Dry Fly Time...

Of course you can catch fish in the winter time on dries.  Fly fishing is not restricted to just spring, summer and fall, any more than trout are restricted to eating only sub-surface offerings in the winter...it's just more infrequent, more difficult, and usually the flies are very small.  Now, here comes spring!  Bugs abound...yes...so let's be efficient. 
1.  It's not bass fishing.  Don't just start flinging some dry fly out in the stream to see if something bites.  Now, I know that sometimes that can be successful, but what about the times when you make the great cast with poor timing, and the fish rises three feet or more away, just as you begin another cast?   When trout start rising, often they are methodical, rising at some sort of interval.  Not exact, but you can tell.  You can cast ten times and catch nothing, or wait a while, observing the pattern, then target the hungry fish in the area and on his time line.
2.  Can't tell if or what is rising?  Bend over!  Yep, bend down to the water, and look across the film.  This is when you see what is really going on...you got to think like a trout if you want to catch one.  Use a monocular or binoculars to look down and upstream to see if there are insects rising or falling, or if there is just nothing going on.  Fish smart...catch more and larger pescados.
3.  Be careful about your silhouette against the sky...if fishing an open meadow, your shape against the background will be something different to the fish, maybe a predator in their mind...think like a fish...
4.  Parachute adams, caddis, ants, midges...all proven and time tested...don't get too fancy.  Size matters more than anything else.
5.  Minimize false casting, and cast away from the fish, especially in very clear water- trout are watching for things above them that don't make sense.
...keep the rod bent...

Morning on the Beaverkill

Rays of soft morning sun woke me, and I sat on the edge of the bed, groggy.  Gazing around the room, there they were, crouched in the corner, ready to go – fly rod, assembled, reel in its seat, chest pack, waders, all the necessities for a great day out on the stream.  It was to be today, a short drive through the meadows and forests to the upper Beaverkill, one of America’s first and best trout streams.  I know this place where there is an old covered bridge over the water…the name escapes me…and a large quiet pool stretches some 75 yards up stream.  Riffles fall out of the tail end of the pool, downstream into more cool, clear, New England troutness. 

Making some coffee, the elixir of life, I mused about just how much fun it would be today, me and the fish competing to have our way.  I really like to see it as more of a sharing experience, where my finny friends are allowing me to walk in their home, to see their neighborhood, trying my best to entice them to take my fly.  Most of them are smart enough to realize that it is unreal, even surreal, the ‘bug’ that I present, for , on close inspection in this water, they usually quickly figure out that there is just something not right about the ‘insect’ floating their on their ‘roof’.  Oh, well, it’s part of the game.  One that I play with them, against their will, as often as I can.  Today, a 16” rainbow falls prey to my offering, only to be photographed, appreciated, and returned to grow and live on.    

...keep the rod bent...

You've seen it all when...

If you'd have told me I could catch a rainbow trout on chicken livers, I'd have said, "baloney."  Last evening, my grandson and I went to a local lake intent on catching some catfish at a popular spot.  We bait up with nice juicy chunks of chicken livers, and before long, he catches a wiper.  No too surprising.  After a while, I got a nice hook-up, with a real fighter, and when the fish jumped, I knew...it was a rainbow!  After a good fight, got the fish in, and sure enough, a 15" fat rainbow, on chicken livers.  I've seen it all now.  They don't eat just insects!
keep the rod bent...

From Dave at the Angler's Covey:

Just recieved word that all United States National Forests facilities will shut down if congress does not pass the budget tonight. This could present some real discomfort to all anglers in thier time of need. Forest Service personal are being instructed to "lock down" all assets until congress acts. This of coarse includes all public restrooms found in the Pike National Forest. Colorado State Parks will not be effected. If you out and about this weekend you many need to plan appropriatly.

Fly Fishing Tip of the week:

I often see anglers false casting three, four, five or more times before allowing the line to fling itself to its destination in search of a wary trout. What for? If it's a dry fly, its dry after one or two...if it's a nymph, ? Over false-casting wears on your shoulder, the knots, and the fly itself, plus, all that 'stick wavin' scares the bejezus out of trout, especially in very clear water. Limit your false casts to only what is necessary. Another tip is to false cast to the side, not over the fish. Stealth, my brother, is the key.
...they call it fishing, not catching for a reason...

Spring...

I'm tingling...with excitement! It's spring, and I'll finally get to catch some fish on dry flies. My fly fishing experience is hightened by the dries, because I'm just not too good below the film. I am learning, and getting better, but there is nothing like seeing a fish rise and slurp in a dry fly, especially if it is one you have tied yourself. I'm Atlanta in a couple of weeks, and will most likely get in the 'Hooch'. Many people don't know that the Chattahoochie River right in Atlanta hold some excellent trout fishing. Atlanta is a great place to visit, and the trout make it even more fun. keep the rod bent!