first try wet fly

**wwelz** · 07-10-2008, 07:28 AM

I got the Dave Wotten video and worked up my courage to try wet flies on the Farmington last night. One strike no fish. The problem I had was the dropper flys wound around the leader. They would unwind when I lifted the line out of the water . My concern is that the flies were drifting wound around the leader. I made the dropper section of the leader from 5x Rio fluorocarbon .I attached the dropper section to a six foot section of tapered leaders. The total length of the leader was 11 feet. What did I do wrong ?
.

**Davyfly** · 07-10-2008, 10:58 AM

The main reason for tangle is due to how you are casting the team of flies.
Other reasons may be related to rod action. For wet fly fishing a mid flex slow action is the best bet. This allows for a wider slower casting loop. Distance is not for the most part required.
It is a presentation deal more than anything else.

Next reason is using large of heavyweight hooks for the diameter of mono used.
Makes no difference if the flies are tied to the upper or lower tag. The difference is the lower tag is stronger than the upper as the knot is not being stressed when a fish is hooked.

I determine the diameter of the line used related to hook size of flies, in most cases the breaking strain is not the issue.
I can deal with big fish on 6 or 7x, but it would be foolish to fish 3 flies on 7x, that is asking for trouble.

Davy.

**mcarl** · 07-11-2008, 12:03 AM

WWelz,
Joe Humphreys really hammers me constantly on my dropper lenghts with my mentoring. He is adamant regarding dropper lenghts being 4 inches. Less than that and your hook-ups decrease and more than that and you start to get into tangled messes that you've described. I'm not preaching that you should use his leader system or style of fishing-use whatever leader system and style of fishing you're comfortable with but work on your dropper lenghts and you'll be fine. Good luck, wet flies are a great way to fish the Farmington particularly this time of the year with several compound hatches occurring throughout the day. Fish them as dries too. Sometimes they are more effective that way than dry flies themselves. As a matter of fact I rarely fish true dries myself. I use " buggy" looking wets with Mucilin on them as my dries.

**Davyfly** · 07-11-2008, 02:17 PM

I forgot to add that also, dropper lengths of between 4 to 5 ins overall are best. in some case l will have a top dropper extended to 10 or 12 ins, this more so related to short line techniques we use on still waters.

It is a deadly way to animate a caddis, hopper and other terrestrial flies and induce the fish to rise and take them, when often as not little else will interest them.

DW

**JUICE** · 07-15-2008, 12:44 AM

Awesome info Davy, I'd like to see a Davy v. Joe old fashioned fish off. I would pay a ton of money to watch them go head to head. I wonder if anyone else would.

**Davyfly** · 07-15-2008, 11:00 AM

Juice, I would be game for that. Given all l have read regarding JH ways of fishing, differ from the ways both historically and as to day we fish in the UK, in the wet fly manner, which in my terms relates to specific styles of fly and the ways they are fished.

Wet fly can be termed in a very generic way, is a nymph for example a wet fly, in my book not but may be so by others. Nymphs are not fished by and large in the same manner as a wet fly, all be it there may be a very close relationship here, in the case of say soft hackles and flymphs fished dead drift upstream.

Also consider to day, as opposed to say 100 plus years ago. Look at the range of trout flies that were known in those times by comparison to day.
There was a very distinct difference between winged wets, soft hackles, dry and the early nymphal fly patterns and streamers.
To day we see a very different story, as we see such things as emerger's which are often a cross between a wet and a dry fly.

Matter of interest here. Any of you guys out there have a catalogue that dates back pre 1900 showing the range of trout flies available for the US and Canadian fly fisher, if so l would very much like to know. And at some time be able to see it.

I have a number of Hardy catalogues of that era that show flies marketed into the US and Canada, almost all of which are wet fly patterns.

Davy.