Niangua Fly Fisher Question

[podum]

I've fly fished the Niangua a lot - far more than any other river.  As a result, I've developed habits based on things that worked.  As a result I use mostly the same flies in the same types of water, etc.  I'm wondering if I'm missing some opportunities because I've become set in my ways.  So . . . open question.  What are your go-to flies and techniques on this river?

I'll throw mine out - I nearly always start with something new I tied and end up within 40 minutes with a size 10 olive leech or bugger of some sort.

[gwh]

90% of the fish i catch are on olive bugger.  Size from 4 to 12.  Sometime they like the smaller ones. 

[fishinwrench]

Yep, leeches and buggers always seem to get the job done.   They are both excellent search patterns, and they get bites either when dead drifting, or on the swing, or when stripping through slow water.  Even gets bit just hanging in the current...... You can't fish them wrong, but one way will always be better on any given day.

A tungsten bead-head crackleback in lt.olive has been a staple for me in faster water riffles FOR YEARS.  The hackle lets it tickle right along the bottom on a dead drift without hanging up.   You'll either get bit mid-drift once it has gotten down along the bottom....or when it starts to swing up off the bottom.  

A lt.olive colored soft hackle (same color as the crackleback) is a staple for me too.  I fish it kinda spey style in the mediocre slow pools, and it picks up random stragglers year 'round.

Black foam Beatle's, and outlandish oversized attractor dry flys are fun during the summer and into the fall before the leaves start falling.  

The biggest mistake I see people make when on the Niangua is standing in one spot too long.  Those fish are schooling stockers.....so keep moving until you catch one, then there will usually be 8-10 more in that little area.   Those ding-a-ling rainbows will either move 4-6ft. to take a fly.....or they won't take it at all.

 

Oh, I forgot the Y2K Bug.  That one has saved the day more than 20 times during the fall/winter.  I sight fish that big blob of orange/yellow goo, and some of the biggest trout I've caught in the Niangua have come on that stupid thing.

[podum]

Same experience with the leech Wrench.  When starting I try to have all 4 presentations in every cast.  Dead drift into a swing, then let it hang, then strip back.  Once the fish tell me what they want, I focus on that.

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, podum said:

Same experience with the leech Wrench.  When starting I try to have all 4 presentations in every cast.  Dead drift into a swing, then let it hang, then strip back.  Once the fish tell me what they want, I focus on that.

Right on 👍 

We need to hit the Niangua together sometime. I bet we could both pick up a trick or two. 😉

[fishinwrench]

Do you ever have those days when fishing a bugger or leech on the swing.....and you constantly get that Blam-Blam-Blam of fish swatting at the fly but not getting stuck ?  

The last time my shop helper and I fished it together we were getting a lot of that, and he ran out of 4x-5x tippet material.   He tied on some 10# flouro (the stuff he uses for white bass) and immediately every single "Blam" was a solid hookup.    Seemed ridiculous tying 10lb. line to a #12 fly......but it freakin' worked.      He had me 6 to 1 and I still refused to bum a piece of that heavy flouro.......

I'm carrying some with me NEXT time !   

[Gavin]

3x flouro is my usual. if getting swatted with no hook up. Twitch it. or speed up. The old crackleback bounce. Twitch it a half inch, until bang. Trout don't really care that much on a dingy river like the Niangua. Heavier tippet would increase drag and speed it up.

 

[tjm]

wrench, what size tippet do you usually use with #12 streamers?   3X is what, 8#?

[fishinwrench]

49 minutes ago, tjm said:

wrench, what size tippet do you usually use with #12 streamers?   3X is what, 8#?

4x or 5x Rio fluoroflex plus. 

 

When using tippet bigger than 4x I use Seaguar InvisX where 6# is 3x, and 8# is 2x.  

 

I think the reason Micaiah spanked me after switching to the 10# flouro is because less stretch in the fairly long tippet resulted in the fish hooking themselves easier.    Not sure, but I plan on experimenting with that on days when fish are biting at swinging flys.... but not getting stuck.   

[tjm]

I think @Gavin hit it, the heavier tippet moved the fly faster, probably with less slack too.   I'd probably be using 8# Trilene (1X) since it's my bass tippet and in the vest. I use Rio 5X for #16-18 and skip the 4X as a rule. In my leader builds it's usually 3X Chameleon to 5X Powerflex.

I'd have to see an experiment showing that mono has any stretch at all when the only resistance is water. It should be easy in a pond or pool to take a 15-20' tippet and tie on a #2 streamer, then stretch the tippet away from the fly until straight, let it all rest a moment then jerk the tippet end a measured distance to a stop and measure how far the fly moved, the difference being the stretch. It could be done with a dead fish or a pork chop on the fly to see if the mono stretches with an average  hook set. Have to start the measured pull with zero slack though.