And as the sun goes down, I go darker, not lighter. Fishing streamers like this John Barr-designed Meat Whistle pattern at dusk and after will turn some big trout. Streaming You don’t have to fish dry flies only to get the most out of night fishing. To make it count, however, you must shoot a pinpoint cast, then dead-drift the drake through the run you target. When the drakes fall - and this is also true with green drakes, brown drakes, and other large mayflies throughout the country - the river turns on. This is the one that changes your mind when you think the river holds nothing larger than 10-inch rainbows and browns. For many dyed-in-the-wool Midwest anglers, the gray drake, while it may seem the stepsister of the Hex publicity-wise, is actually the better hatch. Listen for the slurp, make the shot, and get ready. It’s difficult to cast this huge dry fly (usually two inches long or more) for long distances, but because they fall at night, you don’t have to pump out a long cast to fish the Hex with effect. The Hexagenia is worth traveling to Michigan or another state where these bugs hatch at least once in your lifetime. Staying Dry The mother of all dry-fly hatches happens at night, in slower, sandy, silty water (often in June). This is, after all, the mouse that bites back.

My only beef is that I’d change the face of this fly to have an open mouth with a tongue hanging out … maybe fangs. I like the flat-faced mouse because it looks and behaves like a popper, and trout, like bass, will react to the surface splashes. Add a Splash In faster currents, it’s important to add some splash and commotion to the mix. A big ball of fur popping and rolling through a slack current is plenty - it looks like a T-bone steak for the trout that’s been hunkered under cover all day. It’s good for a mouse fly to have a tail, but ears, whiskers and eyeballs are all window dressings meant to attract anglers more than fish. Fancy details in fly design really don’t matter. Any classic deer hair mouse pattern will work. Twitch it, pop it, swim it, and you may be shocked to learn what’s really living in the deep run next to the logjam. Bang the banks with a mouse pattern, and make that fly act like a panicked rodent that just took a very wrong step.

Mighty Mice Midsummer is mouse season, plain and simple.

Fly fishing at night