Fly Fishing Part 3 - Flies

I won't describe every artificial fly in existence; I'll limit myself to a brief description and classification. Nor will I talk about how to tie them, because that's far too broad a topic and deserves a separate discussion. In general, flies are divided into dry and wet. As the names suggest, the former are meant to float on the surface, the latter under water. This would seem to be a clear and unambiguous classification. However, there is a group of artificial flies imitating insects that emerge from the water and float both under water and on its surface. So, depending on their construction, they are classed sometimes as dry flies and sometimes as wet flies. Among wet artificial flies the following groups can be distinguished: wet flies – traditional ones, sea trout flies, streamers, salmon flies and nymphs. As we can see, this classification is usually tied to the fishing method, but it isn't absolute. After all, there are no precisely defined boundaries between the individual groups. There are many flies that, in principle, cannot be said to belong to any one particular group. Often this is determined by a factor such as the type of hook or the size of the fly. For example, the wet fly «Alexandra», tied on a long-shank hook, is considered a streamer. It's also hard to draw a clear line between traditional wet flies and sea trout flies, or to define the boundary between a wingless wet fly and a simple hackled nymph.

However, most artificial flies can safely be assigned to one of the groups named above. The photographs above show the most common artificial flies, so that the reader can learn to recognise them.

When buying or tying flies, you need to pay attention to the quality of the hooks. They should be sharp, hard to bend and not prone to breaking. There are many fishing methods in which the fish doesn't hook itself, and the first condition for success is a sharp point. At the same time, the barb shouldn't be too big, since that makes it harder for the hook to penetrate the fish's mouth. Don't worry that a small barb will lead to fish frequently coming off the hook while you're playing them. I've fished many times with flies tied on barbless hooks, and the number of fish that came off was negligible. Far more often fish come off because of clumsy playing and a blunt hook holding too insecurely in the hard mouth of the fish

Fishing with a wet fly is done the same way as with light and heavy nymphs. Wet flies are used instead of nymphs. For wet-fly fishing, choose a rod from 2.6 to 3.3 m long. The main thing is that it "sits" well in your hand. Sometimes, to make the drift easier, longer rods (up to 3.6 m) are used. This method usually uses sinking lines: a slow-sinking line and, less often, a fast-sinking one. If there's no need to fish the flies deep, a floating line can be used. Most often the cast is made slightly across and downstream. After the cast, we check the line so that its length stays constant. The flies then swing in a gentle arc across the current to below the spot where we're standing. If you fish the rig correctly, the fish will hook itself. If you fish it incorrectly, almost all the takes are felt only as faint tugs. There are two ways of fishing the flies correctly. We got acquainted with the first, where the rod is held horizontally over the water and forms a 180° angle with the line, earlier. With the second, the rod should be held raised almost vertically, while trying to keep the line under as little tension as possible. In this case we're in direct contact only with the line, not with the flies. It hangs from the rod tip, forming a large loose arc.

Above. «Olive Dun»

Right. Correct rod position

But you mustn't let this sag get too big while fishing the flies. If we tilt the rod too far or pull the line too tight, we won't be able to strike the fish effectively. Of course, this doesn't mean the line should lie on the water in loose coils; on the contrary, it should be straightened out. With a heavy enough line, the fish will hook itself. In the final phase of the drift, carefully draw the line towards you with your left hand while raising the rod. The movement of the flies rising up and against the current will be especially attractive (mainly to trout). Holding the rod tilted over the water, you can make the flies "work" more effectively with light pulls on the line. This method, called "aggressive", I described in the section on fishing with streamers. Wet-fly methods resemble not only fishing a nymph at distance but also fishing with streamers. That's the reason it's sometimes hard to tell certain wet flies from streamers or nymphs. When fishing wet flies, it's useful to fish them so that they drift naturally with the current. You also need to remember to check the line slightly.

Feeding line when fishing downstream

To avoid sideways drift, we cast the line upstream, so that it lies parallel to the current. This lets the flies drift freely downstream. We work the flies by moving the rod tip while at the same time paying out line, braking it with the left hand. This method is most effective when working flies on a short line. We cast the line slightly from under ourselves, then lead it under the rod (following the direction of the current). Here we use two flies. As the point fly we tie on a larger one that offers a lot of resistance in the water. The point fly keeps the leader slightly taut. Meanwhile the dropper rises toward the surface. Longer fly rods are best suited to this method. The hardest thing is to master fishing wet flies "upstream." We fish the same way as with a long-range nymph, but the retrieve has to be faster in order to stay in contact with the flies and feel the take. You should strike immediately. With more decisive takes the fish will hook itself. Best suited to this method are traditional wet flies with a very soft hackle, usually tied from "hen" feathers, for example duck or owl feathers, which "work" well even in the weakest current, making the fly more attractive. Both floating and sinking lines can be used successfully.

Fishing with a dropper

Dry fly

There are many kinds of dry flies. The most typical dry fly has a hackle and tail made of stiff, water-repellent rooster feathers. Such a fly floats thanks to the surface tension of the water. Those of you who have never tried fishing a dry fly may have doubts. After all, after a few casts the fly will get wet and start to sink. To prevent this, it has to be treated with a special protective agent. Usually this is silicone oil dissolved in amyl alcohol. The alcohol evaporates, leaving a protective, water-repellent silicone layer on the fly. Manufacturers produce various liquids and greases for protecting flies. Very good, for example, are natural extracts from the preen glands of ducks, in liquid or gel form.

Despite this protection, the fly will still sink if you don't dry it while fishing, using false casts between the "working" casts. The term "drying" is somewhat misleading. After all, how much water can you really evaporate from a fly during a short pass of the line overhead? The water isn't so much evaporated as shaken off the fly by centrifugal force during the back cast. That's why false casts and the back casts themselves should be done very vigorously. Otherwise, if an angler, after a short drift, makes a few sluggish false casts, the fly won't float well.

On the other hand, if the angler casts with the proper acceleration of the arm, a single false cast is enough for several dozen "working" casts. In principle, the thicker and bigger the hackle, the longer our fly will stay on the water. Flies with a thick, full hackle can be very effective. But not always. Sometimes it happens that the less hackle, the better, and under certain conditions an effective fly should have only a few fibers or none at all. You'll ask: how can it float, then? It floats, and pretty well too, often no worse than the hackled ones. The whole secret lies in what it's made of and how we dry it. To tie such flies you should use materials that absorb little water: special synthetic fibers, the fur of certain animals (hare's "mask" is very good), CDC (short for the French name Cull de Canard) – the downy feathers around a duck's preen gland, crudely called "duck's butt" by Polish anglers. These feathers are soaked in natural oil, and thanks to it they float beautifully, perfectly imitating the natural, slightly translucent wings of real flies. The size of the fly has a big influence on how it behaves on the water. A dry fly should be tied on a very fine-wire hook and have a thick hackle. At the same time, small flies stay on the water very well and are hard to sink, even when the situation calls for it. In that case special greases and liquids that weigh the fly down are used.

When should you use a dry fly? As a rule, when we see fish feeding at the surface.

When fish take insects, ring-shaped ripples appear on the surface of the water. Anglers call such a mark, which gives away feeding and holding fish, a "rise." So when we see rises on the surface, a dry fly is sure to be effective. Now the question arises: which fly to tie on? Which of several dozen will turn out to be the most effective?

Nobody can learn the science of choosing a fly from books. I'll just give a few tips that may prove useful when making your own decision. First of all, you need to watch the fishing spot carefully. First, pay attention to which insects are found there. Every fly fisher who ends up by the water, even by chance and without tackle, can't help watching the flying and floating insects. This habit helps a lot later on when fishing.

Two kinds of flies CDC

A "rise"

We see, for example, numerous mayflies floating on the water (the wings of floating mayflies look like miniature sails). From time to time one of them takes off heavily, heading upstream. When only one species of insect is flying over the water and we see "rise rings", choosing a fly is relatively simple. We can be almost one hundred percent sure that the fish are taking exactly this insect from the surface, or its nymph just below the surface. So we tie on artificial flies resembling the real insects flying over the water. This may be a dun or its emerging nymphs of the same colour and size. The situation gets more complicated when several species of insects are flying over the water at once. Then you have to choose the right fly by trial and error. Some conclusions can be drawn from the shape and appearance of the "rise rings". If they are very small and barely noticeable, it is clear that the fish are feeding on small insects. If trout or grayling are holding near the surface, the rises may be more frequent. "Audible rises", with a distinct slurping sound, usually mean that the fish are taking insects moving across the water. This may be a mayfly landing on the surface (blown down by the wind) or, more often, a caddis, which likes to "run" across the water. Rises to caddis can be very loud indeed, especially when "performed" by trout. Loud, sharp slurps are also typical of fish rising to large insects, for example the mayfly. Here you need to be careful in your assessment, as trout can take it just as delicately. It is a different matter when there are neither insects nor "rise rings". In this case you can try fishing a dry fly, the choice of which is determined by the character of the spot. This may be a caddis or, for example, an Irresistible fly. Despite the absence of obvious signs of feeding, you can sometimes provoke a fish into rising to the fly. It also happens that insects are flying, but so few of them that it is hard to notice either the insects themselves or, even more so, the rare "rise rings". This is often the case on our northern waters. Many times I have achieved quite good results in such situations fishing a large or small caddis, when just the odd insect occasionally flew overhead; nevertheless the fish bit wonderfully, even though I saw no more than one "rise ring". However, there are waters where trout and grayling take their food directly from the bottom. In such places the method I use usually does not work. This applies to some trout waters in the northern part of Poland. These are usually rivers with a powerful current. There is a lot of food on the bottom there, and the fish very rarely rise to the surface. It is very difficult to determine precisely the number of insects that could provoke fish into feeding at the surface. On a water where food is scarce, just a few floating insects may be enough, while in other conditions the fish will not react even to a large amount of food. The hardest time to choose a fly is when there are not very many insects flying, of various species, and there are few "rise rings". Individual fish, even of the same species, may rise to different insects.

It happens that some insects are flying actively in one area, but a few kilometres upriver there are hardly any of them. Sometimes this distance is only a few hundred metres. An important factor is the nature of local pollution of the water. I have come across cases where insects were flying only below or above a certain tributary, depending on whether it was cleaner or dirtier than the river it flowed into. You need to be able to tell a spinner-type mayfly from a dun. This is not all that difficult. A spinner has a delicate body structure and a long tail, and during its mating flight the insect moves in a characteristic way: it flies up and drops down. If we see many such insects nearby over the water or close to it, it is clear that a large mayfly hatch took place recently, and in this case egg-laying can be expected. This usually happens towards evening. In the dark it is very hard to see what is floating on the water and what is flying above it. In that case it is better to stand in a spot lit by the setting sun, lean down as low as possible over the water and carefully watch its shining surface. More than once, looking at the water this way, I was very surprised that I had not noticed before how many insects were flying over the water. The hardest to spot are the smallest ones, and it is precisely these that are often the fish's favourite food. If it is not entirely clear which fly to use, you can try fancy flies. They sometimes turn out to be surprisingly effective, despite not resembling any of the floating insects. I have sometimes used this tactic successfully during a sparse hatch of various insects, when there were not too many "rise rings", and also during an intense hatch with few "rise rings". In the latter case, it paid off to tie on a fly that did not look like the insects hatching at the time.

From top to bottom.

Caddis CDC.

Squirrel fur caddis.

Fly Goddard Sedge

So, for example, during a heavy hatch of small mayflies you can try tying on a large artificial fly. Unfortunately, I can't say for certain which flies should be used, when and where. The catastrophic state of our rivers leads to seriously irregular insect hatches: a heavy hatch of some insect observed right now doesn't at all mean it will be the same a year from now. This applies, in principle, to all our rivers, since insect populations are dying off and degenerating in ways that are impossible to foresee. When nothing helps anymore and we stand helpless and desperate in the middle of water "boiling" with rises, there's no point getting worked up. You need to calm down, because nothing catastrophic is happening... Better to stop fishing and start carefully watching the nature around you, trying to understand what our mistake is. There's always a way to fix it, you just have to come up with something suitable. To anyone who can't come up with anything, the only comfort I can offer is that I myself have stood helpless in the water more than once and still haven't figured out what my mistake was. It'll surely happen to me again more than once.