Newbie Question: How many fly sizes & colors to tie for next season?

Russell D. wrote:


Willi, I'd be really interested in what some of these "different ways
and better ways" that you are referring to are. I've always thought that
a drag free dead drift was the key to catching trout.

"different ways" is probably accurate, but "better", I don't know. I
find it more fun.

Although there are some situations where drag can be used to your
advantage like when swinging wet flies or using drag to lift your nymph
toward the surface, usually a drag free drift is the best. However, a
drag free drift doesn't necessarily mean a dead drift. There are a
number of ways to effectively animate your flies.

Think about it, insects move both on and in the water unless they're
dead like spent spinners. Often this motion is a trigger for the trout.
The movements made by energetic insects like caddis and stoneflies are
easier to imitate than the sedate flutter of a mayfly or the hover of a
tiny midge. If you like to catch fish on dries, angler induced movement
will often bring fish to the surface that would ignore a dead drifted
fly.




So, just curious, do you catch more fish with the dry or the dropper?
(Betting the answer is probably, "Yes.")

It depends but in general it's probably 2/3's on the dropper.

Willi