Has anybody caught a minnow on the fly?
I've often seen shoals of minnows rising to black smuts and wondered if the larger ones could be caught on an artificial.

Just a thought for clocking up a longer species list.

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Old fishermen never die, they just smell that way.

Yes minnows often take small flys, you'll catch more on a tiny wet than dry.. on dry they seem to splash more than take... anything with a little silver & red in will catch...a fairly fast figure of eight seems best.....

Sf.

I've had minnows too; big 'uns compared to the others.


Shall we have a 3 spined stickle-back thread next?


PiB

Thanks I might give it a try later in the year.
I've had some surprisingly large sticklebacks on bait but not on the fly.
I nearly caught a bullhead (miller's thumb) on a butcher once. It chased the fly but didn't take.

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Old fishermen never die, they just smell that way.

Was out on Monday afternoon at a local stillwater (mainly cos I wanted a cast of my new 5 weight outfit I got for rivers last year, which has been in and out of the rod tube getting admiring glances only so far and didn't have the time to get out onto a river....again).

Anyway, after and hour and a couple of decent rainbows to the 3lb mark on buzzers, my line moved out from under the rod tip very slowly. I struck into it thinking that no way was that a take, maybe weed or something else, but was proved wrong when my line started kiting from left to right. Very slowly.
I thought to myself, this fish is either diseased or it just doesn't know it's hooked! I gave it a bit more stick from the 5 wt and boy did I get my answer!
Staying deep and boring hard against my rod. I had to give him everything the rod had just to get a look at him and all the time I was thinking "first time I use the rod and I'm going to snap it getting this one in before it gets too tired to slip back!!"
After a bit, and a bloody sore arm, I slipped my buzzer from the top dropper, out of what was a cracking rainbow of at least 12 lbs and away he swam quite happy.

After watching him kick away, I flicked my line out to get it away from the jetty and there was a splosh as my point fly hit the water. Must have caught some weed from below the jetty as a slipped the dropper hook from the fish I thought, and pulled it in for inspection........and there, flapping from side to side as I raised the leader from the water, was an inch long stickleback with a size 12 Pink okey dokey firmly hooked into his top lip!!!!(Not easy to unhook something that size when he has his all spines thrust out I can tell you.)

I was at first stunned, thinking no way did this little thing "take" that buzzer. Maybe it was foul hooked when I flicked my line out, but foul hooked through the top lip??? Then, I saw how ridiculous the situation was and had a good laugh about it. Maybe it did take it, maybe it didn't, I'll never know. But it's something to remember.
A damn good double.....and a stickleback in one (or possibly two) cast(s)!

My rod survived and I can't wait to get onto the river with it. (Won't be taking a 5wt back there though!!!)
Just shows the diversity you can happen upon when out fishing!

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Colin

"Just being out fishing is enough...catching....a welcome addition to a good day in natures garden."