Residents Advice

[Cyphus]

Hey homies,

So this is my first real season on the fly and I'm wondering if you guys could give me some advice on targeting and finding residents since I haven't been having any luck. I've been out before sunrise and fished all day, on the west trib mostly, small streams around it and the like. I try to match the hatch as best as I can; Streamers, Emergers, Dry Flys, Dry droppers, fish the seams, pools ahead and behind riffles, near over hanging ledges, trees, brush, etc., etc.

No luck! So what gives guys?

 

[Shmogley]

if i knew what trib you are fishing (pm me) i could provide more help...

seems like you know the right areas to target but maybe spending too much time in an area when you dont see any followers or fish activity?

best advice i can give without getting too deep into it is keep moving. if you dont get any fish(visual or line hits) on the first few drifts and are using a proper fly, chances are they arent there

on new waters especially, try some prospecting patterns and look for fish following/flashing/short striking. at least youll know they are there first before wasting time.
not that theres anything wrong with blind fishing but seems you want to catch fish more often

cheers

 

[ChromeAddict]

Swing a wet fly

On some of the more pressured streams, this is a rarely used technique.

You may also find this video useful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF_cFgLzfZw

 

[rybak]

After being a warm water angler my whole life and after fishing for northerns, bass, perch , crappies etc. - I shifted slightly and bought a starter fly fishing outfit.

I started reading about southern Ontario watersheds. About organizations, which support the fisheries, events, work with MNR and local stocking efforts and why it happens in some areas and not in others. I spent way too much time reading about what makes trout happy - as in their ecosystem. I started absorbing maps created by these organizations and my luck turned around when I realized that trout are water quality sensitive, much more than warm water fish.

There's a wealth of info which was published that can feed that curiosity. It was pretty much only that last year - a curiosity. I landed a handful of brookies and rainbows, but it wasn't a lot.

While this year, I have already lost count of how many trout of each type I caught and it's been fun :razz:

If it is your first season - don't worry about having trouble. I believe that Shmogley is right - if the fish were there you would get *some* hits. I would research a new spot and move on.

Technically what worked really well yesterday was - parachute hendrickson, dark body white para size 14 dry, size 14 dry caddis elk hair brown or olive, dry hendrickson off-orange color size 14 or 16. Dry dropper with size 12 dry adams and black and pink prince nymph or lightning bug size 14, maybe 16 . I don't remember. But all of that was killing it for me yesterday.

 

[rich_ace_G]

I hunt resis from time to time (on my pin) I sometimes tag along with some friends who are seasoned fly anglers...What we usually do is just hang around potential spots...my friend usually turn some rocks upstream and see what's on the menu. Sometimes there's lots of surface activities...sometimes non. I get more success on my pin when there's not a lot of surface action. But if there's a lot. Dry flies are ticket.

 

[BERRRG]

Every time I go to "trout" waters where it's basically official that there are trout, I don't see them and don't catch them. Maybe I'm not being careful enough not to spook them, or maybe it's the time of day. Rarely see good hatches either. Have been to some of Southern Ontario's best trout streams and rivers. It's definitely a steep learning curve, with everything from presentation to trout knowledge to insect knowledge and beyond.

 

[AKnook]

If fishing dry flies the drift has to be dead on with the dead drift some times. when starting out fly fishing I was very fraustrated that the five or so grayling (which seemed to readily hit my buddies dry fly) not even look at my presentation. As soon as a good dead drift was presented I had the fish hitting on the top.

 

[flyingflyfisher]

If you are just starting out and fishing in well known spots , chances are the fish are educated and will be more picky, especially when fishing dry flies your presentation pretty much needs to be perfect. If you know there are fish in those spots but aren't seeing any surface activity or hatches, try nymphs. I read somewhere that trout get 90% of their food intake from nymphs. Just turn over a couple rocks and see what bugs are on the bottom of the river and match those best you can. Usually smaller sizes of Copper John's, hare's ear, chromies and pheasant tails in bead head or weighed down with a split shot, dead drifted in likely spots will produce results. I find presentation when nymphing is not as important as drys, but you should still strive for a nice dead drift with you nymphs almost at the bottom. In low clear water use smaller, lighter nymphs, and in high water bigger and heavier. If you aren't hitting bottom every once in a while add some weight. You'll lose flies but at least you'll catch trout!

 

[miles]

The rivers you are fishing are garbage rezi rivers IMO. Sounds like you have the basics down maybe a location change. If you can't get into fish no reason to worry about dries really, plus lots of 5+ pound fish are taken on big chunks of boo nothing fancy I know guys who do well with chub tails. Try the grand or some huron tribs. A friend of mine is guiding on some rivers in southwestern ontario this year the rezi action has been the best in years on some waters. 3-5lb browns and bows landed on almost every outing.