The bead question?

[Tom Butler]

Just how much interest does a trout show in the bead? Gotta find out. Normal fly base of FM 5045, 3.8mm gold bead, 8 turns wire covered in white.

Anyone else been curious enough to experiment?

 

[rancid waders]

Troutbitten blog has some good info on it.

 

[Tom Butler]

Troutbitten blog has some good info on it.

Kinda how I was thinking. We used to crimp split shot to a size 8 baitholder for a rolly polly as kids and fish ate it. Heck, they eat my swivels!
I think the fish want to at least try to eat what comes along, but not if they are "put off" as the article said.

 

[tkww]

Well, we caught fish before beads where a thing. So I doubt they are the only thing, even if at times they might be the only thing needed.

 

[GAT]

A friend of mine was able to catch cutts with a bare hook at Mann Lake in Oregon. He was a hell of a fly angler and we joked that he could probably catch the trout with just a fly hook. Just for the heck of it he gave it a try and did catch fish.

Seems to me if something is at the correct water depth and moving in a manner that a fish determines is edible, they will attempt to eat the object. With that in mind, most likely if you meet the criteria, a beaded hook will fool something.

 

[Smalma]

Naive trout are just that!

As a teenager some 65 years ago, my Aunt took my cousin and myself into a remote Cascade stream (the trail) had been closed for several years and we were likely the first party to fish this meadow stream in several years. The fish were so naive I bragged that I could catch a fish on a bare hook. My cousin of course challenged me to prove my brag. In a couple hours I caught a limit of trout on a bare # 10 hook. That feat had nothing to do with my limited skills.

 

[Chucker]

Some of the best chironomid flies are just a hook with a wrap of thread, so why wouldn’t they eat a bare hook?

I once caught a permit on a bare hook. But that was in the 1970’s when they were pretty much just trash fish, before they became smarter than fly fishermen like they are now….

 

[dmsummers]

Fish will sometimes go after anything. I remember when my brother and I were kids on a trip with our parents driving through California. We stopped at a roadside park with a stream. My brother, who was 5 or 6 at the time, was desperate to fish. He found a stick and a piece of string, tied the string to the stick and a knot at the end of the string. He put it in the water and a fish grabbed the knot, and was yanked out onto the bank. Now, that was over 60 years ago, so I don't remember what kind of fish it was, but I do remember how excited my brother was. Beginnings of a lifelong fishing passion.

 

[Brute]

I think color has some effect on triggering a strike response…it definitely does for anglers…especially tiers, judging by how many different sizes and colors I have. To quote my dad, who was a bait fisherman…”lures don’t catch fish, only fishermen”

 

[Zak]

Just how much interest does a trout show in the bead? Gotta find out. Normal fly base of FM 5045, 3.8mm gold bead, 8 turns wire covered in white.
View attachment 156662
Anyone else been curious enough to experiment?

So, how many did you catch on this?

 

[Tom Butler]

So, how many did you catch on this?

I've tried it a few times, before something else and after, usually swapping out a hares ear with the same size hook and bead color. Little ones love it. Better fish will eat it occasionally, but at proper fly is much better. Still have one in the box for testing later in the year. Ongoing research, always learning.