On 2009-09-19 20:52:58 -0400, rw said:

David LaCourse wrote:
On 2009-09-19 15:52:39 -0400, Todd said:

Actually, hook and shank. My "theory" is that a trout will stray
farther from his feeding lie based on the food value of what he is
chasing. In other words, if the fly is bigger, you don't have to be
such a good shot. If the fly is smaller, say a midge, you have to
hit the trout on the nose to get him to eat it. My "theory".


Nonsense. When I nymph on my home waters in Maine, I usually use
nymphs in the 18 - 24 range, and I am VERY successful with wild salmon
and brook trout. There is one caddis pupua I use that is a size 16,
but that is as large as I would go. Rarely have I seen anyone using
something as large as a size 12 except if they are mimicing a dry March
Brown or a stonefly. Roll over some rocks at the stream you fish and
look at how small the nymphs are. Most are smaller than 16s. My
theory is give them something small they've never seen. I have about 5
personally invented flies, none of them larger than 18, and they all
work.

I think Tom has a point with his "theory" about larger flies in one
situation: trout opportunistically feeding on terrestrials or whatever
else comes along on the surface. I run into this often when fishing for
cutthroat in relatively infertile freestone rivers like the Middle Fork
of the Salmon in Idaho and similar places. The fish hold deep in
gin-clear water. A Big Ugly is usually the best choice to bring them
up. I especially like the Madam X, Turk's Tarantula, and big
stimulators. Rarely use hoppers, per se.

Yeah, it's called "match the hatch". Of course they are not going
to take a size 22 hopper or Madam X (if such a lure could be tied). No
argument there. I am speaking of consistently taking trout, big trout,
on very small ties. When I switched from 12, 14, 16 nymphs to 18 - 24,
my catch improved. Our friend Bruiser got me started with very tiny
nmphs when he gave me a fly he named in my honor, The Pirate. An easy
tie - just thread, but the size of he hook - 22- is the key. He gave
me an entire box of very small ties and when I used them on the Rapid,
I was astounded at their success. Over the years I have experimented
with soft hackle on very small nymphs and that has improved my
connections.

I've been using Harry's Killer Caddis dry. I have it in size 12 - 16,
and have a friend who ties it in size 18 (the body material comes from
(I think) Harrop. Anyhooo, I have noticed a big difference between
large and small hooks in this tie. There is, of course, that long
argument about color and size. I think size is more important.

In my experience trout usually feed opportunistically and erratically,
but often enough they're keyed into a rhythmic feeding pattern on a
small but numerous bug, whether a dry or a nymph. Sometimes, on a
fertile stream, there will be multiple simultaneous "hatches" but the
trout are focused exclusively on one bug -- I think because they have a
energy-conserving, rhythmic feeding pattern. In that situation you'd
better have the right fly and the right presentation.

I agree. They are very opportunistic, especially on the Rapid. That
is why I said that when I give them a fly they have never seen, they go
crazy for it. Something as simple as a head with orange thread rather
than the normal brown is enough to make them key on that fly. This
river is also famous for its streamer fishing, and just the opposite is
true. If you fish streamers, the bigger the better. A size 2, 10X, is
the norm. I believe that Carrie Stevens discovered this on these
waters many years ago.

I just reread what Todd and Bill were talking about and noticed
something that I omitted. They are speaking of stocked trout, while my
experience is the same as yours, wild trout (sorry T-bone). I rarely
fish for stockies, but when I do, the more traditional sizes work best.
A number of years ago I showed a bait fisherman how to quickly take
his limit. I gathered a handful of small pepples (pellets) and threw
them in the water. I told the guy to cast him worm into the middle of
the pepple pattern. He did and immediately caught a 12 inch rainbow.
Surprise, surprise. The hatchery fish were used to being fed with
pellets thrown (like my pepples). I erred in showing this to this guy
because the next time I fished this water (White's Pond in Concord,
MA), two bait fishermen were doing the pepple trick. I didn't tell the
first guy that it works only after the stocking truck has deposited its
cargo.

Dave