlock? LOL!

 

[pcray1231]

A 14 Parachute Adams is my go-to brookie fly. White post is easy to see, and it works. I miss too many with EHC, stimulators, and the like. Wulffs, humpy's, and patriots get workouts too though, especially in heavier water where parachutes tend to swamp.

I recall years ago on Oil Creek. I was fishing one day, did very well, a bunch of stockies including some bigger 18 inch type fish. Broke one off on a glo bug. Nick in the line or whatever, who knows. I went back to the same place the next day. Caught a 18" rainbow on a glo bug, with my other glo bug from the day before in its mouth.

There's been a number of times I've caught trout with adornments from other anglers. But yeah, on a native brookie stream I'd think it very rare.

 

[phiendWMD]

Maybe 2 years ago I was fishing a small local creek. I caught a brookie with a snelled hook stuck in it's throat. A week later I was back in the same spot and caught the same fish again.
I thought about trying to remove the snelled hook both times but decided I would probably cause more harm than good since it still seemed to be looking for food and able to get it in it's mouth. Hopefully the hook rusted and came out.

 

[jifigz]

FarmerDave wrote:
The odds of catching a trout in a remote stream with another fly in it's mouth are low. However, if one happens to catch a trout in a freestone stream with another fly in it's mouth, the odds of it being a size 14 Adams are not all that low. It is probably the most common dry fly used for freestone trout in the most common size.

Why? Hatches are not as predictable on freestone streams, and the Adams looks a little like everything and a lot like nothing.

All of you freestone trout anglers out there... raise your hand if you do not have any Adams in size 14 in your arsenal.

I'm not seeing any hands.

I'm also not the greatest knot tier, either.

I don't carry and fish any Adams flies at all...... Ever...... But maybe I'll start.

 

[HopBack]

I was fishing a remote section of on the the St. Vrain branches in Colorado and caught a brook trout with a size 16 yellow sally in its mouth :-?