Category: Fly Fishing for Trout

Trout flies are artificial imitations of food trout eat with a fishing hook in them. They are fished using a fly rod and fly line. The more the trout fly looks and acts like the real food the trout are eating, the more effective it is in catching them. Trout flies can also be artificial imitations of things trout want to kill or move out of the way to protect their territory or eggs during the spawn.

Trout flies have been around for many years. Fly fishing is an ancient sport. Records show Romans in
200 AD used flies to catch trout. History also shows trout flies were use in England and Scotland
beginning in the 17th century. Tenkara, a Japanese method of fishing flies can be traced to the 19th
century.

Some trout flies look almost identical to the food item they are intended to imitate and others don’t look much like anything that exist in nature. Most seasoned fly anglers are aware that the effectiveness of a fly not only depends on its appearance, or how well it matches the real food, but also how well it imitates the behavior or movement of the real food. In other words, a fly made from solid metal that its a perfect replications of the natural food usually isn’t near as effective as one that imitates the actual movement or behavior of the real food. To be most effective, trout flies should both match the appearance and the behavior of the real food.

Notice the word “fly”, as in “trout flies”, indicates an insect. Most trout flies imitate insects; however, trout flies can also imitate other types of trout food such as minnows, baitfish, sculpin, worms, crustaceans and other aquatic types of food. So, trout flies imitate a variety of food trout eat, not just insects.

Trout flies imitate two basic types of insects – aquatic insects and terrestrial insects. So not only do they imitate things such as mayfly and stonefly nymphs that are born and raised in the water, they imitate insects such as grass hoppers that only accidentally get into the water.

Trout flies are roughly classified as dry flies, nymphs and streamers, but there are many other types of
trout flies. Some fly shops and fly manufacturers lump trout flies that imitate larvae and pupae under
nymphs, but that is gradually changing and those with a better knowledge of insects are correctly
classifying them as larvae, pupae and adult flies.

Some trout flies are also classified as attractor or searching flies. Those type of flies don’t imitate any
specific food, but attempt to imitate a variety of foods that look and behave similarly.

You will see trout fly ads that boast the flies are “hand tied”. That is certainly true advertising but I have yet to see a trout fly tied by a machine. As far as I know all fishing flies are tied by humans. I know for a fact “Perfect Fly” trout flies are all tied by hand.

Copyright James Marsh 2014

One of the most frequent type of questions we get at Perfect Fly during the hot summer months relates to how warm water temperatures affects trout and trout fishing. First of all, anytime you are fly fishing for trout in either cold or hot weather conditions, you should have a thermometer along with you. Knowing the water temperature can be very important for several reasons. It’s best to always have one with you. By the way, there are both analog and digital thermometers. The best types are the digital models.

One of the first things we advise anglers to do is to fish early in the mornings when the water temperatures are the coolest. By early, we mean from not long after sunrise to about 9:00 AM. This is earlier than most fly anglers get up in the mornings but it may be the only time the trout are active and the only time you can catch them without adding undue stress.

In the early mornings, the low water temperatures and low light conditions are usually favorable. When the water temperature is around sixty-eight degrees F., there’s nothing wrong with fly fishing for trout but you need to know the warmer temperature of the water does affect the trout. In general, when water reaches the high sixties it becomes much more difficult to catch trout. This is especially true if there is low water conditions which are often associated with warmer than normal water temperatures. .

Low water conditions can be responsible for the water temperatures rapidly changing. It takes less time for shallow water to adjust towards the air temperatures than it does deep water.

Another handy item of equipment that helps out in most fly fishing situations involving warm water conditions is a GPS. They can provide the elevation. Higher elevations almost always have cooler water. Of course, you don’t need a GPS with elevation data to get to higher elevations of the streams you are fishing. It’s just good practice to know just how the elevation changes affect the water temperatures for future reference. We always have a handheld GPS handy.

Another question we often get is “at what water temperature should anglers stop fishing for trout”. Provided reasonable care is taken, there’s nothing wrong with catching trout on the fly with water temperatures up to the low seventies if you care to try. The problem is, it probably won’t be easy. When temperatures reach the low seventies, the fish almost cease feeding. The problem isn’t the water temperature as such. It’s the low oxygen levels associated with the warm water.

The temperature of the water and the oxygen content are inversely proportional. It doesn’t change on a straight line basis. It changes on a sharp curve. The higher the water temperature, the lower the oxygen level.

Studies done on the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park have shown that when the water is in the low seventies, the trout will actually lose weight. They simply don’t feed as much. The solution is to find cooler water, but if you insist fishing in water in the high sixties or low seventies (which we do not recommend because of the increased difficulty), find the highly oxygenated areas of the water – water falls, plunges, etc.

Regarding the question of whether or not it hurts the fish to catch them in water as high as let’s say seventy degrees, the answer is no – not if reasonable care is taken. By that we mean, if the fish is released quickly after being caught, they should be fine. When water temperatures are in the low seventies, it’s best to leave the fish alone. The point at which high temperatures can hurt the fish varies from species to species, area to area and exactly how much stress is put on the fish during the catch and release. As a general rule, we would say that when the water is close to seventy degrees, it is best to stop fishing.  

Some believe that trout caught in warm water swim off and then die. That’s possible of course, but not probable. When a fish that is overextended, so to speak, revives and swims off, it’s usually fine. Don’ try to revive them. Just release them quickly. What does hurt the fish, especially at high water temperatures (and air temperatures after being caught) is keeping them out of the water a long time.  Far worse is mistreating them. I see photos all the time where people have laid trout on the ground (usually by their rod) and photographed them. That’s not good.

All fish have a slimy coating on them that helps protect them. It helps prevent fungus for one thing. It’s easily removed from their outer body. Handling them with dry hands and/or a dry landing net can do it. Always wet your hands and net before landing fish. Laying them on the ground or any dry object can remove portions of it.

We should also mention that you should not fight a fish a long time on ultra light tippets under warm water conditions as this adds to the stress. If a large trout is caught and fought for a long time, it can be easily over stressed. So, it’s possible to do that. If you go early, check the water temperature, and fish at higher elevations, you can do well in most marginal warm water situations. Just use common sense and take care of the fish.