North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine September 2018 | Page 11

Skunks, Spades, Macks Canyons, Freight
Trains, Brazilians, Lady Carolines and on and
on and on.
The traditional bugs that sit in fly bins will all
work but it’s up to you to find the patterns
that you have confidence in. What’s really
interesting is finding the secrets of each
individual river. You may find that fish in
one river are more apt to take flies that have
peacock while others can’t stay off flies with
blue eared pheasant in them, or various other
color and material combos. On top of that, it
changes from day to day. It’s all part of the fun.
Once you find the right pattern, another
important factor that requires your attention
will be the water temperature. Early season
temperatures in the 45 to 60-degree range
allow the fish to rise through the water to take
bugs in any section of the water column. Sub
45-degree water starts to influence a fish’s
metabolism and reduces their want to rise. As
the season progresses, and water temperatures
dip below the 40-degree range, it’s a good
bet to drop your flies closer to the bottom and
include more profile and sometimes flash to
induce a strike.
A caveat to paying attention to water
temperature is the consistency of temperatures.
Drastic spikes up or down in temperatures
greatly influence a fish’s mood and willingness
to take. Once, in the span of two days, I
witnessed a 10-degree drop where we had to
immediately put our dryline methods away,
add sink tips and put on bugs like intruders,
hobo speys and fish tacos. At the same time,
a consistent temperature regime will allow for
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