Dad And Twin Boys New To Mo Fishing.

[Guest]

deleted.

[ness]

Hey Labguy,

Welcome to the forum. I've got twin 18-year olds that are in the 'rather do ANYTHING but hang with dad' phase of life. Enjoy it, plant the seeds, and reap the rewards later on.

I didn't see how much fly fishing experience you have, so I'll assume you're all relatively new to it. I'd suggest you go in with a few flies of each type: dry, wet, and nymph. Dry flies can be the most fun and rewarding -- who doesn't love to see a fish take the fly? -- but they can also be the biggest challenge. They generally need to drift just about perfectly with the current -- any unnatural drag will turn off the fish. MO doesn't have the classic by-the-calendar hatches you read about. It's more generalized than that.

A few white or tan Elk Hair Caddis in sizes from 16 to 20 and a few Stimulators in 12-16 for fishing mid summer through fall will cover a lot of the bases for dry flies. For wets/streamers: some olive/tan/black beadhead Wooly Buggers in 12-16 are on my 'must have' list. These can be dead drifted under an indicator or stripped. I'll also have generic streamers like Clouser Minnows in the same sizes/colors. For nymphs: a few Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns or Hare's Ear in 16-20 will cover the spectrum pretty well. Drift them under an indicator, or tie smaller sizes on a 12-24 inch piece of tippet connected to the bend of one of those larger Stimulators.

For someone starting out, the stripping Wooly Buggers are a pretty easy way to get going. Cast upstream slightly, let it sink some, begin short strips while the current carries them down. Let them stay out a way as they pass, and swing all the way down stream below you then strip in the rest of the way. Do it a few more times at various distances, then move upstream about 10-20 feet and do it again. Keep moving.

For the nymphs, get them below an indicator and as close to the bottom as possible using the correct length of tippet and right amount of weight -- adjusting as often as needed. They need to drift with the current, like a dry, and near the bottom. Cover an area and move on.

Dries require the most finesse -- you're laying your line/leader/tippet across moving water, so the fly and line can be moving are different speeds, or even directions. Learn to 'mend', which is a little flick of the line up or downstream, leaving the fly in the same spot, for the purpose of canceling out the effect of the conflicting current. You don't need to match the insect down to it's DNA, but get something in the ballpark size and color-wise presented on the surface, moving at exactly the same speed and in the same direction as something NOT tied to your tippet would be. There'll be something on the water to watch: do what it does. Drift that over the likely places, and move on after a few casts

Hope this helps

[labradorguy]

thanks

[ness]

Personally, I don't use a sinking tip. Not that it's a bad idea -- it would be helpful in a lot of situations. If you are fishing bigger water and want to drag streamers through deep holes targeting larger fish, a sink tip will help you get down there. For the most part, I fish smaller water and I want the versatility of the floating-tip line. I can sink a floating line with enough lead if the situation dictates. I need to try out a double taper sometime.

[ness]

Another thought: when I'm fishing with my boys or nephews I usually have rods rigged different ways so we can switch around. One with a dry or dry/dropper, one with a nymph and maybe one with a Wooly Bugger or streamer.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I might add some things to consider.

First to start the boys off I would look hard at sets from Bass Pro or Cabelas or some offered by the rod companies, as opposed to trying to put rigs together at this point.

Second, don't think hatches in most Missouri trout streams. You can throw a dry most anytime and more often then not get bit. Elk Hair Caddis, Griffiths Gnat and some type of PMD would be good to start with.

As for sink tips or lines? In my opinion they aren't worth the money unless you know you will use them a lot and in specific places. The sinking leaders offered by Rio are better to start IMO. If you find later that rigging with a sink tip is something worth doing you will also at the time know which one you need.

[Guest]

deleted.

[labradorguy]

thanks