Sometimes trout and grayling sip "nothing" from the surface. You have tried the smallest parachute in your fly box - size 18. What they are taking is much smaller. You look again into your fly box, and right - there is no "Nothing" there.
Have you also experienced the perfect evening by a lovely stream? The trout are rising, it is cooling down and the sun is painting the clouds and sky using a palette in gold, red and purple?
The box is filled with a new collection of hi-floaters, foam wasps, caddis flies, magic ball emergers etc. all tied in two or three favorite colors and variyng between size 18 and 10.
You are more than prepared. And yet, the trout refuse your flies time after time and they are clearly feeding on something hard to see.
Are they taking emergers? You tie one on, and they look at it but still refuse to take.
You need something small and maybe emerger-like. Something, which is almost not there. You need to attach Nothing to the tippet.
I have been in that situation in the Czech Republic, Colorado, Italy and last time on the banks of a Danish stream. Finally I concluded that I had to bring Noting with me, where ever I went - and I wish I done that a long time ago. When Les Austin gave me a bunch of hooks, I started tying.
It is just a tiny emerger made with CDC to make it float well. You can make your own variant by varying the color, adding a short tail of antron, a parachute hackle, a rear body made of a quill or whatever you fancy... The small size and the loop wing is the key to the efficiency of this fly.
The point is that it is a good idea to bring a very small fly, just in case. Here is the step-by-step instruction:
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