Confessions of a junkie!

by Chromedome

If you are of the fly fishing fraternity that is dedicated to the art of fooling fish with precise imitations of caddis, stones, mays and such; disregard this entire article. It may be very offensive to you. If you are just a mere fly fisher, who enjoys catching trout (and lots of them), sit down, relax and read on. I’m a junkie! I really enjoy catching trout on flies that have been scoffed by many fishermen, and I have been told that a “real fly fisherman” would never dare carry them in their box. What certainly ticks off the “real fly fisherman” (you know the guys that look like fly catalog models, and never give you a straight answer as to what they are using...as if it’s a secret that could lead to the whereabouts of the holy grail) is when you walk up to a hole and start pounding fish on these wonderful little fish getters. Worms and eggs are the most effective flies that I carry in my arsenal. They are extremely versatile, easy to tie and the bottom line is, they catch loads of fish.

THE UGLY WORM

I bet that most people caught their first fish on the mere earth worm. It is beyond me why so many “fly fisherman” frown at the idea of fishing an imitation of a worm. There are many different worms that are readily available to the trout. Earth worms, aquatic worms, terrestrials, even caddis and crane fly larva resemble worms. I fish the heritage waters of the Little Le-Hi often, and many times the ol’ worm is the only fly I fish on a given day. While most anglers there fish 7x tippets and flies that resemble little more than thread and lint on a hook, I have had great success fishing large worm flies (2-3 inches long) on 4 x tippets. The worms I fish are very simple and nothing more than a piece of chamois or suede lashed to a hook. I prefer shades of brown, green, tan and pink. Pink can be a sleeper. After a worm spends some time in the water, it will fade to a shade of pale pink. The fish are hip to this. I can recall an outing last April. When I arrived at the lower parking lot of the Little Le-Hi , I found out that the rain storms of spring had flooded the banks of the creek to the extent that the fly shop was once again under water. Not wanting to waste a trip, I parked at the hatchery and walked up to the kiddy pool. The water was raging, running up over wall, and resembled chocolate milk more than a trout stream. Perfect for wormin’! I attached a size 10 worm about 3 in. long to a 4x tippet, and suspended it about 2 feet underneath a large yarn indicator with a few shot. I fished the banks of the flooded creek and pounded fish after fish while not a soul was around. I guess my point is, even when rain floods out your favorite trout stream, the fish will still feed. With all that rain, comes a plethora of worms to the surface (to enjoy the dampness) and they eventually get swept into the drink. The trout are their waiting. Give the worm a try sometime (as an attractor or to match the hatch) you might just enjoy yourself.

THE INCREDIBLE, EDIBLE EGG

How do you likes yours? Scrambled, over easy or sunny side up? The trout like theirs in many different colors, sizes and shapes. Best of all, they like them often. There is no more effective fly that I know of than the egg. I fish eggs more often than I fish any other fly. It really doesn’t seem to matter whether your matching the hatch (when the fish are on the spawn), fishing over freshly stocked fish, or fishing for wild natives... TROUT LOVE EGGS! I carry eggs in a few different styles and colors. One thing that all my eggs have in common is the hook. If you have not tried the Tiemco 2488H, I strongly recommend it. It’s really a killer egg hook.. It features a straight eye, heavy wire, wide gap with a “sickle” bend and a razor sharp point. I feel that the heavy wire hook helps the egg sink better , and gives it a more natural roll. I fish a simple Glo-bug yarn egg pattern , know as the “blood dot”, quite a bit. It was created for steelhead fishing in the Erie tributaries, but it works gang busters on stream trout as well. I fish them in sizes 14 and 18. Good colors are tetra yellow w/a chartuse dot, egg w/a golden nugget dot, golden nugget w/a orange dot and cotton candy w/a apricot supreme dot. I also fish a very simple Mcfly foam egg. Good colors are cream delight, dead egg, golden, early girl, pale yellow and cream. Another good option is to tie a small brown “egg” and fish it on those streams that have good daily pellet “hatches” in the winter. A small brown egg is a great imitation to use during the emergence of this prolific “hatch”. It is very important that you use enough weight to keep your egg rolling down the river in a natural manner. I find that the largest trout are especially fond of eggs. I have taken many good fish on the honorable egg, and you can too! Personally, I love sight fishing to large trout, and I find the egg to be the perfect pattern for that. If you like catching big fish (and are not too proud to lower yourself to my standards), than tie up some eggs and go slammer hunting. Once you locate a large trout, a properly presented egg is often too hard for Mr. Big to resist. Eggs are also great flies to use when your trying to teach a “newbie” the way of the fly rod , because they are so darn effective. Humble yourself and give the egg a try, the trout will thank you for the easy meal.

Junk flies are the bread and butter to my fishing success. I know that there is a certain satisfaction in fooling a fish on an imitation of the local aquatics, but I’m a fish pig and love hook ups. I guess I take the easy way out. There has been times that the fish are so wary that I have “conform to the norm” and fish little emergers and nymphs, but more often than not, the fish are more than willing to accept the slop that I feed them. What else can I say, I am one proud junkie.