It was so nice today, that despite the 40 mph wind gusts, I decided to hit the stream across the street for 20-30' after lunch. I started with a stimulator in a #16 and took a fish in the first run.
 |
| Crazy that is March 31 and there are maple flowers dropping... those shouldnt be raining down for a few more weeks based on "normal" winters! |
My rusty dry fly "trigger finger" pulled the fly from a few more fish - awesome to see them attack vigorously!
I adjusted to a bomber, well, the "modified bomber" I'm growing to really like - I just trim the hackles off the bottom, so they are basically a semi circle from the side and over the top of the fly. It sits a little lower in the water in calmer glides, seems to float as well as a "normal" round hackle bomber and... this is probably my perception or confirmation bias, but I feel like my hook up ratio is better as well. (probably is bias, because I've never noticed a lack of hook ups on a stimi before despite round hackles... :))
Well the bomber resulted in several more slightly smaller up to about the same size. Ended up more like 40', and worth every second.
 |
| You can kinda see the bottom of the hackles are trimmed off... the bomber is blurry in the picture, but hopefully it's visible enough to get the concept through... |
Will
Will I was out on Thursday, up in the Berkshires. The brookies were very nice to me, as they were to you.
ReplyDeleteThe stimi is a great fly to locate brook trout but the hook-ups are poor. That's an interesting modification to the bomber.
Alan, I started playing with it years ago when I didnt have the $ to buy dry fly hackles and I'd use saddles and cut them down. Got away from it for a while, then started playing with it on some fly's to get them in the film. that worked, and then I learned about a caddis emerger that had the top and bottom hackles cut - it was basically a gray bomber without a wing or tail and grizley hackle only, it was from New Zealand I think. Anyway, seeing that had me playing with it. It's worked great on bombers and now I'm going to try on stimi's - actually tied a few last night that way just to test it out. I really couldnt be sure that it increases hookups, but it "feels" like it...
Delete