mt_flyfisher
Well-known member
I guess I could have posted this under the topic of What Are You Tying Today, but I think it is more aptly put under the subject of What Was I Fishing or Thinking Today…well actually what was I fishing on Thursday.
I fished a well known large creek, stream, river, or whatever you want to call it on Thursday, from about 7:00am to just past 5:00pm, with only a brief time off for lunch around noon. The water was low, as was just about everything in PA then, but it was in nearly perfect shape otherwise, and I caught LOTS of trout. But, I had to work for them most of the day.
I fished wets and drys, sometimes with a single fly, and sometimes in a 2 fly combination, and caught fish on just about everything I put on, except nothing wanted my March Brown wet or emerger patterns. Most of the flies I saw were caddis anyway, so it ultimately came down to me fishing a #16 Parachute Adams, which is my favorite fly anyway.
However, sometime in the middle of the afternoon, after I accidentally broke my fly when trying to release a fish, I reached in my fly box and pulled out a differently tied #16 Parachute Adams that had a shorter tail and much larger hackle than I normally tie that fly with. What was I thinking when I tied that fly? I musta been half asleep!
Anyway, when I said earlier that I had to work most of the day to catch fish, it wasn’t the case after I tied on that oversized Parachute Adams. The fish seemed to really like it! Who knows why, but I’m thinking that while the normal sized #16 Adams is a good caddis representation, maybe one with a shorter tail and larger hackle is an even better representation. Who knows for sure, but it sure did work. (I never saw many caddis with tails anyway 😊 but the oversized hackle could easily be mistaken for fluttering or spent wings.)
P.S. They also float better.
I fished a well known large creek, stream, river, or whatever you want to call it on Thursday, from about 7:00am to just past 5:00pm, with only a brief time off for lunch around noon. The water was low, as was just about everything in PA then, but it was in nearly perfect shape otherwise, and I caught LOTS of trout. But, I had to work for them most of the day.
I fished wets and drys, sometimes with a single fly, and sometimes in a 2 fly combination, and caught fish on just about everything I put on, except nothing wanted my March Brown wet or emerger patterns. Most of the flies I saw were caddis anyway, so it ultimately came down to me fishing a #16 Parachute Adams, which is my favorite fly anyway.
However, sometime in the middle of the afternoon, after I accidentally broke my fly when trying to release a fish, I reached in my fly box and pulled out a differently tied #16 Parachute Adams that had a shorter tail and much larger hackle than I normally tie that fly with. What was I thinking when I tied that fly? I musta been half asleep!
Anyway, when I said earlier that I had to work most of the day to catch fish, it wasn’t the case after I tied on that oversized Parachute Adams. The fish seemed to really like it! Who knows why, but I’m thinking that while the normal sized #16 Adams is a good caddis representation, maybe one with a shorter tail and larger hackle is an even better representation. Who knows for sure, but it sure did work. (I never saw many caddis with tails anyway 😊 but the oversized hackle could easily be mistaken for fluttering or spent wings.)
P.S. They also float better.
