Early morning surface action help

[DFrink]

I went out Saturday morning, got to the lake at 630am. In the time it took me to eat a banana I saw 6 trout rise, I thought "game on". As I was getting my waders on and putting my rods and tube in the water I saw several more fish rising. First thing I tried was my go to I line with a wiggle tail like pattern for no luck. That didn't work so I put on a soft hackle and tried a hand twist retrieve. After about 30 minutes of striping with fish rising all around me I decided to try a dry with an emerger. There were no bugs on the surface so I was sure the trout were eating something coming up from the bottom? After that didn't work I tried an indicator with a red copper john and a soft hackle dropper. Well let’s just say this was a very humbling day of fishing. I didn't even get 1 grab in six hours of fishing! My question is what do people use as a go to set up for emerger patterns? How do you decide what to try if you can't see what the bugs emerging look like (size or color)? Maybe just some discussion on early morning rising trout and what tactics are being used would be cool. I need some ammo before I go back to this lake.

P.S. I was fishing a small lake up I80 between Colfax and the summit.

Dan

[SHigSpeed]

I HATE those days. I just experienced a similar one on a high Sierra lake. I managed ONE fish on a dry (blind pick, no matchy matchy, EHC) and gave up and went DEEP with a bugger and got into a few more.

I wonder if you needed to go smaller and finer? Or are you sure these fish were not chubs or smolts?

I'm sorry I don't really have any wisdom to bestow on you, but misery loves company. I hope someone here can help you (us!).

_SHig

[SHigSpeed]

Oh, one thing: Sometimes, especially if there are a lot of fish concentrated (and doubly-especially if they're hatchery fish) a stupid-fast retrieve gets the fish to turn on and strike out of what I feel to be a "don't let the other guy beat me" mentality.

_SHig

[Woodman]

I hope you didn't take the banana in your tube with you...that could be the problem.

Also I agree with Shig. Sometimes one or two fly sizes smaller and one or two tippet sizes smaller will do the trick.

[DFrink]

I would never do such a thing! I did try different stripping speeds, including very fast short strips. I don't think these fish were just planted, it's a PG&E lake so I'm not sure? They had to have been picking up bugs that were in the surface film. I couldn't see anything coming off, landing on the water, or lying dead on top and I paddled around. It was so frustrating, I can 't wait to go back and get even! I guess my main question is do you veteran stillwater anglers have a "go to" emerger patttern that you try first if you find yourself in a similar situation?


I hope you didn't take the banana in your tube with you...that could be the problem.
Also I agree with Shig. Sometimes one or two fly sizes smaller and one or two tippet sizes smaller will do the trick.

[jwholmesjr]

When that is happening, I find it very frustrating but I have had sometimes sucess by going smaller, smaller, smaller with midges, probably the primary food of those guys...color can make a difference!!!! I have been tying the midges on the TMC 2488 which has great strength even down to 22-24 sizes...try a tiger midge and a red or brown very small!!!! with a 5x or 6x tippet.

[DFrink]

Smaller midges, check. I didn't try anything smaller than an 18 so that could do the trick. Another question, how do you like to fish your midges? Strip them on an I-line, under an indicator or dry fly drifting, or using a floating line? I didn't try stripping, I did try the old dead drift. I'm sure there isn't a "right" answere, but I like to hear what tactics others go to.

Dan

P.S. thanks to all for the PM's with great advise!8-)

[Scott V]

Strip as fast as you can until your elbow falls off, if that don't work sit back and enjoy nature.

[Mik]

Sounds like you gave it a good try. I always take a look at how the fish is rising. Are they sipping, getting acrobatic or you just see swirls? If they are sipping, I throw a small 18-22 size emerger all by itself with some fine tippet. If I see swirls, I may use a dry and dropper. If you get a hit and don't connect, change flies. And if that doesn't work I follow Scott V's advice to sit back and enjoy nature. : )

[Terry Imai]

I know how frustrating it can be when you have trout rising around you but they are not taking your bugs especially when you shown them everything in your fly box. One of the first things I observe with the raising fish is determining their rise form. When the fish rises, make the assumption that the fish are taking either emergers or subsurface unless you see an air bubble. When a fish takes a live surface bug, they have to inhale the bug along with a bit of air and the resulting exhale creates the air bubble around the rise ring. You mentioned that you tied an emerger pattern along with a dropper bug. That's probably what I would have done but I have a LARGE inventory of #20-24 midge patterns to be used as my dropper. While you may not think that there's not much of a difference between a #22 Chromie and a #18 Copper John, the trout might think one is a steak and the other is the entire cow.

It was mentioned the trout could have been hatchery fish but a hatchery fish would have cooperated with a take or two with your setup. My guess would be that you were fishing over educated fish.

I have found one fo the more successful methods to fish a setup of an indicator fly like a #18 forward tied parachute deerhair wing Adams (especially with an antron tail to look like an emerger) and a 12-14" dropper with a #20-22 Chromie or Snowcone midge. Make sure you know how to use an open loop type of knot rather than a cinch knot because you need that bit of movement in your dropper that a cinch knot doesn't provide. Position yourself 20-30 feet UPWIND above the pod (and to the right side (if you're right handed caster) because of the easier presentation due to the wind) of the raising fish and either anchor or make sure of your hold position (always better to anchor). Put your cast five feet ahead of the pod and let the wind drift your emerger into the pod. Make sure you make the required upwind mends to ensure a good drift into the pod (just like springcreek fishing). Do not make any attempt to strip this setup to catch fish. You are basically representing a midge moving toward the surface and their speed is so slight that an angler cannot properly imitate that motion along with allowing it to drift naturally in the wind. Most of the trout have their noses pointed to the proper direction and are looking for food being drifted towards them. The actual wind chop provide ample action for your midge and that is why an open loop knot is critical to your eventual success.

Any rise form 1-2' around your emerger, do a gentle slipset and hopefully... fish on!!!

Here's a great stillwater website to provide more helpful hints...


http://www.flycraftangling.com/

[jbird]

In my experience, if the fish wont take your closest guess to what the naturals are, go with an all-purpose pattern. I find that it is rarely a case of the fish not wanting your offerring as it is the fish not seeing your offering. When the fish are "keyed" on something, they are specifically looking in the "zone" that the food is occuring in.

I have noted MANY instances where I was picking up fish at or near the bottom and then they just plain quit. Rather than changing flies, I will change my depth of presentation. Many times it is as simple as the fish have moved up in the water column. Trout in stillwater often (not always) look up for food. When they are on the bottom and are searching for food, they will search the bottom, but once they come off that pattern, they will elevate off the bottom and orient their vision upward.

I have found it WAY more effective to fish a tried and true pattern (for me, thats a seal bugger in a variety of colors and sizes, and/or an AP emerger) in the correct depth zone, than to try to match the hatch. Hatch matching in stillwater can be fun but IMO not nearly as productive as attractive, suggestive patterns.

So to summarize what I probably would have attempted in your situation would have been an unweighted olive seal bugger on a floating line, with a long 12+' leader. 5X flourocarbon with a loop knot (always a loop knot). If I were in a float tube, I would put out a long line and slowly fin troll thru the feeding tout.

Another pattern that can be deadly in the fall is a damsel nymph and a scud, fished the exact same way.

[catch&release]

Beleive it or not if there are alot of fish feeding on the surface i will fish way down in the water column. example if the water is 10 feet deep I will fish down about 3 feet off of the bottom. If you watch fish out of a boat or a float tube or a steep dropoff you can see the fish running up from the depths to attack whatever they are eating and then go back down in the water column. Do yourself a favor and fish down in the water column when you see fish rising and this will work. It has worked for me for many, many times in the past. If you have worked these fish on the surface for a hour or so, try what I am suggesting to you. You have nothing to lose!

[Terry Imai]

There's an old joke and I'll keep it clean for the BB and not to have Marilyn get mad at me...

There's an old Bull and a young one at the top of the hill looking down at a herd of cows eating some clover. The young one turns to the old one and says "Let's RUN down at get to "know" one of the cows". The old one replies, "Let WALK down and "know" them all".

Now to beat some people on this BB on about this joke being some bull**** but it's very applicable when you have fish feeding near the surface.

If you have fish showing themselves near the surface, they believe that there are no predators nearby. But the constant casting required of throwing a wooly bugger may catch a few fish; the results are disturbing the water and lining the fish which will either put them down or move them to another location. One of my greater satisfactions in both moving and stillwater fishing is being able to pick off the entire pod of fish without putting them down. The adage of he who casts the least will catch the most fish is very applicable when you have this level of surface activity without blowing up the pod.

If you do it right, you would make a one or two fish day into a very memorable experience.

My $.02 for the evening...