Honey Bee Pattern

Is a honey bee pattern a solid one? Maybe in the fall when all the drones
are getting kicked out of the hives and dying in the cold?

My absolute best day fly fishing I was casting a honey bee and letting it
drift over a pocket and down a riffle at the bottom of the pocket. I got
hit almost every drift for the first 30 or 40 passes. That particular day
was mid summer, but I was wondering why it did so good for me. I had tried
three or four other patterns in the same spot before that one. I only saw
one actual bee on the water the whole day. In fact it was after I spotted
it that I tried the bee pattern.

--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com

"Bob La Londe" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
Is a honey bee pattern a solid one? Maybe in the fall when all the drones
are getting kicked out of the hives and dying in the cold?

My absolute best day fly fishing I was casting a honey bee and letting it
drift over a pocket and down a riffle at the bottom of the pocket. I got
hit almost every drift for the first 30 or 40 passes. That particular day
was mid summer, but I was wondering why it did so good for me. I had
tried three or four other patterns in the same spot before that one. I
only saw one actual bee on the water the whole day. In fact it was after
I spotted it that I tried the bee pattern.

--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com


One of those things that either work well or just don´t work at all, with
normally the latter being the case. It is also not certain that the trout
took it for a bee. They may have been feeding on beetles or similar, which
the pattern you used was a reasonable imitation of.

Trout will take bees, but they only relatively seldom fall on the water.
So, a bee pattern may be worth carrying, for the odd occasion when it might
occur, but I would not rely on it.

TL
MC

"Mike Connor" wrote in message
...

"Bob La Londe" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
Is a honey bee pattern a solid one? Maybe in the fall when all the
drones are getting kicked out of the hives and dying in the cold?

My absolute best day fly fishing I was casting a honey bee and letting it
drift over a pocket and down a riffle at the bottom of the pocket. I got
hit almost every drift for the first 30 or 40 passes. That particular
day was mid summer, but I was wondering why it did so good for me. I had
tried three or four other patterns in the same spot before that one. I
only saw one actual bee on the water the whole day. In fact it was after
I spotted it that I tried the bee pattern.

--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com


One of those things that either work well or just don´t work at all, with
normally the latter being the case. It is also not certain that the trout
took it for a bee. They may have been feeding on beetles or similar, which
the pattern you used was a reasonable imitation of.

Trout will take bees, but they only relatively seldom fall on the water.
So, a bee pattern may be worth carrying, for the odd occasion when it
might occur, but I would not rely on it.

I agree with all of that. However, it occurs to me that there must
occasionally be instances in which a relatively large number of drones falls
onto water after a nuptial flight. This might explain the odd case of fish
feeding on them, if not preferentially, then at least with some enthusiasm.

Wolfgang

"Wolfgang" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
SNIP
Trout will take bees, but they only relatively seldom fall on the water.
So, a bee pattern may be worth carrying, for the odd occasion when it
might occur, but I would not rely on it.

I agree with all of that. However, it occurs to me that there must
occasionally be instances in which a relatively large number of drones
falls onto water after a nuptial flight. This might explain the odd case
of fish feeding on them, if not preferentially, then at least with some
enthusiasm.

Wolfgang


May be of interest;
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/making.html

http://koning.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/Plan...bees/bees.html

For quite a number of years, an old Russian emigrant had a few hives in my
garden. My house was surrounded by Linden trees, and the bees apparently
produce very good honey from these. We got a large pot of honey from him
every year. It really was good.

He told me that bees only mate in certain places, and never over water. I
don´t know whether this is true or not, but the old man was very
knowledgeable indeed about everything to do with bees. He also knew of a few
"mating places" in the area, and he was going to show me, but somehow we
never got around to doing it when the bees were mating.

TL
MC

Is a honey bee pattern a solid one?

With remarkable timing, the current issue of Fly Tyer, which arrived
just today, contains an article on making bee patterns using foam.

vince

..

--
remove
"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Is a honey bee pattern a solid one? Maybe in the fall when all the drones
are getting kicked out of the hives and dying in the cold?

My absolute best day fly fishing I was casting a honey bee and letting it
drift over a pocket and down a riffle at the bottom of the pocket. I got
hit almost every drift for the first 30 or 40 passes. That particular day
was mid summer, but I was wondering why it did so good for me. I had
tried three or four other patterns in the same spot before that one. I
only saw one actual bee on the water the whole day. In fact it was after
I spotted it that I tried the bee pattern.

--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com

Some years back I ran into a situation where trout were certainly feeding on
bees. There's a spot on the Fraser River I fish, a small creek enters the
river and on the adjacent land a farmer kept bees. The Fraser has a fishery
for cutthroat in the winter and early spring and by late feb or in March we
usually have some warm spring like days. I fished here on a couple of
occasions on such warm days when trout were taking something off the surface
but I couldn't figure out what. I did catch a couple on nymphs and streamers
and killed a pair. These fish proved to be stuffed with honey bees. The way
I figured it - the bees flew as the day warmed but in the cooler air over
the river "ran out of gas" and fell into the river attracting the trout.
Unfortunately the farmer doesn't keep bees anymore and due to a plague of
mites most commercial bee operators do not keep bees over the winter after
taking their crop of honey 0 but destroy the hive and buy bees from out of
province in the spring

I've found bees in trout stomachs several times. Often as not, they're
really seriously stinging wasps -- yellow jackets. One more datum point
that says fish don't feel pain.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

"rw" wrote in message
. net...

I've found bees in trout stomachs several times. Often as not, they're
really seriously stinging wasps -- yellow jackets. One more datum point
that says fish don't feel pain.

Nope. One datum that suggests trout eat insects that are capable of
inflicting painful.....and sometimes lethal....stings. Says nothing at all
about whether or not fish feel pain.

Wolfgang
who, despite a great deal of experience, STILL finds it curious that so many
are so absolutely bereft of any sense of what data tell them.

Wolfgang wrote:
"rw" wrote in message
. net...

I've found bees in trout stomachs several times. Often as not, they're
really seriously stinging wasps -- yellow jackets. One more datum point
that says fish don't feel pain.


Nope. One datum that suggests trout eat insects that are capable of
inflicting painful.....and sometimes lethal....stings. Says nothing at all
about whether or not fish feel pain.

Wolfgang
who, despite a great deal of experience, STILL finds it curious that so many
are so absolutely bereft of any sense of what data tell them.

My God, you are so dense. That comment was meant as an ironic jab at our
dear fool Barry, and not meant to be taken seriously.

I have little doubt that fish feel pain. I just don't get all blubbery
about it. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I don't give a ****. I do.
I'll take reasonable steps to minimize a fish's suffering, but it
doesn't keep me awake at night.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

"rw" wrote in message
et...
Wolfgang wrote:
"rw" wrote in message
. net...

I've found bees in trout stomachs several times. Often as not, they're
really seriously stinging wasps -- yellow jackets. One more datum point
that says fish don't feel pain.


Nope. One datum that suggests trout eat insects that are capable of
inflicting painful.....and sometimes lethal....stings. Says nothing at
all about whether or not fish feel pain.

Wolfgang
who, despite a great deal of experience, STILL finds it curious that so
many are so absolutely bereft of any sense of what data tell them.

My God, you are so dense. That comment was meant as an ironic jab at our
dear fool Barry, and not meant to be taken seriously.

You think he got it? Wanna try a lecture on signal transduction pathways
next? Give him a bit of the old calcium channels.....g-coupled
proteins....that sort of thing?

I have little doubt that fish feel pain.

Wouldn't surprise me much to discover that they aren't much interested in
whether or not you do. Odds are they'd be dubious.

I just don't get all blubbery about it.

Well, nothing's sacred.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I don't give a ****. I do.

No, I don't think so.

I'll take reasonable steps to minimize a fish's suffering,

Like......giving up fishing?

but it doesn't keep me awake at night.

I believe it. It's the fantasies that do that.

Hee, hee, hee.

Wolfgang