Dave G. 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2022 You can't go by the comparison of a glass of water vs fishing. You're luck, very lucky if you get a 15 second drift in a stream. Ten minutes is unthinkable. No ten seconds, maybe 12 or so and the fly is back in the air getting the water false casted off and then sat back down again. The water surface tension is weird in a glass anyway. Those flies should do fine,certainly at least for a few drifts before they get soaked. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
upnorthtier 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2022 1 hour ago, Dave G. said: You can't go by the comparison of a glass of water vs fishing. You're luck, very lucky if you get a 15 second drift in a stream. Ten minutes is unthinkable. No ten seconds, maybe 12 or so and the fly is back in the air getting the water false casted off and then sat back down again. The water surface tension is weird in a glass anyway. Those flies should do fine,certainly at least for a few drifts before they get soaked. I agree with everything you're saying, too many variables, wind, water speed, mending, casting, etc. Using foam is the only way to keep a fly floating for any length of time. Sometimes having the fly just below the surface produces better than it floating. I purposely add some lead wraps on some of my dry's so they will float 1/2 inch to an inch below the water surface. The fish (rainbows and graylings) will still jump out of the water and take the fly on the way down. Trial and error can be frustrating and satisfying at the same time figuring out what works that day, that hour or for that one fish, but man when I do ...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rusty Shackleford 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2022 Thanks for all the help guys, I guess I just had my expectations too high. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niveker 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2022 Agree with most of what's been said above, especially the last two posts. Maybe you're being overly critical of your flies ability to float. @upnorthtier touched on this a bit when he states that using foam is the only way to keep a fly floating for any length of time. A hackled dry fly is only going to float until the surface tension is broken, unlike a foam fly which is naturally buoyant. Though I don't have to add weight to my dry flies, as they do a pretty good job of sinking without it, as often as not a dry fly will fish better when it sits in the film rather than on top of it. Looking at your flies I see no reason they would not do their job on the river if treated with floatant and casted correctly. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sandan 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2022 I'd like to see a picture of those flies not floating. The way that royal coachman is hackled it should float in a class 5 rapid Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
