Fly technique?

[Guest TheDacer]

This might seem a daft question to fly anglers - but I'm a 100% novice on the subject, so here goes anyway..

 

What's the difference between 'wet' and 'dry' flies?

 

Is it just that the wet ones look like, well, wet flies? And the dry ones look like dry flies??

 

If so, am I right in assuming that a dry fly should be cast to just above the surface or just flicked onto the surface of the water - whereas a wet fly can be landed with a nice plop in the water??

 

If thats the way it is, is 'wet' fly fishing easier?

[Guest Cranfield]

Dacer, There are some very detailed answers to your question and I suspect you may get some.

 

My answer is more basic.

 

Dry flies are fished on the surface.

 

Wet flies are fished under the surface.

Same goes for nymphs and "lures".

 

Complications set in when you realise that you can fish "wet" flies with a floating fly line.

But, you can,t fish dry flies with a sinking fly line.

 

Welcome to this wonderful fur and feather flinging world.

[Guest Duncan]

Dacer,

 

Oh dear this requires another book.

 

I think the best way is to understand what aquatic insects and the stage of life cycle the fly-fishermen is trying imitate, and to do that an appreciation of the life cycle of flies is handy, so here goes.

 

Of main interest and importance to the fly-fisherman are flies and insects of the entomological orders:

Ephemeroptera – Up-winged flies (olives, etc)

Trichoptera – Flies with roof shaped wings (sedge-flies)

Diptera – Flat-winged flies (Smuts, midges, house flies, etc)

Plecoptera – Hard-winged-flies (stoneflies)

 

Generally the above group’s life cycle can be split into distinct phases that are of interest to the fly-fisherman:

 

The nymph – takes refuge on the river/lake bed in weed, gravel, under stones or burrows where they live for between 2 to 12 months and moult regularly as they grow.

This where it get a little complex

 

The sub-imago or dun (applies to Ephemeroptera) – on reaching maturity the nymph undergoes its penultimate moult where the adult nymph rapidly ascends to the surface and the nymphal skin splits and an adult winged fly emerges.

 

The pupa (basically applies to Trichoptera, Diptera & Plecoptera) - this stage may last for a number of days. Some species swim up to the surface of the water and others climb out on river/lake side vegetation where the metamorphosis takes place and the adult winged fly emerges.

 

The adult Ephemeroptera sub-imago or dun now undergoes a final moult where it appears as an imago or spinner. These are the swarms you see over the river/lake surface as they undergo there final mating dance, after which the males may fly off & re-mate, but the females will lay their eggs (oviposit) through the water surface before dieing.

Adult Trichoptera, Diptera & Plecoptera mate during the nocturnal hours and oviposit in a similar way but in lesser numbers and may survive many days before dieing.

 

So if you’ve followed the above I can now get on to establishing the difference between wet & dry flies.

 

Wet flies basically imitate the nymph, pupa and ascending nymph and pupa stages of the above and are therefore fished sub-surface. They are tied from softer more opaque materials to define the legs gas bubbles and overall translucence of the subject.

 

Dry flies imitate the adult fly/insect as they take off from the water surface after moulting, ovipositing or dieing and are fished on the water surface. They are tied with more resilient materials so they will sit on the water surface and tend to be of a more natural shape and colour in an attempt to deceive the fish.

 

In wet fly fishing a common way was to cast a team, 2 or 3, flies at 45deg down stream and let the current move the flies through the water. Using this method induces a high amount of drag and made the flies behaviour look un-natural. A better way is to cast across and slightly upstream and allow your team of flies to work without drag ie naturally, recasting when drag appears. There is also the upstream method where a team of flies id cast upstream of your position and by raising the rod no drag is induced and you remain in contact with the flies at all time.

 

Dry fly fishing can be done either by searching the river looking for a fish taking an insect from the surface or speculative casting to likely places a fish would live. You fish a single fly and cast accurately above the fish’s position again without drag (one of the anglers curses) and without scaring him and hope your presentation along with your selection of imitation will fool him.

 

As you can see wet fly-fishing is a separate method from dry fly fishing, both are arts in themselves and yet the educated angler should be proficient in both methods so the tyro has a lot to learn.

 

I hope this explains the basics there are some really good books available on the subject but get in touch if you what any further info, I’m only too happy to help.

 

Cheers

Duncan

 

 

[This message has been edited by Duncan (edited 25 November 2001).]

[Guest Cranfield]

Yup, as I suspected a detailed answer.

 

A very good detailed answer, I might add!