Dry flys on lakes

[mikechell 0]

Gee Mike....if you are back casting very many fish I might suggest that you get a lighter rod.

Naw ... the only ones that go for a flight are the small ones that think they're big.

[Red Owl 0]

Well if it is trout on still water....I've never dealt with skaters but I think they were used mostly on slow running pools where the wind could knock them around. I wonder how well they would work on a clear lake- seems like they might do well.

We have a lot of black crappies on "My" lake- yeah, I live on a lake and fish everyday. IAE they occasionally gorge themselves on tiny red larva of some sort- I think it might be blind mosquitos. These larva are maybe 1/4" long and a little thicker than a pencil lead and a darkish red. I need to hook up with a biologist at a local University to find the identity of them.

I troll streamers quite a bit but you need a boat. If you can cast a long distance, then streamers but of course they are subsurface.

They are also some aquatic insects zigzagging on the surface from time to time but the local fish seldom- if ever- seem to go on the feed after them.

I've watch trout in lakes- as you said, very different- they prowl, sometimes in pairs.

[JSzymczyk 0]

dry fly fishing for trout on a lake is pretty much exactly like bait fishing. Cast to where the fish are and wait.

 

Not saying there is anything wrong with it, I've done it many times. There was a small lake in Maine i used to fish a lot, and when the brookies were making surface activity, it was sometimes productive to just cast and wait. Often times I did better with a wet fly, and it was more interesting.

[NohackleHS 0]

Here's the general approach that I have used on my favorite trout lake. It's a crystal clear lake with very selective trout.

 

If the water is calm, I tend to leave my fly sitting there for a long time since each cast disturbs the water and can alarm any fish in the area. Under these conditions I try to use longer and lighter tippets.

 

If there is a chop on the water and only a few rising fish, I tend to leave the fly out there until the next rise within casting distance or my line starts to belly.

 

If there is a chop on the water and rising fish, I try to cast to the fish that are downwind. I will make the cast roughly 3 or 4 feet above the rise and let the fly drift into the fish. If there is a fish upwind from where I am standing, I will make a cast to it, but I will pick up the fly quickly once it passes the fish. Fish that are upwind are generally tougher to fool since your tippet very often is lining the fish and your cast may have already disturbed it.

 

I guess as a general rule, the more fish are rising within casting distance, the less time I allow my fly to sit.

[Piker20 0]

I try to only fish a dry when fish are rising and cast to specific fish/last rise. I only let it sit for more than a minute when I know its a feeding lane and the fly is drifting down jt nicely-rarely.

Most times fish hit soon as a fly lands if they are still around and I've matched the hatch right.

You need to balance smashing the water with a fly line every 2mins against any benefit