I purchased a fly rod earlier this week, and am anxious to try it out. However I have to work all day Saturday, and have a prior commitment on Sunday. Monday is the day! I am going to head back over to the Mettawee River in Granville since I had some pretty good luck there two weeks ago. I have a few questions that you might be able to help me with though…
Let me start by telling you about my new rod. 7’6″, 4wt. L.L. Bean Quest II, two-piece. I am going to use a reel that I have taken off a broken rod, already spooled with 5wt. line. Overweighting this rod won’t be a big issue, as I will be fishing small streams and won’t have much line out. I think it might even help.
The river, as it is called, is nothing more than a good sized stream. I won’t be fishing any spots where the banks are more than 50 feet apart. The water is about waist deep, and I will be wading (with a borrowed pair of waders, more on that in the future). I’ll probably get to the river around 4 or 5pm and fish for a few hours.
I have also purchased an assortment of flies, and a plastic, buoyant box for them. I have an assortment of dry flies, streamers and nymphs, as well as several leaders for a few different applications.
My question to you experienced fishermen is this: After a weekend of scattered thunderstorms and showers, do terrestrials tend to catch a trout’s eye? I would think that these creatures would naturally be washed into the stream with the rain runoff. If not, what do you suggest I start with?
Also, how long do you fish the same fly before determining that the fish are eating something else? As I am new to all of this, the only knowledge I have is what I have read in instructional books/blogs. I am used to using the same bait all day (night crawlers) so if I don’t get a bite after about 10 casts, I just move to the next pool.
Any comments or advice are greatly appreciated!
I am betting the water will be high and muddy. If so, you won’t need to wade the fish will be closer to the bank, if not under it. Woolly buggers, small crawfish patterns, large attractors. I don’t know what the hatch is there this time of year but I would carry dry and nymph patterns to match. I think most of your action will be subsurface.
If you’re just looking to catch a few on a fly rod to get a feel for it…head to the truthville bridge and cast a prince nymph into the fast moving water below the bridge and just let it dead drift down with the current. You’ll catch some stockies. Sounds like you picked up a great set up for some brook trout fishing. You need to head to some moutain streams and catch a few…it’ll be well worth it with a 4 wt rod! A buddy and I caught and released over 10 brook trout, most not stocked, in just a couple hours at a new favorite spot of ours last weekend.
can it get any better