Help with dirty water conditions..

[fcstory]

I understand that theres the whole "Bright day, Bright fly.. Dark day, Dark fly.." saying..

But, What about in dirty water? Does that still apply? If the waters brown, Can the fish

see bright patterns or dark patterns better?

Because I can throw a black leech all day But I wanna know if something like chartruese

would be more effective.. And I also understand that its all up to the fish, But whats more

visible..

[Nick Pionessa]

typically bigger, darker and brighter are good choices for dirty water. colors like black, purple, orange, fl. pink, chart and orange are the usual favorites. the other thing would be to keep the fly slow and deep, as close to the fish as possible to allow them to see it. if the water is also high, fishing the edges can be good too. the fish tend to seek out the softer spots along the banks.

all that being said it's tough going with flies when the visibility drops below 1' and at 6" it's really tough.

[eddavidson]

flies that push water or have some inherant action (woolhead and deerhair sculpins, muddlers, etc) can give the fish something else to key in on also. another thing i hear people emphasize a lot in low-vis is contrast.

[Michael Hartman]

I like using really contrasted flies. Like black and pink or purple and white. Just mix and match colors. Add a little flash too.