Wait a minute, did you notice something yesterday? Did the day feel shorter to you too or is that just me? It’s already August, which means there’s no time to waste, you need to get out on the water right now–seriously, stop reading this, it can wait until after sunset. (I bet your boss won’t even notice, you could probably start fishing right now).
With the summer already on the downslope, it’s a good thing Postfly’s July boxes have arrived at doorsteps all across the country, packed with the flies our Tribe Members need to catch fish right now. Sure you could drive down to the store, put on your blindfold and pick a few flies that might work, or you could get home from work, grab the box of flies that are already sitting in your mailbox, just waiting for you, and hit the water.
With the water levels so low and warm, trout might be pickier than you’re used to, so it makes sense to throw something they won’t be able to refuse. Like an all-you-can-eat buffet, the hopper/dropper rig has been the secret of fly fishing guides for decades; letting their clients hook up no matter the conditions or the water levels. We’ve created the perfect hopper/dropper kit for the July Postfly Box, with enough variety to let you dial in your presentation with the right combinations until you can start hooking up.
Pair one of the big hoppers as your top fly, the one that will ride along on the surface of the water and entice trout that are looking up for meaty terrestrial patterns. Then, with about 12-15 inches of leader dangling below the surface, add one of the two nymph patterns as the dropper to present two patterns at once in different parts of the water column. For a better understanding of how to rig up the hopper/dropper and actually click fish, click here.
Itching to get to your vise and spin up some summer patterns of your own? This month we’ve partnered with Flymen Fishing Company to include their new Surface Seducer Double Barrel popper heads for both our freshwater and saltwater tying kits. The poppers are going to be deadly on anything that swims and is aggressive enough to slam something on the surface. We’re dying to get out and chase after some stripers with these bad boys.
If the instructions below aren’t enough for you to learn to tie your own, check out the tying video from Flymen here. If you want some tips on how to fish these little soldiers, check out these tips from pro fly fishing guides and Postfly ambassadors to start nailing fish on the surface, no matter where you’re fishing.
Speaking of bass, we didn’t forget about our warm water fly anglers. Summertime can make even largemouth and smallmouth bass a little snooty, so we wanted to cover all the bases and make sure you’re covered for anything they might want in your local waters.
Need something noisy? The Gill Popper, Shimmy Gurgler or the Cootie Catcher are here to make a splash and get aggressive bass fired up. The Sunrise Sunfish will make even the most sluggish fish pissed off enough to slam this streamer and get it out of it’s favorite spot. That cicada hatch you anglers in the Northeast have been hearing about? Well it’s time to take advantage and throw a Cicada Snack on the surface. With a few twitches you’ll be hooked up. Oh yea, and the mystery fly? That’s for you to learn for yourself how to fish it and when. Everyone likes a challenge right?
For us and the rest of the East Coast, summertime means striper time. The striped bass and bluefish that swim in our home waters are some of the coolest fish that you can catch on the fly (don’t agree? let’s fish in your neck of the woods, prove it). These streamers are the perfect choice for imitating the baitfish in our waters right now, everything from bunker, sand eels, mackerel, and yes, even lobsters.
For the anglers over on the West Coast, don’t worry, we’re thinking of you too. You may not have summer striped bass to chase, but you do have summer steelhead, which may give us a run for our money. These patterns are proven to work on summer fish and if you need a little help on how to get started chasing summer steelhead, read these tips from one of our Postfly Ambassadors.
Still not enough? Looking for a little more oomph, a little more dazzle-factor? Sounds like you’re waiting to hear about our Signature Tyers Series box for July. Well Vermont fly tyer Max Hogg has whipped up some warm water flies that are sure to get your blood pumping. If just looking at these patterns don’t excite you, the fish you’ll catch with them sure will. Get your kit right here today.
Not a Postfly subscriber yet? Each month we send curated boxes of flies, a kick ass sticker, gear, tying kits, apparel and more…starting at just $19/mo with FREE shipping anywhere in the US! Check out all of our boxes here, and use code BLOG5 for $5 off your first order of $25+.
