Tiny Flies, Big Results: How to Match the Hatch Like a Pro
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
Dave Stewart
4.7 • 531 Ratings
🗓️ 14 March 2024
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Listen to the full Ed Engle Episode 59 here: https://wetflyswing.com/579b
This here are five new top tips and takeaways with actionable advice for fly anglers:
1. Embrace Smaller Flies for Selective Trout
Begin with flies in sizes 18-24 to mimic the prevalent midge and mayfly larvae and pupae that trout feed on in colder months.
Practice tying your own small flies to customize and refine your selection based on observations of local insect life.
2. Master Slack Line Casts for Subtle Presentations
Incorporate slack line casts, such as the reach cast or parachute cast, to present flies naturally without spooking fish.
Use these casts to effectively place your fly upstream of feeding fish, allowing it to drift into the feeding zone with minimal drag.
3. Leverage Local Knowledge Through Guiding
Consider hiring a local guide to gain insights into effective techniques and productive spots on new waters.
Use the opportunity to learn about the specific behaviors of fish in different conditions and how to adapt your approach accordingly.
4 Adapt to Water Conditions and Insect Hatches
Pay close attention to water levels, clarity, and temperature, as these factors significantly influence fish behavior and feeding patterns.
Keep a journal of your fishing trips, noting the conditions, flies used, and fish activity to identify patterns over time.
5. Prioritize Observation in Fishing angle on the approach
Spend time observing fish behavior and insect activity before making your first cast to choose the most effective fly and presentation.
Experiment with different positions and angles of approach to find the most effective way to present your fly to feeding fish without spooking them.
Listen to the full Ed Engle Episode 59 here: https://wetflyswing.com/579b
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | small flies work better than large flies would you say that's a true statement can you catch more fish |
| 0:08.7 | if you consistently use small flies and maybe even super small flies and do you think you need |
| 0:15.5 | more skill to fish the small fly all these questions were answered in my podcast with Ed Engel back in the |
| 0:23.0 | day. A number of years ago, Ed was on and we've been going back to some of the past episodes, |
| 0:28.6 | some of our most listened to episodes. And today we're going to be doing a short snippet episode |
| 0:33.9 | where we're going to be sharing the top takeaways and tips from that episode on fishing small flies so you could have better action this year. |
| 0:41.5 | Hey, I'm Dave, host of the Wet Fly Swing podcast. I've been fly fishing since I was a little kid and I have created one of the largest fly fishing podcasts in this country. |
| 0:49.7 | In this podcast, Ed shared the tips on fishing small flies, especially when focused on the wintertime. |
| 0:56.6 | And we dig into that deep on the episode. |
| 0:59.1 | Today, you're going to get the five biggest takeaways and tips from the podcast I had with |
| 1:02.5 | Ed Engle, especially where it's focused on fishing small flies in the wintertime. |
| 1:07.6 | By the end of this episode, you're going to have a few actionable steps to |
| 1:10.9 | take to elevate your fishing experience, especially when small flies are needed. But before we get |
| 1:17.6 | into this episode, I want to share a quick story about fishing small flies. And this one is a little bit |
| 1:22.6 | of a spin because we're going to be focusing on trout. But I have a great story as a steelhead angler and the |
| 1:29.6 | difference of small flies and how that works so well with steelhead. This kind of goes back, |
| 1:34.9 | long story short, to the first days when Paul, a buddy of mine, started fishing down there on the |
| 1:40.3 | river. And we just started fishing smaller and smaller flies. I think at the time, |
| 1:44.9 | you know, commonly size twos and fours were pretty common. But we got into fishing, you know, |
| 1:50.4 | a lot more commonly size sixes, eights, and even size 10. And for steelhead, I think a lot of people |
| 1:55.8 | at the time might have thought that was kind of a small fly. But we did that and it worked even better and better. |
| 2:02.6 | In fact, the smaller, the sparser, I think the more buggy it got, the better. |
... |
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