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Are you a fan of size 18 and smaller flies?

Well, I'm a "fan" because they can really catch a lot of trout. I've fished both nymphs and dries down to #28. I even used to tie them that small - bare eyed. Not any more. Which brings me to why I hate tiny flies: tying the $&#@* things on!

I use them tiny flies all if the time....especially at the San Juan river.

I am with Rocky..tying them on it a Bit$h!!

Here's a follow up question ...

What tiny flies do you catch fish with?




Something like trico spinners or midges have to be small in order the match the hatch and be effective but ...

What else do you like?

I hear ya about tying those things on. I'm at the point where I need to get some reading glasses or carry a magnifier. It pizzes me off. I used to be able to read the micro printing on dollar bills but not anymore.

Rocky that's a big 10-4. Gonz Yep them SJ trout sure like the itsy bitsy. Haven't fished there in a while but remember it well.

fh A basic black midge works very well in small sizes just a tail, thread body and a bit dubbing for a thorax and some good STIFF hackle. Tiny pupa work realy well. I use goose biots for the body and a small amount of dubbing for the thorax sometimes with a bit of antron wing sticking out front. Tiny flies need to be simple. Another is the RSII of which there are many variations. Used to tie flies down to size 28 but caught most trout on 22 - 24.

PS A tiny buckskin also works very well.

What slurps those things will amaze you. I was fishing the fabled Green River here in Utah some years back and noticed a big fish slurping midges right behind a boulder. The fly had to drift within an inch of the rock for the current to swing it to him. I was lucky enough to get a #24 midge there and slurp went that big mouth. Fight on.

It took me a few minutes, but I netted that 5-lb rainbow as a guy watched. He waded over and said he hadn't been able to hook a thing. Would I show him what that monster had taken?

When I showed him that #24 on 7X tippet, he just stared for a second and then waded off - straight to his car.

If the tables had been reversed, I'da done the same thing, probably.

I'm a "fan" only because my high country lake trout insist on them.
Yes they are a real PIA to tie on. They also don't float well. You see, my trout also insist on them on the surface.
Trying hook one of those fast, hit and run, Goldens or Brookies is another real challenge when using a size 18 pale mayfly pattern.
But it is alot of fun watching them come to it and take it. Even if I seldom hook one up, it's simply pure excitement. E

Trico hatches here in PA can be interesting in the mornings on some of the limestone streams.

If all I had were size 24-28 Griffith's Gnats and cinnamon ants to fish my "home waters" of Maryland and south central PA I wouldn't feel (too) deprived.

Hate small flies tying and fishing them but if they catch fish and big fish at that well then great. Never tied below a 18 and a couple of loops of yarn and a tip of a feather and it's done. The next problem I had is with the hooks being to "fragile" and bending or breaking while trying to hook the trout. It can be frustrating to say the least. I usually stick with 10 or 12's for tying 90% of my flies for most species seems to be easy to tie and catch all but the most finicky fish.

Never had any problem catching large fish on tiny flies. I use plain old Mustad hooks for 95% of my tying. Caught a 20" Kokanee salmon on a size 20 midge and 4 wt rod once. That was some rodeo but hook held just fine barbless too.

If your gonna catch any trout in the Quality Water just below Navaho Dam on the San Juan, you need to be fishing with a size 24 or smaller Fly & 6X Leaders.
I've caught a ton of big Rainbows & Browns there, but I really have a hard time tying those tiny flys to my leader. My eyesight at age 53 is really beginning to suck.

Pair of those clamp on cheaters works pretty good.

I carry em all the time. No telling how many I've dropped in the river while wading deep water & trying to tie on a new fly.

Oh yea, # 22 on down, been known to catch some serious rainbows on 22 and 24 Griffiths Gnats, on of my favorite flies, easy and quick to tie. I caught three rainbows on the San Juan back in 1990, this time of year as a matter of fact back to back and the smallest one was 9 lbs and the biggest one almost 14 lbs. It was the day before I was suppose to meet the guide I hired to show me the river. Abe said the midges were on when I bought my license and well I headed to the river, It was a fabulous week. The key to fishing small flies is getting the leader to turn over, and to do that you need to make adjustments to the leader, each caster is going to be different because each caster has a different style of casting. It took me a long time to figure out that getting the leader right is 80% of the battle in dry fly fishing and more so with the #22's or smaller.

The largest trout I've hooked were on a #18 disco midge.

Absolutely hate'm. They are, however, a necessary evil. The smaller the fly, the more I question the sanity of standing in a river waiving a stick.

.....the guys that I go with are of the "older" sort...
Most in their 50's and 60's.....several have them flip down magnifier lenses that are pinned to the bill of their hat. Like with a hat pin.... they seem to work really well for their old eyes....lol....

I'm in my lower 40's and I know my eyes are getting older....I'll be with them soon....lol.

Just went up to the San Juan last weekend and red annalids were the ticket...mostly in the 20-24 range...

I swore I would never use those. Always said that when it got to that point I would stick with spinning gear.

53 and came home with a set last night...