The biggest and leading cutthroat leaned over to suck it in on the first drift, just as it had been doing with the naturals. It was a beautiful fish of nineteen inches and typical of these waters. On this same trip we found cutts focused on flying ants that refused larger imitations. Now, this was on one of the most remote fisheries in the lower forty-eight, where cutts are supposed to be dumb as nails. It is always detrimental to an angler's success when he goes about depending on such generalities and doesn't prepare himself for streamside realities.
All trout focus on small flies at times, especially when waters are low and clear.
It only takes a couple compartments of your fly box to carry a handful of midge pupae, small mayfly and caddis nymphs, emergers, duns, and spinners. Add some miniattractors, a beetle or two, ants, and Griffith's Gnats, and these add up to good on-stream insurance wherever you go. I have mentioned cased caddis larvae a few times and have had just enough sight-fishing experiences with them to value their worth. I took an afternoon stroll one hot August day up a little swift and spring-fed stream in my area. Large trout move up this creek to spawn, and many end up getting stuck there through the endless beaver activity.