Fly fishing NSR
 

Hey all.



I fished the last 2 hours tonight on the NSR. First time fly fishing on a river. I saw fish jumping on the surface but no luck.

Do you fly fish a river the same, cast, retrive? Or just keep letting line out and let it float down the river?

Im guessing dry flies right now around a size 16?? All the dry flies i have...sink...like the black gnat

You might do better with streamers instead of dry flies. You don't have to go too small on the hook size. A 1 or 2 inch streamer drifted, then retrieved in 6 to 12 inch motions should entice a goldeye and mooneye. Rocky mountain whitefish like sinking white flies in a little faster water in rocky areas. A small frog type of fly might do good to.

For catching numbers...Goldeye/Mooneye love black wooly buggers stripped in slowly...a beadhead helps as it will sink a little below the surface and provide a little flash.
For dries when the fish are looking up, a size 16 Adams can work well as it represents a variety of insects. Size 16 Elk Hair Caddis would also be a good choice.