Fly Fishing

evan · Location: Cortlandt Manor, NY

Hey, I'm a new member of flies and fins coming from Westchester County NY. I'm planning to go to the Ramapo River in Jersey soon ( I know, why Jersey?) and I was wondering what techniques to use for fall fly fishing. The Ramapo has few hatches in October so I'm not expecting dry fly action. I have heard many different approaches like using small flies (18 pheasant tail or 20 BWO) and I've also heard to use large flies because the trout are looking for a good meal to stock up for the approaching winter. I have seen some large hatches of small mayflies recently (not sure what they were) and the trout were not rising so I guess I shouldn't use small flies, but I'm not sure. After hearing all of these different techniques for fall fly fishing for trout , I'm totally confused. What techniques do you guys generally use when searching for trout in the fall, especially if there is no hatch? Should I use small or large nymphs, streamers, dry and dropper rig, attractor patterns, etc.? Oh boy -- I need some help.

MarshallD · Location: Naples, Fl

evan,

this is a very cool topic because there are so many ways to fish in the fall. Certainly, we absolutely have to know the bug basics and being able to match the stages of the fall hatches...midges, bwo, caddis etc. well, I'd be sure to get a good book like Thomas Ames, Hatch Guide for New England Streams....it's likely similar to waters in NJ....anyway, knowing what's in and on the water is really the essence of the fall small stream dry fly game. Being able to anticipate and identify! Every water that holds Trout has hatches! Get your head down near the back waters and eddies and scoop up some foam. Look in the foam. Seine the substrate and identify the nymphs. You'll be amazed at the micro life you will find there.

Of course, there are egg flies and nymphing! Indicators or not...free drifting big stonefly or Caddis nymphs with tiny copper john trailers, adjusting for correctly bottom-bumping, that technique will just about always get you on to a Trout.You can chuck some heavier streamers and buggers upstream and yank them back hard to move aggressive spawners to slash. You can drift an egg-sucking leach slowly over the riffles and rocks.
...all the while you're looking in the air for bugs. Because. If there's bugs, you get to fish on or near the surface to a fish you see. And you can watch him be fooled.....the most fun in Trout fishing there is for me...seeing the take and setting the hook. Dry fly drifting = your cast really matters.

I think it's important to remember that even if you don't see fish rising to flies during a small-fly fall hatch...that doesn't mean you can't induce the fish to rise by making GOOD Drifts over known feeding lies. You'll eventually figure out where the fish like to hang out. Trout remember the hatch from day-to-day, they sometimes just need to see several good drifts right smack over their head so, rule #1 is make good drifts.!
Remember to get that hatch book and good luck!

Marshalld

AvidDavid · Location: Long Island, NY

Evan:

Yes, I will ask the question that you already answered "Why New Jersey?"
The Ramapo looks pretty good to me just North of the Border in New York and seems quite accessible. Perhaps you are looking for more privacy? If you already have a New York license, then why not stick with the Ramapo in New York?

AvidDavid

PS - Any information from Marshall is bound to be pretty good. He's pretty devoted to fly fishing and has posted a lot. Oh, and he has a couple of years under his belt, too! I would tend to go down low with tiny stuff that looks midge - ish size 18 and smaller; but, Marshall recommends the best solution - find out what't there and then mimic it.

evan · Location: Cortlandt Manor, NY

Thanks for all the advice guys. Well, I went to the Ramapo in Jersey and it was packed (mostly with bait fishermen... fuck) because of the recent stocking of 900 trout. I was skunked except for a load of sunnies hitting my small caddis dry. Although I didn't get some nice fall trout, it was still enjoyable. The image of the fall colors surrounding you while you are casting a dry in a pool is pretty nice. At first, I did what Marshal said; to use a large caddis or stonefly nymph with a tiny copper john trailer or have a good drift with a dry fly. The water was so low that I assumed most of the trout went into pools so I fished the tandem rig there. Unfortunately I didnt get any strikes, probably because I wasn't deep enough so I went to the Ramapo Reservation. There I spotted four trout who have apparently been there since the stocking and haven't taken anything since and I couldn't convince them either. After making futile attempts with these trout I took a few casts at one of my favorite sections of the river where I got a small smallmouth on a dry fly and plenty of sunnies who were all surprisingly spunky. Even without the trout, I still had to get a pretty decent drift to get a hit from the sunnies which made it exciting. With the challenging fly fishing I face on the river and the beautiful scenery, it turned out to be a good day (but I still wish I got some trout).

troutdawg · Location: Denver

Would love to see some Fall shots since being layed up all week from Shoulder surgery~

Troutdawg
http://www.flyfishaddiction.blogspot.com
http://www.flyfishaddiction.com

MarshallD · Location: Naples, Fl

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

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