In western PA there is not much opportunity for fishing naturally reproducing fish. The majority are stocked rainbows, browns, and brookies. Does anyone know of any patterns that work on freshly stocked fish? I usually go to an egg pattern, but I am kinda getting bored with that.
Once the fish are there for a few weeks they tend to realize that bugs are food and are therefore easier to take on a fly.
Thanks for any suggestions
Ben
I hear the Powerbait Soft Hackle is a good one.
Seriously, a wooly bugger should work well.
Joe
Tie up a half dozen or so lightly weighted Sawyer P.T. nymphs in size ten or twelve with no tails. Then fish two or three as droppers and make sure you splash them down on the presentation. ~ It’s the pellet fly hatch! They’ll recognize it in an instant.
Best, Dave
Miltiades, if you are bored with the egg patterns - always very effective on size 12 3906 Mustads in Pa for stockers - then you probably won’t like sucker spawn or green weenies, although both work when nothing else does. If you want streamers, use big wooly buggers, olive or black or white depending on the waters. And all of these flies are simple to tie.
Miltiades, here is a list of my favorite stillwater flies.
http://www.freewebs.com/flyfish-edmonton/flypatterns.htm
“Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish” :)~ Mark Twain
Cheers,
Doc
I’ve had good luck on western PA stockies with Wooly Buggers, Copper Johns and any caddis, also muddlers fished on the surface as hoppers.
Where do you fish in WPA?
Try this one. I tied it up originally for the Gallatin in MT, and it worked well, but have used it on stockers since, and they LOVE it. Cast out, let it sink, twitch occasionally, or dead drift thru runs.
In AR, I always had good luck with any nymph tied with a gold bead. I once saw a guy who tied a fly that looked just like the pellet they feed them in the hatchery. So I guess a good fly would be brown dubbing with a gold bead, kind of like a Caddis Pupa. I would tie it on a size 16 hook. Scott
RickB, I fish around Brookville. My family is from the Latrobe area and I have fished around there extensively.
Thanks everyone for your responses. I will give these flies a try. As for the pellet flies, I have tied a fly from spun deer hair and trimmed it to look like a pellet. When cast after throwing a handful of pea gravel in the water it can be deadly. I kind of think of it like shooting fish in a barrel though.
Ben
I don’t think newly stocked trout even know their supposed to eat bugs. Ye auld glo-bug is the just the thing for these challenging specimins. Of course if your tired of fishing glo-bugs, as was previously noted, there’s always wooley boogers. Try some of those newer ‘electric’ colors. I whipped up some blue and orange ones for a school teacher friend of mine since his school’s colors are orange and blue. Why they sure do look pretty. Almost too pretty to fish.
Miltiades…
Here in Missouri almost all are stocked…at least the place I fish…
I have a few good patterns for you if intrested…
Im sending you a e-mail…
Hey Leonard, would you mind doing the same for me? Thanks.
jman
Leonard, I sent an email back.
Thanks again for the help
Ben
journeyman…
Just send me your addy…
lkeeney@joplin.com
Leonard would you mind sending me the patterns as well, always interested in what others use, especially here in Missouri.
zimrx@hotmail.com
Drew
A bum-legged old man and a drunk. That’s all you got?
That’s WHAT I got.
Hatcherty trout will begin rising soon after they are stocked. But they make a lot of mistakes and are inefficient in using the drift to their advantage.
I have been told that coffee beans are a pretty good facsimle to the food pellets if you can get one to stay on a hook. Probably the PTs are about the right color.
They will also sometimes appear if you throw a handful of gravel into the water. It seems they never forget about those food pellets.
DG—What are you using as a body material, and what sizes are you tying?
Swing hard, in case they throw the ball where you’re swinging. Duke Snider
journeyman… I cant find a e-mail addy for you… I have you a few flies ready to go out… but need a mailing address
zimrx17… I sent you a email… requesting your mailing address…
Miltiades… put you flies in the mail today…
Ben,
I think you will like this page. [url=http://www.paflyfish.com:45788]http://www.paflyfish.com[/url:45788]
Eric “nighthawk”
Mcmanus, that is a #12 TMC 2457, I believe, a 1/8" bead, and the body is medium brown and yellow variegated chenille.