Newbie and nothing jumping.

I've been visiting the lakes and ponds around Yakima Washington since
receiving a fly rod last year for my birthday. One thing that I've been
wondering about is this: When the water is glassy-smooth and nothing has
jumped for a few hours, is it even worth the effort to use a dry fly? If
the fish aren't eating real flies, can they be induced to rise to a fake
one? I've yet to figure out how to get a wet fly out beyond about twice
the length of my fishing rod, unless I use a spin-cast rod and a
water-filled bobber... Not exactly what I want to do right now.
Meanwhile, the family of campers at the other end of the lake are using
wads of scented "power bait" and catching trout, which at least proves
there are fish in the lake after all!

Karl S.