No Beads

[Tom Butler]

No hare's ear w/ a bead today. This is pretty much what I would have had in my hand a decade ago, this 4wt, dry line, and the grey box with wets hasn't changed much.

The green box would have had elk hair caddis, humpies, renegades and adams, now it holds stuff I copied from ScottP

Just fished a pair of wets today, kept a partridge and orange on the top dropper. This fly hooked up, and after a bit I broke off, the best fish of the day.

I lost a couple others to the trees. I'll be tying more.


As I suspected the orange version was just incredible

At one point I moved a fish, in a very non-committed way, with both colors. I thought to myself "who's your daddy"

and bingo

Good morning.

 

[Wetswinger]

No hare's ear w/ a bead today. This is pretty much what I would have had in my hand a decade ago, this 4wt, dry line, and the grey box with wets hasn't changed much.
View attachment 70590
The green box would have had elk hair caddis, humpies, renegades and adams, now it holds stuff I copied from ScottP
View attachment 70591
Just fished a pair of wets today, kept a partridge and orange on the top dropper. This fly hooked up, and after a bit I broke off, the best fish of the day.
View attachment 70592
I lost a couple others to the trees. I'll be tying more.
View attachment 70593
View attachment 70594
As I suspected the orange version was just incredible
View attachment 70595
At one point I moved a fish, in a very non-committed way, with both colors. I thought to myself "who's your daddy"
View attachment 70596
and bingo
View attachment 70597
Good morning.
View attachment 70599

It's hard to turn your back on being a dedicated dry fly guy as I was. My father only fished wet flies and caught twice as many as I did using dries. It was swinging wet hackles that turned me around. Hence the "Wetswinger" moniker. Now it's pretty much everything but dries. Go figure...

 

[Tom Butler]

It's hard to turn your back on being a dedicated dry fly guy as I was. My father only fished wet flies and caught twice as many as I did using dries. It was swinging wet hackles that turned me around. Hence the "Wetswinger" moniker. Now it's pretty much everything but dries. Go figure...

HA ha. I went through a "dry" phase too before I got into wets.

 

[Rob Allen]

When i worked at the fly shop in Montana I would get reports from the guides every afternoon. It was pretty common for unbeaded nymphs fished with splitshot to outfish their beaded brethren.
Same patterns but no beads.

 

[jaredoconnor]

I need to spend more time fishing wet flies.

 

[troutstalker]

I need to spend more time fishing wet flies.

I need to as well.

 

[John Svahn]

I have one of those green cortland boxes!!

 

[Tom Butler]

I need to spend more time fishing wet flies.

I think you would find it a nice compliment to tightline work. Casting across and swinging can be really peaceful and relaxing. Until that BIG yank happens.

 

[Tom Butler]

I have one of those green cortland boxes!!

They are great, I have one slightly different shaped as well.

 

[jaredoconnor]

I think you would find it a nice compliment to tightline work. Casting across and swinging can be really peaceful and relaxing. Until that BIG yank happens.

It’s not foreign to me, I just haven’t done it much over the last 5 years or so. When I was younger, it was the only way anyone I knew fished subsurface. Streamers and strike indicators were about as heretical as euro nymphing is today. It wasn’t uncommon for the terms to be muttered in conjunction with “yankee bullshit” or other such statements.

 

[skyriver]

When i worked at the fly shop in Montana I would get reports from the guides every afternoon. It was pretty common for unbeaded nymphs fished with splitshot to outfish their beaded brethren.
Same patterns but no beads.

Shhh. Don't tell em Rob.

 

[Zak]

I spent a nice afternoon and evening fishing a dry muddler upstream, then flipping/lowering a brace of wets through the pools on the way back downstream. Nothing big, but I brought 15 or so cutthroats to hand, including two bigger ones. Even with my felt boots, the rocks were super slippery! I was doing the slippery rock dance the whole way.

 

[Tom Butler]

I spent a nice afternoon and evening fishing a dry muddler upstream, then flipping/lowering a brace of wets through the pools on the way back downstream. Nothing big, but I brought 15 or so cutthroats to hand, including two bigger ones. Even with my felt boots, the rocks were super slippery! I was doing the slippery rock dance the whole way.
View attachment 70654
View attachment 70655

That's a pretty river and fish Zak, nice. It's getting slick around here too, be careful out there. I fish the wets working downstream also. Actually I find I'm not wading upstream much anymore, just not that strong, and I can't be very stealthy. Lately I've just been wandering downstream, casting across and swinging.

 

[clarkman]

Hey @Tom Butler , is it safe to assume, you're upping your tippet strength when fishing wets? It's been years since I've gone that route and I seem to remember using something like 8lb or something like that.

 

[Tom Butler]

Hey @Tom Butler , is it safe to assume, you're upping your tippet strength when fishing wets? It's been years since I've gone that route and I seem to remember using something like 8lb or something like that.

I was just talking about this with @Greg Price . I fish 3x (8.5#) pretty much all the time, all year round. I've tried some 4x the last couple outings for the low clear water and small flies, but that lead to several (2 nice ones) broken off (newish spool, knots test well). Even that sz. 16 partridge and orange needs 3x. Bamboo, Steffen or graphite, the 3x just always works best.

 

[Brian Miller]

I need to spend more time fishing wet flies.

I think you would find it a nice compliment to tightline work. Casting across and swinging can be really peaceful and relaxing. Until that BIG yank happens.

Over the last several years, I have found using a T-rod to "manipulate" wet flies on 5X to 6X with a tight line to be very effective. BIG yanks from Fall freshwater SRC are definitely thrilling. The limber rod both protects the tippet and does a good job of quickly tiring the fish.

 

[Tom Butler]

Over the last several years, I have found using a T-rod to "manipulate" wet flies on 5X to 6X with a tight line to be very effective. BIG yanks from Fall freshwater SRC are definitely thrilling. The limber rod both protects the tippet and does a good job of quickly tiring the fish.

Greg was saying he prefers the small tippets as well. I got to keep fish out of cover, or, the nice ones like to roll across the seam then head downstream hell bent for leather. 3x gives me enough to pressure them if I need to, yet still get eats.

 

[Dave Westburg]

I swing most of my trout wets on 4lb flouro, a bamboo rod and a reel with a very light drag setting. I haven't had a fish break off in the past year. I also tend to fish reels with as much backing as they will hold. I lost a nice fish once using a small and narrow reel which couldn't hold much backing. Even though the drag was on the light setting the friction of the backing coming off a mostly empty reel spool caused the leader to break. Funny how much more friction there is on a reel which is mostly empty of backing as opposed to mostly full of backing even when the reel is at the lightest setting.

 

[Tom Butler]

I swing most of my trout wets on 4lb flouro, a bamboo rod and a reel with a very light drag setting. I haven't had a fish break off in the past year. I also tend to fish reels with as much backing as they will hold. I lost a nice fish once using a small and narrow reel which couldn't hold much backing. Even though the drag was on the light setting the friction of the backing coming off a mostly empty reel spool caused the leader to break. Funny how much more friction there is on a reel which is mostly empty of backing as opposed to mostly full of backing even when the reel is at the lightest setting.

I was just thinking yesterday how important drag is, even on a clicker in a small river. I got to be careful letting them run, or they will be into the wood, or worse they will be 40 yards downstream in the next pool, and I'm not up for chasing anymore.

 

[skyriver]

I don't fish true wet flies much, but I do swing and strip anytime I'm fishing an Elk Hair Caddis or even small Stimulator, (dry drift and then let it swing, then strip) I've never really thought about moving up in tippet. Even on the Deschutes, it's 5x or 3lb Maxima. Have I broke fish off? A few for sure over the years, but I'm convinced that I get more hits on 5x than 3x or 4x or 4 or 6 lb Max.
Just have to use the rod to absorb the take. No straight-line streamer stuff in those conditions.

Now, if I'm doing the single-hand trout spey/skagit thing then I jump it up mostly because of the meat I'm casting and more likely to be pointing the rod right at the fish. I really like 6lb fluoro for that, but will use 3x, 4x, 4 or 6 lb Max as well.

Anyone fish true attractor wets anymore? I had a couple seasons about 25 years ago that I fished a size 12 Professor a LOT and man that thing caught a lot of fish. I wonder why I don't do that more often now. Haha!