HOOK said:
i was hoping one of the extremely knowledgeable fly fisherman on here could explain which flies would work best and why that was all.
I mean a decent explanation of patterns that resemble the "staple" food sources in a lake. OH and you can also try trolling "Scuds" (freshwater shrimp) i have seen guys have good success with there on Tunkwa lake
Not sure what you mean by a decent explanation of patterns.
There can be a variety of reasons why some patterns work best. Or better yet there are always different reasons why some flies work better on some days than on others. Something that works one occasion may not work the next. Depending on what situations you may be faced with, weather w/ pressure changes, hatch/insect activity, time of day, month ect. For this reason personally I don't have a " go to fly". Every time out I may start with something different. The goal is to put the odds in your favor every time out, because sometimes you need all those odds if the bite is not on. One way to put better odds in your favor is to try not to guess what may work. Fishing blind or trolling “anything” can get you results, but knowing what's on the menu (Entomology) before hand will up your catch rate big time which can have the potential to turn a good day into a great one. Study not only away from the lake but right before you hit the water. Shorelines always hold the key to what the lakes invertebrates look like, in numbers, color size ect. They’ll be the same ones fish in that body of water will eat at one time or another. Over turn rocks, dig up a little muck with your net, or brush through the cat tails and bull rush. Put what nymphs you find in a clear bottle identify them and have a good look. Every lake holds a little different info. Study insect activity on line and in books. Insect identification, life cycles, when and where to find them, how they live, and more importantly how each different insect moves in the water and most importantly where to fish them. Learning how to properly fish each fly will great improve its success, and quickly become a favorite in your box. For instance fishing a Dragon nymph sub surface with speedy retrieval will get you minimal results. The reason being, they tend to move at a slower pace and commonly spend their time in the bottom portions of the water column in search of food and cover from fish. So naturally close to the bottom of weed beds would be a good start with Darner Dragon Nymphs. By staying open minded to all the variables that come with still water fishing, and by putting the pieces of the puzzle together can make any day that much better. Know the ecosystem of the lake and stay versatile. This will make a huge difference in making any properly fished pattern work well.
Finder :cheers: