Tired of Matching the Hatch?
Are you tired of matching the hatch? What if you don’t have the correct flies? Do you prefer not to fish tiny dry flies anyway?
What if you don’t want to pay close attention every split second of every drift? I’ll say it. Dead drifting gets tiresome sometimes.
It does not matter if you are fishing a dry fly or an indicator, it takes major focus. What if you want to relax?
Plan B: Think Deeper than the Current Hatch
I was out several days recently, armed with PMD’s and Caddis, ready to get my dry fly action on. I got out super early two mornings. I was hoping for some sippers before the sun got up.
I saw a few dinky fish rising and I educated them, but there were no big fish feeding in my zone, so I plan B’d it. I deployed a streamer and found that the larger fish were there.
They just weren’t rising.
Plan C when you're over Matching the Hatch: Wrong Pattern, Right Presentation
After I fished out that run with the streamer, I moved on to another. On the next flat, the streamer failed. Then a massive Trico spinner fall happened.
I should have brought some. I was uselessly armed with a bunch of great PMD and Caddis patterns.
While the fish did not go crazy, there were definitely enough of them up on the tiny spinners to know where to target my presentations, so without Trico Spinners, I plan C’d it.
Old School Flies: New School Delivery System
I like to keep my trout Spey set up on the light side, so I’m generally fishing a 3 weight. A 225 grain Commando Head or 210 grain Scandi Short does nicely.
I build a long tapered leader by Blood Knotting #40 Maxima to the butt of a standard 9’ 3X leader. Then I add about 20" of 4X Fluorocarbon and attach a Tung Head Caddis Pupa. (Leader options online here.)
To the Pupa, I add another 18" of 4X FC and tie on a Partridge Soft Hackle. Orange is always good. Peacock and Pheasant Tail versions also work well. As long as hackle is soft and sparse, it really doesn’t matter.
Presenting Swinging Flies Correctly
Presentation can vary depending on your position relative to the fish, but the general plan is to get well above them and work your flies down into the feeding zone. We often talk about swinging soft hackles, but that can be misleading. It's ok for the flies to swing a little bit, but the goal is to get them to lift in front of the fish as if they are emerging.
Cast down and across above the fish holding zone. Mend upstream and lift or pull back on the rod to straighten the leader. Then lower the flies toward the fish.
If you’re on target, your drop back will end and your line will tighten, lifting the flies and emerging them right in the face of a fish. This can incite an aggressive grab. I love aggressive grabs.
When a 16" rainbow yanks on my flies, I’m transported back to the Kenai, the Kanektok and the Naknek, but I’m in Montana and trout on a tight line here on the Missouri River are plenty of fun in their own right.
If You're Sick of Matching the Hatch, take it all in and RELAX
While you can focus as intently as you want to on your soft hackle game, you don’t have to worry about every little micro current or itsy-bitsy hydraulic disturbance.
You can take in the entire river scene. If you let your mind wander a bit, it won’t take you out of the game.
Relax-enjoy-it’s always a great day on the water.