The 5 Biggest Trout and the 5 Top Fly Patterns That May Have Tricked Them.

2015 has been a great year of trout fishing in southwestern Virginia thus far. The waters I frequent with my anglers have produced a few good fish through the years but this year has been abnormally off the chain. Is it the lack of angling pressure, superb management, wetter than usual winter or a combination of all of these factors? Who cares. We are consistently netting fish that are arguably some of  the largest trout being caught in the southeast/mid-Atlantic United States. Goliath hold-over fish that are flourishing in a massive spring creek with an absurd bio-mass. They are obviously at the top of the food chain. Jurassic Spring is alive and well! Book your day for a chance of a gator of a lifetime. Orvis Endorsed Guide, Dave Hise.

Dr. Joe w/ a gator. Look at that head.

Bryan w/ a hog.

Bryan w/ another.

Yours truly w/ an arse whooper.

Matt w/ a beaut.

I know, I said 5 but couldn't pick so here's a 6th. Glenn looking stoic.

Enough with the fish. Below are the flies that have produced the most fish; day in and day out, year in and year out. Why change it if its not broken? Tying is a great past time and I love to create at the bench but when it comes to the stream, simplicity is often best.

Squirmito- the Original Squirmy Wormie

Mopchu Picchu

Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It. The number 1 big fish producer in any condition.

Circa 1991. The Hetero-genius Nymph.

Epeorus Stoneclinger Nympf.

Squirmito Cluster.

Mopchu doing work.

Step By Step Wiggler Variant Fly Pattern

This is a simple Step By Step of the Wiggler Variant. The Wiggler Variant is a tried and true burrowing mayfly/small minnow imitation that is excellent for trout, steelhead, carp and/or bass, It is simple and quick so give it a try.

A perfect hook for the biggest, strongest fish- Daiichi 1530

Create a thread base and end up at the bend of the hook

Select 2 or 3 Grizzly Marabou feathers for the tail and back

Secure the Grizzly Marabou Feathers in place at the bend with tight pinch wraps

Secured in place and make a funny face

Ice Dub (UV lt. yellow is a favorite) rules for certain applications and nymphs are one of these

Create an Ice Dub thread cord 

OOPS! Forgot to tie in Bead Chain Eyes

Advance your dubbing cord to behind the eyes

Lay down the butt ends of the Grizzly Marabou to behind the Bead Chain Eyes

Mix a clump of Hare'e Ice Dub (golden brown) and Krystal Dub (hare's ear)

Create dubbing cord and wrap behind, criss-cross between and in front of the eyes

Whip finish 

Brush out head and underbody with a dubing brush or pick

Clean around the eye with one of the coolest fly tying tools around, the Cautery

Coat the head with Deer Creek UV Resin (its actually tack free)

Cure the Deer Creek UV Resin with the Deer Creek Pro Torch

Complete!

Best Trout Flies for Late Winter in the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast US

There is a plethora of patterns that can be used for trout during the late winter/early spring in the mid-Atlantic/southeast US. It is the time of the year that many different aquatic insects are scurrying about along our freestone river/spring creek bottoms while few are fluttering about. BWO's, midges and little winter black stones are the primary insects we see on a day to day basis but we're about to transition into a period of a multitude of insects, like early black stones, larger BWO's, March browns, crane flies and grey caddis, to name a few. Water temps are still on the marginal side so most of our productive flies will be subsurface. With the exception of tailwaters, the hatches on most of our freestone streams are sporadic at best; therefore, surface action is usually minimal. I said usually for those skeptics.  

That being said, we only need to have less than a dozen patterns of varying sizes in our boxes at any given time. Below are a few productive patterns that will help bring more fish in the net.

Hise's Hetero-genius Nymph has proven to be productive since 1991 and it covers the attractor/imitator realm (sz. 14-18) 

Edward's Little Winter Black Stonefly covers the smaller late winter/early spring stonefly nymphs realm (sz. 12-18)

BH Hare's Ear is a great imitation of the lighter bodied spring insects that are soon to come; hendrickson's, March browns, caddis and crane flies (sz. 8-16)

Squirmito- the Original Squirmy Wormie is a great imitation of the Tubifex tubifex worms that are found in the silty waterways of the southeast

Quasimoto Pheasant Tail covers the multitude of baetis and darker bodied mayflies that are so prevalent in the spring (sz. 12-18)

Tunghead Zebra Midge works all year but is particularly productive in the winter and spring when the midge s are so prevalent (sz. 20-24)

Y2K Egg Fly is productive throughout the year because plain and simple we like eggs and trout like eggs (sz. 12-14) 

Camden's Baetis is a great little pattern that covers the realm of tiny baetis, midge larva and even little winter stones (sz. 18-20)

Hise's Ooey Gooey Grub is a great pattern for imitating caddis larva, bee larva, wasp larva and cranefly larva (sz. 8-14)

Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It catches a lot of big fish in any water condition

Whiting Farms Genetic Hackle Is NICE- Articulated Coffin Fly Spinner SBS

Create a thread base on a 4XLong Straight Eye Hook, like a Daiichi 1750

Moose Body

Secure a small clump at the rear of the hook (I think thats a reflection on my nose :-)

Secure a Whiting Farms Saddle Feather

Grab a clump of Deer Body

Use a Hair Stacker to even out a clump of Deer Body

Pinch clump to prepare for tie in

Pinch wrap the clump in place at the bend of the hook

Palmer the thread forward through the Deer Body to create a segmented body

Clip the fibers at the eye and make a funny face

Palmer the Saddle Hackle forward within each segmentation, tie off and add a small drop of Deer Creek UV Resin

Cure the Deer Creek UV Resin with the Deer Creek Pro Torch

Prepare the junction with Mono (remember, at some point we're cutting the hook point off of the rear hook)

Insert the forward hook into the vise jaws (straight eye style)

Create a thread base on the front hook

Pass a length of Monofilament through the eye of the rear hook, double it over and secure it along the shank of the front hook

Tie in a clump of Prime CDC Feathers (a combination of 4 to 5 black and natural dun)

Add another clump of CDC to the opposite side (a combination of 4 to 5 black and natural dun)

Advance the thread to the rear of the front hook; select a Whiting Neck Hackle Feather

Secure the Whiting Neck Hackle in place at the bend; grab a patch of Deer Belly Hair

Select a clump from the patch of Deer Body Hair and use the hair evener to even the clump

Secure the Deer Belly clump in place at the rear of the front hook, leaving the tips as a small tail that overlies the hook junction

Create a dubbing thread cord with Superfine Dry Dubbing and wind it behind, around and in front of the CDC wings

Palmer the Whiting Farms Neck Hackle and secure behind the eye; trim away the top fibers before laying the Deer Body clump over the top and to the eye; keep the bobbin near the eye of the hook

Lay the Deer Belly clump forward and secure it on top the hook to the aft of the hook eye, whip finish, then trim away the excess

Apply a small glob of Deer Creek UV Resin and cure it to lock everything in place at the eye

Complete

IPA Time

Most of us are familiar with articulated nymphs and streamers but very few dry flies incorporate this technique. It provides added realism and movement to any dry fly as it does to nymphs and streamers. Im not sure of the exact history of articulations in flies but Carl Richards and Doug Swisher had a way of  "articulating things" close to 50 years ago. Try it!