Become more effective when fishing a dry fly.

In order to fish a dry fly effectively an angler must be able to cast effectively. I hope these tips on casting help improve your ability to be more successful on the water when fish are feeding on top.

Let’s talk about the casting stroke then we will break down parts of the cast.

Casting Stroke

Most novice anglers are used to throwing a ball and believe casting a fly involves the same movements. Throwing a ball and casting a fly are different because casting doesn’t have a follow through. Fly casting involves an acceleration to a quick stop in the back and an acceleration to a quick stop in the front.
A guide once told me it’s like throwing a meatball off a fork. The meatball will fly off when you accelerate and stop the fork. Another good analogy is the paintbrush exercise. Imagine you have a paintbrush dipped in paint, the idea is to throw the paint off the brush on a wall behind you, and in front of you without getting paint on the ceiling. If you perform, what I like to call the windshield wiper arc, then you will get paint on the ceiling. The rhythm of a good cast involves acceleration and a stop with the elbow relaxed by your side. I like for beginners to watch their loop in the fly line when first casting dries. If the line is bunching up in the front it generally means the arc with the end of the rod top is too big. (Windshield Wiper Cast)

Parts of the Cast

The first part of the cast involves picking up the line by eliminating the slack in the line when casting. Accelerate your forearm back to a stop, then when the line straightens out behind you, accelerate your forearm forward to a stop. A common mistake here is not letting the fly line straighten in the back before accelerating forward. There is nothing more frustrating than messing up a cast and getting all tangled up when fish are rising, but don’t worry EVERYONE does it. Even the most experienced anglers have their opportunities for improvement.
I am always reminding clients to let the rod load up on the back cast before the forward acceleration and stop. If you hearing the “whip” sound then it means you aren’t waiting long enough in the back. It’s important to remember that the cast involves two short bursts of speed, one in the back with a stop and one in the forward with a stop. Relax and most importantly have fun!

Surface Signs

Surface signs will help you determine which fly to use.

Watching fish feed on the surface is one of the coolest things an angler will witness. This past week on the Catawba Tailrace we were able to witness a brown trout feeding frenzy on caddisflies. When trout are eating caddisflies they will usually make a splash because caddisflies like to drop and pop off the water to the air so trout will go airborne for them. A lot of times in early spring, trout will be eating insects just below the surface. This is when fish are eating emergers. This is a when soft hackle flies work best because the hackle will actually create a bubble around the fly mimicking an emerging insect. Soft hackle flies are great “dropper” flies off a dry fly. An effective method from the boat is to drift a dry fly with a soft hackle dropper in front of the fish. Before the dry fly is about to go over the fish slowly lift your rod tip which causes the soft hackle to imitate an emerger swimming to the surface to hatch.

Final tips on fishing dry flies

There is nothing more exciting than seeing a big brown trout take your fly off the surface. Don’t react too soon when the fish eats your fly. It’s easy to react quickly and the fly gets pulled out the fishes mouth. This happens a lot when fishing downstream to rising fish from the boat. When you’re in this scenario let the fish eat the fly then set at an angle instead of lifting the rod straight up.

When casting to rising fish, work the one closest to the boat. The guide can always slide the boat down or closer to the other fish.

Drag and dry flies do not mix. One way to eliminate drag when casting from a boat is to perform the reach cast. Right before the fly hits the water move the fly rod upstream to perform an air mend. A lot of times when you throw a mend while the fly line is on the water you pull the fly away from the feeding lane.

Size is more important than color. When fish are feeding heavily they let their guard down. Don’t focus on matching the exact hatch. Size is way more important in these scenarios than anything else.