I recently read where trout are especially attracted to the color blue, but can’t think of many fly patterns that utilize the color. Anyone created any flies that use the color blue, and more importantly what was the reponse from the trout.
I have some small blue feathers from a rooster pheasant skin and it got me thinking…
mAngler
“Jack of all trades – Master of none”
I’ve never seen that before. Where did you read it. You don’t see much blue in the insect world of “trout” food unless they happen upon a New Carner Butterfly. BWO’s are a long way from blue. Tied Salmon flies (not the insect of the same name) and steelhead flies abound in various colors. Hope you can remember where you read it. Even hackle with ‘blue’ in their name are really gray. . Hmmm.
Check out:
[url=http://www.charliesflybox.com:ae630]www.charliesflybox.com[/url:ae630]
He has a poison blue tung that is a good pattern.
Hi,
I’ve seen some blue adult damsel or dragon flies, and blow flies are blue bodied(which could be immitated with a blue humpy). I’ve also read of people using some blue flash for wing-cases on half-back nymphs and claiming this works really well.
The Invicta uses blue in the throat hackle, and blue is used in some classic sea trout flies, like the “blue, teal, and silver”. The Blue Charm (Atlantic Salmon Hairwing pattern) also uses blue in the throat.
If you count the bluish tinge in some mallard wing slips, then the butcher and bloody butcher use blue (ok, I’m probably pushing it now).
Also, Betty (from here on the site) uses a snipe & blue spider on occasion at least. I recall one of her posts mentioning it, and as I’m recently trying out soft hackle flies (and enjoying them), I tied up a few. They look great, but I’ve not had a chance to try them out yet.
However, I’ve still not listed all that many patterns, and when blue does show up it’s usually something like the throat. I have a packet of blue hackle feathers that I want to use up.
Thank you Jeff! They are definately my go to fly for small streams in the Black Hills and Wyoming. Blue silk or floss, built spare, and a turn or two of snipe. Wonderful.
Trouts don’t live in ugly places
Betty, i’ve got to try that one. What sizes do you use?
mAngler, blue colored flies are pretty popular on the Salmon River, here in NY. The salmon and steelhead really love them up there. I’m not sure why, but they do. Dick Stewarts book, Steelhead Flies has a number of patterns that use the color blue.
Hi Betty,
Give credit where credit is due. I really liked the sound of it and I had some blue threat that I really liked the colour of. So, I tied up some “Betty Blues” and I’m all set for the next time I get out to give them a try. Which, given the rain we’re having and my current work schedual, won’t be for some time. Hmmmm, maybe I should tie up some for my wife as well? That could fill in the gap.
Mantis,
The reference if from the Sep 2006 Flyfisherman magazine. It’s in the editor’s response to a letter wondering why Simms would make their new G-3 vest in orange. (Something I’ve wondered myself)
The beginning of the editor’s reply goes like this…
“In fact, certain species react to strike certain colors over others (rainbows, for instance, react strikingly towards blue, while smallmouth and largemouth bass react most strikingly to yellow and red)”
I find the attraction to blue hard to understand as well.
mAngler
“Jack of all trades – Master of none”
In Nova Scotia, red and yellow are generally thought to be the best colours for trout. Maybe just for brookies though? However, I’ve used Parmachene Belles (still popular in Nova Scotia) here in New Zealand and do well with them. And, a lot of the very popular NZ flies have yellow bodies (i.e. Parson’s Glory; Mrs. Simpson day time) or red bodies (Scots Poacher) if they are night time flies. Blue is rare.
Now that I think of it, Scots Poacher uses a blue pukeko feather for the wing.
[This message has been edited by JeffHamm (edited 22 June 2006).]
I’ve had pretty good luck with using woolly worms tied using blue wool dubbing with a brown hackle palmered over it. The gills and sunfish love it, the bass, the trouts, I even caught a crappie on it once.
I caught my first trout on it last year in April, I believe. It wasn’t a lunker and was in a local lake stocked for winter trout fishing so it was pretty lathargic, but it counts!
I can’t say they go crazy for blue, but it doesn’t seem to scare them away.
I say - Tie it and Try it!!!
There’s almost nothin’ wrong with the first lie, it’s the weight of all the others holdin’ it up that gets ya’! - Tim
Last March on the Arkansas, the only Copper Johns they would hit on for me were tied with blue or green wire. Got the tip from the local fly shop in Salida. It may have something to do with the water color. DANBOB
The Invicta uses blue in the throat hackle, and blue is used in some classic sea trout flies, like the “blue, teal, and silver”.
No joke, that little Invicta wet fly is a good one for bream. Don’t know if the blue has anything to do with it but its a great little sedge/caddis wet fly.
[url=http://www.invictaflies.us/Wet%20Flies/Invicta.htm:615cd]Invicta[/url:615cd]
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
I quite like the Invicta as well. I’ve caught a fair number of rainbows with it and hooked into a good sized brown as well. It’s great when drifted through rising fish that are feeding on caddis, but I’ll use it as a searching pattern as well.
Isn’t there a song about the blue tail fly?
Might be a natural insect?
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
Thanks mAngler. Funny thing is my copy just came yesterday and I read most of it today while I babysat my wife’s garage sale…but skipped that propably because of the heading Fashion vs function… Red sims vest vs sage green W&J. Orange fly line that his guide didn’t like and made him use a more muted color…then he went on to ask if fish could see colors. Gotcha!
Then John Randolf answered about Rainbows liking ‘blue’. He must be fishing for them with spey flies…lol. Was hoping there was some kind of study behind it.
I suppose a trout , …and your original question asked the response of the "trout, not steelhead or salmon or bass, etc, … might strike at anything on occasion… but not as a rule. For some reason crazy color seem to work better on underwater flies like the old Bergman and Shaw wet flies. Perhaps that is because color changes per depth underwater.
I did miss damsels, Bluets actually, but I consider them more a bass fly in the adult form .
Some well known author, perhaps Gierach, once wrote that he couldn’t solve the rising trout one day and as a last desparate attempt to entice a hit tied on a purple dry fly that had been hanging around his fly box for years… and you guessed it, he caught a real nice trout on it. He then went on (knowing the power of the written word especially on the fly tyer) admonished his readers not to bother trying to duplicate this purple fly because he never caught another fish nor got another hit on it.
Did you catch the nice article on ants in the same issue…really well done with great insect and matching fly photos.
Does the m in your handle stand for your home state, fish, or name…or? Just curious. There was a great post on here once asking how every one arrived at their handle… Thanks again for responding.
[This message has been edited by mantis (edited 23 June 2006).]
Saw a cool pattern in a Orvis catalog ,I believe it was called a Patriot,looked like a blue mayfly,Tied a few up and they worked like a charm
G
There is a pattern called the Batman which is like a Prince Nymph but with a dark blue dubbed body and black biots. It has proven effective on some local streams.
Jay
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=“1” face=“Verdana, Arial”>quote:</font><HR>Isn’t there a song about the blue tail fly?
Might be a natural insect?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Biting horsefly variant with blue-black abdomen according to this encyclopedia article.
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Tail_Fly:c0a16]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Tail_Fly[/url:c0a16]
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
some peacock herl can be bluish and thats a good material to tie with.
RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:c0a16]Sweetness On The Water[/url:c0a16]
[url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/bgl/:c0a16]Good Ol? Lepomis Macrochirus[/url:c0a16]
These are Sea-trout/Salmon flies and at least half a dozen have blue in them, some quite a lot. I haven’t fished all of them as my legs are not up to night fishing up to my waist in river. The Camasunary Killer and the Mason Grub (Blue Guinea variant) have taken their share of good Loch trout. There are three flies of my own invention but I never got round to trying them.
Have a look at these pages - [url=http://www.dtnicolson.dial.pipex.com/page23.html:ed07d]http://www.dtnicolson.dial.pipex.com/page23.html[/url:ed07d]
They (?) say that sea-run fish are particularly fond of blue because a lot of their prey fish are silvery blue.
The Camasunary is a river on the Isle of Skye so obviously it must work there.
Blue Jay or dyed Guinea hackles are used a lot on traditional wet flies, as was mentioned above, the Invicta, still a very popular fly for loch and river fishing over here.
Donald/Scotland
p.s. Here is a fly using a blue peacock hackle as Robin says
[This message has been edited by Donald Nicolson (edited 23 June 2006).]