Booby

Booby is the fly many reach for when nothing else will work and rainbow trout stands deep. What makes it special is the floating foam eyes, which make the fly lift upwards. Rigged right it sits and tempts just above the bottom, even when you do nothing at all, and that is what makes it one of put and take’s most effective deep-water tricks.

How it works

The trick sits in the combination of floating fly and sinking line. You fish the Booby on a sinking line or sink-tip that is allowed to sink all the way down and lie on the bottom. The short leader makes the floating fly hang and sway a bit above the bottom. When you pause, the fly keeps hovering in the search zone, instead of sinking and disappearing as an ordinary streamer would. The fish often takes right in the stop.

Rig and technique

Let the line sink to the bottom after the cast, count down until you feel it bottom. Then pull in with short, slow twitches and clear pauses. During each pause the fly sits and tempts, and that is when most takes come, so keep contact with the line the whole time. Keep the leader fairly short, often half a metre or less, so the fly really stays near the bottom and does not float too high.

Colour

Black and white are classic first choices, and signal colours like orange and chartreuse show well on freshly stocked fish and in coloured water. Just as with other flies it pays to start muted in clear water and step up to a signal colour if it stands still. Keep a couple of variants in the box so you can try your way.

When you pick Booby

Bring the Booby out when the fish stands deep and will not come up to a streamer or nymph fished higher. It is especially strong on a warm summer day when rainbow trout has drawn down to cooler water. More on active deep fishing sits under streamer fishing, and the whole box in the fly overview.