Okay, let's see who's on top of their game, and ready for the spring baetis hatches.  Here's a situation that should be part of any introduction to guide training...  No prizes for correct answers, just the satisfaction of knowing your prowess as a trout magnet grows exponentially with every minute you diddle away on Fly Talk.  I'll give the answer, along with the caption contest winner, on Friday.

Kirk and Tim are fishing the Arkansas River on a perfect spring day... warm temps, some overcast... the mayflies are starting to hatch like crazy.  Sure enough, Tim sees trout heads poking up and eating off the surface, all along a run.  "You go first," Kirk said, because he is an exceptionally warm-hearted person who yields to Tim's limited fishing ability out of pity.

Tim makes a cast from a great angle, the fly (a size #16 blue-winged olive parachute) lands perfetly, right upstream from where a big brown trout had just eaten.  Sure enough that brown pops back up to the surface, scrutinizes Tim's fly... he's gonna eat it... but no!  Off he swims.  It was an obvious refusal.  Not a miss.  Not a maybe.  A straight refusal.  Mr. Brown gave Tim the fin.

"I don't understand it, those fish are definitely eating olives," Tim said, as he wound up for another cast.

"Wait, wait," Kirk interrupted.  "Let's make one simple adjustment before you cast again."

And after only one adjustment, two minutes later, Tim made the same cast, and the same fish came up and ate the fly.

What was the one adjustment they made?

KD

Comments (16)

from Koldkut wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Kirk had Tim put on a #6 clouser minnow. There's isn't a Brown trout alive that can pass on a good streamer.:) I'd either size down the fly to an 18, or change to a BWO Emerger.

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from MLH wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Agree - size down a fly ... or trim the hackle so it sits lower in the water.

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from jcarlin wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Kirk rubbed some yellow powerbait onto the fly.

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from Clay Cooper wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Hatchlings are tasty morsels, down size the fly!

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from Christian Emter wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

They changed the size of the fly. The original fly was too big.

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from Christian Emter wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

They changed the size of the fly. The original one was too big.

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from buckhunter wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

While peering into the sky a trout cannot see the color of a fly until they get closer. The size and shape are correct because it got the fish to move to your fly but after getting close to your fly the color was off. Baetis will hatch in varying colors depending upon the compostion of each stream. In this senerio I would reccommend taking a natural off the surface and study the body color. Match it to the BWO and fish on.

Also, I do not care for parachutes. Give me the good old fashion spun hackle and the dimples on the water that come with them.

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from Alex Pernice th... wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Downsize, then change the color, then go a tippet size lighter, unless you can't match the hatch that is happening currently, then a streamer. You have the right color and style, go smaller.

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from MCrawdad wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Well, it wouldn't take KD two minutes to tie on another fly, so I'm guessing you went to a smaller tippet.

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from verna11 wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

I,m guessing he went to a different color. maybe purple.??

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from kolbster wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

i agree down size the fly.

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from flyfishergirl wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Since downsize the fly was taken already, i am going to say that you shook off the fly and added more floatant so that the puppy sat high and dry.

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from Wags wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Clipped the tail off.....fish was looking for an emerger.

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from wvhunter wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

The fish spot checked the fly. So tie on a smaller BWO.

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from ishawooa wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Dang all the good choices were taken when I read this so I will have to agree with going down a size or two and maybe trimming the hackle as well. Maybe color as that often is a change that matters in the high country rivers and lakes from time to time.

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from Sportsman Matt wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Downsizing the fly, making it's appearance look like a transitioning or crippled fly.

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from buckhunter wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

While peering into the sky a trout cannot see the color of a fly until they get closer. The size and shape are correct because it got the fish to move to your fly but after getting close to your fly the color was off. Baetis will hatch in varying colors depending upon the compostion of each stream. In this senerio I would reccommend taking a natural off the surface and study the body color. Match it to the BWO and fish on.

Also, I do not care for parachutes. Give me the good old fashion spun hackle and the dimples on the water that come with them.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Alex Pernice th... wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Downsize, then change the color, then go a tippet size lighter, unless you can't match the hatch that is happening currently, then a streamer. You have the right color and style, go smaller.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from flyfishergirl wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Since downsize the fly was taken already, i am going to say that you shook off the fly and added more floatant so that the puppy sat high and dry.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Koldkut wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Kirk had Tim put on a #6 clouser minnow. There's isn't a Brown trout alive that can pass on a good streamer.:) I'd either size down the fly to an 18, or change to a BWO Emerger.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from MLH wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Agree - size down a fly ... or trim the hackle so it sits lower in the water.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jcarlin wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Kirk rubbed some yellow powerbait onto the fly.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Clay Cooper wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Hatchlings are tasty morsels, down size the fly!

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Christian Emter wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

They changed the size of the fly. The original fly was too big.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Christian Emter wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

They changed the size of the fly. The original one was too big.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from MCrawdad wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Well, it wouldn't take KD two minutes to tie on another fly, so I'm guessing you went to a smaller tippet.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from verna11 wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

I,m guessing he went to a different color. maybe purple.??

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from kolbster wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

i agree down size the fly.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Wags wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Clipped the tail off.....fish was looking for an emerger.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from wvhunter wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

The fish spot checked the fly. So tie on a smaller BWO.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from ishawooa wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Dang all the good choices were taken when I read this so I will have to agree with going down a size or two and maybe trimming the hackle as well. Maybe color as that often is a change that matters in the high country rivers and lakes from time to time.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sportsman Matt wrote 3 years 9 weeks ago

Downsizing the fly, making it's appearance look like a transitioning or crippled fly.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.