So the idea of matching the hatch is a new one on me since I restarted fly fishing this year so this question maybe seems a bit daft...

How can I tell whats hatching?

I went up to the loch for a quick look last night and as it was so calm and smooth I could see a sort of slick of little bits, the fish were rising like crazy around the edges of it and i guess it was the remnants from the days hatch blown together by the wind and I could see plenty bugs coming from it. But it was too far from the edge to see what they were.

Only had 1/2 an hr before it got dark and ended up resorting to guesswork

The debris at the edge is usually made up of the shucks from hatching insects. You need to catch a hatched adult and compare it to illustrations in a good entomology book. I would recommend a pocket book by John Goddard called "Waterside Guide".

BK

Ah so my assumption was right - just didn't know the word "shucks"
So its the catching the hatched adult thats the prob - the edge of the "slick" was to far from the edge of the loch to try to catch one- I could barely cast to it.
But I guess the adults would be coming onto land so maybe be a bit more observant of insects around the bank?
Seen lots of Alder flys round the loch recently but that doesn't necessarily mean thats whats hatching does it?

Fish were going bonkers on the river here as well. You could match the hatch as much as you liked and not catch a fishy. They were taking the nymphs

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Time is a stream I go fishing in.

hmmm that opens another can of worms!
I've been reading about differentiating between different types of rises but cant say that I recognise them yet!
So if they aren't taking insects from the surface, matching the hatch is irrelevent?
Should I be aiming to "match the nymph"

For me, in my limited way, I just try to present something half reasonable to the fish, dry or wet. Getting the size and shade right is just as important as being species specific IMHO.

The nymph can be a spontaneous take from a fish, the flash or bead often 'induces the take' so the fish doesn't analyse it so much.



I should add that I dont fish still waters.

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Time is a stream I go fishing in.

As for nymphs a ptn with a bead and grhe size 14 do the trick for me you could also try fishing spiders.As has been said before get the size and colour right you wont go far wrong.