Bow River Buck

[Dr.Shortington]

Hammered this slab last night....what a fight. For those that can remember I was on here about a month ago asking about techniques to land the "big ones". Let's just say the "down and dirty" technique seems like a winner! ;) It's a lot easier to control the fish (although the big ones always still just do what they want haha)

Lots coming up last night but man were they picky....the caddis were thick but they just wouldn't rise up to my elk hair consistently. What type of caddis patterns do you guys use? Anyway, I shouldn't be complaining.

26 inches!

[Penner]

That's a tank. Nice work.

Too thick of a tippet can cause refusals as well as improper mending techniques and you would be surprised how many folks do not pay attention to fish visibility (as in they can see you).

I find one can get away with 5x max for dries. Challenge is if you hook-up with 5x or thinner trying not to break off is the next task. If you noticed the fish came up to but refused the fly its not the fly pattern or colour itself. Keep experimenting until you figure it out. You'll know when you do.

Also stay till after dark. All the issues noted above become less important. Then your dry fly fishing by sound/feel rather than site. I've had stellar nights on the bow (hook-up every cast).

[Dr.Shortington]

That's a tank. Nice work.

Too thick of a tippet can cause refusals as well as improper mending techniques and you would be surprised how many folks do not pay attention to fish visibility (as in they can see you).

I find one can get away with 5x max for dries. Challenge is if you hook-up with 5x or thinner trying not to break off is the next task. If you noticed the fish came up to but refused the fly its not the fly pattern or colour itself. Keep experimenting until you figure it out. You'll know when you do.

Also stay till after dark. All the issues noted above become less important. Then your dry fly fishing by sound/feel rather than site. I've had stellar nights on the bow (hook-up every cast).

Thanks for the tips! Last night I had 2 big boys feeding right in front of me (it was pitch black) These monsters were coming up time after time after time, but they would not take my elk hair. Switched a few other patterns and eventually chucked out a huge hopper haha. Couldn't get them to go!! Eventually had to leave cause it was almost midnight :( Haha. The caddis hatches seem finicky. I think they were feeding just below the surface. Maybe a hopper with a caddis nymph dropper would have done the trick?

[apanano]

Wow great fish!

[SNAPFisher]

Beauty! Nice fish for sure.

[Penner]

Maybe a hopper with a caddis nymph dropper would have done the trick?

If the bigg'ens were rising I doubt a dropper would work. Need to key on what the fish are feeding on. If their up top, dries is the way to go. If there below the surface, nymphing is the ticket. A big streamer pattern could trigger an aggression strike like a bugger or clouwser.

Have you tried different sizes of caddis? They could be onto a certain size that could have you tripped up. There are also many different styles of caddis patterns other than just those tied with just elk hair. They could be key'd into emergers, parachute pattern, etc. Sizing is as important.

My money would still be on something to do with your overall presentation. Once its dark, its purely the silhouette they focus on from my experience.