One Way to Fish Wets

[CinnamonJoe]

During my fly fishing renaissance, I've been fishing wets more and more; especially some of the more 'traditional', historical patterns.

Often, I arrive at a stream with little to no surface activity, or for whatever reasons, the nymphs and emergers aren't quite cutting it that day. That's when being comfortable with fishing a team of wets can save the day. Also, as the colder months settle in here shortly, there will be less direct surface insect activity, period. These are the situations that motivated me to go down the wet fly rabbit hole, and I've been enjoying it.

That short video does a great job of showing a way to fish wets: using rod and line work to your advantage, to impart action to the fly in the water column that triggers strikes.

Joe

 

[Cougarbaby]

I see the technique for the drift then the rise of the flys at the end, bet that would work for small streamers and buggers

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

I switched to fishing wets 25 years ago, most of them weighted to get down in the water column before the current lifts them up. Good searching pattern when nothing is hatching, and I match size and color (as best as possible during most hatches.

 

[troutbert]

I switched to fishing wets 25 years ago, most of them weighted to get down in the water column before the current lifts them up. Good searching pattern when nothing is hatching, and I match size and color (as best as possible during most hatches.

How do you weight them?

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

How do you weight them?

Wrap the hook with a non-lead wire about 6-8 times before adding the body materials. Don't like using split shots.

 

[Bamboozle]

They aren't as sexy as dubbed or silk thread bodies, but for decades I've been tying basic spider patterns like Partridge & Orange or Snipe & Purple using touching wraps of colored/lacquered wire for the body.

Ultra Wire comes in many colors and sizes in diameters from 0.0179" to 0.004". Not every color is available in every size, but I found some colors & sizes I was after in wire sold by Beadalon Artistic Wire & Semperfli also sells colored wire in small diameters.

The wire gets the spiders down and adds a little sparkle or flash. I swear my wire bodied Snipe & Purple and Starling & Purple out fish my traditional ties made with Pearsall's 2:1 and I can fish them on a dropper under a small size 16 EWC without effecting the float of the caddis.

 

[CinnamonJoe]

They aren't as sexy as dubbed or silk thread bodies, but for decades I've been tying basic spider patterns like Partridge & Orange or Snipe & Purple using touching wraps of colored/lacquered wire for the body.

Ultra Wire comes in many colors and sizes in diameters from 0.0179" to 0.004". Not every color is available in every size, but I found some colors & sizes I was after in wire sold by Beadalon Artistic Wire & Semperfli also sells colored wire in small diameters.

The wire gets the spiders down and adds a little sparkle or flash. I swear my wire bodied Snipe & Purple and Starling & Purple out fish my traditional ties made with Pearsall's 2:1 and I can fish them on a dropper under a small size 16 EWC without effecting the float of the caddis.

Pics, pls. 😉

Joe