Articles in the Category Dry Fly Fishing

Fishing With Visible Flies — Learning From What You Can See (VIDEO)

Seeing the fly is one of the most enjoyable aspects of fishing. But there’s a world of education inherent, too. Watch the fly dance and fall as it mixes with the currents. Notice how it responds to rod tip animation and line strips. Then see a trout materialize around the fly and judge its reaction. Visible flies are teachers. Whether dries, wets, nymphs or streamers, watching the fly helps us refine the techniques that catch fish.

Fish and Film – Dry or Die (VIDEO)

Every summer I fish dry flies more than anything else. This year, without really planning on it, that’s all I’ve fished. I haven’t touched a nymph or a streamer for about two months now. It’s been dry fly or die.

Summers are my off season from guiding, but life gets complicated. There’s all the branches of the Troutbitten Project to keep up with, and rest of life creeps in too. It all gets mixed together. It get’s too cluttered. And maybe simplifying my flies and tactics is a response to all that.

Can You Force-Feed Trout Big Dries? I Want to Believe

I’ve spent the better part of my summer testing a theory. Will the wild brown trout in my home waters eat a big dry fly? More specifically, will they eat it regularly? And for the trout that do fall for an extra-large fly, is their average size large to match?

Dry Flies In Fast Water – Fly Fishing Tips (with VIDEO)

Here’s a look at fishing dry flies in faster water — in more complex currents — because there’s a unique set of skills to get true dead drifts in the fast water and pocket water. The drifts are shorter and harder to achieve. But some of the best fish hang out in faster stuff, and if you give them a great presentation you have a really good chance.

In this video, I cover three main skills that help meet the particulars of fishing dry flies in fast water. Those skills are also detailed below the video, in the article, with links to further Troutbitten resources.

PODCAST: Dry Fly Skills Series #3 — Leader Design and Adjustment — S12, Ep3

Aug 11, 2024 | Announcements, Dry Fly Fishing, The Troutbitten Podcast

The leader should match the moment and match the angler. It should match the fly, the river and the wind conditions. Adjustments are necessary, and when they’re performed often enough they become intuitive.

An objective look at real goals for the dry fly, along with the true capabilities of the leader materials at hand, will lead anyone down the path toward a great leader formula for dry flies.

While many anglers might consider the leader as an afterthought, we believe the leader is the most consequential element in the system. The leader always matters, but it’s most important while trying to achieve dead drifts with a dry fly.

True All-Purpose Leader — The Harvey Gold

Aug 7, 2024 | Dry Fly Fishing, Tactics

The Harvey Gold has the heart of the Harvey Dry leader, with a little more heft in the butt section and a piece of Gold Stren for a short sighter. The system allows for the quick swap of tippet sections, each specifically built for the river conditions, making this a truly modular leader without sacrifices (almost) . . .

PODCAST: Dry Fly Skills Series #2 — Drag Free Drifts and Animation — S12, Ep2

Aug 4, 2024 | Announcements, Dry Fly Fishing, The Troutbitten Podcast

The drag free drift — a high percentage of the time, that’s what catches trout on top. So aiming for perfection on a dead drift sets the baseline. And if you get those great drifts, but they won’t eat it, try some animation.

Everything works sometimes. So we’re ready to try anything. But we spend the most time with tactics that produce with the highest rate of return. That’s just common sense.

My friend, Matt Grobe, joins me for this second episode in our Dry Fly Skill Series, to walk through what a drag free drift really is, how critical perfect drifts really are, and when/how we animate the fly. a fly rod can do.

Twelve Small Stream Fly Casting Tips

Jul 31, 2024 | Dry Fly Fishing, Small Streams, Tactics

With all the right tools of rod, line, and leader, with all the knowledge about casting options, and with serious dedication to line speed, you need just one more thing.

Guts. Courage. Fortitude.

A willingness to fail.

Take your shots. That’s the only way toward a real education on small streams. Make the casts you think you can’t make. Eventually, instinct takes over and the fly goes into tighter targets than you ever thought possible . . .

PODCAST: Dry Fly Skills Series #1 — When and Why — S12, Ep1

Jul 28, 2024 | Announcements, Dry Fly Fishing, The Troutbitten Podcast

We argue that dry flies are the heart and soul of fly fishing. The visual aspect is fun and exciting. And the pleasures of topwater fishing should not be missed.

Also, presenting dry flies is what makes fly fishing unique. And learning the skills to cast a dry teaches you everything about what a fly rod can do.

The Hop Mend (with VIDEO)

Apr 20, 2022 | Dry Fly Fishing, Nymphing, Tactics, Videos | 16 Comments

We mend to prevent tension on the dry fly or the indicator. All flies could drift drag free in the current if not for tension from the attached leader. So it’s our job to eliminate or at least limit that tension on the tippet and to the fly.

This Hop Mend is an arch. It’s a steep and quick half-oval. It’s a fast motion up, over and down with the fly rod. It’s powerful and swift, but not overdone . . .

Podcast: Hatches and Strategies — S3 Ep3

Apr 10, 2022 | Announcements, Dry Fly Fishing, The Troutbitten Podcast | 7 Comments

One of the greatest attractions to fly fishing can also present one of the biggest barriers. It’s the bugs.

Understanding everything we can about these bugs and how trout respond to them is a big piece of the puzzle that we’re trying to solve out there. And sometimes, it’s the keystone. Because at certain times, the bug life of a river is the central player in a trout’s daily life . . .

Casting Forehand and Backhand (with VIDEO)

Apr 6, 2022 | Dry Fly Fishing, Tactics, The Mono Rig, Videos | 9 Comments

Fly casting differs from spin casing in a few key ways, and here’s one one of them: You need both a forehand and a backhand cast to achieve effective presentations. Trying to fit a forehand cast on the backhand side is a bad habit that causes problems and limits what is possible on the water. While there’s plenty of room for personal style in fly fishing, this is not one of those places.

As you can see in the video, there are multiple reasons for developing both the forehand and backhand casting stroke. Being equally comfortable with both sides opens the doors to every angle necessary on the river . . .

The Tight Line Advantage Across Fly Fishing Styles

Apr 5, 2021 | Dry Fly Fishing, Nymphing, Streamers, Tactics | 8 Comments

I first picked up fly fishing as a teenager, and I vividly remember the confusion. With time, I learned to cast the weight of the line rather than the weight of the lure, but I didn’t know what to do with the line after the cast. Sure, I learned about mending, but that never seemed to solve the problems at hand. Enter, tight lining concepts . . .

Turnover

Feb 24, 2021 | Dry Fly Fishing, Fly Casting, Tactics | 2 Comments

In short, turnover gives us freedom to choose what happens with the line that’s tethered to the fly. How does the tippet and leader land? With contact or with slack? And where does it land? In the seam and partnered with the fly, or in an adjacent current? By having mastery of turnover, we dictate the positioning of not just the fly, but the leader itself. And nothing could be more important . . .

Two Ways to Splat a Terrestrial Dry Fly and Follow It With a Dead Drift

Sep 24, 2020 | Dry Fly Fishing, Tactics | 4 Comments

Trout love the plop of a terrestrial — sometimes. But we catch even more by setting the fly up for a dead drift after the plop. It’s not easy, but it makes all the difference . . .