Matching the Hatch - California Fishing

GlobalFisher · 10-29-2004, 09:43 PM

I think this would be a good question to ask you guys. When you arrive to a river do you take the time to match the hatch and see whats going on or do you tie on a fly that has worked well for you in the past?

At first I will usually take a look around for fish rising and hatches out. Then I will for the most part match the hatch. Thats either from what people told me right before or what I see. If thats not working then I toss on a fly that always works for me!

DementedFish · 10-29-2004, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlobalFisher

I think this would be a good question to ask you guys. When you arrive to a river do you take the time to match the hatch and see whats going on or do you tie on a fly that has worked well for you in the past?

At first I will usually take a look around for fish rising and hatches out. Then I will for the most part match the hatch. Thats either from what people told me right before or what I see. If thats not working then I toss on a fly that always works for me!

Well, IMO, thats what message boards are for. LOL! I usually ask about the river im going to on the board, then I go to the river and use what the people suggest. However, if thats not possible, I will just try to match a fly with the conditions of the water, and the surrounding enviornment.

Eric · 10-30-2004, 08:59 AM

Matching the hatch is the next thing i have to learn.. right now i am reading Presenting the fly.. by
Lefty Kreh... lots to learn to become a fly fisherman....
Global saw u on another site.. love the halloween theme avator... I am goiing to tie some flys for the gi's in Irag. I thought that was a great idea...I will tie some copper joe's...
Eric

numbnuts · 02-15-2005, 03:16 PM

Hey Eric how are you doing, hey we got to hit piru one of these days together.

What i usually do is i will start off with a midge pattern because midges are always prevalent in all bodies of water regardless of tiem of year. Then as I’m fishing i will look for any rises or activity. If fish are concentrating on one particular insect then that means they usually will not hit anything else and so i will try to match that hatch.

However in southern cali i have never experienced a prolific hatch were the fish were goin cazy and only eating one insect, most of the time the fish are taking nymphs. I wish I lived in Montana or Wyoming or Idaho…

What i do is if the midge isn’t working is i turn a few rocks around and examine what is most abundant in that region of the stream e.g. scuds mayfly larva… and i will try to match the size and color as much as i can. I worry more about size than color.

cst · 02-15-2005, 04:15 PM

are tehre certain rocks that these animals are under? ive turned over many rocks in creeks and lakes but have never found anything.,

Eric · 02-15-2005, 07:56 PM

Numbnuts that sounds like a good idea... next time i hit up piru creek i'll turn over some rocks and check them out...So much to learn so little time to fish..Let me know when your interested in hitting up piru creek..
Eric

FishSlayer · 02-16-2005, 01:32 AM

I guess trout worms, power bait and salmon eggs must hatch year round huh?

numbnuts · 02-16-2005, 09:40 AM

cst look under big rocks and look closely because most of the time these larva are hard to see because their color resembles the algae or the rock so you got to look carefully. What i do if i dont have that particular fly and cant match it i will take a few samples home and try to tie it for the next time.

Eric after these rains depending on the condition we should hit piru creek.

Always remember to wade vey carefully so you dont spook the fish because that has alot to do with your success.

Fishslayer during a mayfly or caddis hatch up north you couldnt get a trout to touch a worm/salmon eggs/powebait to save your life. However, you will always be more successful with bait in the long run, but the challenge is in cathcing a fish with some feathers, thread and a hook.

numbnuts