Dang Mantis,
Humpy has always been a good pattern (especially Black with A fluorescent orange or pink body…even straight black).
It has been a go-to fly on the Conejos River & the Upper Rio Grande in Colorado; and a Royal Humpy in Yellowstone is always a good selection !!! Maybe you’re drinking the wrong brand of Scotch (& wear yer kilt right laddy, drink it straight up) !!! LMAO
Okay, So Humpies work for some of you but some of you are not saying what fly just never seems to work for you, which was the question…Don’t be shy now…
Deep Sparkle Pupae. Dammit I’ve tried. But a hare’s ear always outproduces them in my experience.
I was tempted to say Mickey Finn, but I just don’t fish them enough to say I’ve actually tried to catch fish on them. A buddy of mine took a nice brown out of a spring creek on a MF, and I told him he was the only guy I’ve ever known to actually catch a fish on one of those things…
My disappointing pattern is a warmwater, lake pattern. I have never caught anything on any adult dragonfly pattern. This includes store bought and home tied. I don’t care how cleverly the wings are made, the body is constructed, the little legs are tied in and don’t forget the big, compound eyes—nothing. BTW, I have never seen a largemouth or any other fish hit a real dragonfly either. I am forced to conclude that adult dragonflies prey on largemouth bass of all sizes and the bass swim for their life at the sight of one and remain in hiding for the rest of the day. 8T 
[This message has been edited by Eight Thumbs (edited 27 September 2005).]
[This message has been edited by Eight Thumbs (edited 27 September 2005).]
"One specific pattern I’ve yet to catch a trout on is the Mickey Finn. Tried it a few times years ago with no success. So I simply stopped using it. Maybe it’s a geographical thing?
Allan"
I agree with you there Allan. Here in Nova Scotia most people swear by the Mickey Finn in Spring and fall. Not me, I never had any luck with this. However I suspect that is more to do with a lack of confidence with the fly than it’s effectiveness. Because of this, I never give it much time to produce and probably don’t fish it properly either. I believe that this is probably the problem with most “ineffective” flies and is the reason most of us have a favourite fly.
Cheers
Bob
I found two packages of “glass minnows” in a bargain bin a couple years ago - one white tail - one red. I grabbed them and ran to the register like I was stealng them. Man, they looked good to me.
I must have a hundred thousand miles on them things. Worthless as a screen door on a submarine.
And they still look good to me. 
mine is the DuPont quarter stick red emerger. Lots of frogs and turtles but no fish as yet. Maybe I am not using a big enough one?
RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:e87ca]http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com[/url:e87ca]
IM = robinrhyne@hotmail.com
Hey Mantis,
Not a trouter any longer but in my
warmwaters the one fly that has NEVER
produced a hit for me is the woolybugger.
And folks keep telling me bluegills will
hit anything.G Well, they do love those
humpies.G Warm regards, Jim
I’m with you Canuck…never ever got so much as a bump on a Mickey Finn. Muddlers? Sure. Ghosts? no problem. But not the Mickey. I mostly fish the Poconos of PA and far northwest NJ and always just figured they weren’t mimicking anything in the streams
Joe C.
“Drift: If you saw a
piece of steak moving
unnaturally on your
plate, would you eat it?”
- Nick Lyons
[This message has been edited by Copper Dropper (edited 27 September 2005).]
I’ve had luck with all flies after I followed Joe’s advice and started adding a chunk a worm to them.
Jim, I do well on LMB and SMB with Wooley Buggers. If it ain’t up top, it’s underneath with a WB! The novelty and irony of the thread continues…
Yep,
The Mickey Finn !!! Got it in my box, but must say I have never caught anything on it (must be fishing in the wrong place for Mickey Finns). Do remember when I was a boy (still learning to tie) the wet fly packs at K-Mart or Wal-Mart. Some of the flies were pretty good, & some plain worthless (like the all yellow fly). Then again, I know a high mountain lake (13,000 ft. base lake)
in Colorado where you can throw in a straight hook & the cutts & brookies will nail it (like cotton picki’n bluegills). Maybe one of these days, If I’m not too old & sucking wind to hike up that dang mountain, I’ll pull out the Mickey & hook a few !!!
Mickey Finn for me as well!
I gave 'em all away and won’t
tie any more!
MW
Boy I dont ever really recall catching a fish on artificial bait, can’t believe anybody ever has. What works the best for me is I just tie a little hook on to my tippet and put some orange power bait on it or dip it with a nighcrawler and bam, every cast I catch a fish. The only way I haven’t caugh a fish is with a nightcrawler that floats on the top, I tried putting some floatant on them and it never works!!! can anybody suggest me some good floatant? 
I have a problem with green. One day this year I caught 3 steelhead on an olive woolly bugger I recovered from an underwater root but other than that, no streamer or nymph in green has worked for me 
Perhaps its a lack of confidence feeling that I’m fishing with a piece of weed or something.
Use a syringe and fill the worm up with air. It’ll **** 'em off but it’s all natural AND won’t leave an oil slick on the water. Careful, though, the syringe kept in your vest or fanny pack will wake you up from a good creekside nap in a hurry!
Joe
P.S. Tried that technique with dry flies once to float them better. It kept blowing the dubbing and the wings clean off.
[This message has been edited by Joe Billingsley (edited 27 September 2005).]
Black ants. Never a fish on any size black ant for me.
We all have our jinx fly.
For me ( as with Jim Hatch )
It’s the wooley bugger.
Does not matter what color ( combo ) or size, unweighted, lead-wrapped, or beadhead/conehead.
Fished dead-drift, or with action, stripped
fast or slow, stop-n-go, upstream, quartered-up, q-down, left hanging - it
doesn’t matter.
NEVER caught anything in a lake or steam on one - in fifteen years of Flyfishing.
Yes, of course I continue to try them anyway…
Knowledge is power ? Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.
? Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
The_Sib
Mickey Finn works well on sea run cutts. They love any bright color, red, yellow, orange, etc.
Glo ball because I will never use them till I see a glo ball hatch. ha ha. Light cahill have never worked for me have tried them several times never caught a fish on it.
[This message has been edited by blue gill (edited 28 September 2005).]