Using foam flies

[Silver Creek]

John,

You are correct that drag is the number one cause of a refusal.

I'm pretty sure you have also been in the situation where you cast a fly that brings the fish right up to the fly before it refuses. You cast again and the fish comes up half way and refuses. The on the third cast, there is no reaction to the fly.

In that case, I am convinced that it not drag that caused the refusal. It is the fly. If the fly was correct, the fish would come up to the about same point as before because that was when it would notice drag. Instead it comes up until it can recognize that it is "not food" and refuses much, much earlier, before it could notice the micro drag. On the third try it does not even have come and investigate the fly. It has learned that the "impression" of the fly is not food.

[JohnScott]

John,

You are correct that drag is the number one cause of a refusal.

Once you get an effective pattern out there for the fishy to look at.

I'm pretty sure you have also been in the situation where you cast a fly that brings the fish right up to the fly before it refuses. You cast again and the fish comes up half way and refuses. The on the third cast, there is no reaction to the fly.

Occasionally. And you are correct that getting a fishy on the third presentation of the same fly is pretty rare. But my experience is that the fishies more often and more likely will only look once and not even come back for a second look.

In that case, I am convinced that it not drag that caused the refusal. It is the fly. If the fly was correct, the fish would come up to the about same point as before because that was when it would notice drag. Instead it comes up until it can recognize that it is "not food" and refuses much, much earlier, before it could notice the micro drag. On the third try it does not even have come and investigate the fly. It has learned that the "impression" of the fly is not food.

But if you go back some time later with the same fly, you do have a chance to get that fishy. Which suggests that drag was the turn off / put down or that the first time around the fish refused the fly because it was selecting for some other food item at the time and against the food item you presented to it.

Getting back to foam, it does have another quality that enhances the effectiveness of some flies - texture.

The importance of texture in designing flies, by the way, is more former BB member pittendrigh's take on things than mine. But since Sandy got me to thinking about it and working with it, the more I believe he was really on to something that doesn't seem to be discussed much.

John

[JohnScott]

... if the article mentioned fishing hoppers in December ???

Today, on my home water in Northern Idaho, had two hits, two long distance releases, and two in hand on my FEB Hopper in about half an hour of fishing.





The conditions weren't great for dry fly fishing with temps in the mid 30s and with a significant surge in streamflow a few days ago from a big rain event. Even though the flows dropped noticeably, the water was still a bit off color. But the fishies could see through the watered down coffee effect well enough to come up and dine at the surface.

John

P.S. The fishing got a LOT better when I went to my JARS nymph.

[Byron haugh]

John,
Regarding texture...........I believe it is quite important in nymph fishing - particularly larger nymph patterns. I have personally watched (in gin clear water where I could see my nymph), a fish suck it in and spit it out without the tippet or indicator reacting. I think these instances are part texture refusals.

[JohnScott]

Byron -

I agree that texture is an important aspect of nymph design. Sandy did some really neat stuff in that regard.

But I was referring specifically to foam and dry flies. Last summer, when I was tying and fishing flies that were tied on straight pins rather than hooks, a good number of fish would take the fly off the surface and retreat to the bottom holding onto the fly. A number of times a fish would hold onto the fly until I physically pulled the fly away from the fish. The most dramatic example was one fish that was big enough and held on tight enough that he broke off a 5X tippet when I tried to pull the fly away from him ( although it is possible that the straight pin got lodged somehow that he couldn't release the fly, but he still must have been a pretty good size fish to break the tippet ).

Those flies were FEB flies that consisted of furled antron, foam, deer hair and rubber legs tied on a pin that was only as long as the forward body of the fly and fully encased by all that soft material. There was virtually nothing hard for the fish to feel, only the stiffness of the pin. The fishies, not all of them but a good number, were holding on to, not spitting out, the soft materials. That was the effect / result of a lot of texture in the flies, to my way of thinking.

John