Give me advice - bug sample attached

[dwing]

Here's the situation: Not a lot of bug activity.. Fish are rising sporadic & are taking below the surface. Mostly splashy rises.. backs & tails breaking surface. Ocasional smaller fish jumping out of the water chasing the emerger.

I know the types of insects that are hatching.. caddis, iso's, pmds, and I've tied many variations of emergers and I can't seem to connect with consistency. Check out the sample I took one evening & give me your thoughts on what pattern & technique you think would lead to better success.

I've tried klinkhammers, cdc emergers, compara-emergers, sparkle duns, suspended nymphs, Lafontaine caddis, etc. Dead drift, sweeping, you name it .. I am not hitting the triggering key. I'm really more interested in the mayfly emergence but if you got a good caddis pattern to match the sample let me know. I see wings fully developed & folded back on the sample mayflies. Also, note the shuck hanging on top of the iso body (not off the back tail?). I've tied several patterns to mimic this fully developed wing folded back & the fish still dont want it. Do I have to start weighting them & then jigging from bottom to top surface??? TALK TO ME! It reminds me of a whitefly hatch, and Im starting to go nuts.

 

[fl_trash]

Two things stick out...to me..in this situation.

"Not a lot of bug activity"
"Occasional smaller fish jumping out of the water..."

How small of fish? I ask because the smaller fish may actually be the one trying to feed on the bugs (if any) and jumping out of the water to avoid the big(ger) fish that would rather have a meal than the hors doeurves. It sounds to me like you have exhausted the nymph-emerger presentation. Next time will be, of course, completely different but try a streamer (i.e. skinny water clouser or black nosed dace) no more than a foot below the surface.

Good Luck!

 

[JeffK]

Try a small unweighted Hares Ear or flashback Pheasant Tail tied a foot more or less from the bend of a dry fly. Those are two staple bulging fish flies. In summer I would start at about a 16 HE or an 18 PT if I didn't see enough bugs to guess a size better. For summer caddis I have also had success lately with a #16 tan Fox's Poopah and a sinking ant can sometimes save the day.

Good luck. Bulging fish can be tough.

 

[dwing]

I've tried (actually my partner & I both) streamers this past few times out & they don't even sniff it.

Wow.. Fox's Poppah appears to be an easy tie... and a darn good imitation of the sample. The LaFontaine isn't doing it so I have to expand my caddis patterns. Will definitely try this next time out which will be tomorrow evening. I do like the dropper setup & use it a lot... but haven't tried unweighted flashbacks. I'll tie a few those too.

 

[DoubleHaul]

No rise- No hatch?

If they are tailing- Nymph are on the menu.

Nymphs & Indicators or start swingin' wets.

Fish don't just stop eating unless there is a good reason. I'm pretty sure they are eating. You just need to go subsurface.

Try this Neshannock Chapter Trout Unlimited

Good luck
DH