[birdman]

Just wondering what your dry fly of choice is for trout fishing? I seem to like Orange stimulators, yellow humpies, Tan caddis, and Royal wulfs. I like that all of these ride relatively high on the water and provide good visibility.

[phisherman23]

The 4 you mentioned are definitely amongst my top dries. I'd say my fav of those is the caddis. I've had more luck with an elk or deer hair caddis fly (size 12 or 14) than anything on the top of the water - year-round. I was out on the local stream in November using a caddis/nymph dropper rig, and got more hits on the caddis than the nymph...And there wasn't a damn thing hatching at the time! I don't know what it is about that fly pattern, but the trout seem attracted to it just about any time of year.

If your timing is right and your on the right stream, another fun dry to fish is the hopper. There's a dozen or so different patterns I've seen, but they all have the same basic look on the top of the water. That's gotta be one of the most exciting flies to get hits on, too...the trout nail those things like a great white once they've comitted to it!

[oucorry]

Hey Todd help a dumb bass fisherman out. What's the difference between a dry fly and a wet fly?

I've never fly fished before but it has always intrigued me!

[birdman]

Dry flies mainly float on top of the water and immitate fully hatched insects. Wet flies are submersible and immitate insects which have not fully developed. The trick to fly fishing in general is to match your fly to what the fish are feeding on. If you were to take a sein in the river and stretch it across, you would probably freak out at what you would find. Insects of all types and stages in the development process. They look like nothing you've ever seen before. So when we talk about a dry/dropper rig, basically you tie on a dry fly as the point or indicator. You then tie a section of line on the dry hook and drop off a wet fly/midge/baetis/nymph. You effectively use the first fly as a bobber for the submerged fly..

Phisherman..
Agreed on the hoppers. Those things rock in August. Get a good drift along the bank and you better hang on cause the hopper will be jumping . I personally like the Dave's hopper and foam bodies.

Do you ever fish any foam beetles or ants?

[phisherman23]

I haven't had a whole lot of luck with terrestrials such as ants or beetles. Not sure if its my technique, my timing, the size, or what, but I just can't seem to get anything to commit. I've heard beetles are good for still water, such as lakes and ponds, which I rarely fly fish. You got any pointers on how to achieve more success?

[birdman]

I think the difficulty in fishing these patterns relates more to how they are fished. They can be very difficult in moving water as they tend to ride low and are tough to see. You might try dropping one off of a large dry used as an indicator. This will enable you to watch your larger point fly for strikes. Terrestrials should be included in every anglers fly box. Try a quick google search on fishing terrestrials and techniques and see what you find.....

[deadeye drew]

how do you make your flies stay on top of the water?? what do you put on them??

[birdman]

Fly floatant is put on dry flies to help them stay on top of the water. It comes in two forms: a powder, and a gel. I personally like the gel made by Gink. Works pretty well.

[phisherman23]

I agree with Birdman that Gink works really well to keep the fly high and dry. But more recently (as in this past Nov.), I started using the dry powder floatant a bit more often. The stuff I use is called "Frog's Fanny". It's kind of a pain in the ass to work with - think of powdered sugar - but it does a damn good job keeping the fly on the top of the water. I also think it gives the fly more of an authentic look, plus it "highlights" it since the stuff is white in coloration. The only downfall is that you have to re-apply ever 10 or so casts to keep that nice top-water look. I've actually tried a combination: Gink first, then Frog's Fanny, and had pretty good luck with that.
Another thing to consider when trying to keep your dry fly dry is the old "Shammy and Fanny" method. This consists of wiping off you dry fly with a small piece of shammy cloth, then applying Frog's Fanny. This helps to reduce the amount of floatant you need to apply, and it keeps longer on the fly itself.

[birdman]

Great reply BIG PHISH!! I'll have to try your method. The Gink stuff sucks to use when it's hot or cold out. Too hot and you can't control it coming out of the bottle. Too cold and you can't squeze the crap out.... Frustrating to say the least.