I was lucky enough to be introduced to this approach in the early days of its development many years ago now. The first time I saw dries in action was when sharing a boat at Grafham during an England eliminator with Henry Lowe, a well known figure on the reservoir scene. I was initially sceptical - and continued to pull back mini lures on my fast sinking Hi-D line (not a hard decision - I hadn't got any dries!) That scepticism rapidly turned to respect as I watched Henry quietly put together a basket of substantially better quality fish than the ones I was catching. Subsequently I shared boats with other great dry fly fishermen such as Bob Worts and David Malpas – and learned from all of them. Sadly, only one of these lovely people and great fishermen is still with us – good to see you recently at Draycote David!
Here’s what I learned:
Rods and lines – avoid heavy, fast actioned rods. They may be great at casting sinking lines to the horizon but you run a real risk of breaking off as you lift into fish. A five weight ten footer is lovely to fish but may be a little light to rapidly put your flies in front of a fish rising at distance.
A properly floating line (i.e. without a cracked tip that has started to sink a bit) makes for a smooth, quiet lift off and re-casting.
Leader – I used to fish three flies but these days feel that two is usually enough, probably with 7-8 feet from the fly line to the top dropper then 6-7 feet to the point fly. For the dries it’s co-polymer not the fastish sinking fluorocarbon, which will pull the flies under as you re-cast causing a nasty wooshing noise in the water! I generally use 0.20mm Stroft , maybe dropping to 0.18mm in very calm, clear conditions. I know most people worry a lot about breaking strain and believe what the makers say – I don’t – 0.20mm diameter equates to Maxima 5lb BS but if I went for 5lb BS Stroft that’s only 0.14mm – way too light, as far as I’m concerned, for reservoir trout.
Flies – there are lots to choose from and they all have their time and place. The main categories are
1) Suspenders – whether supported by CDC (e.g. the deadly Yellow Owl) or foam.
2) Small(ish) highly imitative patterns which sit low, in rather than on, the water’s surface – good examples are Shipman’s Buzzers, Bob’s Bits, Crippled Midges etc. and 3) The bigger attractor flies
(which are also imitative) including flies like Bill’s Big Red, Hoppers in all colours and sizes and Daddies. Until I have better evidence of what the fish want on the day I will normally start with a fly from either group 1 or 2 on the point and a fly from group 3 on the dropper. I prefer the bigger fly on the dropper (allowing a fish coming upwind to see the smaller, less obvious option first). Others do exactly the opposite, i.e. put the big fly on the point!
Tactics and Tips
The perfect day for the dries will be warm with a gentle breeze and a few fish showing, preferably staying high
in the water and rising to insects in/on the surface as they move, often upwind. Fish that come up from depth and rise only once are a rather less attractive proposition. That said it is certainly possible to catch fish on dries when there is little or no visible action on the surface.
Watch your flies very carefully indeed. Fish (often the better ones) can sip down flies with very little surface
disturbance and low floating flies can be tricky to keep track of. I often lift at any movement, even a tiny flattening of the ripple, where I think my flies are – more often than not it was mine they took. If not just get the flies back down there fast!
If fish rise to your flies but don’t take them there are three things to do.
1) Degrease your leader with Mud or your own favourite potion. A shiny leader sitting on the water is probably the number one reason flies are refused.
2) Try a smaller size of the same fly.
3) Try a different fly, or a different colour of the same fly.
Apply Gink, or whatever other floatant you use, sparingly. We want flies sitting low and vulnerable in the water not bobbing like corks. On some of my best days fishing the ‘dries’ my flies have sometimes actually been slowly sinking – not a major problem, you just don’t see the rise as the line tightens again!
Cover rising fish as fast as you can – this is where the slightly heavier rod/line can be handy, especially if
you’ve got to punch the flies into the wind. It’s important to try to spot the direction the fish is moving in – not easy but important - then put your flies a few feet ahead of them.
Mostly, dries and emergers are fished completely ‘dead’ i.e. drifting freely on the wind. However, occasionally the fish like to have them pulled, with the movement and/or the tiny wake proving irresistible. Even when fishing static flies it’s very important to keep a nice straight line from the rod tip to the leader to ensure a rapid response as you lift to set the hook. Why not invest in Our Top Performer Selection of Stillwater Dries and Emergers (the flies mentioned above are well represented) and give this exciting, visual approach a try?!