# Help picking out some sinking flies to target deep n ga trout



## firebreather

Wen fishing the other day ,found lots of trout , to no avail I went back to the truck n got my tfo 9ft fly rod ,and threw everything in my fly box , only one would sink and that was a cricket looking fly ,but they didn't want it , these trout were in 18 in of water on the river floor , I even added some weight to my line 16 in up from my fly , but was thinking there are more sinking wet flies or nymphs I can order , any favorites that you'd recommend? I do know it's all about presentation


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## centerpin fan

My knowledge of trout fishing would fit on a #14 Adams, but here are a few standard nymphs:

Prince
Pheasant tail
Gold-ribbed hare's ear

Throw in some Y2K bugs, rainbow warriors, and bead-head woolly buggers.


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## swampstalker24

Cant go wrong with midges...  the smaller the better and make sure to get red and black.


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## TheTroutWhisperer

Go to Cabelas website and look for the Golden Jigstone. Its gets down fast and works great during the cold weather months. Also try to go with fluorocarbon tippet. Its expensive in the stores but there are websites you can get it very reasonable.


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## fishndoc

On your next trip, I would stop by the local fly shop.  They will not only sell you the right flies, but more importantly, show you how to set up your rig to get the flies down to the fish, and how to detect strikes when they occur.


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## centerpin fan

firebreather said:


> Wen fishing the other day ,found lots of trout , to no avail I went back to the truck n got my tfo 9ft fly rod ,and threw everything in my fly box , only one would sink and that was a cricket looking fly ,but they didn't want it , these trout were in 18 in of water on the river floor , I even added some weight to my line 16 in up from my fly , but was thinking there are more sinking wet flies or nymphs I can order , any favorites that you'd recommend? I do know it's all about presentation



I just reread this and noticed the "18 inches deep" part.  Eighteen inches is not what I would call deep water.  I suspect the depth of your fly is not the issue in this case.  Take fishndoc's advice and get some good instruction on your rig and how to get a "drag free" float.  If the fly does not look natural, changing the depth will not help.


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## IvyThicket

This time of year, I love midges. Fish them as a tandem, I usually throw size 20 Zebra with a Blood Midge trailing. Use shot between them so they'll go through the water column in a 'V' pattern.

With being warmer, I would also keep you an entire box full of Wolly Buggers and conventional nymphs. Hairs Ears, Prince Nymphs, Pheasant Tail, Girdle Bug, Pats Rubber Legs. Any of those should and will do the trick if presented correctly.


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## Meriwether Mike

Was the area they were holding in ripple water or slow moving water? A tungsten beaded fly will get that deep in an instant. Place the fly under a strike indicator at double the water depth. Be sure and cast far enough above the fish to get the flies down to where you need them before you get past where they are holding. You will also need to do an upstream mend of the line so the drift is drag free. If your fly is not ticking the bottom go deeper on where the indicator is till it is. If you are getting hung up go shallower. Once you achieve this then you can figure out what they are feeding on. Usually it is a fly you do not have.


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## Bream Pole

_Go to Cabelas website and look for the Golden Jigstone. Its gets down fast and works great during the cold weather months. Also try to go with fluorocarbon tippet. Its expensive in the stores but there are websites you can get it very reasonable._

I went to Cabela's and looked under "jigstone" and found it.  Two colors gold and black.  I don't trout fish because live in S. Ga and rarely get to mountains.  But they looked great for bream and shellcrackers so I ordered black and gold.  We'll see . . .


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## firebreather

Meriwether Mike said:


> Was the area they were holding in ripple water or slow moving water? A tungsten beaded fly will get that deep in an instant. Place the fly under a strike indicator at double the water depth. Be sure and cast far enough above the fish to get the flies down to where you need them before you get past where they are holding. You will also need to do an upstream mend of the line so the drift is drag free. If your fly is not ticking the bottom go deeper on where the indicator is till it is. If you are getting hung up go shallower. Once you achieve this then you can figure out what they are feeding on. Usually it is a fly you do not have.



Yea maybe I need to use a strike indicator , but haven't been because I can see my flys in the water with  my Costas,  
But as being new to fly fishing , my technique  is I have been slowly wading 
Up the river till I see the fish then stop and cast 25 to 30 ft up and let  my fly float down , till it floated thru the fish,  every time I tried to get up stream some they would shoot down stream , the water was crystal clear and no ripples at all , almost still  , not like most rivers I fish ,there were holes that were 4 ft deep but locals said the water was down ,   but the fish weren't really in those spots , I did learn to side cast tho because alot of the areas were to tight  to cast  an over head cast , really enjoying the fly rod tho ,I know I got a lot to learn


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## TheTroutWhisperer

Paddler, All I use are the Gold. For faster deep water when you need to get it down quick these are great. Even better they are also barbless.


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## centerpin fan

firebreather said:


> Yea maybe I need to use a strike indicator , but haven't been because I can see my flys in the water with  my Costas,
> But as being new to fly fishing , my technique  is I have been slowly wading
> Up the river till I see the fish then stop and cast 25 to 30 ft up and let  my fly float down , till it floated thru the fish,  every time I tried to get up stream some they would shoot down stream , the water was crystal clear and no ripples at all , almost still  , not like most rivers I fish ,there were holes that were 4 ft deep but locals said the water was down ,   but the fish weren't really in those spots , I did learn to side cast tho because alot of the areas were to tight  to cast  an over head cast , really enjoying the fly rod tho ,I know I got a lot to learn



Are you near a fly shop or a guide service?  You would learn so much from a day or half day with a good guide.  It would cut your learning curve by at least 50%.


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## firebreather

centerpin fan said:


> Are you near a fly shop or a guide service?  You would learn so much from a day or half day with a good guide.  It would cut your learning curve by at least 50%.



NO fly shop around me but there is a guide I'm looking  at on the soque for an half a day


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## swampstalker24

sounds to me if you could get in there and make a cast without spooking them you could have some fun..  wear camo next time and sneak up on them from the bank and not the water.  But usually if you can see them, they can see you.....    Also, since its slow moving water I'd definitely try a red midge of some kind.


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## Killer Kyle

My favorites are 
1) WD-40 SIZE 18-20 (behind a split shot)
2) Waltz Worm (black bead head)
3) Olive Mohair Leech sometimes with a bead head, and sometimes without. 
4) Girdle Bug
If you are fishing to picky fish, tiny is your best bet. I often run a two fly rig with a #20 WD-40, and a #22 WD-40 below it. The smaller and more natural it is, the more difficult it is for fish to scrutinize


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## NCHillbilly

If you can see fish, they can see you. If you can see your fly underwater, you are way too close.


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## IvyThicket

NCHillbilly said:


> If you can see fish, they can see you. If you can see your fly underwater, you are way too close.



I've caught many a fish sight fishing that had no clue I was there. I will agree with you on the fly however. I've never caught a fish on a nymph I could actually see moving through the water.


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## centerpin fan

firebreather said:


> NO fly shop around me but there is a guide I'm looking  at on the soque for an half a day



If you're considering a north Georgia trip, give Unicoi a call.

http://www.unicoioutfitters.com/unicoi-outfitters-guide-service.shtml


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## firebreather

Thanks for the input , I was,wearing brown waders n camo jacket . Don't understand how the fish can see me if I'm behind them by at least 10 ft , and they face upstream


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## swampstalker24

firebreather said:


> Thanks for the input , I was,wearing brown waders n camo jacket . Don't understand how the fish can see me if I'm behind them by at least 10 ft , and they face upstream



Remember moving through the water causes ripples that they can see/feel as well as sound....  Very hard not to spook trout while wading in calm water.  Also be mindful of your shadow..  it'll spook them every time.  I'd focus more on perfecting a long cast for these fish than trying to sneak in close.


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## IvyThicket

firebreather said:


> Thanks for the input , I was,wearing brown waders n camo jacket . Don't understand how the fish can see me if I'm behind them by at least 10 ft , and they face upstream



Trout can see rather well behind themselves believe it or not. They have what is known as a 'Cone of Vision'. Look it up one day. The cone refers to the position of a trout's eyes and how it allows them so see horizontally under water and vertically above water. They can see nearly all the way around themselves under water (330 degrees if I'm not mistaken) so if your feet are in the water and you are not standing directly in a line behind their tail, they probably know you're there. They can also see at roughly 100 degrees vertically above them. This is where it can get a little weird but neat nonetheless. Snell's Law tells us how light is reflected and refracted at different angles as it hits the water. Because of this, it allows them an additional 60 degrees of sight above the water, to roughly 160 degrees overall. I studied this crap for a college course once. The more you know!

Anyway, how does this help you? I have found that I almost always try to keep my feet out of the water where applicable. If it isn't possible, I try to stand behind a rock or structure that is in the water, but between me and the fish. Remember, if your feet is anywhere in the water, they can most likely see them and what they can't see they can sense via their lateral line. As to what they can see outside of the water, from the waters surface to 10 degrees above, they can't. At that angle all they can see is a reflection of the bed of the stream, unless again, you have some part of you visible under water.  For you to stay in that 10 degree angle, you'd have to distance yourself quite a bit or shrink your silhouette in some fashion. This is why you'll see a lot of fly fisherman squatting near the rivers edge and such to make a cast. 

There are plenty of illustrations you can find online if this doesn't make sense.

Good luck!


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## PappyHoel

Black wooly buggers


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## NCHillbilly

firebreather said:


> Thanks for the input , I was,wearing brown waders n camo jacket . Don't understand how the fish can see me if I'm behind them by at least 10 ft , and they face upstream



As Ivy Thicket said, trout have a huge cone of vision compared to us-their eyes are on the sides of their heads, and are designed to spot predators. 

I have caught tens of thousands of trout. Very few (almost none) of these were fish that I could see.


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## IvyThicket

NCHillbilly said:


> As Ivy Thicket said, trout have a huge cone of vision compared to us-their eyes are on the sides of their heads, and are designed to spot predators.
> 
> I have caught tens of thousands of trout. Very few (almost none) of these were fish that I could see.



The fish I catch by sight are nearly all near the surface feeding on dry flies. I should have elaborated on that. I've caught very, very, very few fish on nymphs, that I was able to sight first. I could probably count them all on 2 hands.


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## fishndoc

Catching a wild truot in slow, shallow clear water is tough.  Sometimes the fish just wins!

But, as mentioned above, your only chance is if the fish doesn't know you are there.  Sometimes all it takes to spook a wild fish is the shadow of your fly line crossing over its lie.  
Besides slow and low approach, hiding behind rocks, etc, you have to think about your cast and how to get your fly in position without alerting the fish.  Long leaders, side arm casts, and sometimes just waiting to cast until the fish is heading towards the side of the current away from your cast.

It gets a lot easier in stained and faster moving water.


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## NCHillbilly

IvyThicket said:


> The fish I catch by sight are nearly all near the surface feeding on dry flies. I should have elaborated on that. I've caught very, very, very few fish on nymphs, that I was able to sight first. I could probably count them all on 2 hands.



About the same here. And I've caught a lot that I could see them rising, but not so much the fish itself. Some folks love slick-water fishing. I don't. I don't think I have a fly smaller than #16 in my boxes. Midges ain't my thing.


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## pharris100

A cricket dragging across the bottom is not something they would normally see naturally. If I were fishing in 18 inches of water I would usually have a strike indicator about 3 feet above a bead head prince (or bead head olive wooly bugger), then a black zebra midge (or bead head pheasant tail/copper John/lightning bug) dropper about 8 inches below that. Stay below and on the side and cast well enough above so that your line isn't flopping down on top of them, let it feed down while mending your line.  Then have your camera ready.


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