In The Summer Time...

[rainbowtrouttracker]

Which do you prefer? Lets hear why

[flytyer57]

If I'm trout fishing here on the White or Norfork rivers, there is very little in way of hatches except for midges and caddis, so I normally fish below the surface.

If I was fishing for smallmouth, most of my fishing is on the surface cuz I love to see them big smallies come up and slam a fly up top.

[rainbowtrouttracker]

Yea. I haven't gone to Norfork or white

[Outside Bend]

Unfortunately it's not that simple. The Current can have big Trico falls, some of the smaller creeks have decent Isonychia hatches, and there's lots of other, less predictable mayflies, stoneflies, and caddis which hatch on Missouri trout streams throughout the season. Add to that ants, beetles, and other terrestrials, and summer fishing on top CAN be pretty good.

But for the most part, if I'm fishing for trout, I'm fishing subsurface.

It really depends on a lot of factors- the stream, the flow and water temperature, angling pressure, etc. Your best bet is to simply let the fish tell you what to do- watch rises and riseforms to determine what they're eating and if it's on top or subsurface, or watch for subsurface flashes or mouth openings to figure out if they're picking stuff from the bottom or elsewhere in the water column. Part of the fun is figuring the puzzle out yourself.

There's a number of good resources out there. If you haven't picked it up already, check out Chuck Tryon's "Fly-Fishing For Trout in Missouri." It's available in most flyshops, and you can probably find some used copies on Amazon for quite cheap.

Not sure where you're from, but lots of areas have Federation of Fly-Fishers and/or Trout Unlimited chapters, which are great for networking with other anglers and can greatly help reduce the learning curve.

[rainbowtrouttracker]

Unfortunately it's not that simple. The Current can have big Trico falls, some of the smaller creeks have decent Isonychia hatches, and there's lots of other, less predictable mayflies, stoneflies, and caddis which hatch on Missouri trout streams throughout the season. Add to that ants, beetles, and other terrestrials, and summer fishing on top CAN be pretty good.

But for the most part, if I'm fishing for trout, I'm fishing subsurface.

It really depends on a lot of factors- the stream, the flow and water temperature, angling pressure, etc. Your best bet is to simply let the fish tell you what to do- watch rises and riseforms to determine what they're eating and if it's on top or subsurface, or watch for subsurface flashes or mouth openings to figure out if they're picking stuff from the bottom or elsewhere in the water column. Part of the fun is figuring the puzzle out yourself.

There's a number of good resources out there. If you haven't picked it up already, check out Chuck Tryon's "Fly-Fishing For Trout in Missouri." It's available in most flyshops, and you can probably find some used copies on Amazon for quite cheap.

Not sure where you're from, but lots of areas have Federation of Fly-Fishers and/or Trout Unlimited chapters, which are great for networking with other anglers and can greatly help reduce the learning curve.

Wow. You have a LOT more experience than I have on this topic.

[Buzz]

Hot summer days have been very good to me at Roaring River using a variety of dries. Griffiths Gnat, Renegades, BWO's, Humpy's, Caddis, Beetles and Hoppers. I might catch more fish on nymphs and emergers thoughout the year, but dries and summer seem to go together for me.