Yesterday while guiding I found myself exactly where I’d hoped to be at 4:00 pm. Smack in the middle of a pmd hatch on a local small stream. Popping out of the riffle above, and floating downstream like so many tiny, yellow sailboats, the little mayflies had the fish looking up and rising like crazy. My anglers made several quick casts and after a moment wondered why they hadn’t hooked a fish. It was clear to me that neither had actually gotten a proper drift. After a bit more coaching, and some substantial ribbing, they ironed out the kinks and ran the table, catching several fish over the next ten minutes.
Fishing dry flies to rising fish may well be the preferred means of fly fishing. Below you’ll find three tips on how to better perform and catch more fish when the hatch is on.
First, consider your cast. Improving your catch rate while dry fly fishing begins with making a good cast. Without a good, accurate cast, you’ve got nothing. You can know the details of the hatch, what stage of the insect the fish are feeding on, and what size it is, but unless you make a good, accurate cast, you’ve got no chance at all. What’s a good, accurate cast and how hard is it to make one? Not as difficult as you might think. Take your time and don’t rush it. The fish are feeding and not going anywhere. Place your fly upstream of your target fish by approximately three feet, make a good mend, and wait for the strike.
Second, consider concentrating on one fish instead of casting willing nilly into the bunch. Flock shooting will work some of the time but remember that all rising fish generally have a feeding station. Their movement is up and down in the water column and not necessarily from side to side in the current. By concentrating on one fish at a time, and making accurate casts to specific fish, you’ll increase your odds of hook-ups considerably.
Finally, make sure you’re getting a good drift. A good drift means the fly is floating downstream the same speed as the current without drag. If your fly has a little wake behind it, the fish will generally not strike. Even though trout have brains the size of peas, they’re not stupid. If a fly is whizzing by their nose it obviously looks unnatural. If it looks unnatural, you might as well be reading about catching fish because you sure as heck aren’t going to have much success.
To catch more fish with dry flies, make a good cast, concentrate on one rising fish at a time, and get a good drift. The results will make you smile. And here at Linehan Outfitting Company, we believe everyone should catch more fish.