Rain, Brookies and dries

[Dancing Bear]

Yesterday I went to my new favorite Smokies stream. It was raining when I headed out and it kept raining until I was walking back to the truck. The stream is one that has just opened up. I went to it for the first time last month and the vegatation on the banks looked like no one has been there since then. I had never fished dries in the rain but I thought I would give it a try. It was alot of work to keep them floating but it was worth the effort. I started with a beetle and got some rises and missed a couple. I then switched to a #16 yellow sally. I picked up a few fish but not like on the first trip. I had caught a few before on a #16 foam black ant so I tied one on again. That was the ticket. At times it rained so hard that you couldn't see the fly and you had to set the hook when there was a bigger splash than what the rain drops were making. I kept changing the fly to keep it floating. It was a 20+ fish day and most were keeper size. It was a blast. Brookies love ants.

[David Knapp]

It sounds like you had a great day. You've gotta love those brookies and their willingness to take a dry all day long 8-). I can't wait to get up there in a couple of weeks for a few days and explore some of those new streams. Thanks for the report!

[softhackle]

Had a very similar day last May on a brook trout stream in central Wisconsin. I caught 30+ brookies in a steady rain using dry flies. There must be something to trout fishing and rain.