I am curious if you Don trout gurus can help me out with something. I had a great weekend at Monymusk last week and got several fish up to over 2 lb, which I had not had before. These were taken during a March Brown hatch on a big Humpy fly that they seemed to love. So, I was back out today waiting for the hatch, hoping to have some more success.
A nice hatch of March Brown's came on today and lasted the better part of 45 minutes, but the rise was different. Last weekend, it seemed all the fish in the pool were rising and taking as many of the MB as they could. I could watch single trout rise consistently and frequently. However, today, the rises were much more sporadic. I would watch as many MB would drift over a certain spot for a few minutes where a trout had risen previously, but they did not seem to be interested. I did not have my Humpy with me, b/c it got destroyed by the fish last weekend, and I don't know where to get any more of those around here. I tried a number of other patterns of dry flies, but my fortunes were not very good today.
I did have one reasonable fish on the line, but he jumped a few times and threw the hook on me. He took a parachute olive type of fly. I had seen some olives hatching a bit before the MB hatch started.
Is there any explanation for the trout letting so many MB drift by without taking them? Could they have been feeding selectively on another fly during the hatch, like an olive? Or, were they doing more feeding below the surface?
Any ideas/help based on your experience would be great. Also, since I don't have my magic humpy fly and I won't be getting one before Monday, any suggestions for a good pattern during a big March Brown hatch would be good.