SELECTING
DRY FLIES
This article is intended to
give helpful information on dry flies and
their selection. There are many
conderations in choosing the dry fly for
a given situation. With the variety of
dry flies available in color variation
and hook size, the task is not simple,
but with some basic information on
insects and the dry flies that immitate
them, even the novice fly fisher will be
able to confidently choose a pattern.
Below are some attributes and situations
to consider when selecting dry flies.
COLOR: During cool weather (
spring / fall and cloudy weather ) many
of the insects that hatch are dark.
This adaptation allows for solar heat
gain to aid in getting their metabolisms
going and for them to get airborne for
their nuptial flights. The classic
example of this is the Baetis or Blue
Wing Olive. The adult of this group
has generally a dark slate blue/gray
wings legs and back. A look at
hatch charts will show that this bug
hatches during the cool weather months.
Conversely during the hot
weather months most insects tend to be
light. Shades of yellow ,tan and
white are common. This adaptation
prevents dehydration in the intense
summer sun. Most insects cant drink
water in adult stages. A classic example
of this is the E. infrequens or Pale Morning Dun mayfly. The
most notable colors are cream to pale
yellow. This bug hatches June to
September in the Western US.
WATER TYPE: Often times I will choose
what type of fly to use based on the
water I am going to fish. The
construction of dry flies is aimed at
making them float while looking
like an insect. These two goals are
often at odds and you must sacrifice
exact imitation to gain floatability. In
rough water the fish have just a brief
moment to take the fly or let it
pass. In this instance exact
imitation can be sacrificed in favor of
buoyancy. with flies such as the Irresistible which has a
spun deer hair body and is heavily
hackled. Deer, elk and many
other hairs have small air pockets inside
each hair which provides insulation for
the animal. This also makes a very
buoyant tying material. Hair also
holds floatant well. This pattern
floats like a cork and the plump body is
a far from exact imitation.
The opposite is true on
smooth surfaced waters, here the fish
have a long time
to look at your offering and the surface
tension is enough to float your
bug.
The Adams Family can easily
illustrate the point. The
classic Adams is designed to
float well, the fly rides on the hackle
tips and the tail with the hook suspended
above the water surface. It is the
second most buoyant of the series.
The Parachute Adams is the next in
terms of approaching imitation and
leaving
floatability. The parachutes are
really emergers rather than true dry
flies. The fly hangs by the hackle
with the hook, body and tail in the
film. The surface tension has been
broken and it will not take as rough a
surface as the Adams.
The Adams Cripple also hangs by
itıs hackle and is more conducive to
smoother flows.
The other end of the
spectrum from the Irresistible is the Compara Dun, Adams. It is the
most exact imitation of the profile of an
adult mayfly when viewed from under
water. It has no hackle and it sits
in the film. This has become the
fly style of choice for the serious
spring creek angler.
I consider the Adams as a
color scheme (gray body with brown and
gray hackle), it is possible to have all
of these pattern types as Blue Wing
Olives, Pale Morning Duns or Black
Gnats. Take a look at the caddis
images and you can see the progression
from buoyant to imitative in this order: Goddard, Elk Hair Caddis, Little Yellow Sally, Kings River and X-Caddis.
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