Best way to dry wet flies

[tjm 0]

Wool patch for me, I rarely lose a barbless fly from it and it keeps them handy if I want to change back. Wet hooks in a box always mean rusty hooks in my world, and at the end of the day I'm not wanting to sort flies.

[Swampfoxforeman 0]

 

 

a false cast or two, blow on the fly and put them back in your fly box

I'm trying to resist ... ... I can't.

 

"Blow on the fly" won't work for everyone. We're not all as full of hot air as you, flytire.

 

Lmao

[Mark Knapp 0]

 

 

a false cast or two, blow on the fly and put them back in your fly box

I'm trying to resist ... ... I can't.

 

"Blow on the fly" won't work for everyone. We're not all as full of hot air as you, flytire.

 

Lmao

 

You guys are going to incur the wrath of the 'squatch if you're not careful.

[DFoster 0]

I kept losing flies of my patch so now I carry a small empty fly box and put the used flies in that. When I get I home I open it up and let them air dry right in the box. Works for me-

[whatfly 0]

Huh, must not be a lot of dry fly fishers on the board anymore. While there are a bunch of expensive products out there (e.g. Amadou) your best bet is synthetic chamois which you can buy in large sheets in the automotive section of your favorite big box store. Just cut it into smaller sheets and put a couple in your vest. This along with a silica like Frog's Fanny or Dry Share can go a long way for keeping a fly floating after a few fish.

 

Inevitably you'll have to retire the fly after a period of time, but between waterproofing at the vise (e.g. Watershed), a good floatant, a chamois, and Dry Shake or the like, you can get a lot of fishing out of a single dry. Once you want to retire the fly, you can just hit it with the chamois and leave it on your fly patch to dry.

 

P.S. In case the OP has not already realized this, putting wet flies back in your box is really a bad idea for the rest of your ties, in the long run.

[RickZieger 0]

I carry an Altoids tin with me to put the wet flies in. When I get home I open al the boxes to let them dry.

I think I put moisture in all of them when changing the fly. When they are dry I can then put the flies back where they belong.

 

Rick

[vicente 0]

Huh, must not be a lot of dry fly fishers on the board anymore. While there are a bunch of expensive products out there (e.g. Amadou) your best bet is synthetic chamois which you can buy in large sheets in the automotive section of your favorite big box store. Just cut it into smaller sheets and put a couple in your vest. This along with a silica like Frog's Fanny or Dry Share can go a long way for keeping a fly floating after a few fish.

 

Inevitably you'll have to retire the fly after a period of time, but between waterproofing at the vise (e.g. Watershed), a good floatant, a chamois, and Dry Shake or the like, you can get a lot of fishing out of a single dry. Once you want to retire the fly, you can just hit it with the chamois and leave it on your fly patch to dry.

 

P.S. In case the OP has not already realized this, putting wet flies back in your box is really a bad idea for the rest of your ties, in the long run.

Peru sure this was more about storing the fly when you're done with it than drying it off to fish some more, I just put the loon liquid floatant on mine, never had one not float after a couple false casts no matter how long it's been fished.

[tjm 0]

The trick to not loosing many flies from wool or foam patch is to stick the point in at right angle to the patch and turn the fly up so that the bend is buried and the point is aimed outward- with barbed hooks this might make them hard to get out without pulling off the wool (it is fine to do that) but with barbless they can be turned back out nicely. Just pushed in parallel with the patch almost all will fall off.

If you want to dry and continue to use a fly, the car wash chamois, microfiber towel or the sheep's wool all work, but if a fly is saturated with Albolene or equivalent prior to use, a false cast or two should be sufficient. There may still be enough water after false casting to rust the hook if returned to the ventilated box, been there done that and the water retained by one or two flies can rust many hooks if left in the box for several days. Always a good idea to open the boxes at home and let any accidental moisture evaporate off.

[robow7 0]

I've lost few flies from foam patch on my vest because they're barbless. These days I just drop them in a small pocket in my vest and sort and dry them out when I get home.

 

This works best for me.

[DrLogik 0]

I've been using neodymium (aka "Rare Earth") magnets for about 25+ years now. I usually have a pair clamped to every vest, fanny pack or chest box I have. I prefer the 1' x 1/8" magnets. I put one on the inside and then attach the other one on the outside. They hold each other on the vest. The cool thing about just using the magnets is you can clamp them to anything, a shirt, pants, hat, etc.

 

My buddies saw them and liked them and over the years I've given dozens away. I came up with a cool gizmo that I thought I could market and sell. I attempted to patent the idea but gave up, but I did get a Trademark for my invention "MagneFly". A few years later I started seeing fly magnets in the stores. Missed opportunity.

 

Don't buy a magnetic fly holder. There are numerous places you can buy neodymium magnets on the Net for a fraction of what the store-bought gizmos cost.

 

I like magnets the best because the fly dries quickly, doesn't rust and doesn't fall off...no matter what. I've heard folks say that the magnets crush dry fly hackle. Well, yes they do if you don't put them on right. Hook bend on the magnet, hackle hanging off the edge works fine. You can even use them on fleece patches!

 

I used to use fleece patches but got frustrated with flies rusting. Hence I looked for a better alternative and the magnets were it.

 

Here's two examples. The chest box has 3/8" magnets and the hip vest has the 1" magnets.

 

 

 

 

[fshng2 0]

DrLogik great idea.

I have the same chest box...do you just put one magnet inside to hold the one on the outside?

[DrLogik 0]

Yep, one on the inside and one on the outside. I used to have a 1" magnet on the front but it was a problem with anything dangling when netting a fish. Hence I got some 3/8" magnets that fit on top. Works great!

 

I also have a 3/8" magnet in the tray slot that holds tools. It keeps the clanking down to a minimum.

[Poopdeck 0]

Jimminys that's the answer! Great idea! Thanks.

[fshng2 0]

DrLogik thanks for the info, I'll have to get a few 3/8" magnets.

I have a 3/4" neo magnet at my tying bench.

It's holding power is amazing, some things I have put there are difficult to get off.

[SilverCreek 0]

The trick to not loosing many flies from wool or foam patch is to stick the point in at right angle to the patch and turn the fly up so that the bend is buried and the point is aimed outward- with barbed hooks this might make them hard to get out without pulling off the wool (it is fine to do that) but with barbless they can be turned back out nicely. Just pushed in parallel with the patch almost all will fall off.

 

 

How does that work with dry flies. I would think that it would kink the tails.

 

I keep losing barbless flies from my wool patch.