non dead drift dry flying

[no]

The only way I know how to fish is dead drifting. Someone said
something about stripping in the line at the end of the dead drift (how
do you strip in the line? I just think of cute naughty naked girls). I
tried pulling in the line put that just drags the fly upstream.

[Willi]

no wrote:
> The only way I know how to fish is dead drifting. Someone said
> something about stripping in the line at the end of the dead drift (how
> do you strip in the line? I just think of cute naughty naked girls). I
> tried pulling in the line put that just drags the fly upstream.


Many of the "classic" Mayflies tend to sit sedately on the surface and
the drag free drift was developed to imitate this.

Caddis, Stoneflies and even some Mayflies, are often active when they
are on the water, and at times, trout do look for some action. However,
the fish will be turned off or put down by the wrong action. It often
very difficult to achieve the right amount or type of action and it's
often hard to figure out when to use it.

The advice you had previously received - to dead drift dries - is good
information for a beginner. It's difficult to learn to be a good dead
drifter, in many/most situations a dead drift is preferred, a dead
drifted fly won't put off the fish, drag usually puts off fish etc.

If you want to experiment with giving your dries some action, I'd
recommend you start out in some riffle or pocket water area where you see
some Caddis on or above the water. Putting a soft hackle or a nymph on a
dropper that's connected to the bend of the hook will "anchor" the flies
and allow you to bounce the dry on the surface. Experiment with adding
different types and amounts of action. If you get a take it will be
HARD! Be ready. It's ALOT of fun when it works.

When you learn how to do this successfully, try adding action on other
water types. Generally, just a hint of action (if any) is all that's
needed in areas of little current.

Willi

[Sierra fisher]

There are a number of bugs that are very active on the surface. there are
some that, as adults, dive under the water to lay eggs. The most common are
caddis. I swear my wife catches more fish on caddis flies by stripping the
fly back in at the end of the drift, sometimes underwater. Also, emergers
often swim at or just under the surface.
Be attentive where you catch fish. A few weeks ago, I noticed that I was
getting very few strikes on the dead drift with a grasshopper. However, the
fish chased the fly during the swing, and when I stripped it back in. that
is the way I fished the fly the rest of the afternoon


"no" > wrote in message
...
> The only way I know how to fish is dead drifting. Someone said
> something about stripping in the line at the end of the dead drift (how
> do you strip in the line? I just think of cute naughty naked girls). I
> tried pulling in the line put that just drags the fly upstream.


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[rw]

Sierra fisher wrote:
> There are a number of bugs that are very active on the surface. there are
> some that, as adults, dive under the water to lay eggs. The most common are
> caddis. I swear my wife catches more fish on caddis flies by stripping the
> fly back in at the end of the drift, sometimes underwater. Also, emergers
> often swim at or just under the surface.
> Be attentive where you catch fish. A few weeks ago, I noticed that I was
> getting very few strikes on the dead drift with a grasshopper. However, the
> fish chased the fly during the swing, and when I stripped it back in. that
> is the way I fished the fly the rest of the afternoon

This is pretty interesting. The fish on the Bighorn (miniclave) were
taking flies on the swing, during a massive black caddis hatch. I don't
know whether they were taking pupae (emergers) or adult egg layers. Both
patterns worked to some degree, but Willi was catching big fish on
drowned black caddis dries and soft hackles, and outfishing all of us,
as usual. But we all caught fish. :-)

When I fish hoppers and salmon flies I've noticed that some twitching
and dragging can induce strikes. My theory is that opportunistic fish
get desperate to grab a big meal that might be getting away.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

[Jeff Miller]

rw wrote:

> My theory is that opportunistic fish
> get desperate to grab a big meal that might be getting away.
>

i spent some hours watching the browns at penns creek devour a big
mayfly hatch the first year i was up there. it was clear the fish
preferred the duns which were moving, vibrating, or even fluttering just
above the water. there was an abundant buffet of bugs all over the
surface, but the risers keyed on those exhibiting some motion. after a
time i could predict which bug would get eaten in the seam i watched.
if i'd had a good camera, i could have caught some excellent shots. i
also drifted nymphs and small streamers watching the fish react. they
preferred and chased those with movement, while ignoring dead drifts i
bumped into their nose.

i don't know if it's just a natural or instinctual strike/feed reflex, a
protective/survival, no-hook learned trait, or just a taste preference
for fresh bugs. but it was fascinating to watch and i caught more fish
with the knowledge obtained from the observation on that day. some of
the fish would leap from the water to nail a bug still fluttering above
the surface. i had a couple leap for a stimulator that raised off the
surface as i was lifting the line and it became taught to the dropper
still under the surface.

jeff

[Sierra fisher]

My experience is just the opposite. If there is a spinner fall, a lot of
dead or dying bugs on the surface, that have just laid their eggs, the fish
will key on them. They know that these will not get away, and they just
take their time sipping them. If you're fishing what is in the air, you
will have a long day.
The Henry's Fork of the Snake is notorius for this. One evening we stood
out in a size 12 caddis hatch tht was so thick that it looked like snow. We
were surrounded by fish yet no one caught anything. The fish were sipping
something about a size 24 that no one coud see. Occasionally you would hear
a loud smack of a fish taking a caddis, but mostly it was just sip, sip.
The natives have a special phrase, or word for the spinners that no one
sees.
"Jeff Miller" > wrote in message
news:hNfdb.4074$k74.2992@lakeread05...
>
>
> rw wrote:
>
> > My theory is that opportunistic fish
> > get desperate to grab a big meal that might be getting away.
> >
>
> i spent some hours watching the browns at penns creek devour a big
> mayfly hatch the first year i was up there. it was clear the fish
> preferred the duns which were moving, vibrating, or even fluttering just
> above the water. there was an abundant buffet of bugs all over the
> surface, but the risers keyed on those exhibiting some motion. after a
> time i could predict which bug would get eaten in the seam i watched.
> if i'd had a good camera, i could have caught some excellent shots. i
> also drifted nymphs and small streamers watching the fish react. they
> preferred and chased those with movement, while ignoring dead drifts i
> bumped into their nose.
>
> i don't know if it's just a natural or instinctual strike/feed reflex, a
> protective/survival, no-hook learned trait, or just a taste preference
> for fresh bugs. but it was fascinating to watch and i caught more fish
> with the knowledge obtained from the observation on that day. some of
> the fish would leap from the water to nail a bug still fluttering above
> the surface. i had a couple leap for a stimulator that raised off the
> surface as i was lifting the line and it became taught to the dropper
> still under the surface.
>
> jeff
>


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[Skwala]

"no" > wrote in message
...
> The only way I know how to fish is dead drifting. Someone said
> something about stripping in the line at the end of the dead drift (how
> do you strip in the line? I just think of cute naughty naked girls). I
> tried pulling in the line put that just drags the fly upstream.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You start stripping well before the fly is directly downstream form you.

A cast slightly upstream from your position ahead of the lie, with a quick
mend gives you the drag free part of the drift.

Once the fly is approx. across from you or so, but before the current
creates any drag on the line is when you strip.

A sharp tug will submerge your fly (depending upon pattern) which can be a
good thing too, in some situations.

Recommended patterns for the skittering technique would be something light
and high floating (Elk hair caddis, some variant patterns, etc work well).

If you find your self on a Rocky Mountain river at late summer's dusk, and
notice trout moving up into a riffle during a caddis hatch, dragging a
heavily hackled patterns through the rises (splashes, in this case) means
you don't even have to know how to set the hook to catch some respectable
fish. (Secret guide technique to ensure a big tip if you had clients that
missed every fish on the rest of the float).

Skwala

[no]

In article >,
Willi > wrote:

>
>
> no wrote:
> > The only way I know how to fish is dead drifting. Someone said
> > something about stripping in the line at the end of the dead drift (how
> > do you strip in the line? I just think of cute naughty naked girls). I
> > tried pulling in the line put that just drags the fly upstream.
>
>
> Many of the "classic" Mayflies tend to sit sedately on the surface and
> the drag free drift was developed to imitate this.
>
> Caddis, Stoneflies and even some Mayflies, are often active when they
> are on the water, and at times, trout do look for some action. However,
> the fish will be turned off or put down by the wrong action. It often
> very difficult to achieve the right amount or type of action and it's
> often hard to figure out when to use it.
>
> The advice you had previously received - to dead drift dries - is good
> information for a beginner. It's difficult to learn to be a good dead
> drifter, in many/most situations a dead drift is preferred, a dead
> drifted fly won't put off the fish, drag usually puts off fish etc.
>
> If you want to experiment with giving your dries some action, I'd
> recommend you start out in some riffle or pocket water area where you see
> some Caddis on or above the water. Putting a soft hackle or a nymph on a
> dropper that's connected to the bend of the hook will "anchor" the flies
> and allow you to bounce the dry on the surface. Experiment with adding
> different types and amounts of action. If you get a take it will be
> HARD! Be ready. It's ALOT of fun when it works.
>
> When you learn how to do this successfully, try adding action on other
> water types. Generally, just a hint of action (if any) is all that's
> needed in areas of little current.

I see flies skittering all the time, especially (spinners? look kind of
like a parachute type dry fly). The problem is when I strip in the line
(retrieve it) the fly just gets dragged under the water. This isnt bad?

[Willi]

Sierra fisher wrote:
> My experience is just the opposite. If there is a spinner fall, a lot of
> dead or dying bugs on the surface, that have just laid their eggs, the fish
> will key on them. They know that these will not get away, and they just
> take their time sipping them. If you're fishing what is in the air, you
> will have a long day.
> The Henry's Fork of the Snake is notorius for this. One evening we stood
> out in a size 12 caddis hatch tht was so thick that it looked like snow. We
> were surrounded by fish yet no one caught anything. The fish were sipping
> something about a size 24 that no one coud see. Occasionally you would hear
> a loud smack of a fish taking a caddis, but mostly it was just sip, sip.
> The natives have a special phrase, or word for the spinners that no one
> sees.


This will often happen on placid sections of fertile waters. Trout have
evolved selectivity and when given choices, will feed on the insect that
will most efficiently supply their needs - often a very plentiful small
insect instead of another larger, less plentiful one or a dead floating
fly over a more difficult to capture active one. However, multiple
hatches where fish are given this type of choice are the exception on
every water and on most streams and rivers it is a rare exception.

Although I feel dead drifting is usually the best way to present a dry,
there are times when trout are keyed into some movement in the flies
either on top and under the water. When I'm working fish that are
actively feeding with no success, I'll usually try some movement before
I go through too many fly changes.

Taking your HF example (although I'm talking about active in subsurface
flies) I'm guessing you could have taken some of those HF fish on a
small soft hackle swung through the current. If there were that many
Caddis coming off, I doubt all the fish would have been feeding
exclusively on the Mayfly spinners.

Willi

[Bob Patton]

"Willi" > wrote in message
...
//snip//
> Although I feel dead drifting is usually the best way to present a dry,
> there are times when trout are keyed into some movement in the flies
> either on top and under the water. When I'm working fish that are
> actively feeding with no success, I'll usually try some movement before
> I go through too many fly changes.
>
Excellent point. Sometimes if nothing else works it's good to impart some
motion in the fly just to see what happens. It's an alternative to changing
flies after you've thoroughly worked the water with dead drifts. I've been
successful sometimes by allowing a fly to dead drift downstream and then
jerking it back upstream with little twitches - almost as if my wrist had
palsy. (The older I get the easier that is.) Works best for me if I put the
fly along the bank and try to make it look like something live that just
fell off a bush.
Bob

[Jeff Miller]

when i fished henrys fork, the only fish i caught on a dry were with a
skittering elk hair caddis (it was september...perhaps not the best
time?). penns creek is a bizarre bazaar of bugs. but, the fluttering
march browns seemed to be preferred by the trout i watched.

jeff (proficient in the "long day")



Sierra fisher wrote:

> My experience is just the opposite. If there is a spinner fall, a lot of
> dead or dying bugs on the surface, that have just laid their eggs, the fish
> will key on them. They know that these will not get away, and they just
> take their time sipping them. If you're fishing what is in the air, you
> will have a long day.
> The Henry's Fork of the Snake is notorius for this. One evening we stood
> out in a size 12 caddis hatch tht was so thick that it looked like snow. We
> were surrounded by fish yet no one caught anything. The fish were sipping
> something about a size 24 that no one coud see. Occasionally you would hear
> a loud smack of a fish taking a caddis, but mostly it was just sip, sip.
> The natives have a special phrase, or word for the spinners that no one
> sees.
> "Jeff Miller" > wrote in message
> news:hNfdb.4074$k74.2992@lakeread05...
>
>>
>>rw wrote:
>>
>>
>>>My theory is that opportunistic fish
>>>get desperate to grab a big meal that might be getting away.
>>>
>>
>>i spent some hours watching the browns at penns creek devour a big
>>mayfly hatch the first year i was up there. it was clear the fish
>>preferred the duns which were moving, vibrating, or even fluttering just
>>above the water. there was an abundant buffet of bugs all over the
>>surface, but the risers keyed on those exhibiting some motion. after a
>>time i could predict which bug would get eaten in the seam i watched.
>>if i'd had a good camera, i could have caught some excellent shots. i
>>also drifted nymphs and small streamers watching the fish react. they
>>preferred and chased those with movement, while ignoring dead drifts i
>>bumped into their nose.
>>
>>i don't know if it's just a natural or instinctual strike/feed reflex, a
>>protective/survival, no-hook learned trait, or just a taste preference
>>for fresh bugs. but it was fascinating to watch and i caught more fish
>>with the knowledge obtained from the observation on that day. some of
>>the fish would leap from the water to nail a bug still fluttering above
>>the surface. i had a couple leap for a stimulator that raised off the
>>surface as i was lifting the line and it became taught to the dropper
>>still under the surface.
>>
>>jeff
>>
>
>
>
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>
>