On the surface, you may be unthrilled (rather than enthralled) by this topic. But I think it’s worth your time, especially if you tie soft hackles. I get a lot of questions about hen hackle types, and this article covers the subject nicely.
Looking back at this post, I can happily say that I’ve given many of these patterns far more than a test drive. I find it highly satisfying that the flies that Leisenring fished with confidence on his beloved Pennsylvania streams work just as well on the Farmington River. The post is formatted so that if you click on a pattern title, you’ll be taken to the recipe, along with a little blurb about the fly.
You can find Leisenring’s Favorite Twelve Wet Flies here.
When I went back to this oldie-but-goodie article, I was struck by two things. First, I love how Leisenring incorporated the soft hackle into these nymph patters. And second, I have not fished these patterns nearly enough, whether on a dead drift near the bottom or as a swung wet fly. None of them have beads or UV dubbing or special sparkle flash, but they all look like they’re alive and something fish would like to eat. To the vise (again)!
Leisenring’s Favorite Soft-Hackled Nymphs In List Form With Photos.
On Wednesday night I spoke to the East Jersey Trout Unlimited group about wet flies — specifically, getting into wet fly fishing, with the program title being “Wet Flies 101.” What a great group, very involved audience, and a gratifying turnout. The passion this group has for fly fishing is very evident. I’m already looking forward to coming back, especially if I can start the evening off with a burger and an IPA at ReBar just a few minutes away.
During the post-presentation Q&A, I was asked a really good question. I didn’t like my answer, and it bothered me all the way home. I’d like to represent the question, and give what I think is a much better answer.
Q: You say when you’re swinging wets, you have to wait a few seconds before you set the hook or you’ll lose the fish. How come when you’re nymphing you need to set the hook right away? A: I don’t know if this is a definitive answer, but I can tell you my best calculated guess. When you’re swinging or dangling a wet fly downstream in current, you’re fishing a tight line. There’s tension present. And then, you have a moving fish applying force, and then quickly changing the direction of that force. My advice to clients is to feel the hit, ask the question, “Are you still there?” and then set the hook. Do that, and the fish essentially hooks itself. When you’re nymphing, the fish behaves differently. It doesn’t rise from the depths, then turn and swim a few feet back down to the bottom. It’s typically feeding on station, near the bottom, perhaps not moving much at all, or maybe just a few inches. It sees your nymph, opens its mouth, and eats the fly. It’s a far more passive transaction. Setting the hook forcefully downstream seals the deal before the trout can reject the fly (if it does that at all). When you’re nymphing, you can still catch fish without setting — we’ve all had instances when we’re not paying attention and we manage to hook and land the fish regardless — but setting the hook had and fast will certainly result in more trout to net.
The CT State Legislature is holding a public hearing on the Farmington River flow situation this Friday, March 8. All interested parties are invited to submit oral or written testimony to be entered into the public record. The deadline to register is Thursday, March 7 at 3pm. This is your chance to make an impact!
The following is taken from the Farmington River Anglers Association website and has everything you need to know. Let’s get to it, people!
“Establishing an optimum flow regime in the Upper Farmington River remains one of our top priorities.
To this end, House Bill 5355 – AN ACT CONCERNING CONSERVATION OF CERTAIN WATERS OF THE UPPER FARMINGTON RIVER, will receive a public hearing on Friday, March 8 starting at 11 a.m. I encourage you to submit written and/or oral testimony. If you testify orally (in-person or Zoom) it should be accompanied by written testimony. The deadline to register is Thursday, March 7 at 3 pm.
Submit oral testimony here.
Submit written testimony here.
(Make sure to pick date March 8th. Then In the Bill field pick Bill HB05355.)
You can watch the meeting live on youtube here:”
This old post tells you everything you need to know about building a team of three for wet flies. Well, almost everything. Looking back at the directions and diagram, I see how my leader formula has evolved. For starters, the tags should be a minimum of 6″, not 4″-6″. Certainly that old 4-6″ length works, but for me, the current sweet spot is probably more like 6″-7″. Next, the spacing between flies should be 24″-30″, not 18″-24″. My current thinking is that 18″ is too close. My current leaders are probably closer to the flies being 30″ apart, which I believe allows you to cover more water and achieve great depth. I almost always use a 3x tapered leader section for the butt. And no, I don’t use tippet rings.
I didn’t really have the time yesterday, but since my default setting is when in doubt, go fishing, I did. The venue was a small woodland stream, and the time frame was 3:45pm-5:30pm. It was mostly cloudy and very warm for February, with a water temp of 48 degrees. The stream was running medium-low and clear. No hatch activity, although I did see one lonesome sz 600 midge flitting about.
I’ve written before that I’m a massive creature of habit, but on this outing I decided to explore about 100 yards of new water. I was glad I did, as that turned out to be my most productive stretch. I fished mostly subsurface with the Squirmy Worm Jiggy Thingy, but I did get a hysterical swing and miss on a bushy dry for the 5 minutes I fished it. All told, I pricked about 18 and brought probably a third of them to hand. I did catch the same beautifully spotted hen I took in January at the same hole. She really clobbered the fly.
Happy Friday, and and it’s a TGIF kind of day around currenseams HQ. It was a busier than normal week, what with two road hockey weekday games for #3 son Gordo and all the other stuff I’ve got going on.
On Tuesday night, I spoke and taught to the Yale Fishing Club. The Club is run by my good friend and paddle board angler extraordinaire Sean Callinan, and I’m always stoked to be able to teach the next generation of fly anglers. The subject matter was small streams, something near and dear to me, and we devoted plenty of time to preserving and protecting the resource. We finished by tying the Squirmy Worm Jig, which is both easy and highly effective. Many thanks again to the group for hosting me, and the pizza was swell, too!
I’m putting the finishing touches on a new article for Surfcasters Journal. It will be a little different in that it is story oriented, rather than how-to. It’s going to put a smile on your face when you read it. Of course, I’ll let you know when it comes out.
Finally, I just received some very exciting news that’s so big, it deserves its own post. My apologies for the teaser. I’m hoping to be able to share next week. I hope some of you are getting out to fish!
Welcome to a snow day edition of Currentseams Q&A. Yesterday I received an email from Bill who’d heard me on the Orvis Podcast How to Swing Soft Hackle Wet Flies with Steve Culton. His questions — and my answers — may be of interest to you. And here they are.
Q: Do you ever use the Rio Versileaders with differing sink rates when fishing wets? I have used the 1.5 inches per second w some success but wanted to get your thoughts. Am I better off just adjusting sink rate by the size of the point fly? A: I do not. I adjust my sink rate and depth by adding weight to the point fly in the form of a brass or, most frequently, a tungsten bead. (Of course, strategic mends with a floating line are an important part of the process.) Sometimes I add weight, usually a single split shot, to the leader. That’s simply how I do it, and it works for me. I don’t know if you’re better off using my system — if you’re fishing happy with your Versileader, and your flies are where you want them, and the fish are eating them, that’s what I’d recommend. Confidence catches fish.
Q: If you are on an a new stream with no intel, what is your go-to 3 fly set up? (Do you look under rocks first and just match size of nymphs?) I know where he’s going with this. Is there a default wet fly setup that works everywhere? Maybe, but that’s not how I would approach the problem. My go-to wet fly setup would be three bugs that I think are most likely to be hatching or present in the current system. This would vary from season to season, time of day, and certainly by geographical region. For example, if it’s summer in southern New England at noon, I might go with a caddis, a terrestrial, and an Isonychia-type on point. If it were the same region in the evening, I might switch out the terrestrial for a creamy mayfly. And of course, I would be watching for any kind of hatch or rise activity for clues. Then I’d have intel, plus whatever the fish were telling me. Remember, droppers are the fastest way to find out what the fish want. The looking under the rocks solution is also a good one.
Q: I don’t tie. Recommendations for high quality wets? I wish I could give you a name or a place, but sadly I don’t have one. A good wet fly selection is hard to find these days, which is why I always recommend that wet fly aficionados learn to tie. I sometimes do custom orders, but right now I am not taking any orders for a few months. Your best bet is to do an internet search and see what you can find. Good luck!
Get out your email writing hats, folks. State Representative Mark Anderson is requesting that two bills be raised that will give us the consistent flows we deserve. The determination may come as early as next week, so let’s hop to it. You need to send an email to four legislators on the Environment Committee with the power to make this happen. They are:
Patrick.Callahan@housegop.ct.gov
Representative Joseph Gresko, Chairperson, Senator Rick Lopes, Chairperson, Senator Stephen Harding, Ranking Member, Representative Patrick Callahan, Ranking Member
Here’s a sample letter. Please adjust it as you see fit. It’s best if you put it in your own words and add as much detail as to how the flow affects your use of the river.
“Please raise for a public hearing two bills that have been proposed to the Environment Committee to address erratic flows in the Upper Farmington River. This nationally renowned and federally-designated Wild and Scenic River begins below the MDC’s Goodwin Dam in Hartland and flows for 15 miles through Barkhamsted, New Hartford, and Collinsville (Canton). Less than two miles upriver of this dam is the Colebrook River Dam which is a flood control dam owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Currently, the USACE will only release (or hold back releases) when requested to do so by the MDC.
The first bill requires the MDC to make requests for releases from the Colebrook River Dam, as necessary, to maintain the flow of water in the West Branch of the Farmington River at or above a rate determined to be a sufficient minimum flow rate by DEEP.
The second bill directs DEEP to oversee an update to the Farmington River Instream Flow Study last completed in 1992, which is linked here:
http://www.farmingtonriver.org/application/files/9814/7699/4131/FmgtnRiverInstreamFlowStudySum.pdf
Updating this study will provide information to determine the best flow regime for the Upper Farmington River to support its ecological health and recreational flows in light of changes in climate, as well as recent changes to state and pending changes to federal regulations governing the water in Colebrook River Reservoir.
Thank you for considering these two bills.
Sincerely,
Name
Town “
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go write an email…
currentseams.com 