Río Grande · fly box
The world's best sea-run brown trout river, at the end of the world.
| Pattern | Imitates | Size | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuk Bug | Sea-run brown attractor | #2-4 | The Río Grande standard; strip it fast across the current on a sink tip. |
| Rubber Legged Dragon | Dragonfly nymph / sculpin | #4 | Slow strip through the deep pools in the middle of the day. |
| Prince Nymph | Stonefly nymph | #10-12 | Dead-drift under a big indicator in the cold, fast water. |
| Copper John | Caddis / mayfly nymph | #12-14 | The February–March fly when the fish are on the nymphs and refusing streamers. |
The dressing plate
On this river
Casting in the wind
Nobody casts a tight loop on the Río Grande. The local style is a wide, low, open loop thrown with a double haul and a very low rod tip, aimed at the water rather than at the sky. Practise before you go, because a week of fishing here will expose any weakness in your cast within the first hour.
Strip for sea-run browns
Sea-run browns take a streamer on the move, so the retrieve matters more than the fly. Cast across and slightly upstream, let the fly sink to the depth of the lie, then strip it with the rod tip in the water using short, fast pulls. Most takes come within three metres of the bank, when the fly is rising out of the deep water.
The nymph when the streamer fails
In late February and March the sea trout switch to nymphs and stop chasing. Switch to a two-nymph rig with a big indicator, a long drift and a lot of patience, and fish the fast, shallow heads of pools rather than the deep holding water — that is where the feeding fish are.