Dry Flies

[hof52]

I dont have any experience fishing with dry flies because i am new to fly fishing and most of my time is spent nymphing however last year i saw tons of fish rising multiple times and didnt no what to do about it so i plan on getting a few dry flies incase this happens again what are your go to dry flies/sizes also what do you do if you see fish rising and cant tell what they are eating
thanks
adam

 

[afishinado]

You can't go wrong with a Adams dry fly in size 12 to 18 to cover darker colored mayflies and a Sulphur in size 12 to 18 to cover lighter colored mayflies I would also buy some light and dark caddis dries like the Elk Hair Caddis pattern in size 12 to 18 and some beetle and ant patterns to cover terrestrials so those patterns should cover a good amount of any hatch you may see in PA......

 

[marcq]

I think this is one of the hardest parts of fly fishing but once you learn all your local stream insects you are good. so to break it down

caddis look like moths. they can be gray brown black and tan. for flies a CDC caddis is my favorite. they are probably one of my favorite hatches as well. the fish will chase a caddis being skipped on the to of the water.

BWO aka Blue Winged Olives are another common hatch in our waters. they are olive but they do come in many shades of it. they have the basic mayfly shape with a thorax two wings. for a newbie I would say they like kinda like a dragon fly that is shrunken down and has a curved body.

sulphurs are a hatch that is not as common as BWO and caddis but its also a great hatch cause its usually crazy. tons of flies coming off the water at once and it brings basically every fish up to feed. there are a few different colors so I would get all of them cause fish tend to get picky if its not the right shade of color.

tricos tiny little mayflies that hatch in the summer. I know only a few streams that have them but they are a fun hatch cause it always predictable. you see them in clouds above riffles and if you look closely at the water you can see them. usually the trout are feeding on the spent ones.

you get to better water you can get hatches of green drakes, iso, march browns, stones thee list goes on and on.

what water are you fishing I am sure someone could help you dial it in if you mention it.

one final thing if there are know flies in the are or very few the fish are probably taking emerges. this happens all the time at valley creek and it had me fooled for a little when I was starting but the guys on the forum helped me out. get to know your hatches and it will come second nature.

 

[midgeman]

Afishinado has some good advice there. During the cooler months, midges (18-28) and blue wing olives (16-22) are the main course for dry flies. On streams that have good populations of wild trout / holdovers, one can typically find pods of trout rising during the warmest part of the day. Usually the window is from 10 to 3 in my personal experience. My fly selection is always smaller than is actually hatching. Avoid using flies that appear "bulky" in the shaft. The skinner the better. For presentation, I like to get slightly above or next to risers, while being stealthy, as too not spooking them. I feel this give me the opportunity to cast the fly in the feeding lane. I also use a 2-4 foot section of monofiliment tippet because it floatsbetter than flourocarbon . Lastly, grease you fly and be sure to keep it dry. This ensures floating above the surface and film.

Good luck and practice makes perfect!

 

[gfen]

http://lvlimestoner.blogspot.com/2011/02/unacceptable-weather-also-fly-selection.html