1. Troutnut Forum
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2. Fly Fishing
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3. "what too look for first"

I have learned so many different methods about fishing rivers on what to look for what insect too match on what trout are feeding on. One way is too match your nymph,pupa,or larve to the bottom coloration of the river. Or another method is turning over rocks on the stream bottom and looking for different aquatic insects. What does everyone else have for different methods. And should I try something new? If there not feeding on emergers or spinners I always start with a gold ribbed hares ear,which I think is a great universal mayfly nymph....

It's hard to go wrong with a hare's ear. I often start with a Walt's Worm, which is a hare's ear minus the tail, legs, wingcase, and ribbing--basically a cigar shaped hare's ear with or without a bead. In summer if there's no hatch, I'll start with a wet or dry terrestrial.

I like to start by observing and checking the shorelines and bushes. Spider webs with possible insects caught in the web give us clues (see URL below), as well as looking in the backwaters for shucked nymph cases floating on the surface, or on logs or protruding rocks for shucked cases. Picking up rocks on the bottom may help with certain species but not the burrowing nymphs.

Hare's ear is good, so is a flymph, etc... for a general search pattern. Just depends on if I am dun shrucked or not, which usually I am.

http://www.wiflyfisher.com/ephoron-leukon-mayfly-hatch.asp

Yeah, you might look for some of those "dun shucks" too. :)

personally, the thing i look for first is a local fly shop. if it's unfamiliar waters, they'll have a half dozen of what's working, and if it's home waters, the gossip will tell me all i need to know.

and if there's no local fly shop, i say a prayer for the dear departed and tie on a wulff with a pheasant tail dropper while i wait for a passing fly or fly angler to suggest something else!

Assuming I'm on a stream I know little about and there is no apparent insect activity, I almost always start w/ a tandem nymph rig 1 heavy attractor(green weenie or whatever) and a simple caddis larva usually tan or olive sz 16.

deligon
rock spring ga.

Midges they are everywhere! one of the streams I fish is the Elk
in Tenn. the Elk has no dominate hatch as far as I know.
I asked a fellow fly fisher who I had observed having a lot more success than I and so began my love affair with midges.
Sometimes off a dry droper and also tandem behind a soft hackle.

Fish is always good,
catching is some times better.

deligon