hi the lakes I fish (old gravel pits).are gin clear all season 10 and 15 acre in size
up to 15 ft deep..
stocked with rainbows which I struggle to catch.
while others can pull them out.
there is a catch and release policy so some will have been caught before.
I think I am not detecting the bites, although sometimes when I bring my line in to re cast there is a fish on.
What would be the best method from the bank ie. floating wf7 or sinking line Di3 .size 7.
Had a few fish on dry fly last year.

nymphs in black and green colours seem to work well .
.
would buzzers work. if so how would I fish them?
boobies are banned.
any help and advise please.
brg.d.duck.

since no one else has replied.....

If the water's clear I would think you'll need a pretty long leader. Also if using lures/nymphs you might try a sinking line or a sink tip - willl help the lure move more horizontally in the water. I believe buzzers should be have a more vertical movement, so a floating line. Watch the successful anglers to see the speed at which they are retrieving their line.

Standing by to be corrected.....

PS flashback pheasant tails are my go to nymphs.

For clear still water, I also suspect leader length is important to avoid lining the fish.

I was advised to use a nymph and pull in the line erratically to simulate natural movement. The fisheryman advised gathering the line on my hand in a figure of 8, but that was too fiddly (or maybe I'm too cack-handed), so I used a "pull-pull-pause" rhythm which was effective ... eventually.

There has been a recent thread on how to fish buzzers.

If you are getting takes as you begin to cast back, you could consider fishing the "Hang" . I can't find a link here but it basically involves lifting the rod and letting the flies hang there at the end of the retrieve, but also sometimes at other stages of the retrieve.

You could also consider your rate and manner of retrieve - here is a post by BobP .

Buzzers and nymphs generally don't zip through the water at high speed. If the boat is drifting on the drogue pace your retrieve so that you are fishing very slightly faster than the boat is moving. You just need to keep the line straight enough to be in contact.

Fishing damsels & other thingies off the bank I rely on a version of the FTA retrieve. FTA means Fool Them About or some other four letter word associated with fornication. Basically I bung it out there, allow it to sink for as long as I need, then two swift two foot pulls to straighten everything out and this also gets any fish who happens to be in the area interested. I then follow up with a mixture of fast and slow figure eights, dead stops for about ten seconds, then a long slow draw which is often answered by a savage pull from the other end. If not we go through some more fig eights and a few short pulls until the cast is fished out. Just chucking it out and dragging it back the same way every time is boring and not that productive.

Someone once said, "It's not how you chuck it out there that matters, it's how you pull it back again" and that is a very true statement.

(however, a weighted lure, a sinking line and a 10 second pause will get you snagged up on the bottom, pretty often)

Finally, your leader - mono/fluoro/copolymer, what diameter? What do the succesful regulars on your lakes fish?

__________________
"Take not out your 'ounds on a werry windy day" Surtees.

For gin clear water - get some good quality fluorocarbon for leader material. Beware though - there are plenty of poor quality fluorocarbons on sale that are still very expensive (read the fluoro threads on here to find out the angst they cause). If you use fluoro you don't have to worry about diameter particularly, so there's no need to go for the extra thin stuff (which are often dodgy with shock breakages anyway). I use Riverge (normal - not Grand Max) and it's utterly reliable.

Snowbee Magic2 also gets my vote - cheaper than Riverge, although Riverge is excellent - caught an 8lb 12oz last week with 12ft+ of Riverge 6lb tippet (biggest fish I've caught for some years) - but I normally use the Snowbee

welcome to the forum disco duck
you say you are struggling whilst others are catching plenty.I would advise you to ask them how they are fishing-type of fly depth fished type of retrieve etc.Most people are happy to help if you ask


all the best Nick

At this time of year, gin clear water of around 15ft and you want to catch fish...... here you go.


Option 1.

10ft 7# or 8# rod.
Di 3 line.
15ft + leader..... { i use Fulling Mill Fluro., 5lb pulling single fly }.
Single Olive Northern spider or 8 legged olive worm...{ see Fulling Mill Catalogue }.
Long medium paced draws with a hit of a pause between each draw.
Concentrate your efforts around the 4ft mark....... usually pays off.

Option 2.

10ft 7# or 8# rod.
Floater { Greys platinum { Heron Grey Colour } is a good choice }.
18ft + leader...... { again 5lb Fulling mill is fine for this as your not pulling }.
Leaded 4 legged app's bloodworm on the point, and a pinky on the dropper. Let the flies ' bite ' into the water before a steady/jerky figure of eight retrieve.

There's plenty of other method's out there but these flies were made for this time of the year and are more often than not deadly.

__________________
www.te-ff.org/
Trout Fisherman Magazine.
Hardy/Greys. Fulling Mill.

Sounds like the fish are following your fly and not making up its mind until you lift and start to recast when it pounces. Perhaps if you speed up your retrieve occasionally it might induce a take. When you get to the end of your retrieve slowly lift the flies in the water and hang them for a second.
Detecting bites will come with experience but i find it hard if flies tripping along the bottom on retrieve - if you can catch in midwater or on dries your not doing much wrong. The other thing to check your fly isnt bumping over gravel and getting blunt.

hi and hello to you all.
present set up is a Greys platinum xd 9`6" 7weight.
reel is a greys grx. line is snowbee xs. wf7. ivory. leader 12` of sight free 6lb fluro for wets also have a Di3 which I have`nt used yet.
also a 9` 5 weight fladen vantage for dry fly.using various copolymer leaders
I took up fly fishing when I became a member of this club 4 yrs ago.
Always been hit and miss for me but i love the place.
spent the first year learning to cast so that probably sent every fish to the other side of the lake.lol
tend to use figure of 8 retrieve or steady stop start pulls.
I suspect I am missing takes trough not keeping in touch with the fly
(my pipe keeps going out) only place I am allowed to smoke now days.
I have asked and been helped by other members so hopefully between them and your good selves I hope to do better this season.
rgds.d duck