Using Dry Fishing Flies

Dry Flies

Dry Fishing flies are probably the most traditional, in most fisherman’s eyes, (although wet fishing goes back much further) The dry fly method is basically deceiving the trout into believing this is their natural food which they readily eat from the surface. Most fly fisherman say it’s the hardest method as opposed to perhaps lure fishing, but I don’t go with that theory. A simple technique of floating the dry fly along the surface means you can see exactly where your  fly is and usually you will see the fish approaching. Avoid any drag using this method of fishing as it will look unnatural to the trout, just cast upstream and allow the fly to drift with the current, always cast diagonal to avoid scaring away any fish.

Select your dry fly to mimic the insect life around you, matching the hatch is quite easy if you take some time to observe which flies are around and if indeed the trout are rising out of the water to take them. If you do not see the trout rising then it is likely they are feeding subsurface and therefore a different method is required..

Use a light weight line, fish have good eye sight, a smaller rod for dry fly fishing is preferred as you will not really be making long casts

Dry fly fishing is done with line and flies that float, joined by a leader. The tapered leader is 3 to 5 meters long, thus nearly invisible where the fly is knotted, and the angler can replace the last meter of nylon as required. Unlike sinking fly (nymph) fishing, the "take" on dry flies is visible, explosive and exciting. While trout typically consume about 90% of their diet from below-water sources, the 10% of surface-level consumption by trout is more than enough to keep most anglers busy. Additionally, beginning fly anglers generally prefer dry fly fishing because of the relative ease of detecting a strike and the instant gratification of seeing a trout strike their fly. Nymph fishing may be more productive, but dry fly anglers soon become addicted to the surface strike.

Dry flies may be "attractors", such as the wulff fly or "natural imitators", such as the elk hair caddis. A beginner may wish to begin with a such as an Adams Parachute. The "parachute" on the Adams makes the fly land as softly as a natural on the water and has the added benefit of making the fly very visible from the surface. Being able to see the fly is especially helpful to the beginner. The fly should land softly, as if dropped onto the water, with the leader fully extended from the fly line

Once a fish has been caught and landed, the fly may no longer float well. A fly can sometimes be dried and made to float again by "false" casting, casting the fly back and forth in the air. In some cases, the fly can be dried with a small piece of reusable absorbent towel or an amadou patch. A popular solution to a dry fly which refuses to float is simply to replace it with another, similar or identical fly until the original can fully dry, rotating through a set of flies. Use a floatant with the dry fly such as Geherkes Gink, this will keep the fly on the surface and prevent it getting water logged.

Dry fly fishing on small, clear-water streams can be especially productive if the angler stays as low to the ground and as far from the bank as possible, moving upstream with stealth. Trout tend to face upstream and most of their food is carried to them on the current. For this reason, the fish's attention is normally focused into the current; most anglers move and fish "into the current", fishing from a position downstream of the fish's suspected lie. Trout tend to strike their food at current "edges", where faster- and slower-moving waters mix. Obstructions to the stream flow, such as large rocks or nearby pools, provide a "low energy" environment where fish sit and wait for food without expending much energy. Casting upstream to the "edge" of the slower water, the angler can see the fly land and drift slowly back downstream. The challenge in stream fishing is placing the fly with deadly accuracy, within inches of a protective rock for instance, not long range casting. Done properly, the fly seems to be just floating along in the current with a "perfect drift" as if not connected to the fly line. The angler must remain vigilant for the "take" in order to be ready to raise the rod tip and set the hook.