Dry Fly Tips
Rays Tip: Time to dance! Even though dead-drifting a caddis or stonefly pattern can work, sometimes making your fly dance can work wonders. Here's how I do it. First, cast slightly downstream of your position on the water. This helps take slack out of your line and keep it taut. Next, drop your rod tip to the water and strip in the rest of the slack line. Now raise your rod tip and wiggle it to make your fly skitter, or dance back toward you across the surface of the water. The Rainbows can't resist the temptation.
Billys Tip: Short drifts reduce drag. Short casts can be the key to success. If the fly is on the water for only a short time, it will not even have time to drag before reaching the fish. In fast, broken water, successful casts may be no longer than 10 feet. The key to this strategy is to pick either the fish or the structure that you are casting to. Start your drift a bit above the feeding zone that the fish sees, and pick up your cast once it has cleared this zone. When casting to a trout that has just risen, remember that it had to drift downstream to rise to the surface. This means you must cast a few feet ahead of the rise to let the fish see your fly.
