[SxSshooter]

i figured i'd give fly fishing a try. i bought a kit and a few flies, and went fishing for a little while yesterday. i managed 2 hookups that i didn't land and had a great time anyway.

rather than buy a lot of the wrong flies that i'd be wasting my time with, can anyone recommend good flies to use for trout, this time of year?

thanks

 

[brijones1]

The warmer and later in the year it gets the smaller the flies you have to use. I'm down to size 18 and 20 nymphs this time of the year. Make sure you use light line like 2lb flouro. Pheasant tails, princes, hares ears are usually go to flies for most people. If your fishing dry flies, it depends on where and what hatches are happening and hook size is once again very important. Good Luck

 

[GVS]

My go to dry fly is a 16 or 18 caddis...I'm not good with bugs and matching the hatch, but I find if there are trout eating drys the caddis will work most of the time.

 

[bayonne]

i havent fly fished since i was like 20 i only dry fly fished up state on a feeder stream of the esopus this was native trout fishing and the three most used and caught lots of trout on them were light cahills march browns and green midges and i wasnt good at it and still caght pleanty of trout found sundown till dark to be the best fishing i never did get the hang of useing wet flys i think ill be trying to get back in to it next year maybe

 

[SxSshooter]

thanks[up]

 

[NJ Deer]

size 12-14 gold ribbed hairs ear's...always did well on them[up]

 

[shoot2kill8]

sulfers are out strong now

 

[BowhunterNJ]

I'd stick with nymphing to start...the basic nymphs mentioned above will get you fish consistently.

- Pheasant Tails (bead head and non-bead head)
- Plain and Gold Ribbed Hares Ears (bead head and non-bead head)
- Prince Nymphs (bead head and non-bead head)

Fish vertically in holes.

Drift as natural as possible.

Fish two nymphs at a time, one on the bottom and one up (emerging)...i.e. bead head for weight on the bottom, non-bead head up top.

Some guys like using indicators, better to use a big dry fly if you insist on using an indicator...might not represent anything that is actually in the stream, but occassionally can trigger an instinctive strike from a trout.

Ultra clear water, fish lighter tippet.
Nymphing wise, I like around 6x or 7x if they get a little finicky. No need to drop down to 8x unless you are in gin clear water, or facing natives. 6x will give you more abrasion resistance while rolling around rocks.

You should be "ticking" the bottom of the stream with the lower nymph...if you aren't getting snagged some of the time, you probably aren't fishing deep enough.

Good idea to start turning over stones in the rivers you fish, maybe bring a small glass jar with you to take those little creatures (and a little water) back home with you to review. Check out the internet, match the hatch, and find the tied fly/nymph that represents it (and go buy some in a local fly shop)...then you know what to use at the time of year you caught it, what size, what color, etc.

Size wise, get nymphs ranging from 10s to 18s.
Try to match the size of what you find under the rocks!

While other flies/nymphs (matching the hatch) will catch you more fish, the above three will consistently produce fish because they mimic a myriad of nymphs (shape and size). And for most, that is enough to have fun fly fishing!

Good luck [up]

 

[SxSshooter]

thanks for all of the advice[up]

 

[fdalebowhunter]

scuds & woolleybuggers!

 

[mikec]

From now until Fall you can't beat terrestrials. Ants, beetles, crickets, grashoppers dry and wet. Scuds work great also. Small light colored flies on the surface are great as the sun is going down.

Streamers always produce year round. Wolly Bugger and Muddler Minnow is all you need of that fly variety.

 

[Bucksnbows]

You should add caddis pupa nymphs and for dries, sulphurs are on the water now. You need emergers and duns in sizes 14-18. Next up are Isonychia mayflies which are size 10 - 14 in our waters. You can never go wrong with Adams dry flies in sizes 10-20 to match the hatch when you're not quite sure what bugs you are seeing. Another dry fly you need in your box are BWOs (blue winged olives). These mayflies hatch year round in NJ waters in sizes from 14 - 24.

As someone else wrote, woolly buggers will catch fish day in and day out regardless of any insect hatches. And I would caution on the light tippets recommended by one poster. For nymphing, stick with 4X or 5X. For dries, 5X or 6X is all you need. I don't own 8X and have not used my 7X in the past 2 seasons and I fish for big, wild trout all over the country. Presentation to the fish is FAR more important than the fly or the tippet size!!!

You can make FF as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. I suggest keeping it simple at first until you learn insect hatches and stages of the hatch. Once you have some working knowledge and have gained some confidence, you can begin to expand to lots of other flies. I typically carry 7 fly boxes at all times and rarely feel I have enough or the correct flies (and I tie my own and for others)