Brown Drake Emerger with Trailing Shuck

Perfect Fly Brown Drake Emerger:

As previously stated the trout eat emergers far more then they do the duns and spinners. The emerging nymph will be suspended just under the surface film so you should watch for the rising forms indicating that the trout are feeding on the emergers. This will produce the typical rise ring in the water. Look especially at the shorelines and slower areas of the trout stream.

 Presentation:

Obviously, the Perfect Fly emerger with the trailing shuck should be fished in the surface skim just where the live emergers are. Be sure that the CDC is at a level plane with the water. As with the nymph, a down and across or a downstream approach will usually be the most effective. Be sure to control the drag to ensure a drag free drift. Under the low light conditions, you may not see a trout, and therefore you may need to blind cast.

 If you are fishing to individual trout, the CDC emerger is probably best. You fish the trailing shuck version the same way - in the surface skim on a dead drift. Trial and error is the only sure way to determine which fly is best. The trailing shuck version is slightly easier to fish than the CDC emerger. It is easier to keep track of and to detect strikesbut all in all, it probably isn't as effective, especially if the trout are very picky. Make sure you use a tippet and leader that is light enough. Heavy tippets can affect the way the fly drifts. I would not recommend anything heavier than a 5X tippet for the CDC version. You can fish the trailing shuck version on a 4X tippet but most of the time, that would be pushing the limit. MORE