Winged Wets, Flymphs, soft hackles, etc.

[lastchance]

Since these types of flies are fished during a hatch near the surface, what do you do when the fish are feeding on the bottom? Can you still fish them and how?

[narcodog]

I fish them throughout the water column with weight, heavy hooks whatever it takes. Also I fish them when there is no hatch, all winter lond. At times I will drop a s/h off the back of a big nymph to get it down. As far as fishing methods I'll vary the presentation as to the water flow, depth, etc. But it is usually up and across to give the fly a chance to get where the fish my be holding. I will also use a sinking leader such as Orvis, RIO, or AirFlo sell. To this I attach about a three foot section of tippet, usually 5X

[JeffHamm]

Hi lastchance,

I tie some spiders/soft hackles on heavier gage hooks. This enables them to sink more quickly. Also, fishing them up stream helps them to sink (mending as you do, similar to Warren's article on no indicator fishing this week). If the current is really fast though, they may be held up (or pulled under, hard to say with currents) and using a weighted nymph to get them down helps a lot.

- Jeff

[okflyfisher]

i fish them at all depths. they are after all the most versital flies. Emerger,cripple,nymph drowned dun, diving egglayer

[lastchance]

Questions:
Do you swing them even with shot on them?
If using a 2-fly rig, a point fly and dropper, do you place the shot in between the flies?
Do your flies match the size of the bug that is hatching?

[DUB]

Questions:
Do you swing them even with shot on them?
If using a 2-fly rig, a point fly and dropper, do you place the shot in between the flies?
Do your flies match the size of the bug that is hatching?

1. Yes
2. Sometimes
3. Sometimes

[narcodog]

Questions:
Do you swing them even with shot on them?
If using a 2-fly rig, a point fly and dropper, do you place the shot in between the flies?
Do your flies match the size of the bug that is hatching?

1) yes
2) no, get too many tangles for me
3) sometimes

[Silver Creek]

Since these types of flies are fished during a hatch near the surface, what do you do when the fish are feeding on the bottom? Can you still fish them and how?

When a fish is feeding on the bottom, it is usually feeding non selectively. It is sampling the drift to determine food from not food. Since trout do not have hands, it must sample with it's mouth.

Fish look for object that suggest life. This can be done in two ways. Soft hackles, even when dead drifted have hackles that move suggesting life. So parts of the fly that move suggest life.

The other way if for the fly itself to move. Things that move through or against the current suggest life because only living things can move that way. Things that are not alive must dead drift. So animation can provoke a strike.

If the fish are deep, fish them with weight as you would a nymph, but allow them also to rise up at the end of the drift with a Leisering lift or allow them to swing at the end of the drift.