Put yourself into the fishes mind-set.
At an all you can eat buffet, is the longest line in front of the salads/jello? No way, the guy carving the prime rib has the longest line.
Fish are the same way. Look at each run and break it down. The biggest fish got that way because they are at the front of the line. Fish do not like to spend a lot of energy getting their food and the hogs are the best at this. Look at the spots where a hog might be able to use very little energy to move into the feeding lane, eat and move back with very little effort.
Hogs also have the best "houses", under the cut bank, under the log, behind a bump in the surface water (means there is a boulder on the bottom).
I know I sound crazy saying to think like a fish. Many clients I have guided thought the same thing when I told them this, but after a day on the water together they relized I was right.
And by the way I am crazy.
Fatguide,
you have a very good point. there is a old saying bigger fish eat bigger baits.... this being said, those hogs didnt get that big by eating just tiny gnats, ants, nymphs,...etc. as they got bigger their forage got bigger.
Rover mentioned that
One thing I have found works is when the hatch is off , use streamers. Also sometimes a large fish isn't going to bother moving for a small meal so bigger sized flies often produce bigger fish. Lastly, don't be afraid to use Trigger Flies. (Flies that a big fish will bite out of territorial defense, not appetite.)
. This is also true when its spring and the fish are "bedded" up, you are more likely to trigger a defensive strike throwing a larger pattern across the bed, than you would if it was late fall. I dont really know much about the habits of trout. but i do know that a big fish isnt going to waste energy chasing a few morsels, when a larger meal will take less energyto catch and provide more nourishment.
Mike,
If the fish in the stretch of stream you are fishing are eating a specific insect, try a bigger fly in the same pattern.for example if the average fish is being caught on a #16 then come up to a #14 or #12. you will see that you will still be catching average sized fish but they might be getting progressively larger. I posted a thread in the saltwater section of the forum titled redfeeesh. that day I caught several "rats" (redfish that are not in the slot limit 18"-27"), I started with a #6 and finished with a #2 red and white clouser. the end result was 2 keeper redfish, 1 was 23" and the other was 26 1/2". dont get me wrong i was still catching rats but they were getting bigger each time. the larger fish are going to stake their clame to prime realestate, that might be held tight to the eddie side of the boulder in the middle of the stream, or under a fallen tree, or even tucked up under an overhanging bank or rocky outcrop. target the areas that you think will be likely places to hold big fish and make you presentation.
