Need help with smallies!

[Seldom]

I fished this morning below one of my county's dams with the gates open and generating power. At the edge of the main flow just below the gates about 60' and at the edge of the main flow/eddy interface as well as in the eddy itself, I watched some real dandy smallies rising. I threw everything I had in every color (yes, I used all my white's to), NO lookers NO takers. About 75yds downstream I caught a 18" & 12" on an olive, bead-headed Bugger but that was it. I even watched the swallows as they feed back and forth across the river but they weren't feeding close to the water so I thought that might rule out something tiny they were taking and I wasn't seeing.
Can anybody give this old "largemouth fly fisherman" some smallie advise as to why I couldn't buy a hit at that spot with all the activity going on?

[Cobra]

If they aren't hitting something thats emerging they sometimes are taking those little pinhead sized minnows. I've taken them on occasions with long shanked #12 - #14 simple, sparsely tied, subtle bucktails. Grey Squirrel Tail over a silver mylar body, Fox Squirrel over gold and very pale olive bucktail over silver, my favorite. They'll do a number on 'gills, crappie and perch also.

[This message has been edited by Cobra (edited 06-22-2000).]

[Seldom]

Dang, wouldn't ya know it, I had just taken out my #10-#12 crappie streamers (white/silver mylar & Mickey Finns)in order to par-down my fly box two days before! You could be right Cobra. Thanks for the tip because I hadn't thought of down-sizing nor did I really have anything with me to do it.