Brown trout feeding question

[Oliver10]

Fished on sunday. Low clear water wild trout in deeper slower pools. I could see them on the bottom sitting in the slow current. I cast up stream and drifted tiny nymphs down with split shot right past them. Nothing switched flies many times and nothing. Eventually got one in a diferent part of the pool with a bead head green cadis size 14. I tried size 22 -18 of many types of nymphs they would hardly look at it. I saw them feeding every once in a while. What were they eating bast on time of year and it being a freestone stream? What flies would you guys try here?

 

[tomfly]

When they are finicky with the behavior that you described, what I have found to be effective is not necessarily the type of fly it is the color, size, weight. I personal do not like weighed nymphs. Sometimes fish will feed in different aspects of the water column. The reason i do not use weighed nymphs so I can adjust the weight of the shot and where crimp the shot on the tippet can make all the difference. When i get the fly where I want it in the column, I then start adjust the color and and size. Just changing flies can become frustrating ( you might be using the proper fly but it is not at proper placement or drift in the column).

 

[Trout Guy]

When they are finicky with the behavior that you described, what I have found to be effective is not necessarily the type of fly it is the color, size, weight. I personal do not like weighed nymphs. Sometimes fish will feed in different aspects of the water column. The reason i do not use weighed nymphs so I can adjust the weight of the shot and where crimp the shot on the tippet can make all the difference. When i get the fly where I want it in the column, I then start adjust the color and and size. Just changing flies can become frustrating ( you might be using the proper fly but it is not at proper placement or drift in the column).

I agree with tom, it's all about the presentation. A properly presented fly will almost always instagate a strike.

Also, considering you were fishing in low water conditions, you may have just spooked the fish and put them down.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Roll an egg imitation in front of their faces. Or a tiny zebra midge. Or get them to chase a streamer. Either way, low and slow like the natural drift.

 

[Oliver10]

When they are finicky with the behavior that you described, what I have found to be effective is not necessarily the type of fly it is the color, size, weight. I personal do not like weighed nymphs. Sometimes fish will feed in different aspects of the water column. The reason i do not use weighed nymphs so I can adjust the weight of the shot and where crimp the shot on the tippet can make all the difference. When i get the fly where I want it in the column, I then start adjust the color and and size. Just changing flies can become frustrating ( you might be using the proper fly but it is not at proper placement or drift in the column).

That is a good idea. Moving the shot around to get the depth and then matching size and color. I will give that a try next time.

Rusty I thought it was too early for egg flies. I normally don't try those until much later in the fall.

Thanks everybody for the advice.

 

[Johnny Utah]

They wouldnt take your offerings for one simple reason. The trout were affixed on the predator standing above them. Next time you approach a pool try approaching low and slow. If you see fish dart, plan on standing motionless for about 10-20 mins so they can settle down and resume feeding. Also many times trout are located in the shallow tails and edges of pools. These trout will spook first and most people wont even notice them dart into the depths of the pool. And that will put the rest of the trout down. Just gotta think stealthy.

 

[strike proof]

I had the same experience on Sunday morning: watching 8 or 10 wild brown trout sitting on the bottom of a pool. I probably had put the pool down when I approached on a gravel bank in plain view, but it was my only route in. Once I figured out they were done for a while, I stood over them, casted to the head of the pool and took three. They were only about 10 feet away, but in broken water and facing away at the top of a bend. The fish I could see had seen me, too. The fish in the entry riffle were still undisturbed.

Watch the water, not just the fish, I guess.

BTW, one of my hooked fish stirred up the pool and a trout way to big to be in that stream pushed out from under his raft of leaves, eyed me up, gave me the finger, and backward-drifted right back in. Great spot I had on that open gravel bank.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Rusty I thought it was too early for egg flies. I normally don't try those until much later in the fall.

Trout will take egg patterns 12 months out of the year. Why fish a size 14 pheasant tail in December when not a single mayfly nymph is that large? Fish don't think, they react. I took a client out this past May when fishing should have been easy with multiple hatches. Instead, he slammed them all day on egg patterns and there wasn't a real egg in the river in months by then. They would eat nothing else that day.

 

[mob201]

Is this just because egg patterns look like hatchery food pellets?

Do wild fish take egg patterns or just stockies reminiscing for the good old days?

 

[Oliver10]

Is this just because egg patterns look like hatchery food pellets?

Do wild fish take egg patterns or just stockies reminiscing for the good old days?

Wild browns take size 18 pink eggs drifted deep and slow in Dec - Feb. I know from experience. I have ever tried them at other times, but am going to listen to Rusty and give it a shot when all else fails.

I am sure I probably put them down by my careless approach to the pool.

 

[NJFred]

Fished on sunday. Low clear water wild trout in deeper slower pools. I could see them on the bottom sitting in the slow current. I cast up stream and drifted tiny nymphs down with split shot right past them. Nothing switched flies many times and nothing. Eventually got one in a diferent part of the pool with a bead head green cadis size 14. I tried size 22 -18 of many types of nymphs they would hardly look at it. I saw them feeding every once in a while. What were they eating bast on time of year and it being a freestone stream? What flies would you guys try here?

So clearly they were feeding. They wern't eating eggs. I agree with others that it was your presentation. Hard to say what they were eating but smaller Bwos are about in many places. As nymphs of all sizes do drift in the current from time to time whether that are hatching or not, typically any size does work for me. Certainly I do try and fish a PT to match the size of emerging bugs as they are more prevalent in the water column. I do think it helps. But once again to me it was clearly presentation.

 

[The Royal Coachman]

OTTER'S Soft Milking Egg® realistic milking egg patterns for fly tying, fly fishing, for cold water fish species, including steelhead, salmon, and trout.

This site has a lot of info about eggs. They are a good choice in the fall. I saw rainbows spawning in the Pequest a few weeks ago. Hatchery fish are programed to spawn in the fall.

 

[Oliver10]

Presentation and lack of stealh on inital approach