Midge fishing

[RH1]

Hey guys,
Im extremely new to the fly fishing for trout addiction and need educated.
Yesterday I fished the same creek in Ohio that I caught my first on and yesterday was only my second time fly fishing for trout.
I was able to see alot of fish lying in pools and had a couple follow a nymph that I was attempting to properly fish but they would turn away at the last second and not strike.
As dusk started to set in I watched several trout roll on the surface and were obviously eating some sort of hatch but I could not see any sort of insect. Ive been reading alot that say I should have been focused on midge fishing , maybe a double midge rig etc. But I am clueless!
Any tips on what I was doing wrong?
Tips on patterns or favorites for these situations?
Thanks
Ron

 

[dudemanspecial]

Griffith's Gnats are a good introduction to midge fishing on top. Sizes 18-22 is what I carry. Bring your patience.

 

[dc410]

Or maybe try dropping a small black zebra midge about 14-16 inches back off of the bend of the Griffiths Gnat, using the Gnat as an indicator.

 

[jifigz]

Or take an Al's Rat in about a size 18-22 and grease it to float in the film or just below the surface. The Griffiths Gnat is a solid fly, though. It's one of the best dries there is.

 

[TimMurphy]

Griffith's Gnats are a good introduction to midge fishing on top. Sizes 18-22 is what I carry. Bring your patience.

Dear RH1,

To expound on what the dude said, try sinking a Griffith's Gnat, just spit on it, and slowly hand-twisting it across the pool like an old-fashioned wet fly.

You admit that you can't clearly see the flies that the fish are hitting, but the fish can see them. Giving them something to think about might be rewarding.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[JG63]

Griffith's Gnats are a good introduction to midge fishing on top. Sizes 18-22 is what I carry. Bring your patience.

And a 6x tippet dispenser 😬

 

[tomgamber]

I fished way more midges as a younger, less experienced fisher. I rarely bother with them now but thats just my mindset. For tiny dries, just body and hackle. I have tied them with the vice attached to the steering wheel in a pinch. For pupa, just thread and collar.
Griffiths is a good fallback to carry JIK if you get like me and don't want to bother.

 

[JG63]

Fish the Griffith’s Gnat in the film if you can - fish are more relaxed with an easy target to intercept - you should have at least a half dozen of the original peacock body #20 at all times - they have saved the day for me on more than one occasion - picture is the synthetic version of GG

 

[McSneek]

Sounds like the behavior of recently stocked trout to me. They may not have been eating anything.

 

[RH1]

Sounds like the behavior of recently stocked trout to me. They may not have been eating anything.

So these are stocked trout. I believe that they have been in the creek about 10 days though. This is normal behavior for stocked fish?
Do you have any advice to get them to eat?

We saw one guy catch a couple next pool down. I started a conversation with him because he really seemed to have it figured out. Oh he did, drift a live nghtcrawler under a float! Head shake and I just moved on.

 

[Tiogadog]

Fish a size 20 or 22 Mole Fly.

 

[jifigz]

We saw one guy catch a couple next pool down. I started a conversation with him because he really seemed to have it figured out. Oh he did, drift a live nghtcrawler under a float! Head shake and I just moved on.

There is nothing wrong with bait-fishing, but that is just my opinion.

If they were eating midges, don't beat yourself up too bad. Sometimes, catching fish on midges can be extremely frustrating. Sometimes, it's a breeze. Other times, not so much!

 

[dudemanspecial]

Fish a size 20 or 22 Mole Fly.

Ya know I tied a bunch of these up and have not had any luck on them.

 

[Broodstock]

On my last windy day, in the evening the wind died and fish were rising to midges or very tiny bwo, size 26 or so. I tried throwing everything at them, down to 7x and they refused.

On a last cast effort, I stripped a size 20 emerger through the film and it was viciously attacked.

 

[RH1]

There is nothing wrong with bait-fishing, but that is just my opinion.

If they were eating midges, don't beat yourself up too bad. Sometimes, catching fish on midges can be extremely frustrating. Sometimes, it's a breeze. Other times, not so much!

Nothing wrong with it at all we're it's permitted. But where it's not allowed he shouldn't have been using live bait.

 

[Andrwhite610]

Freshly stocked trout sometimes seem to go against all the trout rules. Recently I was at a stream to hopefully nymph up 1 or 2 wilds. Someone stocked a bunch of browns, brooks and rainbows unfortunately in a couple of the main holes. I was drifting different nymph patterns with no luck. I noticed the fish seemed to be chasing each other around and nipping fins. Mostly the Brookies. The fish could definitely see me. I tied on a little jig streamer and started aggressively dropping it right on their heads and sure enough they went wild for it…sometimes if stockies are gonna act weird you gotta act weird too.

 

[jifigz]

Nothing wrong with it at all we're it's permitted. But where it's not allowed he shouldn't have been using live bait.

You never once said bait was outlawed where you were fishing.

There are times where you'll badly out fish the bait guys. It just all depends.

 

[RH1]

You never once said bait was outlawed where you were fishing.

There are times where you'll badly out fish the bait guys. It just all depends.

You are correct, my bad. I thought I had put that in my original post.