Damn nice fish and sculpins Hardy, how do you fish those big things?
That looks like the common size for the north shore as well. 3 to 3.6 inches
---------- Post added at 11:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 PM ----------
I'd use sculpin or leech patterns in about 4-6 in length. Colors of olive or black.
Some smaller 2-4 inch "minnow" patterns. Colors in white or pearl.
I don't know if its legal in MN but in WI we can use 2 flies at a time.
a very effective method when swinging flies is to have 1st fly a bigger minnow/sculpin/leech pattern and about 2 ft trailer tie on yarn egg or a nymph.
There are times when the fish are really keying in on eggs. They will readily hit a swung egg contrary to what everyone says about fishing eggs. In fact I have caught fish on stripped eggs!!
I know I have had days when everything I've caught have been on the trailer eggs/nymphs.
Spring time especially you'll notice the "egg" bite before or during spawning time. After they spawn and start dropping back then the minnow patterns in white/pearl are killer.
In the fall if you have heavy salmon runs eggs will be good for awhile then till ice up LARGE flys work well.
But ALWAYS if you get no action on thing try something else.. Like I said else where, swing, twitch, strip, big fly, small fly, dark fly, light fly. Never know what will tickle a fishes fancy. I don't think patterns matter a whole lot. Mostly size and the way you fish it.
Oh man, in depth. In my experience patterns, size, color all of it matters where I fish. I`ve caught a lot of fish on snelled glo yarn flies and then they want none of it. Put on a big marabou fly or black bugger and they hammer it.
Orange they love it and then you can`t hook anything, switch colors and find one they like and they hammer it. They only want that one color and that`s it.
It happens a lot they hit one fly the best. I`m just expanding my fly library.
I have been on both ends of I`m hooking fish one after another and everyone is trying to see what I`m fishing because not a bite or fish for them and I`ve watched guys hook fish after fish and I went home with nothing. Not a bite.
Water temps, time of the run, time of day theres a lot to it.
When it`s really cold, I wait till oh say 11:30- noon, everybody is fighting for turf at this one good area at sunrise. They fish and catch a few but eventually they are all hungry, cold or frustrated and leave for food and warmth.
I show up at noon rested, warm and full with fish starting to jump the falls, the river warming and no one around, and they bite very well usually when they are active and on the move.
They do like eggs first and that`s what most people do a small yarn egg. I tie some streamers with glow yarn and regular materials that work well early. I like flashy flies early, good sized with slow presentations when its cold.
These two work well early but not fun to cast even on a 8 weight. Those days are over.
, if he even knows....
