Mo Moths

[Rob G]

Started tying some elk hair caddis and wondered if I tied these on a larger size 10 2x long and split the wings, then just maybe a smallie would be interested if I were to splat these things along the river's edge underneath a tree or bush. Kind of a moth imitation. As Timothy always says, "anybody can take a smallie on a woolly bugger or Clouser but if you want to prove yourself to me, then show me something else you can catch them on" ha ha, hopefully this one's for you T.

 

 

[Gary L]

If that don't catch a bunch of Smallies somethings wrong. That bug twitched on the surface under a tree or bush or in a eddy is gonna get nailed for sure.

[Mark K]

Rob. Nice job. That's a great looking fly.

 

I've messed around with similar flies, and they are a little too delicate. I think under most circumstances a more durable popper (dderhair, foam, cork, whatever) does as good or better of a job. And they float a lot easier.

For the most part smallies aren't particular enough to require dry flies.

 

However, I've been on the Kankakee when a mayfly hatch starts and the fish literally go crazy. They bust the surface everywhere around you. Judging by how aggresive the fish are, one would think they would hit pretty much anything. Not so, in my experience. However, this was in my pre- flyfishing days so all I had was regular topwater in hand. It got totally ignored.

 

Under such circumstances I think your fly (or something similar) would get eaten big time. This video somewhat demonstrates such a hatch:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MByG-n86_UE

[Rob G]

Mark,

thanks for digging up the video as that really gets the juices flowing, especially on a day like today when we're getting pelted with snow. I'm hoping the smallies will test the fragility of the fly for me but in my tub test, splitting the wing definitely adds to its buoyancy and along with a little dry treatment or silicone, I'm hoping to keep it in the film longer.

[Steve S.]

The caddis fly evening bite runs just about all summer too on Midwest rivers. I think those flies would do well.

[John Loebach]

I had a first hand demo of the small dry fly pm bite on the Kank last year. I threw clousers into the seam with no results while Pete M. hit fish after fish by casting to risers along the same seam. I finally picked up a chaser when he was hooked up. Sometimes they don't want the bigger meal.

[Rob G]

John, I had the same thing happen to me many years ago on the Middlefork when a hatch occurred and I could see some real brutes coming up and roiling the water and yet they wouldn't hit any of my standards. I just happened to have one mayfly imitation in my box (for whatever reason I don't know) but they hammered that thing untill finally it was no more. Again I then tied on one of the more usual suspects but with no success. After that I almost always keep a few such flies with me. If nothing else, if the smallies aren't on, you can sometimes grab a few sunfish with them.

[Jim J]

quote from video

 

"just because you're fishing a mayfly hatch don't make the mistake of scaling down your tackle"

 

HA

[Mark K]

quote from video

 

"just because you're fishing a mayfly hatch don't make the mistake of scaling down your tackle"

 

HA

 

 

 

No especially in the current he is anchored in. You probably would not land the fish.

 

I think some kind of foam body would be a good fly for this situation. It would float easier, and if you could make the wings out of something synthetic it would be more durable. If you notice he skates the fly accross the surface. They never get a great look at it.

Course you could tie a half dozen Mo' moths. and be done with it.

 

I wish there was some kind of way to forecast those fly hatches. I would love to fish one. It was incredible, the amount of fish activity. Never seen anything like it my life.

 

 

 

Tim Landweir was talking about flying ant hatches in his spiel, when I saw him at the fly show last year.

[ronk]

While evening is the most likely time for a hatch they can happen anytime.A cupl years ago there was a huge midday white fly hatch on the Kank.Amazingly no fish activity occurred.I remember thinking that if this were a trout stream the water would be alive with feeding fish.Apparently there just weren't any fish around? While on the Kank it's the white fly on the Fox it's the caddis where carp key on them rather than smb.I usually have a few caddis dries just in case and begin targeting carp if a hatch occurs.Although I haven't witnessed any in recent years there used to be an occasional evening hatch of tiny #22-24 blue winged olives on the Dupe in late summe/early fall.Although they seemed to interest only the little smb it was fun to fish tiny dries to them for a change of pace.The river had a lot more carp back than(where did they all go?) and judging from the size of some of the rises they also fed on them to some extent though I never hit any.

[Guest airbornemike]

Try them caddis on carp to if you see em slurp'n the top