Joe DiPietro
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from spending most of my life trying to think like a trout, it’s that trout don’t think like people very often. Yet, every now and again, I get lucky and get something right.
Every angler lives for days when the trout take standard fly patterns without regard, but the reality is that most days that’s not the case. That doesn’t mean you have to invent a pattern that the fish have never seen before to fool them on days when flies from the bins at the fly shop won’t. Sometimes, adjusting the size of the fly you’re fishing compared to the actual insects the fish are eating is all it takes.
I like to step up dries and step down nymphs first when trying this and then go the other direction if the first shift doesn’t inspire a bite from fish. If tinkering with fly size doesn’t produce, tweaking some small aspect of a standard pattern many times will convince the trout to take a fly.
A favorite adjustment of mine is changing a natural-looking wing case on a nymph to something odd and flashy. Sometimes just going to an odd color of flashabou is the ticket, while other times being more creative with what sort of materials are use is required. This is the case in one of my most effective pheasant tail nymph variants which includes a wing case made of gold flashabou and an abdomen made by direct dubbing gray marabou. From time to time, I’ll include legs made of the stiff barbs from a wood duck flank feather, particularly when the nymphs in the water are mottled.
Whatever aspect of a fly you’re trying to make more appealing, it’s important to stay open-minded with what materials you choose. A good example of this can be seen in my material choice with some of my rubber-legged stonefly patterns, which range from pre-fabricated rubber LivelyLegz to strands from a spinnerbait or jig designed for bass fishing. I’ve also created a few good looking thoraxes and wing cases from individual strands of rubber from bass jigs.
Another effective example of this I’ve found is replacing the abdomen of a standard hare’s ear nymph with direct-dubbed underfur from a red fox tail. The bottom line with this all is to not be afraid of trying something you’ve maybe never seen or heard of. If you haven’t seen it before, chances are good the fish haven’t either.
Sometimes you get lucky and find a technique that really works. Other times, you’re just the laughing stock of your fishing buddies. But if you never try it, you’ll never know. Keep in mind that whatever part of the fly you choose to change, it is usually best to start small. Don’t change legs and a wing case right out of the gate, try one first, then the other, then both at once.
Joe DiPietro is a Georgia-based trout guide and fly tyer. He can be contacted at (706) 633-0773.
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