Outside the Box

[raffensg64]

Gents,

On a couple of occasions, I've read fly fishing articles by experts who stated you should sometimes think outside of the box. Articles talked about using a pattern you wouldn't normally use in a given situation, or fishing a pattern in a manner which would normally be considered unthinkable by most.

My partners and I have discovered a few things in the last year or two that are way outside the box. I'd like for folks in the fly fishing forum to share some unique tactics, techniques and procedures that work, things that kind of defy standard fly fishing habits. We could all learn some new tips, especially those new to fly fishing. I'll start.....

Using a full sink line to fish chironomids in deep water. I've mentioned this before, so, if you've heard or tried it, please bear with me. Get anchored (you'll need a lot of rope), get stable, and get your line vertical...that is, absolutely, positively straight down. Use a SLOW retrieve, an inch or so at a time, and give it an occasional pop and twitch. Work the entire water column. If the fish are feeding you will know, in short order, approximately how deep they are. It takes patience, I know, and an occasional pattern change, but when it's working (as it often does), patience is not required...the fish will see to that. Now, here's where things got interesting last year...

After an hour or two of working over fish at Amber, the hatch and bite completely stopped. For nearly an hour, my partners and I tried all our usually productive patterns, to no avail. Nothing, not even a bump. Then I recalled an article which stated you should try something you wouldn't normally do. Heck, I figured I'm already doing something most folks wouldn't do, and tied on a stillwater nymph (while my partners snickered!). I dropped that joker vertical to within a foot of the bottom, and within just a few seconds of that glacial retrieve, got a strike and had a fish on. I was convinced it was a fluke until it produced again, and again, and again. My partners, no longer snickering, rifled through their boxes for their stillwater nymphs! It's nuts, it's different, and most folks can't believe we even do it...but it's highly effective between chironomid hatches and it keeps us on fish. The results speak for themselves. I'm getting lazy, and often times prefer to stay anchored up if I can. Now, here's where things get more interesting....

We've also discovered that nymphs (especially the stillwater) or micro leeches fished under an indicator can, and will, outfish chironomids at times. Works bests with windy conditions and waves that impart action, of course. If you're dunking chironomids in shallow water and the bite suddenly (or slowly) peters out, try immediately tying on a stillwater nymph, skip nymph or whatever you've got. If the fish are still feeding, you'll get takes. If I've caught 70 trout at Amber this year, 50 came by way of a skip nymph in the south end shallows when nothing else would work. At Medical and West Medical (especially W. Medical), I've been hammering rainbows with the stillwater in between chironomid hatches. No movement necessary, let the wind do the work, and fish it exactly as you would a chironomid. I fished W. Medical today for 8 solid hours and at least 30 of 50 fish landed came by way of a stillwater fished under an indicator, including the fish of the day, a 24" brownie. If bait fishermen on the banks had a gun, I'd have been shot! Now, to go a step further, when they quit hitting the nymph, immediately switch back to chironomids. This has worked for me on several occasions (twice today). I'm convinced that when the next hatch starts, they completely lose interest in the nymph and get dialed back onto the chironomids. In all eastern Washington waters, one should be prepared to change, and change often.

Gents, I've only been doing this fly fishing thing for six years. I still consider myself a novice despite the fact I fish hard and often. These are only my observations and those of my partners (more seasoned fly fishermen than me). We don't make up stories....we catch a lot of fish and giggle like little kids while doing it! Give these techniques a try sometime...they really work!

OK, who's next. Any more "thinking outside the box" ideas to pass along to the rest of us? I sure would like to learn and try some new things.

[kutthroatkilla]

When I'm fishing a local lake and they are surfacing all around me and I can't get any hits with my streamers I will switch up to something odd like a lightening bug or olive scud or maybe a hares ear. Seems to work great for me. Sometimes it mimicks the mayfly hatch (the hares ear does) and this works pretty darn well. Either that or I'll do the chronie thing. I know too many people who keep trolling buggers to no avail even when they see all those trout rising around them and they can't muster one strike. Sometimes a radical change is needed. I'll usually go with small, small flies (18-22's) and then fish them very slow near the surface. I'll go to emergers as well if this is going on with a soft hackle thrown in for good measure... just in case I need it. Quality thread. KTK

[Lotech Joe]

raffensg64,
A few of us are planning on hitting Amber this Saturday. Care to join us?

[raffensg64]

Kutthroatkilla - Yep, those hares ear patterns, along with PTs, work wonders when mayflies are coming off. Either by way of "sinklining" (the term my partners and I use for deep fishing chronies) or under an indicator. I had several trips last year where a simple hares ear out-produced everything else on the lake.

Lotech Joe - I'd love to join you, problem is, my wife arrives at the airport at 1:30. She's been in Texas getting some mandatory training prior to her deployment. Sorry! Good luck, though, and be safe and have fun.

[raffensg64]

Gents, just a continuation of this topic since I posted it nearly 3 weeks ago. That still olive water nymph, fished under an indicator, is absolutely throttling fish. I prefer to anchor down and fish chironomid patterns but will always go to what works.....I'm slow but I'm not that slow! On my last three trips, that nymph accounted for 70 or so to net with dozens of others lost. When some large bombers started coming off, I tied in a large black/silver rib snowcone pattern 18" underneath the nymph. The result? 9 of the next 10 fish preferred the still water. Thinking that color was an issue, I switched to an olive chironimid, convinced that it would catch fish. Nothing, not a single fish on that pattern while they continued to take the nymph. Size didn't matter either, I fished size 8, 10 and 12.....all worked. Additionally, I noticed that the takes are of the long, soaking variety. So, I experimented around and allowed the fish to run with it, just to see how long they would hold. That was a mistake and I had to break out the forceps on the first two fish....they were treating it like like a worm or a blob of power bait! I don't know that I've ever seen anything like it while fishing chironomid patterns....normally you've got just a couple seconds before they spit it.

Go figure. In the year that is 2008, my midge and pupa collection has been rendered useless and unnecessary, for the time being anyway!

[chironomid_guy]

Ravensg............. good info . One of the keys to this sport (fly fishing), is observation. One of the others is recording. If your not already, you should keep a journal of each days events for future reference. Fly fishing is a sport that you never master, only learn. Keep it up! TTFN

Cheers