Great hatch on the musky.

[PortMurrayAgn]

It was gorgeous! Tons of fish rising, lots of bugs in the air and coming off the water. As suddenly as it started, it seemed to be over. I left with plenty of light on this daylight savings day, shaking my head at my box.

Did I get a bite? No.

I tried Griffith's gnats, Elk Wing Caddis, BWO...stone fly nymphs and just about anything else. I even tried a midge.

Any suggestions? I need to take a trip to shannon's for some small stone flies. Tonight was truly frustrating.

I hope other's had better luck than I did!

 

[G Lech]

Have you tried golf clubs?

 

[Trout Nazi]

Just got in from fishing a favorite WTS, same situation, but got 7. Fat, healthy fish. Friend got a couple of the risers to eat Mine were split down the middle between the stone and midge nymph. Secret is you don't have to go smaller than 12 with the stone nymph.

 

[lightenup]

I hope other's had better luck than I did!

I had better luck than you did....hare's ear, midge emerger, and bird's nest...no particular fly, just a dead drift.....

 

[CTobias]

Probably has more to do with presentation than it does with what fly you're using.

 

[tomfly]

Were they Quill Gordons.

 

[Barleywine]

PortMurrayAgn; I was also on the Musky today. Cut my fly fishing teeth on the Musky in the mid 80's at the old no-kill stretch (first fish on a fly behind the Dairy Queen). Stopped going there a few years later as the water quality degraded, but I'd like get to know the stretches considerably downstream that I never went to.

Stopped at 4 different access points, and my buddy and I fished at a spot downstream of Rt. 31. Nice water, a few bugs (LBS, midges, and a few small dark caddis), but no fish rising. Got nothing on nymphs, so we headed back to our first stop. Many, many LBS were dipping. Expected a lot of rises but none came until about 3:30. Even then, it was just a few risers. My friend hooked and LDR'ed 2 on size 15 missing link caddis; the one he got close was a very good looking brown. I got shut out using the missing link, an Ausable Wulff with a soft hackle dropper, and a rusty spinner.

 

[coloradoguide]

CT that Dec hogan signature is priceless

 

[mbwmn]

Youdid better than me...I'm thinking of pputting treble hooks on the keyboard at work....if I can't. Catch them at work maybe I can snag them....

 

[draku007]

I saw only one fish rising today and nailed it. Got it on size 14 and it was all about the presentation - the drag free drift got the fish not the fly.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

The fly I've been using most for the LBS hatch on top is a black elk hair caddis with either a black or tan wing in sizes 12 or 14. Dead drift or skittered over the surface. It's been deadly for weeks now.

 

[bkill]

I hit the river yesterday morning and unfortunately had to leave just as the stones started to fly...Did manage to nymph a few up but it was difficult to work around the house with the LBS flying in my face all day...

 

[jimmy229oz]

At times like that I find that emergers are the ticket. I would have tried a PT emerger (like the one I used the night I ran into you) and if that didnt work, a LaFontaine caddis pupa emerger. Did you happen to notice if they were slurping or just rising?

 

[Trout Nazi]

This time of the year in NJ it ain't rocket science, you just need to pay attention. There were fluttering stones all over the place on Sunday, as well as midges (back eddies were full of them). If the rises were splashy, they were on the stones. If they were more subtle, they were on the midges. The difficulty is imparting the right movement to the stone.