Here’s a photo of a brown trout I caught a few weeks ago on a size 18 Pmd. Basically the fly was pale yellow thread, a small puff of light dun cdc for the wing to keep it afloat and to see it as it tracked to the fish, and a tiny amount of yellow dubbing below the wing to accentuate the thorax. A quick simple tie. The fly sits low/ flush in water. The trout was on the feed. Eating regularly; eating aggressively. Therefore in my mind a very makeable sizeable fish on what anglers would describe as technical water. I presented something similar to what he was eating: similar size, color and footprint/ impression on the water’s surface. No other anglers were around. The trout probably hadn’t been casted to that day. That makes things easier. And it was a low light, overcast day. All I had to do was make a good cast and get a good drift and hope my fly impression would past the test. I always get anxious casting directly from behind a fish; having to cast my leader over it. So instead I spent some time circumventing the trout, crossing the river and making a long down and across cast. I’ll choose that every time if the river and trout position gives me a chance to do so.
I got lucky that day: an aggressively feeding trout, a good hatch, no angling pressure, low light, a passable fly impression, and the small fly held…
trout on dries 
Heading to nearby Fernie, BC in two weeks and will be sure to bring some PMDs/PEDs. Fingers crossed for low-light, overcast days. Much appreciate you sharing your experiences.
Randy: In spite of it being a coolish wet summer there are a lot of grasshoppers around. It just takes a few warm sunny days to get them active. BC has them too. And you can’t go wrong fishing ants and beetles on those cutthroat streams. Some fly selection tips…
Thanks for commenting.
bob
Helluva fish! Cool picture too. I love sparse flies.
Yes Jim, a healthy brown. Probably my best this yr. I was lucky to have the river to myself that day and to land him as he ran up and down his home pool.
Thanks for commenting. Hope to see you this Fall down on the Mo.
bob
The master gets it done again.
Great fish Bob!
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Hey Joe: Hope all is well. I guess you are back in Ottawa. Let me know how Ingava goes. Thanks for commenting.
bob
ungava
This captured the essence of our collective passion. The craft of imitation, a stealthy stalk, and overcoming the self imposed pressure when we finally take advantage of the small window of opportunity to connect.
Well done!
Greg: A wise comment. ..and yes often there is only a small window of opportunity in any day, in any week…when angling in a specific way.
Thanks for commenting.
bob
Fabulous fish and a great tale.
Justin: Thanks for comment. It was a nice catch… a trout like that doesn’t happen everyday when I go fishing. Pretty special on a small fly.
Take care
bob