I know this sounds lame to you seasoned fly fishemen but I am just learning to appreciate fly fishing and aside from some beach coho and sea run cutt patterns have no idea what to use for trout in the pooh ponds. Chrononomids with a slow retrieve would be my guess but what size and what color? I have a 5 wt. with a sinking line will that be ok? I will probably go to the local fly shop in Poulsbo for flies and advice as well but I really respect some of you fellow board members. Thanks a bunch. -TBJ

Chronomids with virtually no retrieve. Colors and sizes vary widely and the best way to know what to use is to look in the water. If they are there, you will see them.

For general patterns, things like Hare's Ears and Prince nymphs have caught a lot of fish and would allow for slightly more interaction than chronomids. Same thing for soft-hackle flies like Spiders and Carries (sp?).

I'd almost always rather fish with a floating line than a sinking.

All that said, hopefully some others will chime in with more honed info.

-AP

Tom,
Wooly buggers or leeches in brown, black or olive always produce trout.
Size 8 is a good starting point.

Chironomids make up about half of a trouts diet in the spring, so getting that that dialed in will help.
You can for sure catch fish on chironomids on a sinking line. The takes are pretty awesome.
I prefer to fish them on a floater with a slip indicator. For extra deep water you can skip the indicator.
Early in the season, the chironomids tend to be larger, so size 12 and 14's are a good starting point.
You can keep your your patterns pretty simple. A brown, black, olive, red or tan thread body with silver, copper, red, green or black wire ribbing, a white bead and a peacock or ice dub thorax.
The color combinations are pretty endless. Adding a red thread butt to your patterns helps as well. Coat it with Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails to give it a good glossy finish.
A tungsten bead or stuffing the bead with lead wire will help the sink rate.
The "chromie" and "snowcone" patterns are both excellent patterns as is the San Juam Worm for imitating blood worms.

Good to see you putting the 5 wt to work. I hope this helps. Good luck with the hip and I'll see you on the beach this summer.

Not sure what you mean by pooh ponds, but I am assuming you mean stocker lakes.

Pretty much anything that is leech-y or 3/8" long and brown will work. Just cast out and drag around, or strip it back in. Vary your retrieve until something works well.

Love taking my kids out dragging flies around, they get a ton of action from all sizes of trout.

Go Dry or Go Home...bout time to head to Pass

lol...i popped the only fish one day and u bogarted my spot the other:)

tom give me a call

Chironimids are probably the only patterns that will produce all year long, but fishing them is SLLLOOOWWW, so I avoid it whenever possible. I should try the Stonefish method of full-sink line - I have heard that can produce much more aggressive takes. Now that it's springtime, I'm tying up a bunch of #6 conehead buggers, #12-14 hare's ears, and smallish muddlers. I fish small dries too, but I buy those, since I can't stand tying that small stuff. Also, never be without a few terrestrials (ants, beetles, etc.).

Around opening day on the planter lakes, don't be afraid to try a #12-14 elk hair caddis or stimulator, even if there aren't any caddis hatching.

Fishing chironomids slow with a hand twist can be tedious, but when the hatch is on and the bobber is going down nearly every cast.....it is far from slowwww.
I agree, chironomid fishing certainly isn't for everyone for sure.
I have several friends who flat out refuse to fish them, preferring to drag big uglies around all day on a full sinker.

Pooh Ponds? Is this where Wiinnie, Eeyore and Tigger meet up for Burning Pram gay activities and write romantic sonnets to each other while sharing pots of honey?

when nothing is hitting on a slow day in that stagnant crap, toss a giant pink or hot orange globug out there and watch what happens.......

FlyPLUNKING=Chironys

Lakes are out, I'll be plunking tomorrow
Report to follow.......

Good luck SF, we should go do a day on Lone/Pass here in late April/May...cheers