Dry flys on lakes

[Fish For Life 0]

How long do you let a dry fly sit on the water before you make another cast? On rivers in general you cast you fly out, let it drift down, then re cast. But what about on lakes? Do you just let the fly sit on the water for a couple of seconds than another cast; or do you let the fly sit longer? I now that it is going to depend on many factors, but would you say there is a general guide line on how long the fly should be on the water between casts.

 

Thanks

[mikechell 0]

I don't know if you're asking for advice, or just for individual preferences.

I guess it really doesn't matter. I don't really use "dry flies" ... but I do fish top water poppers. In still water, I do my best to imitate a downed bug. Tiny ripples without moving the bug any distance. I will try to work the bug in the same spot for 10 to 30 seconds. Then I'll pop it a few times to make some "big" noise. I'll move it over a distance of a few feet before I'll recast it.

Most of my hits come within a few feet of the cover I am casting to, so I put it back on cover and start over.

 

If I am trying to bring a hit in open water, then I am constantly making the small ripples of a struggling bug. With short stops of "rest".

[Stevester 0]

It really is dependent on the conditions, the order of insect and it you are fishing from shore or from a boat. Insects like midges don't move much, some caddis run along the surface for yards before taking off. If the air temp is cold no bugs move quickly, if it is warm they are much quicker to get through the surface tension and into the air.

 

Steve

[AlexC 0]

Are you fishing for any particular species in particular?

[Fish For Life 0]

Are you fishing for any particular species in particular?

Most likely rainbow, browns, or brook trout.

[williamhj 0]

When I fish for trout in lakes they are often cruising and I often fish a beetle, so I can leave it there as long as I want. Fish cruise under it and grab it. That said, there is often a breeze which does move the fly and I eventually pick up at recast as slack develops or the fly drifts too shallow / deep or starts dragging etc. Sometimes I can see a trout cruising and try to lead it with the fly. Other times I just get bored and recast.

[Gene L 0]

I've fished dries on ponds, but not lakes. Generally, there are waves that will sink a fly, and when they do, I'd take it up and recast it. With foam flies, you can let them sit for a long time since they won't sink. The principal of fishing ponds/lakes is a whole lot different from rivers; with a river, you drift the fly into the feeding lane of a fish, but a lake doesn't have a feeding lane. So the longer a fly floats without drag, pond or river, the better the chance it will attract a fish. Current makes a long float in a river highly unlikely before it sinks.

[Dave G. 0]

Depends on the pond/lake. For instance here in SE NE we have a caddis hatch on certain still waters and those sit fairly stationary ( black caddis). They also hatch mostly in the shallows. The best means of causing a strike is to just twitch it slightly, enough to ripple the water. Mostly small mouth bass take those and trout take the emerger more than a dry. But in the Northern Maine ponds the caddis there skitter over the surface, all over the pond and teh fish go nuts. A small Hornberg with floatant applied and skidded along with the naturals will often bring a strike to your fly . My stepson and I fished a pond there all day long in that kind of a hatch. I can't even guess how many fish we caught by letting the canoe drift with a fly out there on the water. Fish after fish kept taking the flies. It was one of those deals where you couldn't leave, went to fish for a couple of hours and spent all day there figuring the hatch has to end at some point. Never did. We drove back to camp in the dark.

 

I went back there with my son and the fish weren't on caddis even though caddis were around. Put a #14 March Brown dry out there ( in May incidentally) and wham. Actually he caught an 18 brook trout that day. I caught all average fish till a storm drove us off the water. Same pond different year and the mayfly pattern just sat still compared with the skittering caddis.

 

Again, here back at home the trout really key to emerging flies. But in late May or so and on and off in the summer we have ants on one particular pond. I hope to match that this year. I tied flies for that situation back in Feb ( #16 cinnamon flying ants). We shall see, never had success in the past out there but I'm game to try again. Those ants I tied look pretty close to what I recall the naturals looking like.

[shoebop 0]

Fishing still water is a different strategy from rivers. You want movement on still waters. Sometimes just a twitch and sometimes a pop. Vary the length of pauses to see what works. Try a s-l-o-w steady retrieve too.

[mikechell 0]

Fishing still water is a different strategy from rivers. You want movement on still waters. Sometimes just a twitch and sometimes a pop. Vary the length of pauses to see what works. Try a s-l-o-w steady retrieve too.

Oh ... I forgot that part. Do not just yank the fly off the water every time. If you think about it, when you are ready to recasts, start the pick up slowly, allowing the fly to pick up speed as it skims the surface. Don't get mad at me when you hook a fish just as the fly leaves the water, and you snatch it right into your boat, chest or face.

[singletrack 0]

I generally dead drift on still water. There is usually a breeze of some kind so it will drift with the breeze. I also try to find were the feed stream is and fish that. There always seems to be a lot of fish right at the in flow. There you can dead drift like it was a stream or river the flow will take it for a long time. I will fish it as long as I can but once to much slak builds or something wrong with drift I will recast. I have left flies on the water for minutes at a time. Usually in till I get a take. I almost always fish some kind of dropper on lakes. This has always been very effective. It is usually a small midge or emerged pattern.

[Red Owl 0]

That's a broad category. What are you fishing for? How large is the body of water? What type of water? Open pads?

[Jaydub 0]

Sometimes you can either see the fish cruising or tell from the rises which direction the fish is moving. In that case I cast ahead of the fish. If the fish passes my fly, I recast either to that fish or another.

 

If rises are random or sporadic, I may let the fly sit for a long time and once in a while give it a twitch. If nothing happens, after a while, I’ll cast to a different spot.

 

Sometimes you may find yourself in a hatch that has many fish rising all around you. In this case, I find it best to let the fly sit. It takes will power, but I have better luck letting the fish find the fly, than by chasing rises.

[flyfishingdom 0]

I am constantly crawling the flies along the top of the water when dry flying trout on still water. Just baaaaarely moving them along seems to get the most takes for me. Intermittent pauses also helps. If it is a crazy hatch, I do like to give it more of a fluttering action to draw some attention.

 

I frequent a trout lake in Northern MN with a great population of brooks and rainbows. A size 16 royal wulff absolutely destroys on a calm june evening. Lots of fun!

[ditz2 0]

Gee Mike....if you are back casting very many fish I might suggest that you get a lighter rod. .....I never fish trout and I also never fish dry flies but with my craft foam flies or poppers I sometimes find that I must let the fly sit still for a considerable time to allow the fish to decide to eat. On many occasions I have seen fish run for cover if the fly is moved after it lands on the water. Different strokes on different days.