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3. Trout fishing, Cheat River, WV - fly selection?

In a week I'll be on the Cheat River trying to catch some trout. I'm relatively new to fly fishing, how do I know what the best flies to try are?

Paul, welcome to the board.

this time of year ants, beetles, and grasshoppers are popular menu items for trout. ants are hard to see, so i tie one on behind a grasshopper. after a while the ant gets wet and sinks and sometimes that makes it better. the tiny flies called tricos are worth a try; they hatch early in the morning on a lot of rivers in July and August.

as far as other hatches, you could do worse than call or visit the nearest fly shop. that old-fashioned advice is getting harder to follow since so many shops have closed, but sometimes you'll find a "web presence" that will compensate.

Paul, find some fly shops near the Cheat, and spend some time talking with the guys there. They'll know what's best for this time of year, and can not only provide you with good flies, they may be able to suggest some good spots to fish. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies to my question! Just got back. I had some good time fishing ... not as much as I'd have liked. Caught a few of what looked like Perch on a micro mayfly. Perhaps best was my 7 yr old caught a fish! He was dancing on the water he was so happy.

Paul

I thought the Cheat River was polluted by mine acid drainage.

Those are small yellow perch all right. I have talked to others who have caught the same fish. Apparently, there are lots of them.