have had a rather dreary day fishing the other day alot of naturals were coming off and i couldnt get a bite on buzzers and other nymphs...

so what did i do to try and induce a take, straped on a di7 with a blob on point and a booby on the dropper.

to cut a long story short i ended up with 3 fish about 2-3lb each, so i was wondering was there any other ways to get these fish to take? so i put the question to you guys what do you recon?

cheers james

i usually match the hatch but make it larger than the natural, then target cruising fish. works for me, most of the time. jon.

not thought of that ... makes sense come to think of it cheers

aye stick on a bigger fly or else try one with a target point eg. if it was a black buzzer try one with orage cheeks or head. Can induce a take

Hello James, carry a small jar with you, catch a few insects then try to copy them for the next time, but on the day you were there big flies will distract some of the fish but not all.
Unless it was the Canis hatch?

Robbie

Bear in mind that sometimes we see the obvious and draw the wrong conclusion - ie we see loads of buzzer coming off and assume that's what the fish are feeding on. Only problem is that perhaps they aren't. Look and really look at what is going on. Did you miss those little sailboats on the water which are olives and it's the olive nymphs they are eating? Happens!

yup i went through my fly box with a vengence trying every sort of fly that was coming off maybe it is that sometimes something diffrent is better im looking at it like this when alot of fly life is on the water (and i dont meen a normal sized hatch it was litterally like a blizzard of flys) you have to put summat else on because the vast amount of fly life far outways your 3 nymphs i guess that when its like this to get an edge you do have to put something diffrent wether it be something a diffrent colour or something very bright and reletivly alot of bigger than that thats coming off

JC,

Re-reading your original post I get the impression that you were disappointed that you had to resort to lure tactics to catch. I have to ask the question whether you would have been happier to have blanked nobly on nymphs or adapted your tactics in order to get something out of the day.

The whole essence of going fishing and being successful is to be adaptable. I much prefer to fish my favourite water with a 5 weight and a team of buzzers or other nymphs, but sometimes it just doesn't work out and out will come the DI3 or whatever. I don't go home feeling fed up that the nymphs didn't work - just satisfied that Plan B did work. Next time the buzzers will work or I'll get them on dries - maybe - and that's the whole thing about fishing. It's the uncertainty. If we caught fish on our best method every time we'd soon get bored with it.

Can only echo both pieces of advice from Bob...first of all, beware masked hatches or less than obvious food sources like insect shucks (always amazes me that fish eat these); second, you don't call the shots, the fish do, and whatever works on the day is the right method. Develop a repertoire of dry fly, nymph, wet fly and lure skills you can draw on and don't obsess about any of them, all are valid.

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

I was fishing yesterday, and had the same problem, fish rising everywhere, tried everything, turned a couple over, but they were not really interested, it was obvious there was a big buzzer hatch on, did manage a couple on Spiders, but it was hard going,
Thought I had the answer a hopper on the tail, with a buzzer on front, but no interest,
Then a local angler turned up put on a intermediate and a Cats whisker, catching seven and losing three, I tried the same, and in five mins had a Five pounder.