Landing trout on small flies

Caddis · Newbie

Landing trout on small flies

yukon mike · Senior Member

18 & 20's are difficult to get a good set with. If you are a tyer you can get a hook style with a bigger gap. Otherwise when you set the hook give it longer before you pull. As for nets I don't use them at all. Unless you really need to haul the fish out just give it some extra line and usually the fish will spit it out on his or her own and split. The less handling the better. If you do use a net get the kind with the rubber net as opposed to the nylon mesh type. They can do a lot of damage.

Nohackle · Senior Member

Just some thoughts:

- I agree with Yukon Mike about using wide gap hooks. I tie most of my PC flies on a Tiemco 3769, size 16 hook. It has the length of a size 18, but the gap of a size 16. A former PC guide gave me this suggestion.

- I know a lot of people use 6X on Putah, but I think it's too light for the bigger PC fish. I stick to 5X so I can put more pressure on the fish.

- I try to fight a big fish on as short a line as possible. This means that if he allows me to take line, I take it.

- You can use the fish's momentum to your advantage. If he's running away from you, you let him. But if he's moving at all in your direction, take line. When he's moving in your direction, there is less pressure on your tippet and that's the time to take in as much line as you can.

- Just as you did, try to move the fish to slower water to land it.

- Also, try to move the fish to shallower water. The shallower the water, the less distance you have to move the fish to get it to the surface where you can handle it.

- When you are trying to land the fish, do so when the fish is upstream from you. When you are pulling the fish to the surface and he is upstream from you, the current is bringing the fish TO you. If he's downstream, the current is moving the fish AWAY from you.

No matter what you do, you will always lose fish. But hopefully, some of these ideas will help you.

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

All the ideas mentioned are absolutley valid and I too tie a majority of my small flies on the 2487 style hook. One thing nobody brought up was the all important hook set. ALWAYS if possible set the hook downstream into the fishes mouth, as most fish face upstream to breathe and eat, if you pull the fly upstream (like alot of my clients tend to do) you can pull the fly right out of its mouth. Now alot of our fishing takes place downstream from where we are standing and a downstream hookset is impossible so all you can do is hope for the best. I will still catch pleanty of fish but notice that I lose alot more during those times. Bono

Matt R · Senior Member

and once you get all that dialed in sometimes you just hold on and hope for the best. sometimes it works out and more times it dont. the big fish have some good tricks up their fins at gettin hooks out.

FisherMan432 · Member

The net would be very useful in this case.