I went out to the Bear after work last night and worked a pool where I caught a nice little spotted brown trout on Saturday. After trying the same nymph that caught the other fish and working the same area I couldn’t get any response so I moved down stream to the ironically named “for sure” hole.
I call it the “For Sure” hole because I know fish will rise there and I’ve hooked several but never landed them. Last night I caught a rainbow on a white mayfly and had him almost in hand. I actually touched the trout when he shook off the hook.
Oh well, I was going to release him any way.
But then here’s when it got weird.
The fish were rising a LOT. There were probably 3 or 4 of them rising in specific areas. I kept working that same white mayfly to them but they wouldn’t take it. I couldn’t see what they were actually eating becaue it was starting to get really dark. HOWEVER there were dozens of dragonflies all over the place. They would fly down and touch the water. Some times I’d hear a splash thinking it was a fish but it was a dragon fly splashing down.
It looked like there was some connection between whatever the dragon flies were doing (dropping eggs?) and the rising of the fish. Could this be true or is this a case of “correlation does not equal causation”?
If there was a connection then what fly would I use to mimic whatever the dragon flies were doing and whatever the trout were eating? Something was exciting the fish but I couldn’t see what it was. It was too dark to see if mayflies were rising out of the water although I did see an occasional white mayfly on the water. But it wasn’t a serious hatch.
As it got darker the dragon flies were replaced by the bats. There were a LOT of bats out and that makes me think that there were bugs hatching OR that they were also eating whatever the dragon flies were doing.
What the heck were the trout and bats eating and how would I mimic that?
I agree with Ed . Probably a midge hatch. Although you could have been there just at the start of a hatch & the nymphs were active. Dragonflies & bats are both predators so they could have been picking up bugs as they were flitting around. Next time try an emerger or a unweighted nymph
Some of the best advice I ever got was, “try the emerger.” I have to say, that’s sound. I’m still a newbie, but when I’ve seen a hatch going on and can’t get the fish to bite, FWIW I’ve had great success with either a mayfly cripple or an ec caddis.
Sounds like a midge hatch. Try a mosquito pattern perhaps? Could be caddis though, in which case swining a small invicta is worth a try. Let us know how it turns out.
I didn’t realize that about dragonflies. That certainly sounds like there was a hatch I couldn’t/didn’t see.
If I see this again I’m going to switch to a midge pattern and if that doesn’t get any response then I’ll try swinging a wet fly to look like an emerger.
What an exciting night though. I thumped a bat or two with my fly rod and the bats did pick up my fly a couple of times (there were a LOT of bats) and the whole time the fish are rising and occasionally jumping.
If you are into a dry and a dropper, you might try a midge dry and a midge emerger dropper (emerging midge dropper - for the more gramatically correct).
Sounds more & more like small black caddis. They shoot up pretty fast & the trout chase them up… I thought that most Dragonflies either climb down a stalk of grass or weed or fly over the water coupled when the female lays the eggs. I’ve seen them flitting over the water coupled & a trout would have to be pretty fast to get one… The black caddis I’m talking about are about a size 18 & there are some splashy rises when they are coming off. Being at dusk they would be hard to see. Next time you get there shake some bushes & see what flys off…
careful with bats and ff. sometimes you may hook one. if you do…CUT THE LINE!! Bats are one of the biggest carriers of rabies that humans will come into contact with. a fly is not worth it, dude.
Try a griffith’s gnat if all else fails - it was designed to mimick a cluster of mating midges, and if you catch a trout, pump it’s stomach to find out what it was eating.
I can’t even tell you just how many times the same thing has happened to me. I often do well with a spinner sized and colored to the prevailing hatch. In a pinch, spinners will also pass for an emerger.
