I’m heading out tomorrow to give lake fishing for bows a shot. There is a little lake not far that is stocked with them. I need some suggestions on what to fish with. I figured I’d tie up some small streamers. I’ve got a bunch of #10 streamer hooks that I’ll tie up. I would imagine I should tie a nymph of sorts. I just don’t know what.
The lake is a small lake that only gets about 20’ deep. I guess they come within reach of a floating line in the fall. I’d guess the water temps are right around the 50 to 55 degree range right now.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should tie?
Buggers work just about everywhere; bead-head PT or hare’s ear, etc. If you want to seem classy (the whole tweed jacket/English setter look) try a Carey Special. Eat well (I’m assuming some are coming home, yes?)
My lake experience with trout has had success with black and grizzly/white-bodied buggers in size 10 like you have there.
Use thes during the day.
When the sun goes off the water the trout round here tend to come up to the surface. I have luck with BWO’s, caddis, and floating muddlers.
Nothing fancy, but it seems to catch fish.
Good luck; have fun
In my limited experience the best luck I have had in the mountain lakes of eastern Arizona was casting to rises with chromomids in one lake and a dry fly with a nymph dropper at sunset in another. Lately on the Chattahoochee River I have had success with soft hackles under a dry fly in the slack water near the bank.
If you have a local fly shop or bulletin board based in the area give them a call Gander Mountain or BPS may have a store in the area with a fly shop.
Thanks everyone. I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’ve only tied a couple for the trip and I’ll have to tie a bunch more tonight.
Uncle Jesse,
There isn’t a fly shop in my area. Gander has almost nothing, and they know even less than they have. There is one store with a small fly shop, but only one guy that works it and he isn’t much help. It’s very frustrating to be middle of all this great fishing (fly fishing too) and have nobody else around that does it. People around these parts think of it as a trout only sport. That’s just not the case.
Yep, you have been given some great suggestions. Woolly Buggers in black or brown or green (my favorite) and sometimes white work great in lakes, fished deep down along the bottom or sometimes trolled only a couple feet under the surface. A red San Juan Worm fished under a strike indicator with the worm just 6 inches off the bottom is good all winter.
For surface this time of year, there will be midges hatching so the Griffith’s Gnat suggestion was a good choice, or a parachute Adams and a Renegade works well too.
Hey Gorgeous, try the North Branch next time and y’all should get into a bunch of eager, little brookies. I don’t know that the price per pound of fish will go down, but the price per fish should go way down.
Arkman, you might also try John Scott’s Pine Squirrel Cheater. That has worked on rivers for me and if I weighted them “less aggressively” and fished them with a slow, natural, undulating motion I think they would work well on lakes, too. The PSC looks to be a cousin of the Slumpbuster.
If you see damsels during the summer, I would use a damsel fly nymph pattern. The nymphs can take several years to mature depending on the species so there are usually ALWAYS available as trout food.
Stillwater is what I do till the water turns to ice. I agree totally with Lew, Chironomids under and indy. Even use scuds which are in trout diet more than anything else.
Woolly Buggers also a good choice on a sinking line. I will add to the the colors already mentioned, Burnt Orange and Purple…not together though…LOL
My main stillwater money makers are Chironomids, Bunny bait imitations, and Gartside Softhackles. Dries can be a blast on stillwater, but timing has to be perfect. They don’t feed on dries all day, but they will on nymphs and leeches and baitfish.
Our Uinta Lakes here I will agree on Griffith Gnats…a definite go to, other lakes, Caddis and Hoppers.
I would go with some Mickie Finns, Black Ghosts, and then some New Zealand Matuka patterns (Copper dorothy, Parson’s Glory, Jack’s Sprat, Red Setter, Hammil’s Killer, Mrs. Simpson). A few wee wets in size 10, like an Invicta, Parmachene Belle, and Royal coachman’s would be good too.
When the trout are feeding on top I’ve had good success using a black sponge spider in the fall. Black bluegill poppers will work too. Last spring for some reason white sponge spiders were the ticket and, of course, all the other patterns mentioned here have worked too at various times.
Thanks for all your help. We made it out today and it was sort of the way I expected. I caught a bunch of 6" bows. Then, out of no where, my fishing partner said fish. I looked over and his 6wt was bent in half. Then it exploded out of the water. Seriously, almost ten minutes later, we landed the fish. Normally I wouldn’t believe it, but I have it all on camera. It was crazy. We finally brought a 18" really fat fat rainbow to the boat. No more fish for the day after that, but it was a good time.
We tried lots of different things. The only thing that got them going at all were the griffith’s gnat.
Fly Goddess- Maybe someday I can take you up on that. I went out to montana one time and had a blast fishing, but that was probably 12 years ago. I’d love to go back.
But you have to use my flies…LOL