Mountains, Rivers, & Trout: Match The Hatch - Slightly Below, The Birth of Killer Fly, & 75th!!

Fly Fishers could be those who are hard to please:

Expect strong hatches - Too many naturals for their flies to compete against naturals.........
Need "Hopper Wind"!! - Too windy......
Need overcast cloudy weather for BWO hatch! - Cold, wet, and miserable.....
List goes on....

Just kidding.......... I just want to say these lines and laugh at all fly-fishers including myself. Nice spring days continue in April and I'm simply enjoying being outside. But I have to say bright sunny days are not good for BWO hatches. Winds are not dangerous recently but they can cause waves on the surface every now and then. It may not be a typical "match the hatch with dry-flies" situation BUT!! I can still match-the-hatch UNDERNEATH. I mean, if I were to stick with Eggs, Worms, and Streamers, that wouldn't earn such a cool naming. What I want to say is: what one can do when it's not a perfect condition for dry-flies (insect imitations) and when hatch and rise are going on but trout are not taking dry-flies. First of all, who decided "match-the-hatch" is supposed to be done with dry-flies? Well, history and argument are beyond the space limitation of this blog post.....maybe sometime later.

Once Winter Pass at DePuy's (www.depuyspringcreek.com) and pre-runoff fishing are over, I'd like to introduce more materials that I recently acquired and more patterns that I just came up with. Just one for now quickly. I got this Life Flex from Hareline. It's so fishy and versatile for any patterns imaginable!!

From last several days outings at DePuy's, I learned how important midge emerger and pupae were and quite amount of them were taken by trout. But is there a clear difference between two stages? If you research patterns, you will find some patterns that just look "cross-dressing" to both stages. So I came up with my own and god-fathered PUPAERGER!! This is meant to be fished under dry-fly, targeting from subsurface to several inches below.

Confidently taken by selective trout!

Matching the pump result!!

This was also a selective sipper but a bit larger!!

Again, matching the pump!!

Also regardless of hatches and rises, there are lots of trout coming into the creek right now and they are very active from early morning!! What I mean by active is: trout would be cruising for foods along banks or somewhere in the middle of creek. Sight-Fishing can be done only if you are serious!! What would they be feeding upon? I would guess and judge depending on trout's motions and spots (bottom structures, weed-beds, etc). One of those food sources is Midge Larva in Red. It's just a simple tie with Life Flex: Chewy Red Larva!!

As the sun rose and day got brighter and warmer, I scouted along the bank and spotted groups of trout cruising around or waiting for something tumbling toward their mouths. I set myself behind tall weeds and made a very short cast..........GOTCHA!! This gorgeous rainbow sipped my brandnew larva and I set the hook perfectly!! Everything was so visible and tangible!!

And today, 75th visit with Winter Pass, I was the first one at the creek. I was playing just little a bit to see if I could "dap" again (unsuccessful) then midge hatch started. Rise forms of trout told me "hey we are selective!!", really. They were repeating "dorsal-tail" rises, especially seemingly large individuals were doing so. I had strong confidence in my Pupaerger. I hooked one big trout, which leaped in the air!!..............lost him......... I sat on the bank a bit and organized my breath. Trout kept rising so I was back casting. This time I was ready. 40 feet cast, perfect drift, and tiny rise-ring at the end of my line.............GOTCHA!!!! It was big & heavy!! I was with my 5-wt rod but tippet was 6X and Pupaerger was #20 hook for the occasion. It was really dog-fight. We both got exhausted............and I got him!!

I screamed for the Victory!!

THE BEST & BIGGEST Brown caught on the smallest insect fly!!!

Thank you!! Happy!!

This is the sample from the next trout (pump size). This sample clearly shows what they were taking: midge pupae and emerger, NOT adults on the surface!!

In the afternoon, midge hatch continued. Pupaerger nailed even this selective Whitie!!

How about BWO then? Same scenario as midges: not many duns on the surface or in the air but nymphs are taken by trout just below the surface. A classic Sawyer PT - Master Angler Version is my go-to patterns!!