the Ant

[Baron]

Did you see the trout there. I've never seen trout do that and perhaps I'm missing something important.

 

[dryflyguy]

Baron wrote:
Did you see the trout there. I've never seen trout do that and perhaps I'm missing something important.

Is this directed at me?
And not sure what you're asking....

 

[afishinado]

dryflyguy wrote:

Baron wrote:
Did you see the trout there. I've never seen trout do that and perhaps I'm missing something important.

Is this directed at me?
And not sure what you're asking....

To board members.....a suggestion.

If you are responding or referring to something written in a post, click "Reply" on that post and click on the "Quote" button below.

The the text of the post you are responding or referring to will automatically appear in a quote box and you can then write your response below the quote.

This will make clear who or what you are referring to in your post and eliminates confusion for all readers.

 

[Baron]

afishinado wrote:

dryflyguy wrote:

Baron wrote:
Did you see the trout there. I've never seen trout do that and perhaps I'm missing something important.

Is this directed at me?
And not sure what you're asking....

To board members.....a suggestion.

If you are responding or referring to something written in a post, click "Reply" on that post and click on the "Quote" button below.

The the text of the post you are responding or referring to will automatically appear in a quote box and you can then write your response below the quote.

This will make clear who or what you are referring to in your post and eliminates confusion for all readers.

Sorry. Ahhhh that was helpful. My comment was generally to everyone. I’ve often heard the term “cast to the bank” or “I caught him In 2 Inches Of water” or similar. Well being somewhat new to trout on the fly I’m wondering what on earth would prompt someone to cast at a bank or into shallow water instead of the main stream where I see lots of fish. Do you see fish in those areas. What am I missing. I’ve caught allot of trout on spinning gear and would never dream of tossing at a bank. But I find that whenFF I’m pretty accurate and maybe I should take more chances.

 

[Dave_W]

Baron wrote:

I’ve often heard the term “cast to the bank” or “I caught him In 2 Inches Of water” or similar. Well being somewhat new to trout on the fly I’m wondering what on earth would prompt someone to cast at a bank or into shallow water instead of the main stream where I see lots of fish. Do you see fish in those areas. What am I missing. I’ve caught allot of trout on spinning gear and would never dream of tossing at a bank.

If you're new to trout fishing this year you would have seen most fish in deeper water in mid stream positions. It is about this time of year that trout start to move to the shoreline to feed. It is much less common in springtime.

Casting to the bank or "pounding the bank" can mean somewhat different things to a spin fisher or FFer.

If you're coming from a background of spin fishing from a boat, anglers often cast their lures toward shore and then retrieve them back to the boat with the intention of hooking fish between the boat and shore.

In the context of stream trout fishing with ants, fishing the bank means presenting your fly to fish that are right up close to the bank. As mentioned further up this thread, trout (especially brown trout in summer) often lay right against the bank and these fish are looking for ants and little bugs that fall in the water.

This method really works well and I get most fish on ants and beetles this way. It can be difficult because casting to the bank requires that you cast close to vegetation or under low hanging tree branches. Also, trout that are up close to the bank like this spook easily. It's fun but challenging fishing.

 

[dryflyguy]

Most of my terrestrial fishing is done to fish that are rising occasionally.
Sipping things that come down that I can't really see.
I just keep watching likely lies

That's when it's fun, because I do know that there is a fish there. It's up to me to figure out what it wants.

When I see no rises, I make casts to "fishy" looking areas.
And if I'm on a stream that I know well, I usually remember where I've caught fish before

Small streams are pretty easy.
I start by making a few casts to the bottom of the pool. And work my way up to the riffle.
Move on to the next pool and repeat

 

[Baron]

Okay Dave and dry fly. I see the point. In the spring I was taught to cast my worms and spinners up the main channel and behind
mid-stream boulders and so forth. So later in spring when we stopped catching them in the channels we would say they were fished out. In truth they probably switched where the hold, looking for coolness and the occasional terrestrial. That is when,in former years, I got in the habit of moving to warmwater species by late May.
Very helpful all! I see a strong parrelel to how I fish for my beloved sunfish family members.
Thanks for your patience.

 

[Bamboozle]

I fish terrestrials all the time and would rather fish a beetle than fish during a hatch. In my case, I catch fish on terrestrials bank to bank AND smack dab in the middle of the creek ALL the time.

If I had a $1 for every trout I caught on a beetle or an ant in the middle of a creek where the only way it could have got there is dropping from a tree 100 yards upstream or from a helicopter, I'd be in the market for a new bamboo rod.

That only reinforces my opinion of fishing terrestrials; on streams where there are less regular hatches for trout to key in on, a land-bug is an opportunistic meal that a hungry trout will grab with WAY less reservation over size, color or other factors fly anglers deem critical.

Because of my attitude and the trout's cooperation, I have found the need to represent only four different bugs: ants, beetles, bees and inchworms. All are dry flies and each one is tied in only ONE size and ONE color. When one doesn't work, I try a different one.

Sooner or later (at least in my case) they'll grab something...

 

[JeffK]

Don't forget the big ants. A few years back my go-to terrestrial was a size 10 thread ant (two thread humps, turn or two of black soft hackle in middle). Eastern woods have loads of carpenter ants crawling on tree trunks (look closely and you will find them) and many fall in the water. They really can't swim, so the wet ant slowly sinking can be deadly.

I didn't believe the old codger who taught me this years ago until I was finally convinced to try it. Now I am that old codger handing out the suggestion.

 

[Dave_W]

JeffK wrote:
Don't forget the big ants. A few years back my go-to terrestrial was a size 10 thread ant (two thread humps, turn or two of black soft hackle in middle). Eastern woods have loads of carpenter ants crawling on tree trunks (look closely and you will find them) and many fall in the water. They really can't swim, so the wet ant slowly sinking can be deadly.

I didn't believe the old codger who taught me this years ago until I was finally convinced to try it. Now I am that old codger handing out the suggestion.

Listen to old cogers.

This is good advice.

I tie most of my ants to sink and the pic below shows my carpenter ant patterns. They're fairly large and I usually tie them with a brown abdomen. The head of the fly is a black tungsten bead tied on to the bend with a mono loop. Drop a wet ant like this under a dry dropper rig and there's a good chance the trout will approve.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

My go to fly is the Caddis pattern. I'll fish it like an ant throwing to the bank or close to whatever is hanging there. I think the trout are looking for bugs that drop into the water and see a snack that they can't resist. Try it.GG

 

[larkmark]

Baron asked about fishing the bank. My biggest trout every year most often come from along the edges. Usually I see them already rising but sometimes I just fish the edges blind casting. Trout like those shady places and the edges are not always shallow. If you find a lone fish quietly eating along the edge you will often be dealing with a bigger fish. A lot of people do not even see those fish because they are looking for splashy rises or other stuff in the middle of creek.

 

[Baron]

larkmark wrote:
Baron asked about fishing the bank. My biggest trout every year most often come from along the edges. Usually I see them already rising but sometimes I just fish the edges blind casting. Trout like those shady places and the edges are not always shallow. If you find a lone fish quietly eating along the edge you will often be dealing with a bigger fish. A lot of people do not even see those fish because they are looking for splashy rises or other stuff in the middle of creek.

Larkmark, Thanks for the clarity. I had thought member were advocating casting into 2" water when there wasn't even a sign of a fish in the vacinity. Un-enlighted as I can be I didn't realize there was a difference between UV coated and true Polaroid. Since buying Polaroid I can't believe how many more fish I see.

 

[redietz]

Baron wrote:
I had thought member were advocating casting into 2" water when there wasn't even a sign of a fish in the vacinity.

It's always worth taking a cast or two into shallow water along the bank, though, before you wade through it. You'd be amazed at the number of fish I've caught in 6 inches of water. If there's a fish there, it's for only one reason, and that's to eat.

 

[Baron]

I don't wade and will be on the Green in Utah with grandkids in July. I'll be dropping some terrestrials and will be looking at this bank business more seriously and I'm thankful for the guidance.

 

[Dave_W]

Baron wrote:
I don't wade and will be on the Green in Utah with grandkids in July. I'll be dropping some terrestrials and will be looking at this bank business more seriously and I'm thankful for the guidance.

You should do well.

The last time I was on the Green River I was in the "A water" just below the FG dam. There were many wading anglers 5-15' out from the bank casting toward mid-river at some splashy rises from what looked to me to be small fish. Drift boats drifted by casting at the same fish.

I walked along the stream side trail and saw many large browns and cutts in the mid to upper teens right up against the bank side boulders. I crept along the shore and targeted them with terrestrials including ants and small hornets and hooked fish after fish. It was an epic day I'll never forget. The best fun was watching all the wading anglers turn around when they heard the splashing fish I'd hooked right behind them.

Later that day, one of the waders chatted me up and asked how I caught so many fish from the bank. I remember telling him I was from the Cumberland Valley in PA and we target trout along the bank with terrestrials. No need to wade, and use the shoreline vegetation and rocks for concealment.

It was a day to remember (and a good ego boost).

 

[Baron]

I'll be giving it a shot as the Lake itself is likely to be slow at best due to summer water surface temps. Hoping to be near A or B. Not against wading but find it hard to stand erect for very long due to health issues. Sneaking along a bank is what I'm limited to (no boat this time).
I wish for Smallies and Whitefish as well. Bass will be finishing up spawning in early July and then they'll head deeper and out of reach. I may also crash around on the Weber (pronounced Weeber).

 

[Baron]

I'm taking terrestrials as they don't change much but I'll buy some dry flies from a local fly shop and will glean them for info.

 

[lestrout]

I often do the same thing, especially on crowded waters, ffishing along the bank behind the folks cranking out hero casts at the midstream. Spinners also work, especially when the hatches are slow. This is a productive tactic not only on Catskill streams but also in the Rockies.

 

[Baron]

I’m assuming that you’re walking upstream as you prospect the banks?