Understanding when, where and how to use trout beads will help you hook more fish in the rivers.

To really understand a system’s secrets — how it changes in certain seasons, which fish travel through it and what hatches will happen or in which stretch of river — can take a lifetime of research and hard-core fishing. Dialing in on the right colour, size and presentation of bead arrangement can sometimes get a bit confusing, leaving anglers with a lack of confidence. However, the key to catching fish is to have confidence.

One of my favourite times of year to fish is when the sockeye are on the redds because the bull trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden fishing is off the hook. I don’t fish tons of different fly patterns. My fly box has four or five flies in different sizes and colours that I consider my go-to patterns. I also choose my pattern depending on the time of year. I tie some flies with no weight for a free-drifting presentation and tie others with a massive weight like a .30 lead wrap to get down in the depths of high water.

I first started fishing with egg patterns, which were known as glow bugs back then, and graduated to Gorman’s Caballero, a pattern that looked like an egg and skein. It was a heavy bug tied up with a gold bead on the head, followed by a chenille body and fine pieces of wool draping over its gooey goodness. This pattern could take anything from bull trout to steelhead at certain times of the year. Steelhead and bulls that are on the same system will devour a single egg presentation. However, the only problem with Gorman’s Caballero is that it falls apart quickly. The fish’s teeth rip it up, so the numerous false casts loosen it and eventually unravel its round shape to a string of chenille.

by Garry Elgear
 

To read the full story, pick up the September/October issue of BC Outdoors Sport Fishing at your local newsstand.