My tip for fly fishing for smallmouth bass this month–crayfish patterns. We now have the largest populations of crayfish in our rivers I’ve every seen. In the 2-3 feet water over cobblestone stream bottoms along the river banks, I see crayfish with every step.
Plan to wade down the river fifty feet out from the bank and cast a Murray’s Olive Crayfish size 6 straight in toward the bank so it lands a foot from the bank. Use a line hand stripping retrieve that swims it along the cobblestones four inches every 5 seconds. Wade slowly down the river pausing every two feet to repeat the tactic as you wade down the river.
Fly Fishing for Trout
During the first half of July, the Green Sedge Olive Caddis are hatching in good numbers. I match these with a Mr. Rapidan Delta Wing Caddis, Olive size 14 & 16. Fish these upstream dead drift with a gentle twitching action into the fast water right below the riffles. At dusk many of these caddis drop their eggs into the stream. Listen to my podcast for more information.
Don’t overlook fly fishing for trout with beetle and ant patterns. I continue to use these throughout the summer and they seldom let me down.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS