No Success with trout!!

[PATroutMan]

I am new to flyfishing and cannot find any success with catching trout. I can catch bass and bluegill no problem on poppers but I feel like that is an entirely different type of fishing. When it comes to trout, haven't hooked one yet. I live around york pa so I fish breeches, and codorus trout area mostly. If anyone has tips on where to go, flies to use, tactics, etc. that would be a huge help!

 

[Fishidiot]

PATroutMan wrote:
I can catch bass and bluegill no problem on poppers but I feel like that is an entirely different type of fishing.

It is indeed different - but not that different. It is always good to start with bass and sunfish and your success shows you're doing some things correctly.

With respect to trout, the period from about Nov-Feb is the toughest time of year to catch them. Stick with the game and focus mainly on dead drift nymph fishing and streamers. Come springtime when the creeks are full of stocked trout, you will likely find it pretty easy to catch trout.
In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to continue to spend time on the water and your experience will grow. Hiring a guide or taking an FF class that will get you on the water with an experienced angler would also be good too.

 

[poopdeck]

Im still learning myself and I still catch more sunnies and panfish then trout but I did decent on trout after discovering the bead head hares ear nymph and als rat. Two very simple flies to tie. Now I have to resist the urge to only fish them.

 

[GonnaFlyNow]

I just started catching trout on small streams. I am using a copper john fly. I started by reading forums, books and online articles and then going out and applying what I learned. Here are a few things to consider:

Find a stream with trout in your area.
Find out what's working for other fly fishers.
Learn about where the trout are in the stream. In my case I found a deep pool with some trout in it.
Learn about adjusting your fly to the conditions of the stream. I am currently using the copper john fly with an indicator 3 ft above my fly. This gets the fly down deep to where the trout are.
Make sure you are using the right setup. Check that your line, leader and tippet are the right size for the fly your are using.

All of this info can be found by using google to search each item.
Also, don't be afraid to find a guide. They can show you all this in a day. They can also check out your rig to see if it is all set-up correctly. I fished the same spot for about a month thinking there weren't any fish in it. Then after I put it all together, I started catching lunkers. I hope this helps. It is really cool when you find a spot and pull out your first trout.

cheers,

 

[vanorvis]

Also you could join you local Trout Unlimited chapter. There is probably a lot of guys there that are very willing to help you out for free.

 

[robkonowitch]

Would you dead drift a streamer or strip one this time of year?

 

[Swattie87]

robkonowitch wrote:
Would you dead drift a streamer or strip one this time of year?

I basically drift them, and just nudge them along the bottom when they come to a stop with little bumps of the rod.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

depends on the streamer, gamefish and body of water

 

[henrydavid]

I'm using streamers (wooly buggers) 90% of the time currently. I like to cast the fly 3/4 upstream to give it a chance to sink. This will depend upon the depth / current that you're fishing, add a little (very little) weight and increase the weight as needed. Personally I like a beadhead bugger with no weight added, casting upstream allows the fly to get down into the strike zone.

Then I let it drift, keep the slack line at a minimum or you will miss fish, some trout will take it and spit it before you have a clue. After the drift I like to swing and "hang" the bugger (streamer) in the current. It's a good idea to position yourself and your rod tip directly above the prime water in the pool you are drifting in to. When the bugger hangs I like to gently pump the rod tip up and back and let it hang for what seems like forever.
If your rod tip is not directly above the prime zone the fly will be washed back below you out of the zone. You can extend your rod hand out pointing the rod tip straight out across the stream.

I get a lot of hits letting the bugger hang out, if you get no hits start short stripping, then faster long strips, even if you have to draw the rod tip back to get a super fast strip, sometimes that will trigger a vicious strike.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

If your not hanging up on the bottom your not fishing deep enough. GG

 

[allan_s]

Maybe you should consider changing your name then lol


Just dead drift nymphs or streamers, right at the bottom of the stream. Low and clear conditions will mean you should stay out of the water as much as possible to avoid spooking the trout.

 

[pcray1231]

Low and clear conditions will mean you should stay out of the water as much as possible to avoid spooking the trout.

Learn about where the trout are in the stream. In my case I found a deep pool with some trout in it.

The first quote should give a hint as to what's happening in the 2nd! It's unlikely that deep pool is where all the trout are, or even the majority. More likely that the 2nd quoter is simply more effectively able to fish that place than the others in said stream. Possibly because the depth allows him to get closer? Or maybe his set up (weight, leader, technique, distance from indicator to fly, etc.) is ideally suited to there but not so to other places.

That's not a criticism. Even the most expertized are unable to pull fish from some places, even though there are certainly fish there. We all gravitate towards places where it's easier and shy away from places where it's tougher.

My point of advice would be to try to resist focusing too strongly on that one spot, though. By all means, fish it, everyone needs an occasional confidence booster. Just don't spend an undue amount of time there at the expense of everywhere else. All those other situations are important towards progressing on the learning curve. Getting better means being able to effectively fish more places. To do so, you have to TRY to fish more places, then learn from your failures and adjust accordingly.

I always liken fishing to golf. Sure, you might be really good at one hole. But you won't really become a better golfer if you just play that one over and over again. You get better by working on the ones you suck at. Really, you should spend more time on those ones. And that's true whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro.

Early on, success or failure should be judged more on what was learned rather than how many were caught.

 

[FlyForFun]

Some of the best fishing is in tight spaces and learning to cast well and in those tight spaces is the best practice you can have. Do it in the back yard, do it on the stream just don't get upset with getting hung up. Getting out there and practicing on your own is the best teacher and when you get stuck there are plenty of guys on here that will help with pointers or may even meet up with you for a day on the stream. Guys like PCray are great guys to follow on here and read their posts. Very informative and very nice.

 

[pete41]

Think like pea brained,well react like one anyway.
They will feed when its most comfortable[water temp]
they will feed where the food is.
they will feed where they are least likely to become food or they would have been.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

I'd suggest hireing a guide. Cuts the learning curve. Trout Unlimited Chapters are another resource. Fishing with folks on this forum are another source of good techniques. GG

 

[csoult]

Success comes with time. If you're patient, and diligent, you'll be surprised how quick.

 

[afishinado]

csoult wrote:
Success comes with time. If you're patient, and diligent, you'll be surprised how quick.

True above.

But always remember that "success" shouldn't always be measured by the number of fish you catch. Enjoy.

 

[barbless]

When I got back into fly fishing about 10 years ago- with little prior experience, and a gap of about 30 years- it took me a year to catch my first trout. A 14" brown from pocket water on Penn's Creek, on a drowned #16 elk hair caddis. We were both very surprised.
It's gotten a lot easier. I'm still probably below average, compared to the regulars here. But I've learned that it's doable.
This time of year, I'd put on a weighted black sculpin and tie a #22 zebra midge larva or jujube nymph on 6" of 6X tippet tied from the hook bend of the big fly. Toss it into the head of a run at a slight angle upstream and swing it downstream about 25-30 ft., retrieve with a hand-twist, looping the line around your hand, and repeat. The size/weight of the sculpin depends on how much weight you need to get it to tumble across the bottom without sinking like a rock and hanging up. It's a balance. But if you can get a fly to tumble across the bottom naturally, you'll eventually get a fish.
Keep control of your line. Both in the water and in your hand. "Loosely tight" in the water- not taut like retrieving a spinner, but try to keep a belly out of the line. When it comes time to retrieve, strip it over the index finger of your rod hand, and pick up line and loop it in coils with the other hand. Just use the same amount of line, and a flip or roll cast of about 20', paying out another 10' of slack on the downstream drift.
Pay attention. They hit and quit quick. If you feel one on, don't jerk like a madman, just lift the rod (I still have trouble with that.)
Remember to lay low and try to stay out of sight. Fish from just a little outside of the edge of the water where the fish are.

Learn to tie and tighten your knots right. Practically the first time out, I lost a really nice fish on the take, because of a bad knot.

If you don't have a teacher, you can still learn a lot from Youtube videos. Especially the basic basics. But I have to admit, after that, you'll learn more, faster, if you have a guide. I'm stubborn, and cheap, and I enjoy the challenge of figuring out new water. But I have to admit, the success rate improves considerably when fishing with a competent local.