PALE MORNING DUNS (Part 6)
| Sysadmin Note |
|---|
Click here for Part 5. This is Part 6 in the series |
FISHING SPENT ADULT IMITATIONS
Here on the local spring creeks of Paradise Valley the late evening spinner falls are ignored by 97% of the anglers. Generally, by the time the spinners come down and hit the water, most of the anglers have left the creeks. But those few who do stay are amply rewarded with some of the finest dry fly action of the day.
Besides the obvious spinner falls, there are other times when spent wing imitations can be very effective. Let's talk about spinners and spinner imitations, discussing where and when they might be used effectively. Here again you will see that the key to successfully using spinner imitations is careful observation by the angler.
There are times other than an actual spinner fall when the angler can effectively use spinners.
- On rainy days, during the hatch, many of the duns can be beaten flat by raindrops and are floating drowned and spent in the film.
- On windy days some adults can be blown flat by wind. Trapped in the surface film they will drown and once again float spent on the surface.
- Some duns can drown due to wave and current action and once again the angler will find them floating spent on the surface of the water.
- Many times, early in the morning, there will still be a few spinners around from the night before, drifting, getting sucked into back eddies or foam pools. Many times I have used spinner imitations to take trout that were feeding on last night's leftovers.
- Another time I will use a spinner imitation is after the hatch has been over for about an hour. Then I use the spinner pattern as a searching pattern, covering the water and looking for those feeders of opportunity.
- The angler also needs to be aware of what I call mini-spinner falls. On most streams that are "insect rich" there will be insect hatches that are so sparse and undependable that the angler either hasn't noticed them or never sees the trout feed on them. On DePuy's Spring Creek we have a couple of good examples of mini hatches. In late August and early September, we can find Trico Spinners on the water during the PMD hatch. At times the spinners will be there in enough numbers to interest some of the trout.
So if you have tried all the patterns that you feel should be producing and get nothing, check the surface of the water carefully for there may be a spinner on the water that has gone unnoticed that is causing the problem. Once again, in using the "Formula for Success" the angler will be prepared for these types of angling situations and, through careful observation, will be able to solve the problem.
As you can see there may be many occasions where the spinner imitation can be employed with success.
Now we come to fishing the spinner falls themselves. As a general rule most of the major spinner falls on the spring creeks of Paradise Valley occur in the late evening hours. A gloomy, overcast day can bring the spinners down early or a windy day may delay the spinner fall. On a typical day the spinners will come down with the last 30 minutes of daylight.
I like to approach the trout from below, with the fading light you can get pretty close. Once the trout are keyed in to the spinner they are holding close to the surface and feeding in a steady rhythm. I cast my imitation up, drop the rod tip, bring in the slack as the stream feeds it to me and I watch for noses. Most of the time I don't see my fly and I'm not even trying to. Trying to see a small flush-floating pattern under these conditions can lead to severe eyestrain. But I know where the fly is and when I see the nose, I gently lift and tighten. This type of fishing can be very rewarding.
However, not all spinner falls occur in the late evening. On the Big Horn River the Trico will come down around mid-morning. Even though the light may be great, I still try to approach the feeding trout as close as possible. Due to the number of naturals on the water, you still may have problems seeing your imitation.
Put on a dry fly that is visible and then tie on an additional section of tippet material right to the bend of the hook. Fish your spinner 20 to 30 inches behind the visible dry. This method will help you track that hard-to-see imitation.
Once anglers learn about how important spinner imitations can be, and master the awareness of where, when and how to successfully use them, they become more complete and successful fly fishers.
MORE NOTES ON PMD HATCHES
One of the most important tools that the angler has is the ability to observe and think!!
Often we try to return to our favorite river about the same time every year, and we hope that things will be the same as were last year when the fishing was so good. However, seldom are things the very same two years in a row. The first thing that I do in this situation is to walk the stream in question, looking at the weed growth, looking at the water levels. You don’t have to be a photo journalist; all you need is a point and shoot camera and a fishing journal. With these tools you can find the differences between this year and last, if there is any.
By knowing the differences between the two seasons is important to where the trout may be found. In the spring creeks the weed growth and the water will impact where the trout are found in the stream. As in all situations, first you find the trout, then you figure out what they are feeding, and then you figure out what pattern and what method of presentation are needed to successfully catch selectively feeding trout.
Rene Harrop says “Dealing with PMD’s means exactness in all aspects of presentation and imitation”.
One of the toughest methods of fishing, is a small nymph with a drag free drift without the use of a strike indicator can be much more difficult than fishing with a dry fly or an emerger.
At times when the trout is found in shallow water or in very still slow moving water the uses of a indicator may spook the trout. I have seen it happen. Then you must use a nymph without an indicator. This means that you must judge the sink rate of your nymph versus the current speed to gage where to place the cast, then you must be able to follow the drift and react to the trout’s movements. This is among the most difficult challenges that the angler must master in fishing selectively feeding trout. Once you master the ability to fish a nymph without a indicator you rise to new levels of concentration and line control skills. Even though you are not using a indicator you still have the butt of the leader and fly line tip, the actual drift line and watching the trout.
Next week we will publish the list of patterns that the author uses for this hatch.