Sometimes, picky fish will take something big and ugly. Something … different.
Editor’s note: The following is exerpted from TU’s new book, “Trout Tips,” available now for overnight delivery.
You probably know this, becuase it’s hardly a secret, but don’t get hung up on popular or traditional patterns. Sometimes, even on super-tough, technical water, fish will jump on something that’s just different. I am thinking about a day on the Smith River tailwater here in Virginia one spring. When water is low, tailwater fish can be crazy technical. I was with a buddy who was fishing the stuff that can work: midges, tiny nymphs and so on. He was struggling. So was I. So, I switched flies and immediately hooked up. The fly? A Mickey Finn! My buddy was astounded. Later, I switched to this basic green nymph I’d been tying. Simple. Big. Ugly. Let’s just say I outfished him. By a lot.
— Mark Taylor, Roanoke, Va.