Pop Quiz: Trout Refuses Grasshopper

[sinergy]

Heres an Article from F&S that peaked my curosity This happened to me the other day ... curious to see how you would handle this scenero.


You're fishing along a grassy cutbank. It's windy. It's bright. Definitely a grasshopper day. You notice a nice shady pool along the bank and, wham! a big ol' trout eats something off the surface. You make a perfect cast... here he comes... here he comes... he's gonna eat it... and just when he's about to chomp down, he changes his mind.
You got refused. Do you...


A. Sit on the bank and cry?

B. Cast again, this time a little tighter to the bank?

C. Wait five minutes, then cast again?

D. Switch flies, then cast again?

E. Size down on your tippet before you make another cast? (Anyone who follows this blog and picks this answer is DQ'd from the next caption contest...)

F. Move upstream, and cast again making a downstream presentation.

G. Accept the fact that you just were given "the fin" and find another fish?
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[shadowcaster]

I think there are a lot of factors I would personally consider here. I'm no pro, but from my experience with hopper fishing, I would try changing the fly first. That doesn't mean I wouldn't try the other options. I think my second approach would be to wait until he rose again. I have found with hopper fishing that sometimes, for whatever reason, trout will attack less "natural" patterns. I have had as much sucess on an orange bodies Madam X as anything during hopper season. A lot of the other options would depend on how well you cast. If he is a big guy, I don't think I would downgrade on tippet strength ... even if it is the problem, sure wouldn't mean much to just get a strike ... and then the infamous SNAP!
PS What did F&S say???
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[Tarponjim]

Re-position and/or re-cast and get a better drift. It wasn't the bug he refused, it was the presentation!
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[gstott]

I would have to agree. I don't think pattern is as important as people like to think in many situations. A good drag free presentation generally is.
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[TubeDud]

Last summer was an interesting one for hopper fishing. I had a buddy test some flies for me, and it was a very common occurrence to get the ol' rejection. I crafted a sunken hopper tied on a 90 degree jig hook that he tied on every time he got rejected. It worked like a charm every single time the fish turned away for the dry. Sunken hoppers are severely overlooked, and can be very deadly if you are willing to swap flies for specific fish.



Cheech
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[sinergy]

Answer:
Option D. Yes. Switch flies. Guide Bob Lamm proved this lesson to me many years ago on the Railroad Ranch section of the Henry's Fork. The switching of flies is particularly important when you are fishing hoppers. If you get refused on a mayfly hatch, size down on the same pattern (or go to a cripple). On the hopper bite... purely opportunistic feeding... assume it's a one-shot deal. Three casts with the wrong bug at the right fish will put that fish down and shut off your opportunity.

For the whole article follow the link:
http://tinyurl.com/ydgol2j
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