Fall Stillwater Trout

[smallmouth89]

For those of you who tube with a flyrod for pond trout what type of flies do you use at this time of the year? I tend to use leeches, buggers and zonkers on the premise that the fish need to feed heavily for the upcoming winter. So far, even though the water temperature is in the ideal range for rainbow trout, the fishing was actually better in the warmer weather.

We have had several days of overcast with some light rain up here in Ontario. Usually this is good fishing weather but I really had to work hard for a couple of fish on my last two outings. I'm toying with the idea of going back to chironomids and small nymphs.
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[flygoddess]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I am having good success with the smaller flies right now myself. In fact that 34" was caught on a size 12 Hot Chocolate.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]When storms move in, at first there is a pressure and that is a good time to fish weighted lines and flies, cause they seem to hold on the bottom. Later there could be a hatch, and then you can fish different depths (with the bugs hatching and then rising through the water colume).[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]On the BIG body of water around here, I fish large flies with a small nymph right off the bottom with quick strip.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Colors seem to make a big difference right now also.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]We are doing a fishing get together on that BIG body of water set for the weekend of October 14th or 15th.[/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]Should be a lot of fun, but not sure which bay yet.[/size][/font]
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[zonker]

Pond fishing is slow for me this time of year. Water is still low and fish haven't recovered from the dog days yet. I went out yesterday with an approaching storm coming in. Fished around the banks first as I wasn't sure how things were going. No fish. No evidence of fish. No strikes. Didn't launch the tube. We've barely begun the seasonal shift here in Oregon. First storm looks like it might fizzle.

z~
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]It is kinda hard to generalize, because every lake and every species has their own peculiar quirks. As most of us know, conditions can change quickly and there can be different hatches or the availability of other forage.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have several lakes that I fish regularly and each of them can be completely different during the same period. But, as a general rule, once the fall pattern of weather is established, and water temps begin to drop, the fish in most lakes put on the feed bag. That usually means that they like a mouthful rather than an appetizer. I have done serious damage in the fall on big ol' buggers and zonkers...and even big hairwing streamers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]On the other hand, you can sometimes find some late afternoon hatches of smaller fare, or even late windblown terrestrials, that have the fish sipping the smaller stuff.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In many of our Utah Lakes, the trout cruise the shallows picking off the sub 2" fry of several species. That's when a small white bugger or streamer, fished on floating or sink tip line can score some decent fish in skinny water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Probably the most important thing is to know the lake and the patterns of the fish throughout the seasons. Always take some "overlap" flies, to handle late summer or early winter conditions and then do your homework to figure out a pattern.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That is one of the best arguments for keeping a fishing log and to always record the details of each trip...air temp, wind conditions, water temp., hatches or forage situations, best flies and presentations, etc. Then, around the same time in following years you can at least have a place to start.[/#0000ff]
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[flygoddess]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Tube Dude is right, cruising the shallows in Fall and Spring and or weed beds usually is a good call.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]At the Berry for some reason I always get the bug honkers at 30' and deeper though, no matter what time of year. Red works great right now, maybe cause the Koke are spawning. I like the Red colors and weird but Black and Purple softhackles right near the bottom.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I gotta admit, I have caught very few big fish out of the berry on small flies, but the Renegade does work (a snail imitation may explain why)[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I have a real simple multi tasking streamer that can be a Crayfish or a chub pup and it has yet to let me down. In fact last years get together made me a little unpopular and that hurts[][/size][/black][/font]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]What do you expect? Anglers...especially guy anglers...don't like to get whacked by a lady tangler. It's not only the competitive fisherman thing but the testosterone factor too. Double whammy.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That's okay. You just maintain your ascendancy and keep on smilin'. It will drive 'em all nuts wonderin' what you are up to.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, you should try fishing a size 2 or 4 wooly bugger...green body, ginger hackle, dark brown marabou tail...right in close at Strawberry late in the fall. Big cutts and bows chase crawdads in skinny water.[/#0000ff]
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[smallmouth89]

[size 1][#0000ff]In many of our Utah Lakes, the trout cruise the shallows picking off the sub 2" fry of several species. That's when a small white bugger or streamer, fished on floating or sink tip line can score some decent fish in skinny water.[/#0000ff]

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[size 1]This is my usual approach and when conditions and temps seem right it should work most of the time. I guess I'll just keep at it. I did raise several nice fish casting tight to the shoreline and retreiving quickly. Most of these fish probably grabbed the tail of my buggers or zonkers. Last time out they seemed to respond better to a quick retrieve. The one good fish I took was taken trolling to a different spot. This fish took a zonker with a muddler head (Zuddler?) that I had tied on a circle hook. I got excited because it was the first fish to hit the fly and I hooked up nicely crediting the circle hook with my hookup. However, I missed the next 3 takes on the same fly and circle hook or not you can't hook up when they are hitting the tail. [/size]
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[size 1]At this venue there are times when the fish are quite aggressive and almost every hit turns into a hookup. At other times when they seem in a more neutral mood they like to pester the heck out of me by nipping the tail of my fly. Frustrating but still better than working![/size]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I know some zonker flingers that take along some pretied "stinger" hooks on short leaders. When they suspect the "inquiries" are just nipping at the tail they tie on one of those trailing hooks to the bend of the main hook. You don't need to hook the tail of the bunny strip at all. The (small) trailer hook will ride just at the tip of the tail and get bit, if you rig it right. You can always clip it off if that does not get 'er done or if the fish become more aggressive and you don't want to risk deep hooking them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, sometimes you have to "rip" a minnow imitator to stimulate a reaction bite. A "fleeing food syndrome" often incites a fast and aggressive munch whereas a ho-hum strip doesn't get any attention. You just have to keep changing up the retrieve until you find out what lights them up.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If nothing else, fast retrieves keep you warm on a cold day.[/#0000ff]
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