"When I die I want to come back as a Montana fly fishing guide" - Jane Fonda
(The above quote would keep me from going back to Montana)
Much of my instruction time is devoted to explaining and demonstrating dry fly strategy. There are those in this sport who have turned dry fly fishing into a form of rocket science which it shouldn't be. Let's examine the basics:
1. We either cast a dry fly to a rising fish or to a spot where we believe a trout may be. Let's concern ourselves with that rising trout.
2. It is a rare occasion where we see a steady parade of newly hatched mayfly duns floating down a river and being picked off by a trout. Most of the rises that we see are rises to the emerging insect that is in or just under the surface film. That is why comparaduns (my favorite dry fly pattern) and parachutes do so well. The body is in the surface film looking just like an emerging insect. That is why the two above tying styles have somewhat replaced the classic hackled dry fly. More on that later.
3. Always try to position yourself downstream from a rising fish or a place that you want to cast to when fishing a dry. Imagine a large clock surface and a trout steadily rising at the 12 o'clock position. You want to be below him at the 4 or 8 o'clock position. Why not 6 o'clock? Actually that's the worst place to be. Your leader or your line will land on top of him. At the 4 or 8 position only the tippet will be in play.
4. Fishing a dry downstream or down and across will limit your presentation window because of leader drag. Remember, drag occurs when the leader is traveling faster than the fly. You avoid this with an upstream cast but there are times when you have to fish at a downward angle. This is where you lengthen your leader with extra tippet length and throw a Check Cast above the rise. A Check Cast is nothing more than suddenly stopping, or "checking" your fly in mid cast so the fly falls to the surface amid some loose, uncoiled leader. Your leader needs to be pretty straightened out for drag to set in. This will avoid it.
5. Manage your line when fishing upstream with a dry. The line is floating back to you and you must constantly strip in this slack or hook set will be impossible. Resist the urge to throw a mend into the line a second after it hits the water. You don't need the surface disturbance and you will sink your dry fly.
6. Forget nonsense like "parallel drag" or "diagonal drag". Drag is Drag and the remedy is the same.
7. 90% of your dry fly fishing will be done with size 14 through size 20 flies which means you will be using 5x and 6x tippet. Don't believe that you need 7x on a size 14 or 16 dry unless you like leader twist.
8. Hackled dries still have a home in riffles and pocket water where they float well and are visible.
In 2009 I fished the EB from Memorial Day through September with nothing but dries and I caught a lot of trout. It is my favorite style of fishing followed closely by the swing of a soft hackle. Both styles represent a stage of insect life and I believe is a higher stage of fly fishing. A Millers regular once described what we now call straight line nymphing as "bait fishing with artificial bait". To each his own.
Much of my instruction time is devoted to explaining and demonstrating dry fly strategy. There are those in this sport who have turned dry fly fishing into a form of rocket science which it shouldn't be. Let's examine the basics:
1. We either cast a dry fly to a rising fish or to a spot where we believe a trout may be. Let's concern ourselves with that rising trout.
2. It is a rare occasion where we see a steady parade of newly hatched mayfly duns floating down a river and being picked off by a trout. Most of the rises that we see are rises to the emerging insect that is in or just under the surface film. That is why comparaduns (my favorite dry fly pattern) and parachutes do so well. The body is in the surface film looking just like an emerging insect. That is why the two above tying styles have somewhat replaced the classic hackled dry fly. More on that later.
3. Always try to position yourself downstream from a rising fish or a place that you want to cast to when fishing a dry. Imagine a large clock surface and a trout steadily rising at the 12 o'clock position. You want to be below him at the 4 or 8 o'clock position. Why not 6 o'clock? Actually that's the worst place to be. Your leader or your line will land on top of him. At the 4 or 8 position only the tippet will be in play.
4. Fishing a dry downstream or down and across will limit your presentation window because of leader drag. Remember, drag occurs when the leader is traveling faster than the fly. You avoid this with an upstream cast but there are times when you have to fish at a downward angle. This is where you lengthen your leader with extra tippet length and throw a Check Cast above the rise. A Check Cast is nothing more than suddenly stopping, or "checking" your fly in mid cast so the fly falls to the surface amid some loose, uncoiled leader. Your leader needs to be pretty straightened out for drag to set in. This will avoid it.
5. Manage your line when fishing upstream with a dry. The line is floating back to you and you must constantly strip in this slack or hook set will be impossible. Resist the urge to throw a mend into the line a second after it hits the water. You don't need the surface disturbance and you will sink your dry fly.
6. Forget nonsense like "parallel drag" or "diagonal drag". Drag is Drag and the remedy is the same.
7. 90% of your dry fly fishing will be done with size 14 through size 20 flies which means you will be using 5x and 6x tippet. Don't believe that you need 7x on a size 14 or 16 dry unless you like leader twist.
8. Hackled dries still have a home in riffles and pocket water where they float well and are visible.
Ken
12 comments:
Good info Ken, thanks!
Dry's are so fun. And it feels like the learning curve is always there. I admit that I get excited seeing the fish take the fly, and often "set" the hook to fast, thus missing the fish. Still fun, and after 1-2 misses I start getting back in track. It's just so fun to see that take!
Hibernation,
After tying a hundred soft hackles I'll switch over to tying a dry and mess it all up. The next one comes out better!!!
Ken
I've got to disagree with # 4. I fish down and across perhaps 75 - 80 % of the time. Getting at the right angle is the key and being able to throw a simple reach cast and having the ability to mend and feed line out one can get an incredibly long, drag free drift. It's also a great way to be able to skate a caddis - something that you simply cant do effectively with an upstream presentation - and it is a great way to bring up fish in riffles.
When fishing down and across you are managing the line - upstream presentations ... the line is managing you.
The other thing you fail to mention is the importance of skillful wading when it comes to approaching fish. I take a lot of people out fishing (not as a guide, I just enjoy sharing "my" river with newcomers). Before we even get in the water I tell them that the most important skill is the ability to wade in a manner that will not put fish down.
My brother in law learned this the hard way when I had him on my water - in the morning he was attentive and listened carefully. We fished tricos to wild trout and were able to approach within 25 feet to make very simple drag free down and across presentations - he got fish.
In the evening we had fish up on emerging caddis but he had gotten cocky over his morning success and ignored my advise to slow down to get into a position to get a nice drift over the fish. The result: no fish and frustration.
Wading is taken for granted but is a real skill that all anglers should work to perfect.
Anonymous, 12:34,
"When fishing down and across you are managing the line- upstream presentations...the line is managing you" - Are you serious?? There's a lot more managing of line "down and across" than upstream. Upstream negates most drag situations especially drag that you really can't see. Classic dry fly presentation is UPSTREAM. Trust me!
OF COURSE SKILLFUL WADING COUNTS!!! Everyone should know that. Skillful wading is part of the picture for ANY flyfishing presentation either dry or sunken. I had to mention that??????? Maybe I should of mentioned skillful casting. Anything else I should of mentioned???
Ken
Ken
Ken,
It is good to see that we got some rain on the Millers yesterday. I think they were holding water back on Tuesday if the chart is correct.
GW
Whoa, got to the EB this morning and my jeep is telling me its 48 degrees, have not been there in a while, but the water was 60 degrees. Third cast with a #10 Pats rubber legs (got sick of using small flies at the swift Wed.) I fooled one of those chunky rainbows from this years class. The river is still a rock garden not worth a long trip although this fish was caught in 4 feet of water flipping into current entering a pool, extending a foot each cast I saw the line move on the third picked up the line and he was there, then in the net and released for you to catch. River was loaded with bugs, a brown caddis hatch was happening, may go back tomorrow with dries. Oh and no other anglers on the river
Got a chance to get out to the EB Sunday, it was deserted. Saw only one fisherman all morning. Temps 60-61 and really low water. Lots of baitfish were about but it was sight fishing all morning. Big fat lone rainbows were far and few between, in the off speed deeper runs (3-5ft deep) so you had to get down to them, they had no interest in rising. Managed a single 14" bow on an olive woolhead sculpin, but it was hard to swing with such a slow flow. There was good bug activity in the stonefly dept, but no takers. Could use a boost of rain but the temps were right on.
TC
Nothing much doing in Bondsville tonight, Ken. Swinging soft hackles a few little tugs, one pretty 3" brookie was all I brought in. Barbless came out quickly and off it went. In a deep quiet zone I saw some slashing rises from other brookies taking place to midges that were coming off. I sat down and watched them for a while then called it a night. I am always entertained by how aggressive those small brook trout are when they are hitting on top.
Sam
Sam,
I was out until about 7pm in Cady Lane and the brookies were also getting active but not anything to write home about.
Gary and TC,
Almost identical comments!!! We all agree: WE NEED RAIN!!!
Ken
Went to Kempfield on the Miller's Wednesday evening right after the storms moved through. Had the entire Wendell Depot area to myself in perfect conditions. Did not see a rise or have a hit in over an hour of throwing terrestrials and wet flies into the water--not even a chub. Might have had something to do with the beaver watching me like a seal when I got there, before slapping his tail on the pool and swimming off. But, in my mind, this is one of the most beautiful stretches of the river on a fall sunset with fog coming off the river. Fish would be a bonus.
Charles
Hi Ken,
I hit the Swift yesterday and as you know, the flow just dropped down to 50CFS. I had not fished above the gauge run in a long time, so I decided to work upstream and commit to a day of nothing but dry flies and/or dry dropper combo. With the exception of a few small brookies, I did not get much action or see many fish until I got to the duck pond. With the low water, it was easy to spot fish and while there were a number of rainbows plying the waters, they were all too busy chasing each other around. I probably spotted 12-18 rainbows and an occasional brown, but no luck fishing dries. I eventually ended up with a few brookies in the riffle/run section just below the deep pool by the duck house.
I then walked downstream and fished what has become my favorite section - the "tweener" zone between cady lane and the tree pool/pipe. There were a few smaller bows and brookies working the surface. It was fun working through a variety of small dries/emergers trying to find something that would consistently catch fish. I was unable to get more than one fish per pattern - #24 simulian, #20-22 adams parachute, nothing on BWO emerger etc. I randomly decided to try a beetle with a green "under carriage" and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I had a number of 10-11 inch brookies, along with a really nice brown and a bow as I worked my way upstream hitting rises as well as the bank edges.
At one point, I had a good sized brown rocket up from the bottom twice and blast out of the water. Unfortunately, it was not going after my beetle, but it was crazy, aggressive behavior. Any guesses as to what bugs this brown could be chasing to make it worth exerting all that energy?
BTW, I always prefer the 4 and 8 upstream casting with dries. As well allowing for a long drag free drift, it is just more fun to make longer casts. While I will occasionally use a down stream presentation, it is either because I have a picky fish and I want to skate a fly into its feeding lane and go "fly first" or its the only position available in order hit a spot. That said, I notice that a lot of the successful Swift river veterans always fish dries/emergers down/across. They are also always fishing 7-8x and I don't know how much that drives their cast presentation. Thoughts?
Regards,
Paul
Paul,
First, you mentioned some of my favorite spots on the Swift especially the "tweener" zone.I will say that I seldom if ever fish the the Duck Pond but opt out for the flats above the pond.
I don't know what that brown was so excited about. I'm starting to see rainbows starting to chase each other around.
I only use 7x or smaller with the tiniest of DRY flies.(size 26 and smaller) If the fly is sunken then I'm using 5x or 6x regardless of the size. I know of one good angler who uses 5x on size 28 because he ties these flies on wide eyed hooks. He catches a lot of fish.
Ken
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