The Creek’s Blog Posts

Probably the biggest challenge to winter fly fishing is finding the trout. It’s interesting to me how trout can seem to disappear yet they are there – somewhere. Generally, winter means lower water conditions and clearer water. It stands to reason that, in smaller streams, one should be able to see trout should they be present. Yet, few are actually seen. Naturally, the task then becomes where to find trout winter fly fishing in order to catch them.

Where To Find Trout Winter Fly Fishing? Trout concentrate in deep pools, areas containing large obstacles or structure. Log jams, downed trees, or areas where debris has stacked up blocking the flow of the stream and creating a pool-like effect. In other words, locations very difficult to reach from predators.

But in order to find trout consistently, we need to understand a few things about trout and how they survive the winter months. Trout are much less active throughout winter as water temperatures drop. They seek cover where they can feel safe spending a great deal of time in this location. To catch trout you need to find them, of course, but where to look? A basic understanding of the behavior of trout in winter, how they survive and feed through winter goes a long way. Where to find trout winter fly fishing isn’t as hard once you know what they need and why. Let’s check it out.

      Why Do They Behavior This Way

 I remember as kids when we wanted to find our friends, we often knew where to look. Friends get to know each other’s habits and behavior. This holds true for trout as well. The two most basic necessities for a trout is food and security. A trout’s behavior and activity center on these two extremely important items. The climate, changing of the seasons, sun, and clouds all have their effect on a trout’s behavior. His behavior, therefore, is subject to his environment. For his survival, two things stay consistent, his need for food and safety.

As anglers, we need to focus on the same thing as trout. That is a trout’s food and shelter. But, we also need to understand how the environmental conditions affect trout behavior. In this case winter temperatures, and their influence on where to find trout winter fly fishing.

      A Key To Winter Fly Fishing Is Water Temperature

 During the summer months, I often hear fly guys talking about water temperature, and rightly so. When summer temperatures rise, it becomes detrimental to a trout, as oxygen levels in the water begin to drop. High water temperatures force trout to seek waters with higher oxygen levels for them to survive. Faster turbulent currents, underground springs, small mountain creeks feeding into the mainstream, are all good areas trout seek during summer months. These areas provide higher oxygen levels and cooler water. At the same time, trout feeding actively slows and occurs mainly during nighttime’s cooler temperatures.

In winter, when water temperatures drop into the thirties, trout activity is slowed to the point where feeding may only occur once a day or less. Trout become so lethargic overall activity is reduced to as little movement as possible. Remember the story about the three bears? The porridge is too hot, too cold and I’m sure you know the rest. Trout have a zone that they survive in temperature-wise and they behave accordingly.

Water temperature is the key point, in my opinion, regarding where to find trout winter fly fishing. Water temps will follow the air temps but it takes water longer to acquire a change, unlike air which warms and cools quickly. Therefore, it pays to monitor the water temperatures of the streams you fish. If air temperatures have been steady for a few days then the water temperature will follow. Sudden cold snaps will drive the water temps down and slow trout activity. But a few sunny days can raise the water temperatures and in turn increase trout activity.

       We Forget, Trout Are Cold Blooded

As many of us know, snakes and lizards are cold-blooded creatures, but sometimes it seems, we forget, so are trout. The activity, behavior, and metabolism of these “critters” are directly affected by temperature. As temperatures lower, the activity of cold-blooded creatures reduces. For trout, it is the water temperature that impacts him most.

During the spring and early summer months and again in early fall, water temperatures are generally more favorable for trout. It is widely considered ideal feeding conditions for trout when temperatures are between 52 and 64. Ah, so like the three bears – just right!

As water temperatures drop, so does a trout’s activity level and metabolic rate. His activity has a direct relationship to food intake. The more active a trout is the more he needs to eat. Lower water temperature reduces his activity and a trout becomes more lethargic, thereby reducing his need to feed. When water temperatures drop into the ’30s, for example, trout hardly feed. Whereas above 40 degrees they will likely feed more often. Accordingly, as water temperatures rise, trout become more active and feed more often.

At the same time, this reduction of activity means, a trout must find a location where he is least likely to be detected. A place where he can spend long hours undisturbed by predators and anglers. But at the same time be near currents that will supply sources of food. Where to find trout winter fly fishing keys on two things, a trout’s safety, and food. Considering he is less likely to be active in cold temperatures, a trout needs to feel secure in his location. Safety is how well a trout can hide from predators, undetected. Ideally, this hiding spot has a reliable food source. When he is ready to eat, the food source needs to be close.   What Are The Key Insects For Winter Fly Fishing?

  Use A Bit Of Deductive Reasoning 

Take a second to stop and think. What we have learned so far is trout will slow their activity as water temperature drops. He will seek out a place to spend longer periods of time. A safe hiding spot where he can rest undetected. But he also wants to be positioned where a food source is available. Trout are “edge” creatures positioning themselves next to differing currents to take advantage of the food source.

With that said, we can consider eliminating sections of streams that you may have fished during spring and fall. For example, fast water sections require a trout to expend energy. That long beautiful riffle, well, wait for spring and skip it for now. Open areas are another place where trout most likely won’t be this time of the year. Clear and low water conditions leave trout vulnerable in winter. These are good locations throughout the spring as hatches take place, but now trout avoid these spots in winter. Open areas with no cover expose a trout to the flying dangers from above. So, in general, skip fishing these spots too.

As you begin to eliminate sections of the streams it becomes easier to concentrate on what’s left. Generally what is left are deep pools and areas containing large obstacles or structures. Long jams, downed trees, or areas where debris has stacked up blocking the flow of the stream and creating a pool-like effect. Remember, typically during the winter months streams are at their lowest water levels. Less water means trout will be more concentrated. If you find one trout you’ll most likely find more in that location.

      Think Slow and Deep

It’s safe to say that trout will pack into areas having slower moving currents and deep. Pools aren’t the only place where to find trout winter fly fishing but they are the most likely. Pools offer a trout the ability to position deep near the bottom in easy flowing water expending as little energy as possible. Predators can’t get to them and they are often completely unseen. Look for pools having riffles adjacent to them. Trout move from the deeper pool, as conditions become more favorable for feeding. This combination is what to look for because the trout can easily take advantage of a hatch and then drift back down into the pool.

      Where Trout Hold

As I mentioned, trout won’t be everywhere but there is a good chance they will be “hold-up” in areas of thicker cover. Log jams are one of those places. They can hide beneath the jumble of limbs and debris that these jams provide. For the angler, many times these locations are seemingly impossible to fish.  In front of many of these jams is “creek foam”. Creek foam is made up of organic matter that starts to decay, like sticks and leaves. As these organic compounds breakdown, their fatty acids and oils are similar to soap in their ability to create foam. As these materials are pushed against the logs the turbulence of the water creates the foam. The foam is a great cover for trout where they can rest undetected from above. Under this foam, they often will suspend at different levels. Swinging a wet fly or slowly swimming a streamer along the front edge of this foam often brings a nice reward.

As you make your way along a stream, look for small waterfalls. These may be as simple as water rushing over a log or a rocky ledge. Below the falls is usually a depression that has been carved into the creek bed by the rushing water. Trout often sit directly below this waterfall and close to the obstruction forming the fall. Here he can sit in a slow section of water out of the turbulence. Food particles coming over the falls are easy pickings.

      Where Summer and Winter Collide

I have this one little “secret” I keep close to my vest when it comes to where to find trout winter fly fishing. But, I’m sure I’m not the only guy out there that knows this. During the summer months, as you know from reading the beginning of this article, when water temperatures rise, trout seek out underground springs that are rich in oxygen and cool water. When I find these gems I take note of their location and hold on to that information for when I winter fish. It’s where to me, “summer and winter” collide. How’s that you may ask?

Groundwater, for the most part, maintains a steady temperature. So as these springs bring groundwater to the surface in summer, they are cooler than the surface water. But in winter they are often warmer than the surface water. They attract trout both summer and winter by providing a steady temperature range during both summer and winter. Telltale signs of these in winter are a small fog rising from the water on very cold days and in some cases, you can find a bit of green vegetation growing around the area.

      The Winter Menu

Now that we have a better idea of where trout might be, the next question is what and when will he eat? Winter limits food choices for trout and the low temperatures limit a trout’s activity. It becomes more crucial now, during winter, to give him what he wants exactly when he wants it. Talk about a challenge.

For the most part, you’re only going to have two hatches during the winter months, that being Midges and Blue Winged Olives. From a trout’s standpoint, there’s not a lot of nourishment packed into these guys. So he’ll need to take advantage of other foods that may be in his area. Nymphs are going to be the best choice in that, most of the available food is crawling around the bottom of the creek. Mayflies, stoneflies, caddis are all in the nymph stage and more readily available. Add in a minnow, a crayfish, a worm, and an egg and you may have all of winter’s basics.  My Simple Approach to Nymph Fishing

     Time To Think Smaller And Lighter

Generally, the insects that are available this time of year are of a smaller size. Using smaller nymphs in sizes 16 -24, in general, would be a wise choice. That said, using a smaller tippet is a good idea as well. I might spend the spring and summer using 5x or 6x tippet materials where I fish for example, but drop to 7x for the winter.

The same holds true for strike indicators. With everything else going smaller, I downsize my indicator also. Strikes will be hardly noticeable because trout will pick up your nymph with barely any effort. I found smaller indicators seem to help me detect a “pick up” a bit easier.  Why Use Strike Indicators When Fly Fishing?

Another thing is your usage of weight. What weight size to use can vary widely depending on streams, flow, and depth. Be prepared to change weight often. Either adding more or reducing weight is the name of the game in finding the right combination in order to get the right drift.

      Precision, Precision, Precision 

Trout, as we said, are lethargic through the winter months. A nymph has to almost hit them right in the face sometimes for them to take it. Each cast has to drift into the trout in a precise manner. In other words, presentation during winter may be more crucial than any other time of the year. So, being deliberate with your cast will help you be more precise.

As we talked about, during the winter, most of the trout will be found in deep pools and positioned along the bottom of the pool. Because current flow near the bottom typically is slower in these pools, the trout have a bit more time to look over your offering before deciding on whether to take it or not. This is another reason why you have to be willing to make changes often, whether it be weight, smaller tippet, or fly selection.

Winter fishing isn’t easy and can challenge the best of trout fishermen. Patience is in high demand during the winter because you have to fish the same area over and over methodically in order to present your offering where a trout will decide to take it.

In fact, most of my winter fly fishing is done with little expectation of actually catching fish. I tend to concentrate on the mechanics of fishing working on my casting, nymphing, or streamer fishing techniques.

Conclusion

To answer the question of “where to find trout winter fly fishing” lies in an understanding of a trout’s security and food. As we have learned, trout need a safe place to spend a lot of time and a food source nearby. Finding trout during the winter months is challenging but rewarding. Winter is a great time to learn how to read a trout stream. Finding and understanding how structure (obstacles) plays into a trout’s habitat goes a long way to increase your catch rate year-round.  How to Read a Trout Stream to Catch More Trout

The simplicity of winter is also helpful. What do I mean? Well, trees and shrubs are bare of leaves and this allows us to see more of the creek normally blocked by vegetation. The clear water allows us to see the creek bottom more easily revealing the obstacles (structure) in the creek. How water current flows in and around the structure is the crucial part as we need to understand that in order to present our fly naturally to a trout.

For the angler, finding a likely holding spot, figuring out how the current flows through the holding spot, and presenting your fly with a natural drift is what fishing is all about. Winter is a time to examine the basics. A great time to focus on what a stream or creek is “made” of and a time to concentrate on personal skills as well. The better you can “read” a stream the easier it is to know where to find trout winter fly fishing. Fish on!

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      Related Questions

   How cold is too cold for fly fishing?

  Is Winter fly fishing difficult?

 

It’s funny how a few questions can lead to a deep conversation about the simplest of devices. Paul, (The “Professor”) and I were nymphing a stretch of creek and I found myself focusing on his strike indicator. So, I asked Paul about his indicator and what type he likes to use.  That simple question prompted an inquiry on “why use strike indicators fly fishing?”.

Why use strike indicators when fly fishing? Strike indicators help us detect strikes (0bviously), can help maintain your fly at a certain depth level, assist with monitoring line movement and calculating drift speed, and aid by adding additional reach.

 As Paul and I compared notes we discovered we both use strike indicators as an additional tool to aid in strike detection. Like any tool, it needs to be the right one to fit the job at hand. Our conversation defined for us what the basic uses of strike indicators are. That helped us to decide when to use an indicator and which type was best for the given situation. Lastly, like any tool, we had to learn how to use it or in this case, how to fish a strike indicator effectively.

At the conclusion of our discussion though, we found ourselves laughing out loud at each other. A strike indicator is the simplest thing, and yet, our conversation turned it into the most complicated thing. Seems the more a person fly fishes for trout, the more complicated the simplest of things can become. But hey, that’s the fun of being a fly fisherman. So, let’s examine the little tool we call a “strike indicator” and explore “why use strike indicators when fly fishing”.

     

What is a Strike Indicator?

There is no escaping a simple truth and that is, although strike indicators are typically smaller, lighter, and made from different materials, they accomplish the same thing as a bobber. But, because we are fly fishermen we can’t use the term “bobber”. I mean bobbers are for little kids throwing bait, right? So, we call our “bobber” a “strike indicator”. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? It seems fitting that a strike indicator needs to become a sophisticated and complicated tool. This is fly fishing we are talking about here. It stands to reason then, that the strike indicator must be “designed and engineered” to fit into our complicated fly fishing world.

Ok, Ok, all sarcastic kidding aside. Simply put, a strike indicator is a floating object that you attach to the leader of your fly line. It is primarily used to help detect a strike. It is similar to a bobber, but it is made of different materials specifically designed for use in fly fishing. The indicator itself is often brightly colored giving the fly guy a visual to concentrate on. Any variation in the movement of the indicator as it floats down the stream signals a possible take.

Strike indicators are made using anything that floats from foam, yarn, wool, or plastic. I know some guys who simply tie a piece of yarn on their line while others attach a nymph to a dry fly and use the dry fly as the indicator. I can remember years ago using a toothpick tied to my leader simply because they were cheap and losing one didn’t matter, and, yes they worked.

      What Are the Different Types of Strike Indicators?

When new to fly fishing, especially nymph fishing, the use of a strike indicator is a big help in detecting strikes. There is a variety of indicators to choose from and like anything, it takes trying a few to find the one(s) you like and perform the best for your individual needs.

           Types of Strike Indicators

Foam Football Strike indicators  

 

These indicators come in an array of sizes and colors. They float high on the water and are easy to put on and remove from your leader. They slide onto your leader and when removed won’t leave any kinks in your line, which is nice.             

Balloon type.  

These are small plastic balloons in a sense, that you attach to your leader. One has a grommet you put your leader through or attach using a toothpick while the other clamps onto your leader. Again they come in an array of colors and sizes.

Thing-a-ma-bobber

 

 

 

Air Lock

 

 

 

Wool or Yarn Indicators

 

 

 

 

These are made from a tuft of wool or yarn. They are extremely light, highly visible, and good for use in shallow water over spooky trout.

Stick on Indicators

 

 

 

These foam indicators fold over your leader and stick together. They are designed for one-time use.

 

     Dry Fly

Although not considered an indicator Dry flies can be used as an indicator.  Attaching a nymph to a dry fly lets you cover both fishing the surface as well as below the surface.

Why Use A Strike Indicator for Detection?

I mentioned above that Paul and I use strike indicators for more than just strike detection and I’ll explain that in a second. But first, let’s talk about detection. Remember that nasty word we’re not supposed to use, you know “bobber”. When bobber fishing, if the bobber bounces or submerges, grab the pole and set the hook. Although strike indicators are similar to bobbers, they don’t necessarily act the same way.

Strike indicators for fly fishing are made of the lightest materials in order to float on the water’s surface. As they float down the stream any change in the way they are floating is what an angler should be looking for. But, I think many anglers are waiting to see the indicator get pulled below the surface and the truth is, this rarely happens. Trout can pick up and reject a nymph in a matter of seconds and many times these pickups go completely undetected.

Instead of waiting for the indicator to be pulled under, watching the indicator for any slight change in movement is what should be happening. A slight bump, hesitation, or stop means to set the hook. (And setting the hook is as simple as lifting the rod tip a bit. It doesn’t take more than that.)

      The Subtlety of the Drift

“Subtle” is a word I use a lot when talking about fly fishing. Everything in fly fishing seems to be a “subtle” difference. I have fished a size 12 nymph only to change to a 16 and the catch rate went up dramatically. Subtle difference I know, but it made the difference.

“Subtle” applies greatly when using strike indicators. There is a rhythm to the float as the indicator conforms to the flow of the stream and “becomes one” with the current. As it floats on the surface it can become almost mesmerizing as you concentrate on it. The anticipation of a strike has a built-in drama all its own as well while waiting for the slightest divergence from the rhythm.

That said, any change in this rhythm means something. Maybe it’s a touch of the bottom or a submerged twig or the biggest trout of your life. It’s a subtle difference and the best nymph fisherman has learned how to pay close attention to the “subtlety” in the float of the indicator.

      Quick Word About Drag

 Drag is the unnatural movement of a dry fly or nymph when compared to the current. Drag is the fly guy’s worst nightmare and trying to eliminate drag is a constant battle he faces whether nymph fishing or dry fly fishing. Indicators serve another particularly important purpose in that they can help reveal drag.

When watching the indicator, does it match the speed of bubbles or debris floating on the surface? If so, chances are pretty good you have a drag-free drift going. If not, then something needs to be adjusted.  My Simple Approach to Nymph Fishing

      Calculating Drift Speed

Another reason why we use strike indicators when fly fishing is to help in calculating drift speed.  Any advantage you can add or gain to your skillset is a good thing. By using the indicator to calculate drift speed is another aspect of an indicator as a tool. The current or flow of the creek is a bit more complicated than we think in most cases. Stationary objects in the water change the speed of the current as water is forced to flow around them. The speed of the current is also altered depending on the width and/or depth of the stream at any given point.

The strike indicator, as it floats along, will give you some clues as to how fast a section of the stream’s current is flowing compared to another section. Faster current needs to be handled differently than slower current. Faster current may require additional weight to get down into the strike zone quickly. Sometimes moving a few feet upstream is necessary to attain a drag-free drift. Whether it is adding additional weight, moving a bit farther upstream, or both, watching the speed of the indicator will let you know what is needed.

     

How to Tell If The Nymph Is Deep Enough

Additionally, water depth also plays an important role in the flow of the current. Water near the riverbed flows slower than the surface water. As I mentioned, objects on the bottom have an effect on the current. Rocks, weeds, debris, tree limbs, roots, all tend to slow the flow near the bottom. And guess who is resting near the bottom. Trout like “edges” between faster and slower water. They’ll position in slower water to conserve energy but close to faster current to pick off food traveling in the faster current.

The challenge of fishing deeper water is knowing if you’re near the bottom while maintaining a drag-free drift. Strike indicators can help you determine the drift speed and depth, but you need to pay very close attention to the indicator. Studying the strike indicator to determine if it is moving slightly slower than the surface current is the clue. If it is you are most likely near the bottom. When your nymph(s) and weight float in this slower current, they will slow down the speed of your strike indicator on the surface. It’s a subtle difference so pay close attention.   How to Read a Trout Stream to Catch More Trout

      Monitoring line Movement Using an Indicator

Additionally, another reason, as to Why use strike indicators when fly fishing is to track the movement of the fly line at times. Wet fly fishing is an effective form of fishing and catches a lot of trout. The art of wet fly fishing is casting across and downstream to have your fly drift with the current but cut across the stream at the same time. This technique is called “swing”. Wet fly fishing is all about “swing”.   Learn: The Simple Truth To Fishing Wet Flies

 

 

 

 

Swing is casting across and downstream then mending the line as to put a bow in your line. As the line travels downstream the bow begins to straighten out as it comes across and downstream. When the line reaches the point where it is almost straight downstream below the angler is often when the strike occurs.

I have this trick I use from time to time when fishing wet flies. It involves using a balloon-type indicator and some weight. (I’ll explain using balloon-type indicators in the next section.)  Using just enough weight to pull the fly down but without pulling the indicator below the surface to suspend the fly and maintain a certain depth. The idea behind this is to mimic an emerger coming up from the bottom and struggling to the surface.

Using the same cast and presentation, I watch the indicator as it travels along with the swing of my line. This helps me gauge where my fly is and how far away from me it is by monitoring my line. Primarily the indicator is helping me gauge the distance to an area. By using the indicator, I get a better feel for how far my cast needs to be to get the fly into a given area.

      Maintaining a Certain Depth Level

I use two types of strike indicators regularly. The football type is my normal go-to indicator. These indicator types are constructed using a Styrofoam-like material making them extremely lightweight. I like to use the smallest ones I can find. What I like about this indicator is its ability to submerge yet still be an effective indicator.

Creeks have various depression in the riverbed. Sometimes these are deep but not very long, just a few feet. Most objects drifting along a creek bottom will naturally fall into a depression as they drift and rise up out of the depression maintaining the same distance from the bottom as the water flow pushes them along.

When my weight and nymph fall into a depression they pull the indicator down along with them. For the small distance it travels to get through the depression I can still see the indicator as it travels just below the water’s surface. I can’t tell you how often I have caught trout with a submerged indicator.

The other type of indicator is the balloon-type but I use these for a different purpose than the football type. Better known by their trade names, the “Thing-a-ma-bobber” or “Airlock” are constructed from plastic with trapped air inside. Personally, I like the Airlock style because they don’t kink my leader and are easily adjusted up or down the leader.  But for my purpose, either one is a good choice.

Suspending a Fly

What I found using these is their ability to suspend a heavier fly from them. Holding a fly or better said, suspending a fly in the water column beneath one of these indicators can be magic at times. Here in Pa., this is a highly effective technique especially from April-ish to June.

Finding the right amount of weight for the size of the indicator is the trick. You need just enough to let the indicator float normally while helping pull the fly down suspending it below the indicator. Weighted flies are a big help for this but, you may still need to add some weight up from the fly.

When trout are feeding in the water column this is a great way to fool them. The cool thing is adjusting the length from the indicator to the fly up and down. This positions the fly at different depths while maintaining a certain depth level as it drifts through the strike zone of the trout.  This tactic lets you probe through an area several times to take advantage of suspended trout.

      Adding Additional Reach

For the most part, when it comes to drifting nymphs, short casts and keeping a tight line is the key to successful nymph fishing. A tight line provides a “feel” and along with a strike indicator’s visual, is how we can detect a strike. The trick to tight-lining is keeping the fly line itself off the water and maintaining a straight (tight line) leader between the fly line down to the nymph. Obviously, more easily said than done but it is what a good nymph fisherman strives for and once achieved increases his success.

But there are always exceptions and one exception is additional reach. For example, a longer cast and father distance naturally places fly line on the water and this is typically not good. This generally causes drag and in addition, takes away “feel” as the heavier line needs more energy to move it.

For times when casting to an area requires a little more “reach”, using an indicator can help. The added distance means more line out, and of course, more fly line on the water. An indicator then becomes the main detection device. Along with watching the indicator is trying to keep the fly line traveling at the same speed as the indicator. This is a balancing act you need to have for a drag-free drift.

Typically, casting a nymph a long way isn’t a productive endeavor in most cases. But sometimes you have no choice. It’s another reason though, why using strike indicators while fly fishing can be helpful. In this case for the purpose of monitoring your fly line to keep it drifting at the same speed as the indicator.

      Dry Flies

The last “indicator” to mention is a dry fly. It’s not an indicator by definition but certainly can work like one. The best part of this is the fact that a dry fly has a hook, of course, so you have just doubled up on the opportunity of a trout taking your “indicator” along with your nymph.

If you go this route you’ll need to use a pretty buoyant dry fly to keep the nymph from pulling it down. Stimulators, foam beetles, Parachute Adams, or a Royal wolf are examples of possible flies. But realistically use whatever dry fly you want as long as it can stay above the water.

The ideal setup is to match the hatch with both your indicator and nymph. If you see cadis are rising maybe a caddis emerger and an Elk hair caddis for the indicator may be the ticket. This is one of those “experiment and see” situations that makes fly fishing so much fun. Play around with different things and who knows what you may come up with.

     Line Placement

When one asks the question “why use strike indicators when fly fishing”, the next natural question is “where should I place my indicator”? There is a rule of thumb that says your indicator should be one and a half times the water depth up your leader from the fly. Now I don’t know about you, but guessing the water depth without walking out into the middle of the stream to gauge it becomes pretty tough.

So, I start out by placing my indicator about two feet down from my fly line on a 9ft leader and adjusting from there. My goal is to have my nymph touching the bottom from time to time on a drift without getting hung up. But, that said, if you’re not getting hung up you’re not down far enough. Nice catch 22 right? My advice is to adjust the indicator often. As you wade your way up or downstream, the creek depth is constantly changing, so should your indicator.

One last thing to consider is color. Not so much for the trout but instead for you. Let’s face it, if you can’t see the indicator then it won’t do you any good to use one. White is a good choice in that many of the bubbles and foam on a stream are whitish and it will blend. The football type I use is white and red and my “Airlocks” are several colors. I’m not worried about fish seeing it although there are times where I need to be a little more cautious.

Conclusion  

 Why use strike indicators when fly fishing? Like any tool we use there are a time and a place when they are most effective. Strike indicators are a great thing for new fly guys to use as were training wheels on the first bike we rode. Over time I would not be surprised that as you gain more experience in nymphing the indicator goes away. Some of the best and oldest fly guys I know will still use an indicator from time to time and why not? The reason we fly fish is to catch fish, right? But remember, it’s called a strike indicator, whatever you do, don’t call it a bobber. Fish on!

Home

For more helpful articles, click here

To purchase items I use for my fly fishing visit the Recommended Gear Page, Click Here

      Related Questions

 Do you use a strike indicator with dry flies?

Do you need a strike indicator fly fishing?

I ran into a friend of mine heading out to do some trout fishing and before we ended our quick conversation he asked: “do you have a few fall fly fishing tips for me?” The secrets of fall fly fishing aren’t as well kept these days. Autumn fly fishing is gaining popularity as fly anglers are sharing their fall fly fishing tactics more readily. There nothing wrong with that. If you want to learn about how to catch trout in the fall here’s how to approach fall fly fishing for success

5 things make up my list of how to approach fall fly fishing for success.

• Total Stealth
• Get Back To Basics
• Re-Think Food and Food Sources
• Downsize, De-Color, Add Motion
• Don’t Leave Fish To Find Fish

Fall for us here in Pennsylvania means harvest time. The cornfields are being cut, leaves are changing color, and temperatures start falling. For trout, fall means food sources are becoming limited and water levels are generally low and clear.

Fall also means the spawning season has arrived. Fall is a magical time to be on the stream for the Fly fisherman. But fall trout are a challenge. They are warier and water condition are to their advantage. How you approach fall fly fishing for success can make a real difference. So let’s breakdown 5 things I found to help my fall fly fishing.

      Total Stealth

Let’s take into consideration a few things that fall has that is different than other times of the year. For example, the days are now getting shorter. The sun cast long shadows due to its position in the sky than those cast in summer. Vegetation is thinning and getting sparse and this visibility opens the creek. Water is much clearer and lower than earlier in the season. Hatches have, for the most part, come to an end reducing insect activity.

But most importantly this is the time of the year when you are more likely to be detected by trout. Clear low water conditions open the sight window of trout. This gives trout a great advantage as he can detect more than he could under other conditions. Add to this also, he has learned a great deal to have survived to this point, so he knows a thing or two.

Fall fly fishing’s challenge is overcoming the eyesight capability of trout. This time of year how to approach fall fly fishing for success requires greater stealth.

      Dress For The Occasion and Stealth

Fall for me is a great time of the year. The changing leaves with all their color are breathtaking at times. Cool mornings warm quickly as mid-day approaches and cools just as quickly as evening rolls in. Dressing for fall is important for two reasons, being comfortable and blending in.

For comfort, dressing in layers as you may be aware, provides for warmth and comfort, and wearing clothes made of breathable materials helps keep you dry. But it is important to wear drab colors. Dressing for stealth is wearing clothes that blend into the surrounding of the stream. Colors that help you blend with the surroundings is much harder for a trout to detect compared to brighter colors.

Also, be mindful of the objects you have hanging from your vest or waders. Shiny things flash in the sunlight and will alert a trout of your presence. Things like swinging hemostats and nippers can reflect sunlight like a mirror. To a trout, this sudden flash isn’t normal in his world and he isn’t going to wait around to see what it is.

      So What Is Total Stealth?

For me it is really simple, I want to see a trout before he sees me. If I do that, see him before he sees me, I can more easily figure out an approach to try and hook him. To achieve this you need some patients and observation skills.

But more importantly, is being aware of your actions. Motion is what gives away all things in nature. Planning your movement and moves is key. As mentioned, dress in drab colors to blend into the surroundings and move around slowly and carefully. Especially when wading. Try to stay in the shadows and keep a low profile.

Keeping a low profile by fishing from a kneeling or sitting position and sneaking around the banks helps give you an edge. Position yourself behind objects to help conceal your outline.

The main thing is to develop a stealthy approach keeping movement to a minimum and calculating your movement and motion. If you approach every possible trout holding position utilizing stealth you will increase your odds of seeing a trout first and more importantly presenting your fly undetected.

Seeing a trout first before he sees you takes some patients. It is difficult to recognize a trout from the other objects in the water. Many times it comes down to who moves first. All too often lack of patients sends a trout scurrying.

       Get Back To Basics

 In our region here in the northeastern states summer water temperatures often keep us off of the trout streams. High water temperatures cause enough stress on trout without adding to the struggle they go through when being caught and then released. So, when autumn arrives and temperatures begin to drop it’s time to return to the creeks. This is also a good opportunity to re-focus, re-tool, and get back to the basics of trout fishing.

      Casting

It doesn’t matter how seasoned or new you are to fly fishing, casting is the heart of the fly fishing endeavor and practice never hurts. Take a few minutes and take a few casts before you get back out on the stream. Think of it as a baseball player or golfer. Swings matter to them and a few cast should matter to you too.

Getting the feel back is what it’s all about and it won’t take you too long to achieve it. But waiting until you are on the water is a bad idea. Stealth this time of the year is critical and casting a sloppy cast to a weary trout will prove to be a huge mistake. Take some time and make a few casts before you get into a likely holding spot for trout.

Casting into an area where you know trout aren’t holding gives you the chance to get the feel back. Take a few drifts as well to “see how” things are. How fast the water is moving, what the fly does, and how well you can see it in the water. These few minutes are worth the time spent.

      Slow down

There is no reason to be in a hurry when fishing in the fall. A simple but effective adjustment is to pause between casts. For example, if drifting a nymph or swinging a streamer or wet fly, wait a few minutes between each presentation. Food availability for trout this time of the year is limited. Trout aren’t seeing the abundance of insect life like they were a few months ago. Slowing the number of presentations helps you get into the rhythm of fall. In turn, you’ll avoid spooking trout by having less commotion.

      Read The Water

 Autumn’s changing colors is the end of the growing season for vegetation. This time of the year insect life is sparse, hatches minimal if at all, and the hard times of winter will soon be knocking on the trout’s door. The creeks and streams are going through a change and the trout are making necessary adjustments for their survival.

During the warmer dog days of summer, trout moved to areas where the oxygen levels were higher and streamflow was cooler. Trout would often “pool up” in pods of fish in these areas to take advantage of the cooler oxygenated water. During this time most feeding activity would occur during the night when water temperatures have cooled.

When autumn arrives, water temperatures drop, and trout disperse. Two important things are now their focus, finding cover, and engaging in the fall spawning activities. These two things put trout on the move which creates an opportunity for the fly angler.

“Reading the trout water” in the fall is essential because trout can be anywhere and less predictable. Finding structure, like undercuts along creek banks, submerged logs, and holding pools is what reading the creek is all about. Trout could be in any of these areas this time of the year, so don’t pass too many up.

“Structure” is really important all year long but especially during the fall. Trout are moving around and will hide using just about any structure they can find. As leaves fall onto the water and float downstream they collect in front of obstacles in their way. Trout lay under the leaves well hidden from above. It doesn’t take much in the way of cover for a trout to hide. Many times I have found them laying under a small submerge limb, and, close to the bank to boot.

(How to Read a Trout Stream to Catch More Trout)

      Re-think Food and Food Sources

During the spring and summer months, insect hatches dominated much of the food supply for trout. Caddis and Mayfly hatches keep trout well fed along with a host of other choice findings during these months.  (The 5 Bugs of Fly Fishing Entomology to Know?)

But all of this changes once the leaves begin to color and temperatures fall. Hatches are no longer a trout’s source of food. Re-thinking food and food sources are considering what is available now for trout to feed on and finding something in your box that closely represents it. So what is available through fall? Bugs!

Bugs, in general, are always around. They live in the trees and on the ground under the fallen leaves. Crawling among the overhanging limbs and leaves many fall victim to a gust of wind falling onto the water.

Grasshoppers are more plentiful this time of year as well as beetles. Ants are a common insect for trout and are a favorite. These and other terrestrials are abundant in the fall. Until the first hard freeze, these bugs are a portion of prime food for trout.

      Notice Your Surrondings

So consider for a moment what type of bug may be in the tree or shrubs above a trout’s holding position. Then see what you have to offer. For example, ladybugs are all over the woods in our area, so trying a beetle in a size to match a ladybug may work perfectly.

Throughfall and winter any big meal put in front of a trout are most likely going to be eaten. Crayfish, baitfish, leeches, and the like can hold a trout for a day or two before the next opportunity.

As fall moves into winter, Caddis, Midges, and Stonefly nymphs living on the creek bottom make up a trout’s diet for the most part. Another consideration when fall fishing is using egg patterns. Oh, I know some of the purists out there will frown on their use. But the truth is, eggs are available due to the spawning activities and trout eat eggs.

      Downsize, De-Color, Add Motion

So far we have talked about three items regarding “how to approach fall fly fishing for success”, stealth, basics and, food and food sources. Now let’s examine our fly choices, but from a slightly different angle, size, and color.

The available insect life that we typically find through fall and even winter are duller in color and smaller than they were a month or two ago. Blue-winged olives and midges are typically found this time of year and through winter. These guys are small so using sizes ranging from 18-24 is good. Smaller flies in natural colors and with less flash is what is called for during the fall months.

I mentioned “de-color” and what I mean by that is many of the summertime insects are yellowish, greenish, and generally brighter. As winter approaches these colors go away. Winter colors, in general, are grays, blacks, silvers, and for the most part dark. So it stands to reason the camouflage for survival the insects are deploying is going to match their surroundings.

Fall is the transition period from summer to winter, so using smaller flies and dull, drab flies will match what is happening with insects this time of the year.

       Motion

Leaves are falling onto the water as they depart their perches from limbs high above. Other debris like twigs and nuts are also making it into the water. Trout are finding lots of objects entering their world and to survive he needs to distinguish between what is edible and what is not. Things he can eat usually give themselves away by struggling, swimming, wiggling, or what have you. This motion is what a trout keys in on.

I like wet flies, especially spider-type soft hackle wet flies this time of year. As they move through the water they have action to them which allows them to stand out from the other objects in the water. This life-like movement attracts trout.

Streamers are another favorite for fall. Remember the spawn is on in the fall so even if a trout doesn’t care to feed he will defend a position. Streamers trigger a trout’s defensive and aggressive nature.  A streamer to him is either an annoyance or an intruder. Whichever it is to him, he hit it. Again, natural color rather than flashy bright colors is the better choice for fall.   (Learn more about Streamers: Why Should A Newcomer To Fly Fishing Use Streamers?)

Long leaders and lighter tippets can be helpful in the fall as well. Again, clear water and spooky trout call for different tactics.

      Don’t Leave Fish to Find Fish

In some ways, you could call this a standard rule that could be applied year-round, but is especially worth paying attention to in the fall. As the winter approaches, deep holes accumulate trout where they will hold over. Many times if there is one there are more trout to be had in these spots. In general, the trout tend to sit closer to the bottom and concentrate in deeper water. Throughout spring and summer trout spread themselves out from bank to bank feeding on the abundant food sources available during this time.

But fall into winter finds trout taking advantage of the deeper running currents. These “chutes” of strong current act like funnels channeling available food. Trout will sit near the bottom and in the edges of the stronger currents and slower water where they can pick off any nymphs or other food sources caught in the current.

Fish these areas thoroughly, “working the box”. If you hook one trout you’ll usually hook another.  (Learn more about Nymph Fishing: Working The Box)

Conclusion

 Each of the items mentioned for “how to approach fall fly fishing for success” can be utilized all year long and should become part of your general fly fishing habits. But the key to fall is knowing you are fishing for smart, spooky trout with a larger sight window because of clearer low water conditions. The advantage this time of the year goes to Mr. Trout. who has successfully survived the spring onslaught of anglers, the high temperatures of summer, and through all of this has learned a few things. “Wary” is an understatement when describing fall trout. But the reward of catching one seems even more special when considering all of the above. The fall colors of the spawning trout themselves are spectacular and maybe solely worth all the effort. Fly fishing has so many great moments waiting for those who partake and memories that will last a lifetime. Fall fly fishing is just another chapter in the great book called “fly fishing”. Fish on!

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      Related Questions

  What do trout eat in the fall?

Trout rely heavily on food sources like land-based insects, called terrestrial, that fall or fly into the water. Grasshoppers, as an example, are abundant in the fall and many find their way into a trout stream.

   What is a key element to fall fly fishing?

The key to fishing in the fall is your fly selection and keeping presentations in rhythm with the changing environment.  Caddis and hoppers could be the fly of the day and an overnight freeze means the next day its small midge hatches that win the day.

How often have you cast a dry fly, watch it settle on the water, float with the current, when suddenly a trout rises from the depths like a Great white shark straight to your fly. Your heart races a bit as you get ready for the take, anticipating the feel of the strike and just as suddenly the trout descends back to the deep leaving you and your fly high and dry. If you haven’t experienced this situation, believe me, you will. Here are my 5 reasons why trout won’t take your fly and what do you do about it?

My 5 Reasons Why Trout Won’t Take Your Fly. The fly is the wrong color, the fly is the wrong size, you’re using the wrong sized or type tippet, the fly has too much drag, the trout are simply not feeding.

Trout can get extremely picky at times and leave you scratching your head trying to figure out what fly they are willing to take. We have all heard “match the hatch” and we fill our fly boxes with everything we can find to try and match whatever the hatch may be. But even the best “match” at times seems to fail us. When this happens there are other factors that we need to consider to solve the problem of trout refusing our fly. For me, I have found that I have five choices beyond fly selection that I need to pay attention to, and many times getting these right turns out to be the fix I need.

   

 The situation We Call “Take”

The art of dry fly fishing is matching the insects that are hatching and presenting your offering in a way that fools a trout into “taking” your offering. This “on the surface presentation game” we play with trout is full of anticipation and drama. Nothing may be as exciting as watching a trout come to the surface to “take” your fly and sipping it off the surface except the pull of the rod when he turns to dive down.

But sometimes good old Mr. Trout doesn’t “take” that fly you offered, yet it matches the insects flying around or floating on the surface. Worst yet, he has the gall to come right up to your fly, even swim along with it at close inspection, only turn away – no “take”. Having suffered the frustration of “no-take” many times over the years here are my 5 reasons for why trout won’t take your fly. First, let’s start with color and see why you may be fishing the wrong color.

     What Does Color Have To Do With It?

How we humans see things doesn’t mean that’s the way everything out there sees things. This sounds kind of stupid but we judge everything based on how we see things. Sure, we are aware other “critters” on the planet see things differently than us, but because we can’t see through their eyes we have no real idea as to how they see things. Even among us humans, not every person perceives color exactly the same, while still others are “color blind”. As the term goes, they may not be able to detect reds or greens.

The retinas of humans eyes are constructed of two kinds of receptor cells; rods and cones. We can distinguish light from darkness with our rods while cones work in brighter light and allow us to see color. The eye of trout also contains rods and cones which enables them to see color. But they have an added element in their world which we don’t. Trout have to see through the water. The combination of water and light changes color. As light penetrates down through the water the deeper the water the more color is altered. The way this works basically is light is divided into waves consisting of short and long waves. Long wavelengths, like red and orange, are absorbed in water quickly. This means the depth to which they can penetrate is limited and will be seen in shallow water but not at deeper depths. Short wavelengths, like green and blue, can penetrate much
deeper.

A trout’s perception of color is affected by water depth and the water’s clarity. The detection of color at differing depths and water clarity by a trout’s vision is being altered as light waves penetrate down through the water.

     So Why Is Color Important To Fly Fishing?

Color choice depends on the time of year when trout fishing. The color of flies you use will vary accordingly. Early spring, late fall, and into winter, flies are usually of a darker color. From mid-spring and until about mid-autumn natural insect colors are more towards the lighter side. Yellows, pale colors, light greens are some of the colors that work well through the later spring and summer seasons.

Another factor where color is important is the kind of day or type of day you’re fishing. Bright days usually call for lighter colored flies while cloudy or dark days find the use of darker color flies a better choice. A cool example of this is a fly, “The Grey Duster” Davie McPhail ties.

Davie McPhail, a fly tier from Scotland, ties a pattern he has been using for 28 years and he loves it. He refers to it as “the Grey Duster”. He suggests when you tie this fly to tie one light-colored and one grey-colored. Grey for cloudy dark or grey days and the lighter colored one for bright days.
For Davies’ pattern, click this link for his video

   

The Underwater Perspective

How colors appear to trout is dependent on how far away the object may be and at what depth. As light penetrates down through the water column, red objects turn from red to gray to black and blue objects will turn white before turning to gray and eventually black. When a trout detects something in or on the water, depending on the distance, it could appear as a different color to him than what we picked from the box. Changing the color of your fly and keeping everything else the same can often be the ticket.

Water clarity is the next element that influences what colored fly to use. Some streams or creeks can be clear as gin while others are stained or even muddy depending on weather conditions. From a trout’s perspective, the color of a fly can help it stand out or make it disappear depending on the clarity of the water. When water is clear, it’s not a bad idea to use subtle shades of color like maroon, indigo, or purple, or black. Whereas using orange, yellow or chartreuse may be a good choice in stained or muddy water conditions. So, in clear waters, subtle shades produce well. Black, red or generally dark flies provide better contrast in both dark water and cloudy days (low light conditions). Black forms the best silhouette against a dark sky.

     Why Change Fly Color?

To sum this all into a working example, say you are fishing a size 14 Elk Haired Caddis in tan and trout are refusing your fly. Two reasons may be at play here. The actual insect coming off is really brown not tan like you think. Or reason number two, the trout sees a different color than you perceive. He is looking up through the water and what he sees at distance turns out to be different once he arrives at the fly, so he refuses it. Changing to an olive color or a yellow or brown might make the difference. Remember, what you see may not be what a trout sees, so trying to match the
hatch becomes a bit more challenging.

     Does Size Really Matter?

When it comes to fly fishing, yes it does. The size of the fly matters. For example, insect life is vastly different depending on the time of the year. Winter doesn’t have prolific hatches and most insect activity consists of Midges and small insects. During this time, small flies in sizes 16 – 22 makes natural sense because most insects are of smaller size this time of the year. Spring and summer on the other hand provide the opportunity to “go bigger” since insect life is more abundant and hatches more prolific. Many of the flies hatches produce during spring and summer are larger, for example like March Browns. Fishing flies in sizes 12-16 is normal for this time of year.

Now, what I just described is a good general rule to follow. But what were really talking about are those days when trout rise and refuse your fly. I can’t tell you how often have drifted a dry fly past a feeding trout who comes to rise only to refused my offering. Many times the solution is changing the size of the fly. That said, the second reason for “my 5 reasons why trout won’t take your fly”, wrong size.

   

 The Subtle Difference Size Can Make

Next time you are standing in a line at the grocery store or overlooking a crowd of people you’ll obviously notice not everyone is the same size. Some are tall, some are short and then everything in between. The same is true with insect life. Not every bug of a given species is exactly the same size. As we see bugs on the water it is easier for us to see the larger ones than it is the smaller ones. Naturally, when we go the fly box our tendency is to pick the fly that resembles the ones we are looking at. But, again, that may not be the bug Mr. trout is looking at.

As an example, I was fishing one of our local streams close to where I live. I had a trout that was feeding on something but it was difficult to know exactly what it was he was taking. I stood for a while watching the water and decided to try a size 16 Griffith’s gnat. Griffith’s gnats are great flies and generally mimic a cluster of midges along with other smaller insects.

I managed several good drifts and the trout rose to my fly several times as well, but on inspection passed up my fly. Because he rose several times I felt he liked the fly. I figured at this point I would change to a smaller fly rather than change to a different fly. My game plan was to drop to an 18 from the 16 and go to a 20 before changing to a different fly altogether. I made my cast and drifted the fly into position. The trout came to the fly hesitated a for a second and sipped it in, fish on!

     Why Size May Play Into It

Consider also a trout’s feeding habit. Trout, when it comes to surface feeding, prefers to feed on emergers more than a fully developed adult. Insects that get trapped in the surface film are easier targets and require less energy on the part of the trout to catch them. Emergers also appear smaller than the adult simply because their wings have not fully extended or they have not completely left the shuck.

Like everything we do when fly fishing, the bottom line is to “test the water”. Did you like that? Kind of puny, don’t you think? Sorry about that, anyway, trying different sizes and color combinations can prove to be just the thing needed. Also, don’t rule out going bigger, but a smaller sized fly usually works best. Now let’s move to reason number 3 of “my 5 reasons why trout won’t take your fly” – wrong sized or type tippet.

Check out this post too: “4 Things to Know to Fly Fishing Emergers Effectively”

     Let’s Take A Look At Tippet

Leader and tippet technology has come a long way over the last 50 years or so. The materials used today are mostly monofilament, (nylon and fluorocarbon), and are available in a huge number of sizes, stiffness’s and strengths. Several years ago, fluorocarbon materials were introduced to the
market and by now most of you are familiar with it. For the most part, when we purchase tippets or leaders we usually choose between nylon or fluorocarbon.

Tippet, in the general sense, is material added to the end of our leader to extend leader life and length to our tapered leader. Adding a tippet can also continue the taper of a tapered leader by using a smaller diameter tippet.

Fluorocarbon, in general, has some qualities that make it a good choice, depending on your use. For example, a lot of guys use fluorocarbon leaders when nymph fishing because it has a higher resistance to abrasion. It is also a more dense material so it can sink more easily. It can help with hook sets too because it doesn’t stretch. But best of all it is nearly invisible in water.

But, like all things, it has its cons to go along with it. If it gets nicked or scratched those areas become highly visible. Fluorocarbon is slippery which allows for knots to work themselves loose. You need to check knots often and use additional wraps when tying your knots. Lastly, the fluorocarbon is more expensive. Ok, all that said, why would I change my tippets?     For more on Leaders and tippet: “Why Use A Tapered Leader?”

     Why Change Tippets While Dry Fly Fishing

Changing or replacing tippet falls into two categories in a sense. The first is simply replacing your tippet with new material. It may be that this new piece lays better on the water. It could be that any small kinks that may have been in the old tippet are now gone or it could be the knot attaching your fly is less noticeable to good old Mr. Trout. Whatever it is, I have found this simple change has worked and helped me catch that trout.

But most times, after scratching my head for a while, when I make a tippet change it is usually to go with a smaller sized tippet. For example, I might reduce from a 6X to a 7X. Sure, it seems ridiculous considering the difference between the two is so subtle. But I can’t tell you the number of times after making this change I have caught trout when previously all I was getting was a trout to rise and turn away.

The second category is changing the type of tippet you’re using. Generally, I don’t use fluorocarbon tippet when dry fly fishing. Fluorocarbon has a tendency to sink where mono will sit on the water surface. But sometimes changing to fluorocarbon is a plus, so let me explain why I use it sometimes.

     Trout Can Be Leader Shy

I have had this discussion often with “the Professor”, my friend Paul and we believe trout can be leader shy. We have a few Catch and Release streams near us that we fish regularly. Trout in these streams see a lot of fishermen and in turn a lot of offerings. So call us crazy if you want (wouldn’t be the first time) but we believe trout can see our leader at times. Especially on bright sunny days when the sun can reflect off of the leader. Could this be a contributing factor to a trout refusing your fly? In my opinion, if something doesn’t look right to a trout, he simply won’t take your fly.

It’s with this train of thought, “leader shy”, that had me experiment more often with fluorocarbon tippets. I tested them against regular nylon and at times fluorocarbon seemed to outperform the nylon tippet on clear streams and sunnier days. But to be honest, I really don’t know if this is true or not. What I do know is I carry fluorocarbon tippet material and will use it as another tool.

     Wrong Sized Or Type Of Tippet All Summed Up

Adjusting the tippet as a possible solution for a trout not taking your fly comes down to a few factors. Usually, I start by making a simple tippet change by changing my tippet for a clean new tippet. Sometimes I make it a bit longer than the last one, otherwise, I just go to a smaller size. If trout continue to avoid taking the fly then I consider it to be a “visibility problem”.

One of the things I adjust is the knot connecting the fly to my tippet. Ever notice when the fly is drifting, a loop in your tippet coming from the fly goes up then down to the water? It is a very small loop and usually, it has to do with the knot holding the line (tippet) up. My mind tells me a trout can see that and shies away from my fly. Many times it’s a simple adjustment of the knot to let the line layout flat on the water. This easy adjustment has many times solved the “take” problem.

     Change The Type Of Tippet

But if this fails my next consideration is changing to a different type of tippet material altogether and I break out the fluorocarbon. To reiterate, I don’t use fluorocarbon regularly for dry fly fishing. But I have found that it helps sometimes and I think it’s because of two things. Fluorocarbon is nearly invisible in water and the second thing is it sinks.

I think the fact that it sinks slightly as it comes off the fly makes it hard for a trout to see it, along with its natural ability to be “invisible”. When I use fluorocarbon for this purpose I use shorter pieces in an effort to keep this sinking to a minimum as to not pull my fly under. If this change works then the tippet problem solved. Let’s move on to reason number 4 of “my 5 reasons why trout won’t take your fly”, drag.

     The Biggest “Evil” In Fly Fishing – Drag

Although I have chosen to place “drag” in the fourth spot of my list, it really is the number one problem for most of us. Drag is created as a result of a fly line laying on the water. The weight of the line and its interaction with the current can pull you fly and slide or skate it across the water.

It is amazing actually, how little a fly needs to move unnaturally for a trout to pass it up. Drag not only causes trout to refuse your fly but many times spooks them putting trout down. This is especially true if the fly has been repeatedly dragged over the fish.

The ultimate goal is a drag-free presentation.  That is the ability to drift a fly to a trout so that it floats with the current with no pulling or unnatural movement. If you recognize drag it may be the most important factor between your catching trout or not. So pay attention to your drift because the slightest drag often is the reason your fly gets refused.

     How To Best Avoid Drag

Eliminating drag is all about line maintenance and being in control of your fly line. Typically the less line on the water the greater the chances are you will reduce or eliminate drag. When possible the closer you can get to the trout without spooking them lessens the amount of line needed to reach them. This also lets the angler hold his rod higher to keep line off the water. But this isn’t always possible and the longer your casts need to be to reach a trout’s holding position, the more line may be on the water. To help control this situation we use a technique referred to as “mending”.

Mending is lifting your rod tip up to lift the fly line off the water and reposition it on the current. Sounds easy enough but it takes practice because doing right means moving the fly line without disturbing your fly’s drift. It is normal for us to watch our fly as it drifts along on the current but it is also important to watch your fly line at the same time. Watching how your line is moving with the current continuously looking for clues as to when the line will begin to outpace the fly is what you are looking for. The mend needs to take place before the line’s drift can affect the fly’s drift. You may mend the fly line several times during a drift to keep a fly “dead drifting” for any length of time.

     High Sticking Isn’t Just For Nymphing

Another way to help avoid drag is to use a high sticking method when possible. High sticking is a technique generally used to keep the fly line off the water as completely as possible. It requires you to use as much arm extension you can to hold the fly rod up as high as you can. Casting is usually a shorter distance and you need to be closer to the trout.

     Positioning

Whenever I approach a spot to fish I spend a few minutes evaluating how I’m going to get into a position to fish it. Reading the water and trout behavior is always a top priority. Trout residing in clear high-pressured streams are sensitive to drag, as we talked about earlier. If you can position yourself to take advantage of the current the better. Casting upstream to lay the fly on a seam and letting it drift into the trout is a good approach. It also means mending the line by retrieving it at the speed of the current. This additionally takes advantage of stealth as you are behind the trout and out of his vision.

The opposite approach is to drift a fly downstream into a trout’s holding position. Using a longer leader and smaller tippet is helpful for this endeavor. Changing your position and casting from different angles will change too how your line reacts as it lays on the varying current speeds. Stream currents cause drag so dissecting the current is equally important to eliminating drag. Watch the stream for a while and take notice of the things floating on the water. Watch how they float and place your fly so it floats similarly to these objects, or better yet, the bugs in the water.

    Micro-drag

Micro-drag may be the most difficult of things to detect. In slow water and conflicting currents, Micro-drag seems more prevalent. These conditions favor the trout because he has more time to look things over. Micro-drag is still “drag”. It is by another name, but what it means is your fly is not “dead drifting” and trout don’t like it one bit. It’s up to you to figure a way to improve the situation by mending, high-sticking, or positional change. You’ll know if you have it right when your fly gets taken. The last item on the list of “my 5 reasons why a trout won’t take your fly” is, the trout are simply not feeding.

     Trout Aren’t Feeding

We ran into this very thing last month fishing one of our mid-state streams here in PA. We had a great day, catching trout on Stimulators of various colors, and pretty much we caught fish all day. In camp, that night had some good tales and conversation about the day, and expectations for the following day were running high.

The next morning we returned to the sections we had fished the previous day only to discover the trout basically “hanging out”. They showed little interest in anything we put on the water or in the water for that matter. I floated several different offerings down through with trout coming to inspect each but no takes.

My buddy ran a few nymphs through as well and again nothing. The trout we very lethargic and uninterested in most everything either watching it float by or literally getting out of the way. A bit frustrated we found ourselves sitting on the side of the stream watching it while munching beef jerky and sipping a beverage scratching our heads. When trout aren’t feeding in most cases you better off finding something else to do or searching for the few opportunistic trout that are about by covering a lot of water.

     Work The Box

The next thing is to work the box. I managed to pluck a few that day by changing my flies up often. After several casts, several inspections, I would change flies. I systematically went through my fly box, literally. I would return the fly in use back to its spot in my fly box and use the next one adjacent to it. If a trout rose to the fly and refused it, I’d offer up another and another.

Situations like this are really challenging to say the least. Trout are curious about things in their world and will come to fly even though they have no interest or intention of taking the fly. This is often misunderstood by fly fishermen. They don’t understand that trout aren’t feeding but are still interested in seeing “what is that”. Naturally, the assumption is “I’m fishing the wrong fly” and all the things we have mentioned throughout this article, but the reality is trout aren’t feeding.

It was easier for us to figure this out that day. We had been on the stream for several days of fishing. Trout have a tendency to feed earlier in the day and then shut down during mid-day and pick up again towards evening. This seems to be a normal condition we experience pretty regularly, but when trout shut down for a day or two it becomes more difficult to detect. The best advice I can offer on days like this is to work the box and cover more water. As I said, you’re trying to take advantage of opportunistic trout.     More about “Working the Box: Nymph Fishing: Working The Box

Conclusion

Over the years I have seen trout refuse flies and I’m still amazed when they do. I have often declared to my buddy, “man that was perfect, but he didn’t take it” only to hear him say, “well something’s wrong”. My 5 reasons why trout won’t take your fly is a combination of circumstances, situation, technique and plain “ole luck”. But the solution more times than not fits one of the 5 reasons. Football is a game of inches they say and trout fishing is a game of subtleties. The difference between a size 14 dry fly and the exact same fly in 16, to me, is so small it is natural to think, “you have to be kidding me”. But to Mr. Trout, it may be all the difference in the world. Fish on!

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      Related Questions

   How Long Should My Leader Be For Dry Fly Fishing?

Generally, the length of your leader can be anywhere from 7 1/2 feet to over 9 feet. When dry fly fishing the use of a longer leader is often an advantage. But it still needs to be a manageable length. If the leader is too long casting will be affected and your presentation sloppy and not on target.

   Are Emergers Considered Dry Flies?

Technically emergers fall into their own category as they can be fished anywhere in the water column. Typically they are fished just below the surface whereas dry flies are fished on the surface.