Hi,
I’m itching to tie some flies and get on the water. I’m in Rhode Island, and right now I can either wade a river or fish a pond on my kayak, since the temps have been a few degrees either side of 42 for quite some time. I’m looking for trout first, but I’ll be happy with anything at this time of year.
Two questions, then:
A. What should I tie?
B. How should I fish it? (Especially in a pond)
Thanks!
Hugh
Midges, I’d think. Larvae, Pupae, Dries (if you’re lucky).
Larvae and Pupae would be deep and sssssslllllloooooooooowwwww.
Olive woolly bugger. Vary the retrieve until they attack, then use that method. Slow and twitchy would be my first choice, followed by fast and twitchy, then a slow steady swim (as in trolling behind the yak).
Willy Self’s Lazer Midge is hard to beat:
Willy’s tie:
One of my takeoffs:
(Edge) Bright makes Mite:
Now those are what I call CLOSEUPS! Do you have a recipe, or should I Google?
Thanks and keep those ideas coming!
Hugh
RE> recipe for Willy Self’s Lazer Midge
Scud hook. Edge bright body and bead. Vary the colors. Not much to it. Willy’s fly collection is not yet on the net. But it’s coming.
Willy typically ties his with a plastic bead (sans weight). Willy almost always fishes two flies at a time, with one on a dropper (never chains them together). And places any required weight on the leader (not of the fly). In winter he usually fishes a foam bobber too. Late Fall is on everybody’s radar screen as a good time to catch big browns. But Winter and early Spring are when most of the big fish seem to get caught, here in Montana anyway.
Okay. I mite bite! I like!
So, where does one get Edge Bright in the Bozeman area?
Interesting question. Might be tough in Bozeman, but this stuff is popular for steelhead patterns, so any PNW fly shop should have some in stock.
pittendrigh: What sizes does “Willy” tie these in? The only problem with Edge Bright, is that it is too thick for smaller patterns, but these examples have inspired me to try some of these out in larger sizes come spring.
teachmarkey: Like others, I would favor midges. Simple patterns like thread body zebra (black thread, silver rib) or blood midges (red thread, silver rib) are deadly. In smaller sizes (<#16) I usually use mercury glass beads for the head, and omit any thorax. I also like red thread midge larva tied on something like a Daiichi 1150 ribbed gold wire and no weight in various sizes for the winter months.
My 2 trout rivers are “blown-out” and have been for several weeks while they try to lower the lakes to winter pool and it keeps raining just about time they want to stop turning water lose so they keep releasing water. I have been hitting the farm ponds and having good luck fishing a weighted black leech and fishing it slow with short twitches.
Stafford pond was always my favorite for trout and also crandel pond. You can also fish lincoln woods. For stafford pond and lincoln woods, you are going to want to get down deep. Try streamers there and dries at crandel pond. Where about in RI are you? I used to live in E. Prov., Cranston and capital hill in Providence.
Willy is mostly a guide and instructor in summer. Spiritually anyway. In winter he’s a cash register engineer at Bozeman’s Troutfitters shop, where they have Edge Bright–largely because of Willy’s influence. Fins and Feathers out in 4-corners has it too. For largely the same reason.
Extra bright flies really do seem to work extra-well in the cold water season. Not that they don’t work well in summer too. But in winter they’re a bit like magic. Give them a few days of fishing and see for yourself. I’m a believer…not a trace of doubt in my mind.
…Oh god. That’s an annoying song from the 60s isn’t it? But it’s also a damn good fly.
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RE> “Edge Bright too thick for small flies”
I have an old swing-arm paper cutter that was my dad’s (he didn’t use it for fly tying). I find it useful for cutting all manner of things. I can use it to shave off 1/32" hair-thin strips of edge bright (from a rectangle of the stuff). And that I can wind onto the abdomen of a #18 midge.
Thanks for the info. I’m in PA for the winter, and wasn’t sure where to find it here. I go to both of those fly shops you mentioned when we’re in MT for the summer. However, I couldn’t wait until then and found it on Ebay, so I bought a bunch of it.
You say it’s a good winter fly, but there’s a MT lake that we fish in the spring that has lots of Travelling Lake Sedges. I’m thinking Edge Bright might also make some interesting pupae imitations of those sedges.
Happy New Year to all! Still looking for fly ideas, though!
Thanks for the tips! Keep 'em coming!
I live in RI too. The best fly to use at this time of year is the lemon woodduck heron. It should be fished deep, like on a sink tip or with a few split shot to get it deep. I like to cast across the current and let it swing downstream. Once it reaches the end let it hang in the current. That is when I get most strikes. Caught 2 big rainbows a couple of weeks ago using this fly and technique.
Great, RIRed! I had to Google the pictures of it. Still very much a rookie fly fisherman, but I’d never even heard of it. Gotta add some wood duck flank to my shopping list!
Teachmarkey
A less expensive alternative to wood duck is mallard barred flank wood duck. Tie this streamer on a size 10 streamer hook. Works well in the Wood River, Blackstone River and the Clear River in Burrillville. If you want more info about fishing streams and rivers in RI you can e-mail me at smarshall125@gmail.com
i just got back from trout trip in moving water I have never seen the fish so stuck on midges. One day a blck mercury midge was hot. the next 2 days white miracle midges were king
There were not clouds of midges around and the fish were ignoring the small caddis that were around