The natural habitat for the hellgrammite are beneath cobblestones on the bottom of the river, and their greatest concentrations are in the riffles and the well aerated runs below the riffles.
An exceptionally effective tactic and the method most anglers in my schools use to catch their largest bass is to fish this area by casting the Hellgrammite across stream below these riffles and crawl the fly slowly across the stream bottom. By gradually working your way across the stream or downstream, depending on the depth of the water, it is possible to show your Hellgrammite to every fish in front of you.
The advantage of this across and downstream tactic is that you can easily feel the strikes of the fish and can thus easily hook a high percentage of the strikes. The disadvantage is that unless you go to a fast sinking tip line you may not be able to get your nymph as deep as you would like it. If this is the case you can go to the upstream dead drifting tactic.
The mechanics are entirely different, for with the upstream dead drifting tactic you are wading upstream, casting upstream and detecting your strikes by seeing them on your indicator system.
The secret for success with this technique rest upon being able to instantly detect the fish’s strike when he picks up the nymph because in about one second he knows he’s made a mistake and ejects the fly. This instant strike detection is possible only if you keep a tight line from the nymph to the line hand throughout the drift. Remember, you must “see” the strike.
Steps to Fish a Hellgrammite
1. On the presentation cast do not allow the line to drop from the line hand, 2. Keep the line hand within six inches of the rod hand on the cast. 3. While the line is turning over in the air on the presentation cast place the line over the first or second finger of the rod hand and strip in all the slack line so you have a tight line to the nymph when it lands on the water. 4. Use long, smooth strips with your line hand to retrieve the line at the same rate the current is pushing the Hellgrammite back downstream. 5. Watch the Scientific Anglers Indicator on your leader very closely and instantly set the hook when you see the strike.
Want to Learn More??? Click HERE to read my article on how to fish and tie a Hellgrammite
If you don’t want to tie your own flies, then purchase our Murray’s Heavy Hellgrammite Assortment.