Often in slow pools of two streams I fish trout rise, though there doesn’t seem to be a hatch. They rise too frequently for me to assume they’re going after terrestials.
A few days ago I read an article in which the author mentioned invisible hatches - midges so small that an angler can’t see them without binoculars.
Is something like that really possible, especially in my case when I’m about thirty feet from the rises?
Thanks,
Randy
YES DAMN IT YES…
We have those here in SWAB…
Midge emergers, Midges and I imagine midge cripples…
What size you ask ??
26 - 32
Try some small I mean real small emergers and dries… 22- 30
Good luck
PS can you tell these things frustrate me !!! In a good way though…
Midges or Midge larve. They could be taking them right below the surface. that would be my guess.
In any case, I’ve seen the same thing, fish rising to something I can’t see. Have always assumed it was midge larve right below the surface (or the less likely but highly probable alternative of the trout just coming up to the surface to laugh at my casting ability…)
Jeff
The other part of the Hatching equation is the Egg laying . Without surface activity from emerging insects and terrestrials, some caddis and mayfly species will dive into the water unnoticed by the fisherman and create a feeding puzzle. Just a thought. Try the rolled wing wet for the mayfly or the emergent sparkle caddis pupa, but think of the caddis and mayfly going in the other direction (egg laying instead of emerging).
Trav and I were walking on the Spring Creek a couple of mornings ago and the birds were working above us - we couldn’t see what they were eating just too small. Invisible?
When you turn 65 more and more of the hatches become invisible. Pretty soon the only hatches I’m going to see are 747’s. 8T 
ROFLMAO…I thought that was what they all were.
Just kidding…but yeah, there are a lot of times where you can’t actually see the “hatch”. It’s usually midges but it can also be emergers of something bigger. I came to the conclusion, long ago that the “hatches” that we’re expecting are usually NOT what the fish is keying on.
Tiny flying ants are one of the most common “invisible hatches”. Small BWO spinners and spent midges are also pretty common and hard to see.
Thanks so much for all your help. I bought some small midges today, but frankly I just don’t think I can deal with size 22 or smaller, certainly too
hard to thread for me.
Randy
Laughed out loud when I read this. I feel your pain brother! Fish feed heavily on midges on some of the tailwaters down this way - tiny, tiny stuff in the 26 - 30 range. Maddening when you have fish rising all around you with no success, but extremely satisfying when you finally do get it figured out and start hooking up.
On the smaller flies, pre-tie them on leaders with loop to loop connections. You can also purchase ‘threaders’ C&F type for those flies just too small to see much less tie on the stream.
Just perchance I made 4 threaders tonight by untwisting a section of 12# wire leader and making threaders from the individual strands. I intend to put them in my nymph boxes and share with my “old” friends. I have used the leader strand before, it has a temper that will not break when crimped to a point.
As does LF, I tie small flies on at home. I tie them on the the leader up to .009. Then a perfection loop. The rest of the leader I tie on to the flyline with a good nail knot. On the stream I handshake the leader at the .009 point so the loop/loop is in the middle of the leader rather than at the fly line. Crazy you say? Well, all my leaders down to .009 are pretty much the same and they rarely need replacing. I also get a good nail knot for good turnover transition. All the flies are pretied on the leaders down from .009 and wound on one of those big hair curlers, you know, the ones that look like a spring arounf a bottle brush. A few broke off toothpicks to hold the loop and hook the hook into the curler. A little mono loop to hang the curler to your vest and you are all set. People will look at you funny but what the heck.
Now why at .009? Well, when the sun sets, you just loop off the leader/fly and reroll it. You then loop on a level piece of .009 and tie your #2 muddler to it and you are all set for big browns. Easy to loop on and off with all those bugs flying around your headlight. And .009 is a good leader for big night browns.
Godspeed,
Bob
If it isn’t those miniscule midge, it’s probably caddis activity. As Hairwing said, many caddis dive to lay their eggs and the fish will hit them on the way up or down, in the water column. If that’s the situation, you’ll know because the fish will often launch out of the water after them. Many of those caddis are also very small and difficult to see. If it’s those microscopic midge, I usually just watch the show. lol. A 26 is about my cut off.
Ditto to LF. Winter fishing out here is almost all midges. My eyes just can’t thread the flies that match, but the C&F threader box solves this problem. I have my tying station set up with a big magnifier. I use that to add the flies to the threader box.
I’m also getting more into pre-tying flies on to tippet for a loop-to-loop connection at the stream. I think I will spend a few weekends this coming winter setting these up. I’m working on inventing a system for doing this. The concept is a rectangular sheet of thin plastic with slots cut in one end. Hook the fly over one end and then catch the tippet with the loop in the slot at the other end. Have a weather proof “envelope” container that holds several of these plastic sheets.
I’ve done the sheets with cardboard so far, and they work OK but really need to be stronger. If anybody knows of a company that has carried this concept forward, please let me know so my winter will be more productive.
Aging eyes cut both ways. You can’t tie on tiny flies and that’s bad, but your spouse also has no wrinkles and that is good. 
Thanks. The loop-to-loop connection is a great idea. Any ideas on easily connecting a small fly as a dropper (which is how I tend to fish them)? Also, I’ll see if I can pick
up a threader. Orvis has one, but it doesn’t work on real small flies.
Randy
Many times I use a mysis shrimp dropper off a hopper in warm weather. I tie the shrinp onto a piece of tippet material and, at the other end, tie an improved clincher around a straw, snug it down and trim, and slide it off the straw leaving the loop open. I then coil it like you would a leader and put it in a leader wallet. When you want to add a dropper, take the pretied shrimp out of the leader wallet, uncoil it, and slip the still open clincher over the hook to the bend and pull it tight.
Godspeed,
Bob
Bob,
Great idea. Thanks so much,
Randy
Any of you folks consider purchasing a pair of magnifiers? Orvis has 5X glasses for 50 bucks. I’m 69, and my sight is far from the best, (need glasses for driving and reading), but with the 5X glasses, I have no trouble tying #30’s to my tippet. Also use them for tying the flies, and recommend them highly.
Gadams, I use “cheaters” too. I have one level for reading and a slightly stronger pair for tying. Clearly, over time my arms have shrunk as I can no longer hold a book far enough away to read it. BTW, Wal-Mart has similar glasses for about $10 for those of us who are disinclined to pay more for the name.
Ed