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Elsie, Antoine, and Margaret at Greenwoods. |
I still had on a #22 caddis pupa from earlier that morning. I looked over at my friend Elsie who was fishing with Antoine. They had a big bug on. It turned out to be a #14 isonychia dun. Antoine was demonstrating a casting technique when he got a hit. He handed the rod to Elsie and coached her as she brought in her very first fish--a nice brown trout. Yeah! Elsie hooked a fish later that afternoon but lost it. She is no longer a fly fishing virgin ; )
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A healthy brown trout from Greenwoods. |
I've used attractor patterns and terrestrials during those dead times when there's little if any activity. But I would never have thought to try a large, sporadically hatching mayfly. I asked Antoine why the large isos worked and he said, "the trout remember them." Considering that trout have brains the size of a pea, this was rather surprising. When it comes to food, I guess their instincts are top notch.
Well, I did some more research and I've learned that isonychias are a particular trout favorite--like candy to them. Because they hatch steadily albeit sporadically for several months throughout the summer and fall, the trout become familiar with them. Al Caucci in Fly Fisherman magazine says: "Trout, especially wild and holdover fish, seldom feed on the surface during sporadic hatches... Not so with the isonychia... My theory is that the trout key on them because they are around so long. This (late summer) is one of those rare times on the upper Delaware when you can blind-cast the water with a dry fly during hatchless days and still catch fish!" Well, that's good to know.
So, rather than matching the end-of-summer micro hatches, why not try an isonychia.
A Side Note to Some Gentlemen Anglers:
If you see 2 ladies in the morning, standing on the bank with coffees in hand, observing the water, please do NOT assume they are bringing coffee and breakfast to their fly fishing husbands. There are more and more of us flygirls out there : )
i know you gals are jonesing for adventure...im hoping to go to NZ feb 2013 please check out this site http://www.nzfishing.com/Accommodation/NMAccom/RiverHaven/RiverHaven.htm you will start to twitch......cheers...jim G
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