Moisten the fly for underwater effect?

[Bimini15 0]

This is something I have seen people do very often, but is it really true?

Doesn't a deceiver, to mention a fly, look the same out of the water as it does under water?

I am not sure that just because you moisten it you get the true underwater effect.

[bulb 0]

In my opinion the look of a wet fly out of water is quite different from a submerged fly. Take for example a zonker streamer. The fur is going to mat down alot if you wet the fly, but submerged it has plenty of volume. However, this depends on the type of material used and working experience with a given material is needed to know how the material is going to look and behave when wet.

 

I've found wetting flies is useful if you use natural materials which can be affected by wetting and drying. Bucktail mats down after a rinse and drying, makes for a nicer profile and less errant fibers.

[Dave G. 0]

Colors can change when wet or under water ( though they may not match), profiles are another matter again. The weight of water in the air mats hair and fibers down. Under water, they suspend and undulate. Wetting in your fingers or on the vise to see a profile is a bit of a misnomer .

 

When I first started tying woollie buggers to get big browns in the winter because I saw people catching them that way,I couldn't figure out how to get that matted look they were showing me . In due time I figured it out, a wet woollie bugger in a guys fingers looks nothing like one in the water at all. Just dunk a fly in a glass of water and look at it, then pull it out into the air and you will see exactly what I mean. Let is soak though and get good and wet.

[mikechell 0]

I am back ... electricity is a wonderful thing!

 

The only difference between a dry "fluffy" fly in the air, and a wet "fluffy" fly in the water is the "thickness" of the air or water.

Underwater, fly material flows and undulates much better than the same material in the air, when moved slowly.

 

Wet material OUT of the water mimics what it will look like when it's stripped through the water. So, wetting a streamer would show what it will look like when being swung thorough current or rapidly pulled through the water.

[McFlyLures 0]

I am back ... electricity is a wonderful thing!

 

The only difference between a dry "fluffy" fly in the air, and a wet "fluffy" fly in the water is the "thickness" of the air or water.

Underwater, fly material flows and undulates much better than the same material in the air, when moved slowly.

 

Wet material OUT of the water mimics what it will look like when it's stripped through the water. So, wetting a streamer would show what it will look like when being swung thorough current or rapidly pulled through the water.

Quite right. Good answer!

[Crackaig 0]

I've been wondering about the craze for showing flies wet myself, and agree with what you are all saying. Useful if there is a colour change in the materials, but otherwise not representative of the submerged fly.

 

Cheers,

C.

[Adam Saarinen 0]

My pike flies look like a wet cat out of water when wet, but look big with a lot of movement in the water!

[flytire 0]

 

[Senecalaker 0]

Ever wonder why soft hackles attract fish?

[BuzFly 0]

Wetting a fly down out of the water only shows you what a matted down fly looks like out of the water. My saltwater flies look almost this same out of the water as it does in the water when it is at rest or slowly stripped. Most tank testers just blow super fast water across the fly just like if you put a hairdryer to your dry fly. Tank testers need a variable speed on them to make them mare representative of the real fly.

[Crackaig 0]

Ever wonder why soft hackles attract fish?

 

Speaking of North Country Spiders (the original soft hackled flies) Oliver Edwards described them on the drift as, "looking like the spokes of an open umbrella". Hardly what your photo sows, which proves the point that all a photo of a fly wet does is show any colour variation and what the materials look like slicked down.

 

Cheers,

C.