BROWN TROUT, #2 Arctic Fox Trolling Fly
My “Brown Trout” has brown-olive fur on the back and a yellow body and tail. It is a good representation of the Sacramento River “Pike Minnow” that feeds on salmon smolts. This minnow is a favorite food for California river stripers.
The flies pictured are the same fly, dry and wet.
Additional Info
These flies can be rigged and trolled in a number of ways. These flies can be fished “naked”, just the fly and manipulated with your rod. The Jay Fair method and ripping are a couple of ways to fish just a fly on a sinking line. Dodgers are another popular way to animate the flies. Dodgers limit the speed range for trolling without rolling the fly. The Wiggle Fin Action Disc #1 is an excellent way to animate the fly at any depth. With the #1 disc on the nose of the fly the materials will be lifted out by the turbulence produced by the disc. At speeds of 2 mph and above, the disc on the nose of the fly will make the fly roll, to stop the roll move the disc up the line. At 4 to 12 inches above the fly the fly will have a narrower profile and a tighter vibration/wiggle. A Wiggle Fin Action Disc #2 makes the fly jump back and forth similar to a dodger. Some anglers have tied in swivels with a bead or the Slide Lock Bead to hold the disc up the line. A video with underwater shots of many of my flies rigged can be seen here: Fly Rigging Video.
Due to increasing inflation costs I have been struggling not to raise my fly prices. To maintain my fly prices, I will no longer be sending an Action Disc with each Arctic Fox Trolling Fly.