Posted by Jim (24.116.99.140) on November 06, 2003 at 14:01:21:
Dry fly styles
Oh the dry fly. Some will fly fish with nothing else. Admittedly, they can be a blast to fish with but also can make you pull your hair out. At times, fish will take any one that closely imitates its chosen prey. Where as, at other times if your fly isn’t the exact imitation with live wiggling legs and a squirming body with fluttering wings it’ll get passed up every time. (By the way, if anybody knows of a pattern that does all of these things, please let me know!!!) Consider the following styles of dries and try to apply the best style to the situation that you find the feeding fish in.
Catskills-These are the most common style of dry and the one that everybody is most familiar with. Since the hackle is wound around the hook shank it causes the eye of the hook to rest up off of the water and the hook point to be just under the surface. With the hackle like this it gives the impression, from under the water, of insect feet on the surface meniscus, much like what a natural would look like. Mayflies (except for the bigger ones like hexs) hold up their head and most of their thorax above the water with their legs, leaving just their abdomen and feet on the water.
Parachute-This style puts the entire body on the surface since the hackle is wound around a post that is perpendicular to and just above the hook shank. It does not leave foot impressions on the water. It can imitate an emerging adult or a crippled adult. The parachutes are my most favorite style. I believe I get better hook up ratios with them since more of the hook point is under water. Also, it imitates a crippled (read, more vulnerable) mayfly that might otherwise be passed up if it was a healthy “catskill” style adult. Further, they don’t twist up your tippet like some catskills can during false casts.
Hairwings-These have a predominate wing that is tied with animal hair, usually elk body hair, above the hook. Most will have a few turns of hackle on them mainly to imitate legs and, like the catskill, leave foot impressions on the water. The elk hair caddis is probably the most common hairwing. I usually tie most of mine without the traditional body hackle for the same reasons I like parachute patterns. No body hackle lets the fly ride lower on the water imitating a cripple/emerger and gives me better hookup ratios. But for very active adult caddis’, the hackle will allow you to better impart some motion to the fly and/or even “skate” the fly on the surface.
Comparadun-Some say it’s a dry. Some say it’s an emerger. Since it has a predominate wing meant to float the fly, I will list it as a dry. Again, this style resembles a cripple/emerger. They never have any hackle on them and therefore ride every low in the water. The wing of hair is fanned out across the top of the hook and can be hard to tie if you tie your own. This style is also hard for the fisherman to see from any distance or if the water’s surface is choppy because of its low profile.
If you do tie your own flies, try tying some with trailing shucks. This will work for all of the above except the catskill styles. The trailing shuck just furthers the impression of a cripple or still emerging fly and is something that fish, at times, will key in on. I’ve watched fish feed and rise all around a drifting healthy adult never taking it and then at other times watch fish jump out of the water and almost fighting each other to get at an adult. If you have identified what insect they are feeding on and have tried a certain style of dry in the right size with no results switch to a different style or one with or without hackle. A subtle change like this is some times all that is called for and can make or break a trip.
Good luck and thanks for reading. Again, as always, if you have any tips that you would like to share just email them to me (you will be given full credit). Also, feel free to comment.
Jim Enns <*))))))))><