Wooly Bugger
Trout Fishing with Dry Flies in lake.?
OK, I'm new to Fly Fishing and have fished lakes for Bluegill and Bass. I've also fished rivers for Trout. Now I have to new one. The Department of Conservation is going to release Rainbow Trout in 6 lakes close to my house for a Winter Fishing Program. Three of the lakes are for Fly Fishing only. Pretty Cool! Anyway how to you go about fishing lakes for Trout? Can I use dry flies like I do in rivers? How do you fish a Dry Fly in still water? Should I go with a streamer like a Woolly Bugger and not use a dry fly? Float a nymph or glo ball under a strike indicator?
Yeah, this sounds like a great program -- stocked rainbows in a fly-fishing only lake!? Please tell me where!
In any case, yes, you can fish stillwater with dries, nymphs, streamers, and other flies. Most of the forage available in a trout stream is found in lakes, and many prey items may be more abundant in a lake. There are just a couple things you have to consider.
First, in stillwater, trout have a chance to be more selective and skeptical, so you've got to sharpen up when it comes to matching the hatch. You can understand why. The fish can swim up to your fly, check it out, sniff it, consult his friends about it, etc., before deciding whether to hit it. The fly really has to look right.
Second, you've got more water to cover -- it's much more difficult to decide where to fish in a lake, especially if there is no obvious rise or hatch. This is probably going to work best from a canoe or boat. Even when fish are rising close to shore, I have more success casting into shore from the water than casting from the shore or wading.
So, the first approach is matching the hatch and casting to rising fish. When you do this on a quick-moving stream, you match the fly more or less and you hopefully catch fish. You can sometimes get lazy on your presentation, too -- you can sloppily whip down the fly 10 feet upstream from the fish you're casting to and let the fly drift down. On a lake, you have to up your game. You have to match the presentation -- if the hatch makes little rings on the water, you've have to make the same rings. If the hatch doesn't disturb the surface, neither can you. When casting to rising fish, place your fly in rise rings or between two rise rings if possible. Trout hate to move too far for food, so if they see meals in the place, they'll often turn around and take the next meal. Start with the water closest to you and move outward -- don't scare away fish that are 15 feet away by casting to risers 40 feet away. If you see obvious refusals, change flies. Try different sizes, colors, and patterns. Try emerger and nymph patterns -- try a dry with a nymph dropper, or a dry with an emerger point fly. Try two dries of slightly different color, size, or whatever. Be creative.
If there is no surface action, things are more difficult. In a stream, fish hold in place and watch for forage to come to them on the current. In a lake, trout have to patrol, moving in circuits around the lake, hunting for food. If you observe carefully you can see this happening, especially if you have waders or if you can get out in the water. You can spot trout moving past, the same direction every time. What you want to do is imitate the prey items the trout are likely to find -- scuds, crawfish, bait fish, leeches, wind-downed insects, etc. Get down in the water and try to determine what's available. Kick the weeds and turn over rocks. An aquarium net is good for finding what's there. Match the forage you find. With scud nymphs and baitfish streamers, give the fly some action, stripping it across the trout's line of travel in a way that's realistic. Panicked baitfish move quick and far. Scuds move more slowly. With leaches, you can dead drift. A strike indicator is handy here, but you can also use a big, buoyant fly like a hopper, or beetle. And if you're going to hang a nymph under a strike indicator, might as well hang two -- for instance, a big Bunny Leech with a tiny nymph dropper, or a black Woolly Bugger with light-colored Hare's Ear dropper. On big lakes you can use three flies (or more?). Again, get creative, don't get stuck on a single fly, presentation, or area.
On last thing. Lakes and ponds will often hatch out very small midges, and they'll hatch every few days all through the year from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. These will be tiny flies, but you can imitate their mating clumps with #18-22 Griffith's Gnats. I have found this method to be VERY productive in winter (on rivers and lakes) when other forage gets scarce. Such flies are hard to tie on, hard to see, and hard to set, but fish them enough and you'll get the hang of it. I usually just cast out and can't see exactly where the fly is, but I just pull on any nearby rise. Even wild browns will fall for a very small fly -- seems like the smaller the forage, the easier it is to fool the fish.
All right... I've rambled long enough. Hope you have some success. Good luck and tight lines to you!
 FLY FISHING FLIES 24 WOOLY BUGGER BEAD HEAD STREAMER FLIES IN 4 COLORS s8 12  US $9.99
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 WOOLY BUGGER BLOW OUT US $6.95
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 6 Bead Head Black Wooly Buggers Sizes 81012 flies fly fishing fly tying US $5.00
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 Lrg CH Wooly Bugger Assortment size 6 Black Purple Olive Brown US $5.50
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 HACKLE FLASH WOOLY BUGGER CRAPPIE TROUT BASS FLYS SIZE 6 L 2 US $1.49
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 13 PC WOOLY BUGGER PANFISH TROUT BASS V 3 US $2.25
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 6 PCBROWN WOOLY BUGGER PANFISH TROUT BASS V 4 US $1.99
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 6 PCCREAM WOOLY BUGGER PANFISH TROUT BASS SIZE 12 V 5 US $1.99
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 3 PCBLACK WOOLY BUGGER PANFISH TROUT BASS SIZE 6 V 9 US $.99
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 Wooly Bugger black 12 pack 12 flies bhchpl US $9.30
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 10 Olive Wooly Bugger Fly Fishing Flies 10 US $15.72
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 Gold Head Long Shank Nymphs 8 x Variations Qty x3 US $2.17
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 Brown Wooly Bugger Fly Fishing Fly One Hook 8 Fly US $.99
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 8 Bead Olive Wooly Bugger Fly Fishing Flies 46810 US $15.72
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 CHOICE White Black Olive Peacock Mini Wooly Bugger Fly US $9.95
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 Dark Olive Wooly Bugger 1 doz size 4 US $8.00
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 OLIVE SPECKLE WOOLY BUGGERS BEADS HEADS FLY FISHING FLIES SIZE 12 US $2.65
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 BROWN WOOLY BUGGERS BEADS HEADS FLY FISHING FLIES SIZE 12 US $2.65
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 12 Pack Trout Fly Wooly Bugger Black Nymph Size 10 US $5.93
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 Bead Head Wooly Bugger Trout Fly Sz 10 3 Flies Olive US $3.00
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 Fishwest Flies Closeout Wooly Bugger Assortment 3 doz US $15.83
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 Long Shank Nymphs 7 x Variations Available Qty x3 US $1.82
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 WHITE WOOLY BUGGER PANFISH TROUT STREAMER FLYS SIZE 10 O 8 US $1.25
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 Dark Olive Wooly Bugger 1 doz size 12 US $8.00
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 Medium Olive Wooly Bugger 1 doz size 12 US $6.00
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 Peacock Wooly Bugger Guide Fly Big Trout Fly Fishing US $9.99
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 Olive Wooly Bugger Fly Fishing Fly One Hook Size 6 Fly US $.99
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Olive the Woolly Bugger - Plastic Fly Box
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DescriptionGreat fly box - Fantastic looks, functionality, and great value. River Camo Plastic Fly Box - Olive the Wooly Bugger Trout pattern. quantity one Over two hundred foam slots for flies Box won't come open until you open it with the clasp fastener... Features
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Olive the Little Woolly Bugger (Olive Flyfishing)
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DescriptionChildrens Book - Fly Fishing Fly fishing Features
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True Love and the Woolly Bugger
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Description"True Love and the Woolly Bugger is a thoroughly amusing, manic, and perversely informative book about fishing in several of its most mutant forms." -Tom McGuane"Dave Ames's book . . . is good-natured fun, filled with insight, a passion for what honest fly fishing really is... |
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Olive and the Big Stream (Olive Flyfishing)
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DescriptionChildrens Book - Fly Fishing fly fishing Features
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Patagonia Roger That Hat
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DescriptionPatagonia Roger That Hat Features
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Wooly Bugger Trout Fly Fishing Flies Collection - 18 Flies
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DescriptionWhat a fish catching pattern! This collection consists of 18 flies in tried-and-true colors and materials. Included are the following Fly Patterns in various sizes: 3 Bead Head Black Flashabuggers, 3 Bead Head Olive Flashabuggers, 3 Bead Head Brown Flashabuggers, 3 Black Wooly Buggers, 3 Olive Wooly Buggers, and 3 Brown Wooly Buggers... Features
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Bead Head Wooly Bugger Size: 10; Color: Olive
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DescriptionThe Bead Head Wooly Bugger is a popular pattern effective on all types of gamefish including bass Trout Steelhead and salmon. This pattern is available in 3 sizes and colors. We offer this pattern in the traditional colors black olive and white. Features
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Black Wooly Bugger Fly by Wild Water, Size 10, Qty. 3
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Features
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Mayfly Dries
Bass Fly
Partridge Fly
Tied Flies
Bugger Fly
Dozen Black
Super Strong
Beads Premium
Nymphs Trout
Launch Series