On Monday I was fishing a small river that runs through a town. The fish in this stretch of river, both coarse and game are amongst the most challenging I have fished for. If these fish see you, game over. Not only that but the fly life is not particularly prolific and at some parts there is a tendency towards a bread diet.

Now my point is, twice that day whilst I was trying to stalk fish, I had my fly (which was a size 16 shrimp) and a length of line downstream of me, being kept out of the way by the current, a trout took the fly as it was dragging against the current at the surface. These fish were in water I had just waded through and were possibly fish that I had just tried to catch but completely ignored a free drifting fly and then headed downstream spooked.

What on earth possess a fish to ignore a properly presented fly, to a point where it gets spooked and then takes a fly dragging against the current, being held stationary against the flow.

Anyone else have any similar experiences?

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"Water is peculiar stuff. It circulates mysteriously, rising invisibly from the sea as vapour, forming clouds, falling as rain, creating streams and rivers that return again to the sea. You can swallow it in sips, but it can swallow you whole if you fall into a deep place. You can't catch hold of it, but it can catch hold of you, even if you just look at it."

That's why our sport is named "fishing" as opposed to "catching"

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

Maybe your waders were stirring up shrimp from the bottom and the fish were following you for a quick meal - your imitation just might have been in the right place at the right time for the fish to be fooled into taking it

StickMan

Pretty stupid animals if you ask me - trout that is

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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*****©(

Exactly what I was thinking. You were stirring up the bottom and releasing nymphs and other aquatic goodies that were floating downstream.

On the Bighorn river in Wyoming, the insect and worm life on the bottom is so prolific that you can actually cause a downstream feeding frenzy just by shuffling your feet and stirring up the bottom. This is called "doing the Bighorn Shuffle" and it's considered an unsporting tactic because it's so effective. You would think the trout would be put down by the cloud of mud and gunk that it raises, but it's the opposite and an unsporting angler can take advantage by flipping a san juan worm or nymph into the fray and a hookup will surely follow.

BTW, I should add that if you're seen doing this deliberate bottom-stirring on many rivers in the western US, you will be shouted at and verbally abused mercilessly for about an hour. Both you and your parentage will be called names so creative that you'll be amazed.

Grouse

Hmm, not entirely convinced but it's plausible. I felt quite deflated when I caught them and couldn't draw any satisfaction from catching them how I did.

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"Water is peculiar stuff. It circulates mysteriously, rising invisibly from the sea as vapour, forming clouds, falling as rain, creating streams and rivers that return again to the sea. You can swallow it in sips, but it can swallow you whole if you fall into a deep place. You can't catch hold of it, but it can catch hold of you, even if you just look at it."

Trout are like women..........you'll never fully understand them.

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www.paypalsucks.com

or know how to seduce them

Easy to seduce them, just buy a Ferrari !!!!

Uh oh....someones got a **** like a cocktail sausage...

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